Chapter One

Lily wakes in a freshly cleaned, windowless bedroom in the compound and meets Jacintha. They explore the house—tidy bedroom, messy dressing room, luxurious doorless bathroom, trashed living room with a blank big screen—and a hot, well-stocked but filthy kitchen. Outside, they find Susie by the pool and then Candice, before locating all ten girls.

The group cools off in the pool and informally sizes each other up. Candice asserts quiet authority, prompting a discussion about preferred types of men, while the women carefully avoid breaking rules forbidding talk of the show or outside lives. A disembodied house voice warns Melissa when she slips, confirming active surveillance and enforcement.

They clean the house, speculate about prior occupants, and ready themselves in borrowed clothes and sparse makeup. Alliances begin forming: Lily bonds with Jacintha; many gravitate toward Candice. That night they dine outside, trade cautious small talk, and go to bed with the living room screen still dark, awaiting the boys.

The next morning brings no arrivals, heightening anxiety. Lily’s solitary early walk and breakfast draw Mia’s suspicion, but Jacintha defuses it. The day is spent cleaning, sunbathing, swimming, and playing ping-pong; Jacintha worries about racial dynamics in casting. The group quietly bifurcates into two cliques, with mild cattiness surfacing, while Susie remains buoyant.

They rig a sheet for bathroom privacy, eat tacos, tend sunburns, and struggle through constrained conversation and restlessness. After a fitful night, the boys finally arrive the following morning, setting the stage for the show to truly begin.