Flavor of the Week

Claire wasn’t an actress, not like all the other girls. They knew what they were doing. Even if they’d never done improv before, they still had more experience than she did, and that made her even more nervous than before.

If she did one little thing to mess up – anything little thing that could cue the boys into what was really going on – everything would be ruined. The millions of dollars Lucas had put into the show would be for nothing, and hundreds of people would be out of jobs.

There was far too much pressure.

On the other side of the room, the girls were flipping through flash cards, which held various facts about the boys, details about their character, and tips on what to do in certain situations. Each girls’ flash cards were different, containing the exact information they needed to know about their role in the house.

Juliette, the girl sitting next to Claire, had been given the role of The Emotional Wreck, and she was already practicing her fake crying. Claire had to admit the girl was very good.

“Which one of the boys likes Toy Story?” A blonde girl shouted from across the room. “I can never remember.”

“It’s Liam,” another girl said, before turning back to her cards.

Claire looked back at her stack of papers, which she had worked so hard at memorizing. She could do the remembering part. It was actually doing the things on the cards that would be tough.

On the top of Claire’s stack was a large card that read “The Dream Girl” and beneath it were various different details about her character. She got to keep her name and back story, but her personality had to change drastically.

While Claire had never been good with boys, her character was. Stage Claire was easy to love. She did and said all the right things. She knew exactly what to do to make boys fall for her. Claire just had to make Stage Claire real. She just had to act out the part that Lucas had given to her.

Her mentor had assured her that if she just followed the tips on that card, she could make the boys fall for her easily. She had to do it. She had to make them fall for her. It was her job.

“Alright, ladies,” Lucas entered the room, silencing the girls immediately. “The boys will be arriving at the mansion at any moment, so we need you guys to be ready to head out there.”

Each of the girls nodded in understanding, while Claire’s palms began to cover with sweat. The moment was finally here, and it was more nerve wrecking than she had ever imagined. She only had one first impression and Lucas told her that it had to be good – it had to be the best – because she was supposed to be the one they were all after.

Next to her, a girl with dark hair smiled. She whispered quietly so that only Claire could hear. “You don’t need to be nervous. I’ll watch out for you. I’m supposed to be the wild one, so I’m sure I’ll take some of the attention off of you.”

The girl’s sweet smile was reassuring, and it made Claire feel a thousand times better. If at least a few of the other girls could help her out, it would make things a lot easier.

Claire still wasn’t sure exactly how things were going to work between her and the boys. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to pull off the dream girl. She wasn’t sure if any of the boys would even like her. Even though Lucas had reassured her a thousand times, she still wasn’t sure. She knew nothing about romancing guys, and a month hadn't been near enough time to learn.

“It’s time,” Lucas said, moving towards the door. “They’ve just arrived. Now before you all head out there, what’s our number one rule?”

In unison, each of the girls spoke.

“Never break character.”

Of all the rules that they had - don't talk about acting, don't say anything you're not supposed to know, don't throw anyone else under the bus - that rule was the most important.

No matter what you did, you could never break out of your character.

For the next few months, Claire would have to be The Dream Girl all the time, and that was the hardest thing of all.