The next afternoon, with a heavy heart, Jill lugged her suitcase to the town hall. There was the meeting point, they would all be picked up by a bus and brought to the villa.
A few of the other nine girls were already there when she arrived, and a camera crew was there to film the departure from Lakeside and arrival at the villa.
One by one the rest of the girls trundled in. To her delight, Jill spotted Mandy among the stragglers, and she immediately came up to her and gave her a happily hug.
"Glad you're here too, I don't feel so alone," she said, and Jill nodded.
"Yes, I'm happy too."
They stood there in silence and waited for the bus to arrive. Jill, meanwhile, let her gaze wander over the other girls, who were dancing around, chattering excitedly.
"Well, that could be something," Jill sighed to herself, already annoyed. She fervently hoped there wouldn't be shared rooms, she couldn't stand a whole flock of those affected geese.
Finally the bus pulled up, the driver put away their luggage and one after the other they got on. Jill sat right next to Mandy, she seemed to be the only calm and sane woman in this chicken coop.
An assistant who had been patiently waiting for all the girls to be present walked down the aisle and handed each girl a form.
»We still need your personal data, among other things for the insurance. So please fill out the sheet carefully and legibly, I'll collect it in a moment.'
With a low murmur, the girls began to fill in the required information on the piece of paper. Jill quickly scribbled her name, address, date of birth, and a few other things on the paper. She hesitated at the field labeled "Occupation." Under no circumstances could she write that she was a police officer, nobody was allowed to find out. She thought for a moment, then spontaneously entered "cashier". It was an average, common job and no one would think anything of it. The less noticeable she was, the better.
After a while the man walked back through the bus and collected the leaves, after which it finally started.
The drive took almost an hour, and eventually they reached a large mansion just outside a small town called Oceanview. A few cars were already parked in front of it, all expensive and elegant cars, obviously they weren't the only ones in the house.
They got out, grabbed their bags and then went inside, eight girls leading the way excitedly and giggling, Mandy and Jill following quietly and reservedly.
Inside, Jill looked around. They were in a larger entrance hall, a staircase led upstairs, and several doors branched off at the front and sides.
'All right ladies, leave your bags and come in here for a moment,' Harriet's voice shrilled through the hall.
They followed her into a spacious, luxuriously furnished living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of light, and outside, a swimming pool shimmered in the sun. There were several white plastic lounge chairs around the pool, and a gazebo and tool shed could be seen at the back of the spacious, manicured garden.
A couple of the girls squeaked in delight, Jill looked at Mandy, they both rolled their eyes in amusement.
Behind Harriet, Jill spotted Mick Fairgate on the couch, grinning happily, Craig Peters leaning against the fireplace, face impassive.
'So you're going to be staying with us here at the villa for the next few weeks, and don't think it's going to be a relaxing holiday,' explained Harriet. “There will be daily training sessions, in between there will be photo shoots, and some of you may also get commissions for fashion shows. Camera crews will also be present sporadically to film additional footage for the shows. So the whole thing is hard work and not a pony farm. Anyone who doesn't follow along or tries to duck can pack their bags right away, we won't take personal sensibilities into account.'
The girls had stopped giggling and were staring at Harriet in silence.
»You still have rest time today and tomorrow to get used to it, after that it starts. The room layout is as follows: Here on the ground floor there is this living room, a kitchen and a dining room, which can also be used as a lounge. You can use the pool and the terrace outside at any time in your free time. You have to take care of yourself, that means shopping and cooking, nobody is served. You are also responsible for cleaning yourself, because we do not have any cleaning staff either. There is also an equipment room down here and a room that we use for running training. The crew sleeps at the top, your rooms are on the first floor. They're twin rooms, so you can agree now who wants to live with whom, and then go upstairs and unpack your things.'
Immediately a wild tumult broke out among the girls, and heated discussions about room allocation broke out. Jill and Mandy looked at each other quickly, nodded to each other inconspicuously and disappeared into the hall. They quickly grabbed their suitcases and climbed the stairs, taking a look in every room.
"There's only one room with a balcony," Mandy said, looking questioningly at Jill.
"Then it's ours now," Jill grinned, and before long they were slumped contentedly onto the plush beds.
One by one the others trudged upstairs and Mandy ducked her head. "This is bound to cause trouble," she said anxiously, but Jill waved her off.
"It's your own fault, if they take forever to come to an agreement, they're at a disadvantage."
In fact, a little later a somewhat chubby brunette with a large bust appeared in the doorway, a redhead stood behind her and peered over her shoulder.
"Hey, why do you guys have the room with the balcony?" the brunette asked angrily, glaring at Jill and Mandy.
"Quite simply because we were here first," Jill said kindly, smiling at the girl. "But that
does n't work, I think we should draw lots."
And you're welcome to draw whatever you want, we're unpacking our bags now.”
Calmly, Jill got up and started putting her things in the dresser.
The brunette glared at her. "You think you can get away with anything, don't you?" she spat out. 'Not enough that you knocked me down on the catwalk and almost spoiled my appearance, now you're grabbing the best room as well. But you won't get far here, I'm telling you, you'd better get back to your farm, you oaf.”
In slow motion, Jill turned to her and grinned. 'So I'm a tramp, yes? If I remember correctly, you were the one who fell over her own feet.'
The girl gasped a few times in disgust, but couldn't get a sound out. Then she spun angrily and left with the redhead in tow, but not without loudly slamming the door behind her.
"Oh dear, I think they were pretty angry," Mandy murmured, and made a depressed face.
Jill looked at her seriously. “Honestly, I don't give a damn. I'm sorry for bumping into her, but I don't let anyone scold me. It's enough if I have to put up with all the other circus around here, I don't need the bitching from these wannabe divas."
"You're right, I find this whole behavior pretty silly too. Still, I don't really want to make enemies because we all have to get along for a while,' Mandy pointed out.
"Don't worry, they'll calm down," Jill smiled, "as long as we understand each other."
After they had calmly unpacked their things and stowed their suitcases under the bed, they went out onto the balcony and sat down in the two sun loungers. They shook their heads as they watched the rest of the girls splash around in the pool, squeaking and screaming like they'd never seen a pool in their lives. Harriet and Mick were lying in two sun loungers a little way from the pool and were talking. It was immediately clear to Jill why the girls were so excited again, of course they tried to put themselves in the right light in front of the two judges."Oh my god, what a monkey business," Jill murmured in consternation, and Mandy smiled. "But we'll have to godownstairs at some point, unless you're starving."I don't do the theater voluntarily. – Speaking of which, what do you think if we go shopping together tomorrow?”Mandy nodded. “Yes, of course, okay.”They enjoyed the sun in silence, lost in thou
Shortly thereafter, Jill jumped into the pool and did her laps. She had already done a few laps when suddenly the water splashed up close to her. She paused in surprise, trying to see through the shimmering surface who had jumped into the pool. A head appeared a few yards away and to her surprise it was Craig Peters, now turning to face her with a smile."I hope I didn't startle you.""Well, a little warning would have been nice," Jill said sullenly. She wanted to complete her training courses in peace and didn't feel like company. But she couldn't very well prevent him from using the pool, so she just sighed softly and continued paddling in the opposite direction.To her relief, he didn't seem to be intending to talk either, so with a few vigorous strokes he caught up with her and swam silently alongside her.They did a few lengths together, then Jill took a short break at the poolside. Craig stopped as well and grinned at her. "Tired already? Shame, I w
As the afternoon wore on, Harriet eventually returned to the dining room with the rest of the girls and surveyed Ewan's work. She made a few comments, but seemed happy overall. When her gaze fell on Jill, she frowned."She still looks the same as before," she said reproachfully to Ewan, who immediately defended himself, whining. 'Sorry Chérie, but she just didn't want to.''You won't stay here long if you keep being so stubborn,' Harriet snapped at Jill."I think her hair is so fine," Craig interjected at that moment, before Jill had a chance to answer. "You're well groomed and the color is nice, why force anything that looks good?"Jill bowed her head, embarrassed, not liking being the center of attention.Harriet gave Craig a critical look, then looked at Jill's hair again and sighed."All right, at least it's long enough to get started with," she conceded. "But don't imagine it's always like this, I don't take extra frills," she sn
By the time she got to the bottom, Craig was already in the pool, and when he saw her, he was paddling toward her, gazing at her from the edge of the pool."Come in, the water's lovely," he smiled, and Jill didn't need to be asked twice. She dove gracefully into the pool and then happily swam a few laps while Craig watched."Now do I get my revenge?" he asked teasingly when she stopped beside him after a while.“Agreed – ten lanes again?”He nodded. "Three - two - one - go!" he counted, and they started moving almost simultaneously. Jill was an excellent swimmer and although Craig was not far behind, she still managed to win by a narrow margin."I can see I don't stand a chance against your pretty legs," he laughed, playfully splashing some water on her face."Hey," Jill muttered, laughing, and immediately repaid him. Shortly thereafter, they were happily romping around in the pool, diving into each other and wrestling with
When Jill came to the pool shortly after, Craig was already there, sitting on a deck chair and waiting for her."Why aren't you in the water yet, aren't you too cold?" Jill teased."No, I've thought of something," he smiled. "We were pretty noisy last night and I think we should go somewhere else before there's any trouble here."She eyed him suspiciously. 'And what did you have in mind?''Let's go to the beach. Apart from the fact that I prefer swimming in the sea anyway, it's quiet there and won't disturb anyone.”Jill hesitated, not sure if hanging out alone with him at night was a good idea. After all, she didn't know him and had no idea what might be hiding behind his harmless manner, so caution was advised.As if reading her mind, he added at the same moment, "Don't be afraid, I certainly won't attack you," sounding utterly amused."I'm not scared," Jill said hastily. "I don't mind driving."She had been looking for
"Wake up you sleepyhead, if we don't get down to practice on time Harriet will kill us," Mandy's voice jerked Jill awake.Wearily she blinked at the alarm clock, it was almost half past eight."Oh shit," she blurted out in surprise.She jumped up and put on her gym clothes."Yeah, yeah, if you hang around at night, you can't get out of bed in the morning," Mandy teased her meanwhile."I wasn't hanging out, I was swimming," Jill explained, embarrassed.Mandy smiled. “You haven't been in the pool.” Jill frowned, and she added, “Don't worry, I'll keep that to myself. I happened to wake up and was on the balcony for a moment, but didn't see you downstairs.”“I was at the beach,” Jill admitted hesitantly."Did you walk to the beach alone in the middle of the night?" Mandy asked, puzzled.“Mandy, please don't ask, I can't explain this to you. And promise me you won't tell anyone, I don
Jill hadn't expected that Cloe would actually carry out her threat, but as soon as they entered the villa, Harriet's voice shrilled through the open living room door. "Jill - please come in here, I want to speak to you." "Oh God," Mandy whispered anxiously and started to follow Jill, but she stopped her. "You stay here, I'll take care of this myself. It's enough if one of us gets in trouble.” Mandy stood there dejectedly while Jill entered the living room. Harriet and Mick were sitting on the couch, Craig was standing at the window, there was no sign of Cloe. "Sit down," Harriet invited her. Jill flopped down on a couch, looking at Harriet expectantly. "Is it true that you slapped Cloe?" she immediately began with an angry voice. “Yes.” “How yes? Isn't that all you have to say? Do you think it's okay to fight with the other girls here?' snapped Harriet. "No, I don't think so, but I don't think it's okay fo
She had just finished taking a shower and had plopped down on her bed when Mandy came panting into the room. "Oh man, I'm ready for a retirement home if this goes on for a while," she groaned and collapsed onto the bed. "I admire your condition." "It's also slowly decreasing, I had a bad calf cramp a little while ago." "But you were still pretty fast, could you keep running with it?" Mandy asked in surprise and then smiled when she saw Jill blush. "Oh, I see - you weren't alone." Jill gave her an uneasy look. "Listen, I don't want you to get any stupid ideas," she said defensively. "We go swimming together, we run together, and that's all there is to it." "Of course that also explains why you just blushed and why you always get so nervous in the evenings," Mandy grinned. Embarrassed, Jill bowed her head. "Mandy, to be honest, I have no idea what's going on," she admitted quietly. “Yes, I'm attracted to Craig, I like being with him, but I kno