Chapter 2

Like every year, one week before the grand finale, Jessica Gardner, the president of the competition, has the habit of taking her twelve finalists on a yacht that she rents, at her own expense, for a period of three days so that the girls decompress and approach the grand finale with more serenity. Daphne is the first to arrive at the port. With her big bag on her shoulder, she sits on a bench about three hundred meters from the quay. With her hair tied in a ponytail, a pair of sunglasses and her pair of headphones in her ears, the beautiful young lady enjoys pop music while waiting for the others to arrive. She is there at one o'clock while the departure is scheduled for two o'clock. Thirty minutes later, Daphne sees Gabriella Clarke walking towards her, also with a big bag on her shoulder. As soon as their eyes meet, they smile at each other before the last arrival continues on his way and takes his place on the next bench. Knowing that she won't have much to do until she's on the yacht, Gabriella takes her headphones out of her bag and also listens to some music before playing on her phone. Reminiscing about her conversation with her mother, Daphne prepares to start a discussion with her but, before she takes the first step, she disassembles and remains seated. Fifteen minutes before the start, all the finalists are on site and, while some are talking excitedly among themselves, Daphne and Gabriella are still in their corner. Meanwhile, a yacht approaches the dock at a slower pace with Jessica standing at the helm, smiling at them.

Gray in color with red stripes and 40m long, the yacht is a magnificent houseboat. Composed of two floors, the boat is ideal for accommodating thirteen people. The candidates have access to it by going through the stern, that is to say the back of the boat. There are two arched staircases on the sides that lead to the first floor. They give access to a terrace where there is a shallow swimming pool, which can accommodate three girls at the same time. The lounge on the ground floor amazes the finalists. Lined from top to bottom with a long white canvas, there is an inlaid black sofa that can accommodate three people on each side, which blends perfectly with the decor. In the middle of the sofa is a beautiful glass coffee table on which sits a flower vase with a lily in it. Right next to it, there is a large dining table on which the thirteen people on board can eat together. A little further on, the contenders for the crown discover the kitchen. It is very spacious and well equipped to the delight of Anais Hunt, a cook by profession, who will take pleasure in preparing hearty meals for the group. Leaving the kitchen, the ladies enter a small hallway that leads to the other end of the room. Arrived at the end, they fall on a staircase which leads under the ground floor and which leads directly to a corridor with four doors. These are the bedrooms which contain a double bed, a wardrobe and a bedside table. Each room also has its own bathroom, toilet included. All rooms will accommodate three finalists, and as they discover the rooms and their different decorations, they have all already made their choice. Before going back up, they discover large and thick panes on the floor on one side of the yacht which allow them to contemplate the bottom of the water in all its splendour. Going up to the first floor after having deposited their bag in their respective room, the young ladies continue the visit of their floating habitat. They arrive in a large living room where other sofas are arranged. Automatically, party girls realize that this is the perfect place to party. Arriving on the terrace, they discover a bar filled with alcoholic drinks, of which only Jessica has the key. A few folding chairs have also been placed outside so that those interested can relax while taking advantage of the view available to them. Also outside, there is a staircase that leads to the second and last floor. Smaller than the first floor in area, which is itself smaller than the ground floor, the second-floor terrace has a small jacuzzi that can only accommodate two people. In addition to the Jacuzzi, there is another room, the cockpit, which is where Jessica pilots the yacht.

Once the complete tour of the yacht is over, Amber Vitalli, Anne-Sophie Poole and Aurore Bailey go to their room to change. Once in a bikini, they go up to the second floor and take their place in the jacuzzi. As soon as Amber and Anne-Sophie are comfortably seated in the water, the first named puts her hand around Anne-Sophie's kidney before she sticks to her and looks at her with a gaze filled with love. Aurore, meanwhile, settles on the edge of the jacuzzi and they start chatting. Anais, for her part, is captivated by the kitchen. Instinctively taking the lead a little later, she puts herself in the kitchen assisted by her two friends, Chelsea Barnes and Kelly Reid. Whistling while dancing, the cook prepares a marinade before soaking chicken, sausages and lamb chops. Meanwhile, her friends take the opportunity to make a salad and a vinaigrette as an accompaniment. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Stone, Jennifer Gray and Noemi Ross stay in the background and have a good time in small groups on the ground floor. If some are in a group, others, on the other hand, prefer to stay alone like Daphne and Gabriella. As all the parts of the yacht have already been monopolized, the last named sits in front of one of the large windows and contemplates the underwater life. The sight of fish with different shapes amazes him. She appreciates this moment all the more than being with the others listening to them talk about their neighbour. Sharing almost the same ideals, Daphne and Gabriella could have been excellent friends. They don't like to mingle with others but, nevertheless, they remain distant from each other while sharing the same room. For the rest, Daphne opts for the option of staying in her room until she has no choice but to join the others.

There is a good-natured atmosphere that reigns on the yacht after an hour at sea. To make the early evening more pleasant, Aurore allows herself to put on some music. This immediately has a positive reaction because those who are in the living room start dancing after moving some furniture there. Since the twelve young ladies were selected, Brittany Wright, the eldest of twenty-five years, does her best to ensure that all the candidates are in symbiosis, but this is unfortunately not always the case. Seeing that the two loners are missing, she grabs two glasses of juice and goes to find them in their room. To avoid displeasing Brittany, who has always been very nice to them, the two young women accept the invitation and take the juice before joining the others in the living room. When they arrive, they notice Jessica fidgeting on the dance floor. However, since neither of them will be dancing, they move towards a sofa, but in two opposite directions.

It has now been six hours since the finalists have been at sea. The boat is parked in the middle of the ocean and, as it is dark, they cannot see anything on the horizon. Being surrounded by water, those who have not yet changed will put on lighter outfits, including only a bikini for some, before returning to the living room. Taking advantage of the fact that they are all in the same place, the head of the young ladies slips away to turn on the lights. For this evening, Jessica asked the girls to leave their mobile phones in their bags, which they all did. While they are having a good time, it starts to drizzle. Not being disturbing, those who are on the terrace stay there while others take a seat at the bar and enjoy a few alcoholic drinks under Jessica's control. In order not to lose any of the good atmosphere, since they went downstairs to start the grill, Anais leaves the kitchen door wide open.

The minutes pass and the rain falls with more intensity. However, that doesn't bother anyone. At half past nine, Anais finishes her barbecue and, to avoid wasting time, Chelsea and Kelly set the big table. At the same time, Jessica fetches napkins before inviting the ladies to sit down at the table. Once they are all installed, the cordon bleu, always helped by her friends, serves the dishes before serving themselves. From the first bite, they are all pleasantly surprised by the tasty dish full of flavor that has been prepared for them. However, being warm in the living room, no one realizes that the weather is getting worse outside. The sea is increasingly stormy and this has the consequence that the yacht begins to pitch violently, worrying some young ladies. To make matters worse, Jessica inadvertently turned off the radio while taking the helm of the yacht early, resulting in no authority concerned being able to contact her to ask her to come back and this results in the yacht heading further fall towards the eye of the storm. Seeing that the weather is degenerating from minute to minute, Jessica decides to return to Heartland in order to be safe. To her great surprise, she sees absolutely nothing in front of her. Not feeling safe in such a raging sea, Jessica took the risk of setting off with the hope of returning to dry land as soon as possible.