6 men, 6 women, 1 house and millions of viewers. What could go wrong?
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DAY THREE. 9AM
Big Brother's voice woke me. It seemed that 9am would be wake-up time from now on. Better than the 6am I usually have during school term time, but not as good as the 10am I usually managed on weekends and school holidays.
"This is Big Brother. All housemates will assemble in the main living room for today's instructions. You have 4 minutes."
I managed to leave my room without knocking anyone over, and found a nice seat on a corner sofa. I was one of the first. Everyone else trickled in, some holding their heads and mumbling about aspirin. Maybe they weren't used to Russian vodka. Lena certainly didn't seem to be having a problem. Shuko helped Ivana in. Giuseppe was the last to slouch into the room, landing in a heap of beanbags.
"This is the voice of Big Brother. You have all had a good 24 hours. As a reward, your bedding areas will be changed to make your rooms more comfortable. Therefore, the bedrooms will be unavailable after 10am. They will be available again one hour after this evening's task. The toilets and shower room will still be available. "
Whispers went round the room at the mention of a task.
"The task will take place at 6pm. It will be sexual in nature. If you are unhappy with this, you are welcome to leave the house. If you leave now, you will receive....$50,000."
Silence filled the room. The voice continued.
"If you stay and complete the task, the received money will be $100,000. Furthermore, two housemates will be expelled from the house. This will be decided by their behaviour during the task. The expelled housemates will still receive $100,000, provided they complete the task. Reminder -- Sexual contact is still forbidden until the beginning of tonight's task. That is all."
We moved into the kitchen for breakfast. I took my cereal and coffee, and sat next to Paveen. To our left, most of the girls were sitting together. Ivana was having them take turns describing our underwear for her, as she couldn't see herself. Paveen's simple tighty-whiteys were not drawing the attention yesterday's red pair did. However, my Andy Warhol 'Soup' boxers were getting me a fair amount of positive comments.
"Hey Paveen" I said as I sat. "How are you doing today?"
"I am good Matt, thank you for asking."
"How are you feeling about the task?" I enquired. "I know you were feeling uncomfortable yesterday."
He nodded. "It is true. Yesterday I was not feeling positive. But I had revelation in the night. I decided I would not quit. Instead I will win. I will do everything, and survive every humiliation."
"Good for you." I replied. I offered him my hand in friendship. "May the best man win."
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It was hard to do anything, wondering about the task later, and the reasons we might be expelled. Though we'd only been together for a short time, we already felt like close friends. Sitting in the big living room after lunch, Candy led the discussion. Everyone except Henry and Giuseppe was there.
"What if we have to fuck each other?" She asked spontaneously.
"It's possible." replied Maria, from across the room. "And if not today, then maybe tomorrow, or the day after that."
Candy thought about it for a moment. "I don't want my daddy to watch if we have to have sex." She lifted her head up and shouted at the ceiling "DADDY, DON'T WATCH ME HAVING SEX"
We all burst about laughing. "Candy," interjected Shuko. "I hope all our families know not to watch us. It would bring great shame on me if my family were to watch."
"AH! It's no matter," said Davide. "My parents have walked in on me having sex 3 times. It is no matter if it is 4."
"No matter for you!" I laughed back. "Some of us understand how to be discreet about such things."
"My father was proud when he first walked in on me. He told me after, he was proud he knew I was now a man."
"What about the second, or the third time" asked Ivana. "Did that make him even more proud?"
Davide opened his hands apologetically. "Well, the third time it was with my aunty, his youngest sister, so no, it did not make him proud then!"
We all laughed hard, and Jeff slapped him on the back jovially.
Candy changed the tone again. "What if we get pregnant? I don't want to get pregnant. And I can't have an abortion. Daddy says abortion is wrong."
"Abortion is not wrong" Sarah snapped, almost aggressively. A bit calmer, she continued, "anyway, we can't get pregnant. We are all on the pill. That little pill by your bed each morning."
"Oh" Candy replied, her eyes wide open. "I did wonder what that was for. It tastes funny."
"And don't worry about STIs" I interjected. "We all got tested before we came here."
It was true. We had all arrived 5 or 6 days before the TV show was due to begin. Attached to the Big Brother house was a medical facility. They had checked us over and subjected us to several different tests before entering the house.
"That's good," replied Candy, seeming satisfied. She absentmindedly scratched at the golden eagle that currently adorned the front of her panties. Several of us guys started reaching for pillows, almost instinctively.
"We might not be having sex." Suggested Shuko. "Maybe we will just play with ourselves. My boyfriend back in Japan likes to watch me play with myself."