Day Two

"RISE AND SHINE, BUTTERCUPS!!!"

"I'M UP! I'M UP!"

Iris shot up from her bed screaming. A froggy sleep mask was askew on her head and she tore it off to view her surroundings. Upon realising she was alone, she collapsed with a 'plop' against the puffy covers.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[Cute sleep mask XD]

[Lmao did the director have to do this]

[YES HE DID]

[This feels so cathartic somehow]

[We woke up at 7 to watch this—of course it's fair they wake up early too lol]

[Larry: I stayed up all night prepping everything, no way ya'll are getting your beauty sleep]

[Help I can totally picture him saying this hahaha]

Iris pried her sticky eyelids open and peered at the clock on her nightstand through two slits.

'Ugh... 7:30 a.m. This is inhuman.'

As if to validate her complaint, Larry's voice sounded through the speakers again.

"I'M CONFISTICATING ONE CUPID COIN FOR EACH MINUTE YA'LL COME LATER THAN 8!"

"Antichrist..." Iris grumbled.

Fueled by Larry's threats, she crawled out of bed and dragged herself to the attached bathroom, stopping every few steps to lean against the closest piece of furniture and yawn. She combed her fingers through her bird's nest of a hair and disappeared from sight when she entered the bathroom.

[I knew NOBODY wakes up looking like a goddess!!]

[Iris is so real]

[Or maybe she forgot there's a camera in her room]

[Now I believe how authentic BI is]

[Larry Sullivan always keeps his promises]

[He's like a unicorn among show directors]

[Or an "antichrist" lol]

Oblivious to how her viewers had seen her at her most unflattering, Iris cleaned up, donned a casual outfit, and made her way downstairs, bumping into someone on the way.

"Good morning!" a familiar brunette wearing an oversized cartoon print shirt greeted her.

"Morning... Hah..." Iris yawned midway, stopping to grip the banister as dizziness hit. "Sorry, I'm usually not awake until 9 a.m."

Small hands wrapped around her arm, and the other girl's voice was full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just need a moment..." The black spots subsided, and Iris continued walking. "Thanks... Sara, is it?"

"That's me—Sara Moore!" Sara chirped. "And you must be Iris Tate. I love your bracelets!"

Iris instinctively glanced down. She had a habit of piling on jewellery for fun, so she had brought her collection here, too. Five colourful bracelets adorned each wrist, some with charms; some without, but all of them held a special place in her heart.

"Thank you," she told Sara. "Everyone used to say it was too extra, but I like wearing them."

"Do whatever makes you happy. At the end of the day, it's not their personal style."

"Exactly!"

As they reached the communal dining room, scattered "hey"s and "good morning"s welcomed them. Everyone looked extra chipper despite the sun just rising from the horizon, and Iris found their energy infectious.

A beautiful woman with dark skin popped her head out of the kitchen and waved at them with a spatula in hand. "Morning!" she trilled. "I'm frying eggs for breakfast. Sunny side up, over easy, or scrambled?"

Iris blinked sleepily while Sara placed her order with a thanks.

"What about you?" the woman asked Iris.

"Oh, uh... over easy, please. Thank you," she added.

"No problem!"

The woman disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared, and the sound of eggs cracking and sizzling drifted over to them. Sara joined the others to help set up the dining table, but Iris didn't see Skyler among them.

She meandered towards the kitchen and peeked around the corner. The cheery woman was the only one cooking, but she somehow managed to fry eggs and bacon on two separate pans while a toaster's timer rang behind her. And there was a large bowl of salad ready on the counter behind her.

[Istg if I could wake up to a view like this every day I'd die happy]

[That looks delish]

[Watching this with my to go coffee in hand (ㅠ‸ㅠ)]

[I wish I could be like her]

[I wish my girlfriend was like her]

[Better wish ur gf doesn't see this]

"Need a hand?"

The woman turned around and Iris was blown away by her prominent features up close—her amber eyes, high cheekbones, flawless nose and pouty lips. Also... How could anyone look so put together this early in the morning while cooking?!

"It'd be great if you could get the toast and slice some butter on the side," the woman said, flipping an egg without even looking. "I'm Kayla, by the way."

"Iris. Thanks again for making breakfast."

Kayla started to wave a hand at her before remembering it was occupied. "Oh, it's nothing. I like cooking, and food has a way of bringing people together." She placed two over well eggs on a plate. "These are yours. Are you vegan? If not, have some bacon."

"I'd like that." Iris added some bread to the toaster to ensure there was enough for everyone. While waiting, she spread some strawberry jam on a piece and snuck a bite.

"So, Iris," Kayla started. "What do you do?"

"I'm a freelance writer, currently writing for a travel blogger," she replied. "You?"

"Coincidentally, I travel for work. I'm a flight attendant. Splurged all my leave days to be on this show."

"Must be nice, being paid to travel the world," Iris sighed wistfully.

"Hardly," Kayla laughed. "Ninety percent of the time I only see the cabin and the view from my motel room or a thousand feet in the air. It's not the same."

Iris recalled the spectacular pictures she'd only ever seen through a screen and said, "I can relate."

They shared a knowing smile.

Ding!

Two peices of perfect toast popped out of the toaster. Iris forked them onto waiting plates while Kayla went back to seasoning a golden omelette. When she finished, she set the dish aside and tended to the bacon.

Just then, a shrill voice resounded in the kitchen. "Hey Kayla! What's for breakfast?"

A young woman with short, wheat coloured hair who couldn't have been older than twenty entered the kitchen. When she saw the cooling omelette on the counter, she clapped her hands in glee and rushed over with a spoon.

"Ooh, omelettes are my favourite! Thanks!"

"Wait, those—"

Before Kayla could finish, the girl had already bitten into the omelette and moaned in satisfaction. She reached for another bite.

[Wow, rude much?]

[She didn't even ask who the omelette was for]

[Who just eats someone else's food?!]

[Blasphemy!!!]

"—are mine," Kayla finished.

[Poor Kayla]

[It was an innocent mistake. Kayla can make another omelette]

[I don't see anything innocent about this]

The girl's eyes widened and she dropped her spoon.

Clang!

The spoon hit a saucer of ketchup on the side and splattered it onto the pristine countertop.

"Omigod! I am so sorry," she fumbled over her words and hands to clean up the mess, but she only spread the sauce even more.

[Ok, who invited butterfingers here?]

[You mean ketchupfingers]

[She's making it messier]

[That poor, $5000 counter...]

[Actually that's Calacatta marble. Make it $10000]

[Someone save the counter from her]

Iris pressed the hand the girl was holding the dishcloth with and said tersely, "Stop. I'll clean this."

"Fine..." The girl reluctantly let go and twisted her fingers together. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of the dishes behind Iris. "I'll move these to the dining room!" she declared, rushing out of the kitchen like it was on fire.

Iris and Kayla let out a consecutive sigh of relief when she left.

"Who was that?" Iris whispered, trying to keep the aversion out of her voice.

Kayla snuck a glance at the cameras on the ceiling. "Jean Francis," she whispered back.

Iris weighed her words. "She looks like..."

"A handful?" Kayla snickered. "Sadly, it's not my first time."

"Oh no, what happened?"

"Just an incident while choosing our rooms yesterday."

Iris wanted to ask more, but Kayla suddenly sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"