Things as they seem pt 1

Two years ago my family was middle class, almost rich, now we have nothing left. My parents had their mortgage paid off, so when the economy crashed we at least kept our house. But then the fire came. My dad never trusted banks so he always hid half of his money in our house, but physical money is plastic. It melted away or burned. 

No one has insurance anymore. 

They’ll be furious when they find out what I did. I hope they will come to understand. 

A year ago the last billionaire in our country started a competition. Half reality show half sporting event it quickly became a national craze. It’s amazing how desperate people are to escape their lives and watch someone else’s life instead. It costs one dollar an episode, some people are rich enough to watch the whole thing, others only tune in for the finale. 

Last month I turned seventeen, old enough to enter. So I did, not the competition, the staff that takes care of the competitors. I will be part of the first aid team but also help the costume department when they need it. That’s where I’m headed now, to meet the designer and get my assignment. 

“Thessa Prynne?” A man at the door asks. 

I nod and he lets me in. The designer is waiting for me and takes me to her office where four other people are standing in a line. 

She introduces herself as Thea Brittain then gestures for me to stand beside the others. 

“Thank you all for coming,” she says with a tired smile “we were extremely short on staff last show, as you know the next one is starting tomorrow, so there’s not much time to train you.”

She looks at each of us then at a stack of papers before continuing, “Based on the resumes you sent in I think you should all be fine, there’s a first aid office in building two and your dorms are in the same building. Each of you will be in charge of one contestant, you’ll follow them throughout the show in case of emergencies.”

“When filming is over for the day you’ll have other duties,” she says and turns to me “Thessa you’ll be helping me out. Do you have anything else to wear?” 

Her sudden topic change confuses me and it takes me a moment to answer. 

Before I can she continues, “Never mind, I’ll provide you with a new wardrobe, something white I think, yes that will contrast nicely with your skin tone. If you’re caught on camera I want you to look professional.”

The shirt I’m wearing now is bright pink and besides a few carefully patched holes it doesn’t look bad. Most of my other clothes are worse. 

I just nod though, I’m getting paid for this so no point in arguing. 

She tells the others where they will be then sends us to our rooms. 

“Report to the auditorium by six thirty tomorrow morning.” She says before sending us out of the room with a sigh. 

Our dorm isn’t much, two rooms each with four bunk beds and a bathroom. But the beds are soft and I think the sheets are linen. There’s even running water in the bathroom. 

I go to sleep before the others and wake up long before they do. I get up at five and get dressed in white leggings and a shirt courtesy of Thea. The white does contrast nicely with my skin, which is a warm dark brown.  

I ponytail my hair and head out the door. I want to see what kind of supplies I have to work with so I head to the first aid room. A row of backpacks sit on a table in the middle and the rest of room is filled with most of the things you could possibly need. The only things missing are an oxygen tank and an AED. 

I grab a black backpack and start packing things I might need. Gauze, a triangle bandage, a few pairs of gloves, a bottle of peroxide and a bottle of water, scissors, and a pocket face mask. Hopefully that’s good enough. 

I look around the rest of the dorm until I find something to eat then leave the building to find the auditorium. After a few wrong turns and directions from people who would much rather be in bed I find it. The door is locked so I sit on the steps outside to wait. 

“You’re here early.” A voice says behind me. 

I turn around with a start and see a boy. He’s average height with dark curly brown hair, brown eyes, and an infectious smile. He sits on the steps beside me and offers his hand. 

“Charlie Green.”

I take it, “Thessa Prynne.”

“Are you one of the contestants?” He asks 

“No, I’m—” before I can finish a man appears, opens the door, and lets us in. 

The next half an hour is a blur of people coming in, being told where to go, and cameras being set up. I look around for Thea, or even one of the other first aid team. They’re standing in a corner and I join them. All of them are dressed in either black or white with words on the front identifying them as first aid. 

Thea hands us each a folder, “This is who you’ll be watching out for, as soon as this meeting is over you need to find them and stay with them until filming for the day is done.”

I open my folder and read the name at the top, Charlie Green. 

When the meeting finishes it’s easy to find him, he’s not loud, but he seems confident and stands out. As I walk over he sees me and gives me a smile. 

“What were you going to say before?” He asks. 

“I’m part of the first aid team.” I smile back. “And now I’m your babysitter.”

“So it’s your job to rescue me if I get hurt.” He smirks. 

“Yes, but I will warn you, I’ve only done rescues in training so don’t get reckless.”  

Twenty contestants are in a circle around the edge of an arena. No one knows what the contest is yet, but episode one is always exciting. I’m behind Charlie in a small room inside the outer wall of the arena. The door is clear and will open if he gets hurt. For both our sakes I’m hoping he won’t. 

  A large screen across from us starts a thirty second count down. Charlie is tapping his foot rapidly, he’s nervous. I wonder why he signed up. Does he have a family?

A loud ringing fills the air as a circle in the middle of the floor opens up. A platform rises from underground, about ten bulls are standing on it and in the middle of them is a tower, at the very top is a flag. 

Charlie takes off running. Half way there the first bull steps off the platform. He looks angry and confused and Charlie is the first thing he sees moving. He charges, his horns glinting in the sunlight, that’s when I see that they have razor sharp points on the end. 

I gasp, a million worries rushing through my head. But I’m safe back here. Safe and stuck. I’m starting to feel trapped, there’s nothing I can do. 

The bull lowers his head just as Charlie jumps, higher than I though possible. The bull’s momentum carries him forward as Charlie lands behind him and continues running. 

My door opens. I panic for a second, then see the cut on Charlie’s leg. He’s still running to get the flag, the pain hasn’t set in yet, but he’s slower. 

I don’t know if I’m supposed to help him now or after everything is over. I take a deep breath and step out of my room. That’s when the bull hits her. A girl about my age, she wasn’t moving to the flag, she didn’t know what to do. She’s lying on the ground now and I’m the only one who can help. 

I’m running taking off my back pack as I go, I can see her blood from here, I need to stop the blood. I get down on my knees, looking around for the bull. I don’t see it. I can’t tell how bad the wound is, I just know that it’s bad. I need to put pressure on it. Deep breathes, I need to think this through. I put gloves on first, she’s looking at me with eyes full of fear. 

“It’s going to be okay,” I say “It’s just a scratch.”

A potentially deadly scratch. 

By now the person assigned to the girl is beside me and together we wrap her up as well as we can. The blood is still soaking the bandages though. 

Four people with a stretcher appear and suddenly I’m no longer needed. I look around, everyone is staring at us. Someone’s holding the flag, but no one care about it anymore. All the doors to the arena open, I grab my backpack and run out. I find a bathroom, peel off my gloves then wash my hands over and over again. 

I leave the bathroom and lean against the wall. All my adrenaline is gone and I feel exhausted. The whole thing took five minutes at the most but it felt like hours. Will she be okay?

I’ve never watched the show before, I had no idea it was so dangerous. 

“Hey, I thought you were supposed to fix my wounds...” Charlie is coming down the hall, his leg dripping blood. 

I look at him, realizing only now that my face is streaked with tears. 

“Are you alright?” He asks. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I wipe my face and gesture for him to sit down. 

His cut isn’t very big and thankfully isn’t in his calf. This is the kind of wound I was expecting to deal with. I pour a cap full of peroxide on his leg then, when it’s finished bubbling, I rinse it with water. Somehow I still have a strip of gauze and I wrap it around his shin securing it with a tight knot. After checking his circulation I pronounce him done and stand up. 

He stands slowly then gives me a smile that’s half grimace. 

“Thanks Thessa.”

“You’re welcome.” I pause “Is the contest always this dangerous?”

“Yeah, they usually take things that used to be popular as extreme sports and put a twist on them.” Charlie says. 

“So whatever just happened is normal?” I ask. 

He nods. 

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But I can really back out now, and I need the money. I hope my parents aren’t too worried. 

I find my way back to the costume department after Charlie leaves and look around for Thea. She’s in her office with a man in a suit. 

He turns towards me when I come in and bows slightly. 

“You are Thessa Prynne, I presume?” 

When I nod he continues “Mary, the girl who was injured today, will not be ready for filming tomorrow. We need a stunt double for a few days, until she recovers, you share a lot of characteristics with her so we were wondering if you could take her place.”

I’m stunned, after what I saw today they really think I want to get even closer to the danger. 

“Your salary will be tripled.” He adds. 

That’s when I start considering it. 

“What about Charlie?” I ask. 

“You could still watch out for him, you only need to be in the background so that our viewers will think that Mary is still competing.” He says. 

My family needs the money, I wouldn’t have to try to win, just stick close to Charlie. 

“I’ll do it.”