Loving A STRANGER

Khloe went first, and, once she was on stage, she began to pose in ways that were alluring and s.e.xual. The cameraman felt disgusted the way she did her pose. Seeing this, the cameraman turned to his a.s.sistant and asked him what Khloe was doing. "Doesn"t she know what this program is all about?" he continued. "These poses would belong more on the cover of a p.o.r.nographic rag mag than as promotional material for respectful PG-rated reality program. This actress really stupid, is she seducing men inside this room?"

The a.s.sistant shrugged. It"s a sign that he doesn"t want to interfere with whatever the artist is doing right now even though he did not like Khloe"s action yet chose to keep quiet.

The director stood up and said, "Khloe, these photos are completely out of line with what we are trying to do. Please step off the sage. Kylie can go next and, while she is posing, pay careful attention to her and try to learn something from her! We need to do this as quickly as possible," He sounds sarcastic to remind how stupid Khloe is. 

Khloe frowned as she staggered off the stage.

As Kylie posed for her first picture, the cast and crew broke into spontaneous applause. She was a natural. Her first pose was that of a lioness, about to leap and attack the camera. Her face was intense and disconcerting, but in a playful way that said, "Don"t worry. This is just a game. You"re not in any real danger."

"This is a great guest," the cameraman laughed as Kylie switched from one pose to the other." Bravo," he shouted. "Bravo!"

Once he was done with Kylie, he began to talk to his a.s.sistant in Russian. Not knowing the language, Khloe a.s.sumed that they were praising her, and she puffed her chest out in pride like some idiot b.i.t.c.h bird. If she knew Russian, she would know that it was actually praising Kylie.

Khloe turned to her father and said, "I did so well that the cameraman and his a.s.sistant can"t stop talking about me!"

"That"s good," Laurence replied as he rubbed the top of her head. "I am very proud of you. I will give you one piece of advice though: It is easy to stay focused on the camera when you are doing a photoshoot, but it is even more important to stay focused on the camera as the show is filmed. If you can do this, then the audience will feel a connection to you. Then, even if you lose, you win, because you will have a bigger fan base than ever before, which will guarantee you more work in the future."

Khloe gave her father a hug and said, "Thank you for your advice. I love you, and I will try to do as you"ve suggested."

Once Khloe let him go, Laurence went over to where the cameraman and his a.s.sistant were chatting away in Russian. "How are my daughters doing today?" he queried in English.

"Kylie surpa.s.sed everyone"s expectations," the director replied, "but I am not sure that Khloe has it in her to get her s.h.i.t together and strike a proper pose. I"m sorry to have to tell you that, but you are the boss, and I am obliged to tell you the truth."

"I understand," Laurence said as his heart sank. "I appreciate your honesty."

Once the cameraman was satisfied with each of the constants, he handed them over to the director, who split them into two groups. One group consisted of Kylie, Cindy Swift, and a random male actress whose name Kylie did not know. The second team consisted of Khloe, Kem Smith, and a random female actress whose name Khloe did not know.

The first contest would test their intelligence, speed, and ability to work together. Each team would be given nine clues about the history and culture of Hamorna. Among these nine clues, six were false, and three were true. Once it was determined which three were true, they would connect the clues in a straight line across a Sudoku grid. The first team to accomplish the task would be the winner.

The clues were handed to each group in a potato sack and, once the host had counted down from ten to one, they were allowed to look at their clues. The first thing each group did was to separate from the other so that there would be no eavesdropping – and then they dumped the clues on the ground.

Each clue contained a picture of a local landmark and a fact or fallacy about it that could be discerned when they arrived on the scene. In this way, there was also an element of luck to the game. If your team happened to choose the correct locations right away, then they would automatically be the winners.

The clues were difficult, and Khloe found herself sweating like a pig while she worried over them, and her make-up began to drip down her face. From the sidelines, the make-up artist laughed at her and said, "I warned you not to wear so much make-up. Pretty soon, you"re going to look like Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth. You dumb c.u.n.t."

"You"re wrong," Khloe hissed. "When the audience sees how much I am sweating, they will see how hard I"m working, and I will gain their respect.

"For your sake," the make-up artist replied, "I hope that you are right."

 The first clue that Khloe"s team chose was an abandoned tower at the edge of town. Its historical importance was in the fact that it was the first building to have been built in this area. By taxi, it took them to the tower in ten minutes, which Khloe thought was a good time until she saw Kylie"s group leaving already. Apparently, they had beaten their group, found the clue, and were off in search of the next one.