October 20th, 2021

Mareike

After the game, Marcello came to cheer her up, but Mareike knew better. It was only sheer luck, and nothing else that got her through the first game. Sure, she would be playing the second game but Crystal House awarded them points based on their performance, and after finishing at tenth place hers were next to nothing. If she didn't do well in the second game, she would be leaving whether she took last place in that one or not. Mareike didn't want to leave yet, this new reality was much better than her real world. She had acquaintances who weren't forced or cajoled into talking to her for fear of her mom, including Marcello. The first guy who had genuinely expressed an interest in the ordinary girl she was here.

Mareike wanted to continue dwelling on the positive, but with all the grime and sweat she had accumulated from doing jumping jacks and push-ups, she desperately needed to shower and eat. Her hunger won over the dirt and she sauntered to the kitchen, looking around and mentally flipping between her options. She sighed, ultimately settling on her first choice, noodles. After all, it was the only thing she could make without a recipe book. Her ever-caring mother decided long ago that she didn't need to bother herself with the hassle of cooking, because, in her words, You'll marry a rich and strong man who won't let you lift a finger to work.

She couldn't totally blame her mother though, the woman probably never expected Mareike to run away from all the luxury because who would? But from personal experience, she knew being born rich didn't automatically make you feel happy and loved.

She turned her attention back to her food and lit the gas after a few tries. Mareike was still intrigued by how it all worked, sure she knew the physics and chemistry surrounding it but in real life, it felt wrong to her. Anytime someone talked about fire or brought it near her, she felt uneasy and this situation was no different. She always preferred processed or already made foods, which contributed to her size and lack of culinary skills. Her stomach grumbled in protest, so she put the pot and moved downstairs.

Mareike made it very easy for the pot to light up in yellow flames. She had neglected to add sufficient water, instead putting just enough to satisfy a bird then went down to have her bath, with the assumption that her food would be ready when she came back up.

She was about to start singing one of the few catholic songs she remembered from her childhood, when her roommate's voice rang out.

"Something's burning upstairs, I can smell it. Mareike, didn't you go up to cook something?"

"Oh my God." Mareike squeezed her body into a bathrobe and shimmied out of the bathroom, soap still in her hair. The smell of burning noodles filled the air and the growing commotion outside could smell it too.

"What's that?"

"That smells like noodles."

"Someone has decided to end it and end us too."

She didn't even have the sense to be embarrassed as she hurried on upstairs, tightly clutching the bathrobe that was a size too small. Luckily for her, someone was already upstairs dousing the fire. Mareike groaned helplessly and watched as the smoke increased, till only a blurry figure of the person inside could be seen. At that point, she realized she hadn't put enough water to cook the noodles.

Chiara

When Chiara was asked later about her efficiency in stopping the fire, she told them she didn't know what she was doing or it was sheer luck. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was more surprised by the fact that she hadn't run to the front door banging and begging for an escape. She was alive because three years ago, she ran away from a burning building before it collapsed but today she had stepped into fire and quenched it in less than five minutes. With no water nor extinguisher.

Chiara knew she was a freak. She had always suspected it, but today sealed the deal. She had always been able to smell smoke or fire even a mile away, but could do nothing to stop it. It was like watching the world burn with no other option. Today, however, had been different.

She was in her room chatting with her new friends when she felt the familiar tingle. She inhaled, and the smell of smoke entered her nostrils. It was sparse, but present and steadily rising so she knew no one else had noticed it yet.

"I need to get some water, I'll be back." Chiara politely excused herself and moved towards the smell. It took her to the kitchen, where a small fire had already started from the small pot perched dangerously on one of the gas stoves. The wall nearest to the stoves was already black, along with everything near it. She glanced at the fire alarm above her, which gave no indication it had noticed the smoke emanating from beneath it. Chiara knew she should have run, but her feet refused and instead propelled her forward into the heat. She flung the burning pot to the ground and from that point on, Chiara truly didn't know.

When she came out into the lounge, her dress was half covered in soot and wet with sweat, her hazel eyes stung from the smoke, and she felt drained from over exertion. Physically she was fine,  no burns whatsoever. Opposite her, the kitchen stood intact, a few black spots and patches around but nothing permanent or extremely damaging. Ingrid came forward and helped her to sit while the other housemates stood ready to clap but she waved it off.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry, it was totally my fault. Are you hurt?"

Chiara glanced up, her gaze falling hard on Mareike. The perpetuator stood in front of her, clad in only a bathrobe and she suddenly felt angry. Here she was, tired and dirty while the cause of her current state looked ready for a photo shoot, all scrubbed clean and energized.

She frowned. "Why did you leave a pot of noodles on fire and go downstairs to shower? Noodles only needs five minutes to be ready, couldn't you have exercised a little patience?" Chiara shouted angrily, causing the housemates who had gone into the kitchen to turn.

Chiara noticed how the girl flinched and took in a deep breath to calm herself. She wouldn't give anyone a fight to watch and besides, she looked sorry.

"Never mind. Next time, don't leave noodles for so long. This could have gone much worse, and by the way where the hell is Mr. Han and all the organizers?" Chiara decided to direct her anger towards the owners of Crystal House. "Your stupid fire alarm isn't working, and we could have burnt to death." She screamed, burning her eyes into the camera opposite her.

When Chiara was done, she silently cursed at herself. Now she would be disqualified because of her loud mouth, while the other housemates watched on in silence the way they did now. Everyone was expecting Mr. Han to come in and say a few words to her, and see her to the door. But no one came, and eventually the noise increased.

With her last energy, Chiara whispered to Mareike who now sat beside her. "I need to go downstairs and rest." And think.

What in heaven's name had happened between her and the fire in that kitchen?

Eryk

They saw Mr. Han hours after the fire incident, and it wasn't related to the current state of the kitchen. Infact, he didn't bother to be present physically instead he instructed them, from the intercom, to gather in the lounge for a proper address.

"Good evening housemates. I trust you're all doing well. Due to the unfortunate accident which occurred this morning, the organizers have decided to make an Assistant Head of House. Hopefully, the presence of a leader figure in the house will help to reduce the chance of something like this happening again."

The hero of the day, Chiara raised her hand and stood up. Everyone, including Eryk, knew she wanted to voice her complains from earlier on.

"That's a good idea, Mr. Han. Another good idea would be to fix the smoke detector in the kitchen, or make fire extinguishers available and easily accessible." Eryk nodded, she made an excellent point. If those facilities were available and working, she wouldn't have needed to stop the fire and faint few minutes after getting out. "Just the presence of an assistant organizer might not be able to prevent something like this from happening again." Chiara sat down and from where Eryk sat, she looked quite satisfied and cleaned up. Now, she wore jean trousers which fully complimented her figure, along with a clean top.

He glanced to her left, where Priya sat staring at him. The girl had been trying to get close ever since her admirer left, and he wasn't ready to fill up the gap. Besides, he knew Indian girls to be usually conservative and shy but Priya was the exact opposite. Eryk shook his head and glanced away quickly when he realized their staring competition was still on, she would be dealt with at a later time.

Right now, the idea of being the Assistant Head of House sounded tempting. If he understood correctly, that person would be the link between his fellow housemates and the organizers making him a leader, sort of. That was his forte, and he knew he was capable and ready.

Mr. Han was addressing Chiara's words when Eryk tuned back in. "...and I assure you that those issues will be looked into. Now, the choice for AHOH will be between the top three from the last game." Mr. Han paused to shuffle some papers at his front before looking back at them. "The three housemates I call should please make their way to the garden. Ace, Eryk and Lola."

Eryk stood up along with the others, and walked towards the garden where three tables with scattered puzzle pieces lay waiting for them. He smiled and walked towards a table, rearranging a puzzle was a favoured hobby for him. Mr. Han's voice reached them through the intercom in the garden. "Your task is to rearrange the pieces before you within five minutes and the housemate with the lowest time wins the challenge. When the buzzer sounds, you may begin."

Soon, their time was up and Mr. Han called the results. Lola's time was more than theirs, so she was instantly eliminated from the game and she went back into the house. However, Eryk and Ace had finished at exactly the same time.

"So now what do we do, Mr. Han?" Eryk called out into the garden, hoping the man saw what was happening.

"In the case of a tie, both housemates will have to decide on the winner amongst themselves." Mr. Han explained. "You can go back into the house and ponder over it for five minutes. I'll address you there."

Eryk was still confused when they entered the dining room. What sort of game were the organizers trying to play? In a normal situation, there would have been a tie-breaker but here, they wanted a peaceful co-operation. He wasn't going to surrender that easily, so he turned to Ace.

"I would be better as the Assistant Head of House, you know."

"Why?"

"Leadership skills, and I can be more level-headed. Besides you're already handling the exercises, let someone else handle the house."

Ace shrugged. "Those aren't valid reasons, besides what do you mean about level-headed? Have we argued or fought?"

The other housemates regarded them silently as they gave differing opinions, while Femi walked towards them and placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Hey guys, instead of starting an argument, why don't you make me AHOH instead? It'll be fun, and then you both won't need to be angry at each other since none of you has the post."

Eryk paused mid-argument and considered Femi's point. It made a lot of sense, and besides he could get the position later. Better someone else handled it first, so he nodded and turned to Ace who agreed as well.

Mr. Han addressed them again. "Hmm, an interesting twist of events. But it's settled then, Femi will be the Assistant Head of House and after the games tomorrow, a new one will be elected." Mr. Han looked at Femi. "I believe congratulations are in order. The house is your responsibility now. Goodnight and goodluck in the next games."

Femi turned to Eryk and Ace. "Whoa, are you guys serious? I was just joking."

"You would be best for the job, besides you can show us how it's done." Eryk shrugged and left the lounge, feeling happy for the new AHOH.

*****

SO FEMI IS THE NEW LEADER, SORT OF. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENT SECTION.