Page 55 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“Done! We’re done!” someone cries behind us.

Everyone turns to the power couple, Ava and Noah. Their plates are clean, and their mouths are open to prove that they’ve finished the job. They look like baby birds waiting for their momma bird to regurgitate into their mouths.

Dawn Taylor saunters over to them. “Amazing work! Babes, you have officially won our Gluttony Challenge.”

Noah and Ava high-five each other. As the rest of us double down on eating, Dawn Taylor takes the chance to interview them right there on the spot.

“Why do you think the two of you came out on top today?” Dawn Taylor asks.

“I knew I couldn’t let Ava down,” Noah says. “It’s just like this in our real lives back home. We both work more than sixty-hour weeks. We’re hustlers. We’re up at five in the morning, hitting the gym before work, answering emails through breakfast, that kind of thing. But we do it for each other.”

Ava wraps an arm around him. “It’s true. I see how hard he works, and it makes me want to work that much harder.”

“I’d do anything for Ava,” Noah says with an intensity I can’t help but find a little chilling.

Or maybe that’s just the competition jitters. I focus all my energy onwolfing down the chocolate cake.

Across from us, Mikayla and Trevor are arguing about who’s going to eat the cow eye.

“Trevor, you should do it. Remember how good you were at the cinnamon challenge?” Mikayla is saying.

“Mikayla, I threw up for hours after the cinnamon challenge!”

“Yeah, but like,after.All you have to do is keep it down long enough for Dawn Taylor to check our plates and then you can throw up as much as you want!”

I look down at my own plate. I’ve only got a couple bites left. We’re so close to second place, I can taste it—and it tastes like chocolate. I cram another bite into my mouth. Daniel scoops a big handful for himself. We both glare at each other as we frantically chew, each of us trying to finish before the other.

I swallow a fraction of a second before Daniel. I lightly punch his shoulder and point to my mouth. Daniel swallows and calls out, “Dawn Taylor, can we get a check over here?”

Our host sails over. “Second place! Congratulations!”

I’m so full I could burst. I flash a weak thumbs-up.

“Hello? Congratulations?” Dawn Taylor prompts us, and I realize that Daniel and I are meant to celebrate as a couple. I turn to him, raising my hand for a high five, just as Daniel goes in for a hug. I try to adjust to his hug, but Daniel switches to a high five, the combined effect of which is that Daniel ends up batting my face with his hand.

“We’ll work on that,” Daniel says with a grimace, turning the smack into an awkward head pat. I really hope they don’t air that.

“So, how does it feel to finish your first challenge in hell together as a couple?” Dawn Taylor asks.

“It feels amazing,” Daniel says, smoothly sliding into his interview voice. “I’m so glad I could step up for Alice and be the kind of partner that she deserves. We might be the newest couple here, but I think we showed everyone that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“A force of love,” I add. “Because we’re lovers.” Off to the side,Leah smacks her forehead with her hand. We’re spared having to elaborate more on our fake relationship when the next couple finishes.

“Done! We’re done!” Mikayla calls out, waving Dawn Taylor over.

Trevor lets out a wet burp, but he’s able to open his mouth and prove that the cow eye has gone down. The two of them slide into their postcompetition soundbites without missing a beat.

“We really just wanted to do this for all of our followers watching along at home and rooting for us,” Mikayla says.

“Yeah, we never want to let our fans down,” Trevor adds. “Hashtag Trekayla, hashtag couples of Instagram, hashtagDawn Tay’s Inferno! Get into it!”

Chase and Selena finish next. They celebrate by leaping into a chest bump. Chase asks for shots to celebrate, which Dawn Taylor absolutely loves and a PA immediately provides.

Brittany and Jaxon finish next, and right after them, Dominic and Zya raise their hands and roar like gladiators in the Colosseum.

“Yeah! That’s how it’s done!” Dominic shouts over Zya’s hoots.

Then it’s down to Tarun and Kendall versus Firefly and Bacon.

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