Is this real?

audience: Do you have many fans? Have you met them? 

“Accordingto the ratings of my last fight, yes.” Andher Instagram follower count, among other things that she didn’t really paymuch attention to. “I have met some! They’re all great though. Every timesomeone approaches me they have so many nice things to say and that’s stillsurprising to me. I’m still amazed every single time.”

polls: How popular do you feel among the roommates? 

“Iam definitely not as popular as all of them are, but I think I’m well receivedby them?”

television: What are your top four favorite shows?

“I’venever actually sat down to finish a tv show, because I didn’t have time. Butfrom the ones I’ve watched a bit of: Parks and Recreation, Younger, Young &Hungry and Game of Thrones. Though I haven’t completed any of them, I mightsoon?”

celebrity: Do you consider yourself a celebrity? Why or why not?

Mayasnorts, “Me, a celebrity? No, definitely not.” She laughs, shaking her head atthe question. “I’m just an athlete. Sure, some people know me, but I wouldn’tcall myself a celebrity… I think, being a celebrity is more complicated thanjust being known.Honestly,being one doesn’t sound that appealing. It’s one thing being on this show andknowing that most of your life in the house is exposed to the nation, but it’sanother thing when people have the right to take photos of you anywhere andhave your secrets blown out for ratings. I think… it’s more complicated thananything else, really.”

The positive energy that filled the room when the stranger entered helped Viola relax some into the couch. Instead of standing up, she simply turned around to lift her hand up. A small wave back to the room. Her eyes looked to the same camera the other woman had when she noticed. The idea of being constantly watched sent a shiver down her spin. “Here I am - I think one more person or two are upstairs…” She added before finally standing. “Viola, room…three? I think…it’s on the second floor. You?” 

Maya felt a grin pull at the corners of her lips as she watched the other woman. “Really? Because then that’d make us roommates.” She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited about this whole thing. Besides the fact that she didn’t have to pay rent as long as she was there, it was also a chance to get to know people outside her social circle. Sure, the means to it were a little different than how she usually met anyone, but it’d do. “Did you already see our room, pick your bed and all?”

Gretzky was the first to notice the new arrival, barking as soon as the front door opened and then closed again. The German shepherd darted for the entrance, with Jordan following right behind. “Gretzky, hush.” He chided the dog before grinning at the new person. “We’re home.” Jordan answered in response to the woman’s question. “Hi. I’m Jordan, and this is Gretzky. I promise he doesn’t bite. But I do, if you’re into that kind of thing.”  

“I’m…” Maya trailed off. The dog had scared her with its barking, leaving her standing by the door, but its owner left her speechless for a full second before she was letting out a nervous chuckle. “That’s—wow, okay.” She nodded, holding back the urge to throw a punch his way. Instead, Maya scratched at the back of her head lightly. “That’s awfully bold. I’m Maya, it’s nice to meet you, Gretzky.” A cheeky smile played at her lips as her gaze fell towards the dog. “And you, I’ll decide later.”

“Pardon me, did you just say this is the nicest place you’ve stayed? You should get out more, dear. If you are here then you obviously deserve far better than this shack of a place they call a ‘mansion’.” He replied effortlessly, his tone coated with the same level of manipulation he typically uses. After taking a moment to scan over the woman he couldn’t place where she was from. His mind instantly piecing together an elaborate backstory for the stronger. “Are you a model or an athlete?” A cocky smile following his words. “–I could see you fitting into either, truly.” 

“Hopefully you’ll get used to it since we’re all livin’ under the same roof an’ all,” she replied casually before she loosened her hold on the other woman and started to take a better look around. Maya hadn’t been guessing, the place was huge, and it meant that there were that many more cameras going to be floating about in a place this size. They didn’t want to miss a thing. “Exactly, so no reason to feel homesick, unless you left someone back home? Maybe a special someone?” She teased the other woman quickly before they landed on the bedroom they’d been looking for all this time. “Look at that, you have a bedroom.”

“I think,” Maya started, walking over to the windows to get a view of their backyard. They had a pool, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the covered thing was a jacuzzi. Lord. “The privacy of my home will make me a bit homesick, but… no, not exactly. I mean, does family count? Because if so, I did leave someone special behind.” She smiled, following the other into her new room and letting herself down on the bed next to the window. “I think I’ll take this one for myself. It’s got the best view.”

“Too much?” Amara laughed, an easy sound the more she practiced it when she was around others who didn’t know her aside from what the public knew.  It wasn’t good for her mental health to read the magazines, but she couldn’t help wanting to know what they had to say. “I don’t know, it might be fun for a bit to run around in with no one watchin’ but judgin’ by the number of cameras… no one would be alone at all.”

❝ No, no. ❞ Maya was quick to shake her head. ❝ I was just surprised, it’s all. ❞ She shouldn’t have been, considering a lot of the boys she trained with were very open on their comments about other girls. But Maya had a different image for the cameras. She didn’t want to be seen as only the tough fighter, Maya knew she was more than that and, as her trainer had said, she needed to find a good balance between both sides of herself. ❝ No one is ever alone, if we’re always being watched by cameras. ❞ She smiled. ❝ They can’t really add everything we do into every episode, can they? Because that’d be crazy. –Ah, there’s my room! ❞She added, having spotted the ‘3’ on the door.

“Then I suppose it would end one of two ways; someone gettin’ a happy ending or not,” she teased with a growing grin as she wrapped her arms around her waist. That’s what they wanted, was it not? Gossip and entertainment, though Amara planned to avoid as much of it as possible, she knew that she’d need to play in as much as possible to keep everyone happy. “Good, ‘cause I didn’t want to stay down here by myself any longer.” 

❝ I—Oh, my God, ❞ Maya laughed, looking away to hide the blush on her face. She let the other woman pull her close and lead her up the stairs. The top of it ended in an open space, windows for walls and a living room. She almost had to clench her teeth to keep her jaw from slacking lightly at the view. ❝ I don’t think anyone would want to be alone in this place. It’s huge. ❞

“Well, there’s how many of us here? If they’d gone any smaller, this might turn into an entirely different reality tv show.” Kyra attempted a laugh, amused at the thought of this turning into a thriller, rather then a fluff piece, but–if only. She turned her attention back to Maya, and attempted to get to know her, because if she was going to be stuck in this house for the next few weeks–drama was not what she was looking for. “So, what do you do?”

❝ Fourteen of us, right? ❞ Maya asked, unsure of the number of people and if they would all end up showing up. Surely, that many people were bound to get into some arguments at some point and she… didn’t know how to feel about that. ❝ Oh, I’m a fighter. About three years ago I got into MMA but when I was younger I practiced Taekwondo. What about you?  ❞

“I think that’s part of the fun for them, to watch us explore the house an’ figure it all out before the next person comes in,” she replied with an easy laugh that tried to brush away her nervousness. “I was briefly but I didn’t stay long. This house may be big but it’s not somewhere you want to be lost in when you’re the only one here. You want someone to go searching for it with you?”

“What if we were to end up in the wrong person’s room?” Maya chuckled at the idea. Where the rooms even numbered? How was she supposed to find her room and know it was hers if it didn’t have a number on the door? She had no idea, but the second Amara suggested exploring with her, Maya’s face lit up in a grin as she nodded, “I’d love to.” She agreed, already turning on her heels to go up the stairs.

Viola sat in the living room with all of her things at her feet. Simply doing this task felt wrong. ‘This could grow me’ she thought as her eyes snapped up to one of the noticeable cameras ‘…or maybe this is the worst mistake I’ve ever made’. Her mind pushed to overdrive in the moment. Every part of her knew she should look away and act natural but that was the furthest thing on her mind. So she stated. A woman’s voice brought her out of her thoughts, maybe she should stay there. “Um – in the living room.” Her voice fell into the tone she typically used to the boys in the band, doing her best to make it sound as if she knew what she were doing.

“Oh, good!” Maya let out in a breath as she started towards the living room with a smile on her face. “Hi!” She waved once. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t be the first one to get here but also not the last one, so I’m glad you’re here as well.” She grinned lightly, taking a quick peek at the cameras around them. Damn, they were thorough with all the ones they’d placed around. Granted, she was told how many there would be but it didn’t sink in until she crossed that door; they’d literally have every moment of their lives shown to the nation. “Oh, I’m Maya. Which room are you in?”

Kyra let out a sigh of relief that her room wasn’t too far, she’d packed more then she’d expected, and was sincerely regretting it after having to carry her luggage halfway across the United States. “Thank you. You’re a godsend.” She moved into the bedroom, and dropped her stuff to the floor beside the unoccupied bed, and re-entered the room she’d left Maya in. “So, have you had a chance to explore at all?”

“I try,” Maya laughed quietly, while following her to the room. Yet when the other entered, she stood around outside. “I did, a little bit earlier. This place is bigger than I thought it’d be. If anything I imagined something… simpler.” She decided on, for lack of a better word as she edged back towards the living room.

“Bedroom one,” she replied with a gesture over her shoulder towards one of the smaller bedrooms in the house, if any of them could even be called that. “Did they tell you in advance where you’ll be? I think it might have been easier if they’d given up a map rather than even try to begin to explain how enormous this place is… I don’t think I’ve even been in a place this big before.”

“Ah, I’m in room three.” Maya looked around once again. This house was literally bigger than any other she’d ever been in, someone was bound to get lost in the dark and that’d probably be her if she ever woke up in the middle of the night. “They did tell me the room, just not where it’d be at.” She chuckled. “A map would’ve really been useful. Have you been upstairs yet?”

Kyra took a step back at the almost collision and plastered on the smile that had gotten her through more meetings with pushy directors then she could count, “Maya? Hi, I’m Kyra, and it looks like I am. Don’t entirely know how I got here, or why I’m here, but–I’m stuck here for the time being. Speaking of rooms could you point me in the direction of Bedroom Number One?”

“Si, it’s nice to meet you.” Maya smiled pleasantly, though something told her the sentiment wasn’t returned. “I don’t think it’ll be that bad… So far there’s only Amara and I and—Oh, yeah.” She nodded, already leading the other woman through the living room towards the first-floor rooms. “It’s the one on the left.”