𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁... 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲. [roman kemp]

𝑽

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒙𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒌. They were on full stomachs of emu meat, but nevertheless the pressure was on to perform in this trial, as it was more than just food at stake.

The jungle was dark all around, and Lana felt nervous as they approached what looked like a tiny pond with a thick surface of congealed green muck. Five oars were situated across a wooden beam and on the far left were a pile of brown paper boxes with each of their names stamped on.

Roman held up his lamp to the laminated placard that contained their instructions. "Your job is to transport the items from the wheel to the basket," he read out, and Lana looked across as a small wooden hamper opened its lid ominously. "However. You can only use the oars. You will win each luxury item that reaches the basket."

The celebrities each got into position behind an oar and in a matter of seconds, a klaxon sounded. "Myles or Nadine?" shouted Roman, spinning the wheel carefully.

They all chose Nadine to go first, as she was happy to sacrifice her item as a kind of tester. Roman lifted it onto his oar with extreme care, passing it very slowly across to Lana. Lana's heart pounded like crazy inside her chest, but she forced her shaking hands still and swung her oar gently over to Kate. Kate wobbled but managed to get it towards Nadine- who dropped it.

They all watched in shock as the brown parcel hit the murky pond surface, sinking sadly into the slimy water like lost treasure. Nadine did not watch it, preferring to ready herself for the next parcel. Lana admired her for not crying or complaining; she was truly selfless.

Next came Myles. Lana's hopes soared as it found its way right to Myles at the end, but the familiar wave of disappointment hit them all as it joined Nadine's item at the bottom of the pond.

Myles' disposable camera and Nadine's hairbrush had been the practice run, but now it was time to get serious. Lana held her breath as Kate's item was passed with excruciating care from person to person, hardly daring to look as it reached Myles. Opening her eyes at the sound of cheering, she was excited to see they had finally won at least one item.

But under the time pressure, there was not a moment to waste even for celebration. Next was Roman's luxury item, and he tried to look nonchalant as he explained that it was a mug with a photo of his mum and dad on it.

Lana's hands felt as though they were dripping with sweat as Roman's oar approached her own. She knew how much this mattered to him and would not forgive herself if she dropped it. The time dragged by as he gently edged the parcel onto her oar, and for a moment she thought she would drop it. She tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes on her hands and passed the item onto Kate with all the care she could muster. For a split second, she was relieved; she had done it. But this feeling of relief was short-lived, as she heard a splash. Looking across, she saw that Kate had dropped the parcel trying to hand it to Nadine.

The parcel sank sadly to join the others, and it seemed to sink even more slowly than the other two had done. "I'm so sorry!" Kate cried, looking genuinely distraught. "Roman, I'm so, so sorry."

Roman was wincing, looking away with a pained expression on his face. Lana reached out and squeezed his arm softly. "It's okay," she whispered to him. "We'll have another opportunity to get it later, okay? And we will. I'll make sure of it." Roman nodded gratefully, rubbing his eyes and preparing for the next parcel with a grim determination on his face.