"I will be sure to ask her when I get back," Mason said with a small smile, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
Him and Sean were the first to reach the basket to see what they had to eat.
"Rice, eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce!" Sean exclaimed as everyone except Braxton scrambled to look at it.
"My goodness, there's no seasoning," Fabiola said through gritted teeth.
The intercom chose that perfect moment to announce "Contestants, this is your lunch. Life in Single's Blaze will not be easy, you must make flavor out of nothing, just as you must make love out of strangers"
"We get it but isn't this a bit too much?" Zabrina scoffed and Fabiola was a bit happy she wasn't the only one annoyed.
"Don't worry guys, we can make use of what we have. We are going to make fried rice" Mason comforted and went to the rice bowl.
He started washing it in a sink Fabiola hadn't noticed before while everyone else went to find what to work on.
She sighed, as she moved towards the sink and grabbed the other bowl "let me help"
"That's so nice of you" Mason said with a grin and she almost rolled her eyes. Of course she had to, she was starving. Her help had nothing to do with being a nice person.
"You don't seem to talk much" he suddenly said and she looked at him. Oh, it's been a long time and she didn't know which personality she had anymore. Did the years make her mute?
"I'm sorry, I just had a lot to think about" she didn't know why she was sorry, was it so wrong to be quiet?
Mason was like the leader in the kitchen, he seemed to be everywhere. Gavin, Jasmine and Raya were making the scrambled eggs. Fabiola could see Raya cracking the eggs wrongly as some shell pieces fell into the egg's liquid but it was a good thing Gavin was observant to see her mess, before she made everyone eat shells.
Braxton, Harry and Sean chopped the lettuce and tomatoes. She couldn't remember if she had ever seen Braxton cook back then but here he was, holding a knife like he was an award winning chef.
She couldn't help but wonder what he did now? Was he still a model?
Overall, everyone was getting to know each other with small talks.
Mason fried everything together. Adding raw cucumber slices when it was time for serving. The food was more appetizing than she had thought.
Even without seasoning, the fried eggs, tomato juices and fresh crunch from the lettuces and cucumbers gave a light flavor. It was also a good thing that they had orange juice to go along with it which Natalia and Zabrina made.
The food was sweeter than she had expected and Fabiola was more than happy to fill her stomach. The first day just rolled by so quickly.
There came a beep again "Contestants, is time for you to write the person who made a great first impression and gift the person you would like to go on a date with. Under the table, you will see a paper and a pen with a chocolate, do well to do your heart's content"
This was it. She was sure she wouldn't get a dime out of it. Except maybe from Mason though, it seemed he was interested in her, Fabiola wasn't dumb about that fact.
After the meal, everyone bidded goodbye to go write their heart's content in their various rooms. Their rooms were in a long tent with boys and girls separated.
In the boys tent, Sean was seen pacing about "Harry, who are you going to write to?"
Harry didn't think much about it as her blurted "I'm giving it to Jasmine and Raya"
"You must like cute girls?" Gavin added with a sigh as he stared at his fingers.
The question made Harry shrugged "I like girls with cute and stylish nature"
"Well, I'm giving it to them as well" Sean finally sat on his bed to write the letter while Gavin chuckled, turning to look at Mason "what about you Mason? Are you also going for them?"
Mason seemed to be a little lost in thought as he recollected the question "No, I happened to have someone else in mind"
"No telling?" Sean asked and everyone else looked at him for an answer while Braxton stared at him with his stoic expression.
If any one didn't, he knew the letter or the chocolate was going to be for his ex. Mason just seems to be captivated by her.
Meanwhile, ever since he laid his eyes on his ex in the morning, his heart has been running a marathon. He tried so hard to keep his cool when he heard her voice call out his name as the familiarity stunned him.
After three years, she was still as beautiful as ever. Her dark brown wavy hair shined bright in the sun. In fact, everything about her was shining.
He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to… but then he remembered how she had ignored him just like that three years ago, that he had to wonder what he had done wrong to her.
Even when he got into a coma, she never came. She never showed her face. Now, here she was, almost at the verge of tears, calling out his name. What was she even doing here in the first place? It angered him more to know that she left him and was looking for love now.
"I have no idea who you are, miss" he saw her eyes blink away tears. Why? Did she suddenly regret it?
And when she touched his forearm, the jolt of electricity he felt was out of this world.
He remembered how she made him feel. What happened to them?
And then, he remembered her saying she thought she would never get to see him again, wasn't she the one who left in the first place?
"What about you Braxton?" Gavin asked and all eyes were on him now. He was going to choose anybody but Fabiola.
"Zabrina"
In truth, he didn't feel anything for her. He just happened to know her profile in real life that she was a model of an agency which he wanted to know more about so this was his chance.
Meanwhile, in the girl's, they had already said who they wanted to give their gifts to and Natalia was the first to be called.
She came out of the tent, carefully closing it back. The night was chilly as she walked to the men's boxes and dropped her letter in Braxton's, giving a chocolate to Gavin.
Meaning, Braxton had a strong first impression on her while Gavin was who she wanted to get to know better by going on a special date with. Natalia Portman was adventurous and a go-getter and so, these two men actually offered her the kind of excitement she had not gotten for a long time.
Jasmine was the next and as expected, she gave both to Braxton. It was safe to say he had caught her cute attention so much even if she talked a lot with Sean
Red-haired Raya gave both to Sean as he was the one she had managed to have a conversation with.
It was finally Fabiola's turn, she had been contemplating what to write before Jasmine and Natalia started their interrogation.
"Who?" Natalia questioned with an excited smile.
"He was so scary when you said you knew him" Jasmine said, referring to Braxton.
"It's my fault, I must have mistaken him for someone else. I'm picking Mason"
"Good choice" Jasmine nodded in approval.
Raya and Zabrina didn't even make much talk as they focused on whatever they were writing.
She said Mason, but realized she was only lying. Braxton was the one who had a strong impression on her even if they had met before and if she could add, he was also the one she wanted to go on a date with after so many years.
But since he already denied her, saying Braxton might make it look like she was pushing too much. Tomorrow, they are going to be having an interview on why they picked who.
She was sure people on the outside would already have the notion that she was a pick-me-girl and a liar but even if it hurts, she had to stick to it.
And so, she dropped a first impression letter on Braxton's and a wanna-get-to-know-you chocolate on Mason's.
While Zabrina dropped hers on Harry's and Sean's. To be honest, it was just a random drop for her, she didn't really care about them but how it will make her popular.
****
The next day, they had their breakfast of bread, eggs and plain water. Fabiola didn't know if the more the day went, the more they got food like this.
"Contestants, you are going to be having your 10mins interview in the booth. Natalia, proceed there right now"
The interview
As soon as the announcement was being made, Fabiola saw Braxton and Zabrina washing their dishes and wanted to choke on her food.
Braxton seemed to be enjoying whatever she was telling him and Zabrina was all smiles. Even when they finished, they proceeded to sit outside to continue talking.
"Those two have gotten close, huh?" Natalia said as she went to sit beside her. She had finished her interview and it was Jasmine's turn already.
"I guess…"
"They look good together though, a great couple" Natalia said again as she went to get some water while Fab
iola rolled her eyes.
If Braxton and Zabrina were going to be the first couple to spring she would gladly get into action!