Body Games (Games #5)(44)
Author: Jessica Clare

~~ *** ~~

With nothing else to do but wait for the final tribal council, Alys and I spent the day making grass skirts, bikini tops made out of banana leaves, and wove flowers and green leaves into our braided hair. We’d make it look like a party, even if it wasn’t much of one. I didn’t know how the jury was going to react to us, but I could guess that it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Well, maybe they’d be nice to Alys.

The sun finally set, and the speedboat arrived to take us to the final Judgment. Nervously, I sipped from my canteen as we bounced over the waves. My mouth was dry and my hands were clammy, a sure sign of my nervousness.

For better or for worse, it was all going to come out into the open tonight.

Alys and I sat down on the stage, in front of the flickering bonfire. To my left, Chip’s podium loomed ominously. To my right, the jury bleachers were empty. I smoothed one of my braids, adjusting the flowers to give my hands something to do.

Chip stepped up to his podium. Cameras readied. He cleared his throat, gripped the edges of the podium, and then stared down at us. “Let us bring in the members of the jury for the final Judgment.”

Rusty ambled in, his beard trimmed, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. He frowned at both of us.

Next came Jendan, looking as breathtaking as ever. My heart fluttered at the sight of him. He was more tanned than ever, wearing a dark t-shirt that seemed to emphasize his lean muscles, and a pair of khaki shorts. After him was Kip, dressed in a white wife-beater and low-slung jeans, looking like a dark prince. I was immune to his good looks now, though; his full mouth seemed less succulent and more pouty. I liked Jendan’s thinner mouth, because it always seemed ready to curl into a smile.

Next came Saul, Emilio, and Leslie. Bringing up the rear was Kissy, a sad look on her face.

Everyone was here now, and the looks on their faces were deceptively mild. Leslie eyed our leafy costumes with open disgust.

Oh, we were going to get slammed. I just knew it.

I steeled myself for the inevitable. As long as I knew it was coming, it’d hurt less.

Theoretically.

“We have gathered here for the final Judgment,” Chip said slowly, emphasizing each word for drama. “Tonight, our jury will be deciding if they wish to vote for Annabelle or Alys as the winner of Endurance Island: Power Players. It’s been a long journey for everyone – six weeks of mayhem and scheming, six weeks of challenges, team shuffles, and surprises. And tonight…it comes to an end.”

He gave Alys and me a narrowed glance. “I’ll let the two of you speak your case to the jury before we let them ask questions. Alys…why don’t you go first?”

Next to me, Alys straightened. She beamed a smile at the jury. “I know you guys can’t be thrilled that it’s two girls sitting here. I’m sure you wanted it to be all guys at the end. But we got here fair and square, and I think you should vote for who deserves the money based on how well we played.” She touched a hand to her leaf-covered chest. “I tried to play a good, clean game. Some people got hurt, inevitably, but in the end, I did what I had to do to get here. When people approached me to make a big game play, I went along with it, because as long as it wasn’t me, I knew I’d stay in the game a few more days. That was my method, and it worked really well.” She nodded and then looked at me.

It wasn’t a bad speech. And she had played a pretty clean game, if you ignored the fact that she’d voted out her own partner for the girl’s alliance.

“Annabelle, your turn,” Chip said.

I crossed my legs and clasped my hands on my knee, giving them my best, Southern girl finishing school pose. “I could sit here and butter y’all up and tell you what you want to hear, but I’m going to give you the truth. I came out here to play like a dick.”

Emilio smothered a laugh, earning a stern look from Chip.

“It’s true,” I said, unable to look Jendan in the eye, even though I knew he must have been staring at me. Instead, I focused on a mole on Kip’s cheek. “It started last season, when I played. That time, I was still kinda stupid and naive about how the world works. Kip flirted with me, and I flirted back, and we had an island thing going. At least, I thought it was real. It turned out that Kip was just using me to get my vote, and I realized it all when I got home and watched things on TV. Not only had Kip totally used me, but I looked like an idiot. So I came out here wanting two major things.” I lifted a hand and raised two fingers in the air. “One, to screw over Kip’s game.”

That got a reaction from people. Eyes widened. Someone tried to bury an uncomfortable laugh.

“And I did, finally,” I said, continuing. I lowered a finger. “Purpose number two was to change how people perceived me from the last game. I didn’t want to come out here and play the exact same way as before. So this time, I trusted no one. I looked out for me and only me. I said that going in, and I stuck to my guns. It didn’t matter who I had to step on to get ahead, but I would. Because I learned something really important last season – it doesn’t matter how nice you are or how kind, or how many friends you leave the island with. The nice people don’t win the game. But a dick? A dick gets respect. So I played like a dick. It’s not who I am outside of the game, but in the game? I played nasty. I voted out my own partner, even though he was the nicest, sweetest man I’ve ever met. I deliberately tried to lose challenges so others wouldn’t see me as a threat. I orchestrated the women to vote out the men. I left the clue in the tribal mailbox for Pandora’s Box, knowing that it couldn’t be anything good, so Leslie or someone else would find it. I roped in Alys and brought her to the end because she played a pu**y game.” Next to me, Alys gasped. “I talked her into taking me instead of Kissy to the end. Like I said, I played like a dick. That was my strategy, and I hope you respect it.”

And I turned to look at Chip, feeling like I left it all on the table. “Thank you.”

He blinked repeatedly. “Thank you. We’re probably going to have to bleep half of that, but thank you.” He looked over at the jury. “Now it’s your turn to ask the questions. We’ll let each of you have a turn to speak, and then it’s time to vote. Let’s go in reverse order of how you were voted out. Kissy, that means you first.”

Kissy stood, wearing an ugly, shapeless island muumuu that seemed to be made of the same material as Rusty’s shirt. She smoothed her mullet and looked at the two of us. “I just would like to know why I wasn’t chosen to go to the final two with you, Alys.”