BBLV ~ Episode 5

Big Brother 2: Las Vegas Episode #5

THE BEGINNING:

Leo had been evicted. The house seemed quieter without his singing. Leo had made it clear that there was no alliance, just people that he talked to more than others. Leo and Matt had worked out their differences before the vote and now the house had that "one big happy family" feeling again. Everyone said that the game didn't need any alliances, it would play out better without them. Would it stay that way?
The day after the emotional vote the houseguests were gathered in the living room when the voice of Big Brother came over the loud speakers.
"We would like to introduce you all to the new houseguest. Joshua, please go into the Confessional Room to greet her".
All eyes were on the door as Joshua stepped into the Confessional Room. This could shake up the game if there was a new person to get to know and compete against. Joshua emerged with a huge smile on his face and a large box. The box had holes in the sides and a big red bow on the top. He placed the box on the table and opened it. Inside the box was a tiny puppy. Jeremy read the top of the box to everyone.
"This is "Veto". She will be sharing the house with you. You are responsible for her care and well-being. All of the supplies you need for her have been put in the storage room. She is just a puppy, so she is not house broken yet. Treat her like one of the family. As an added bonus the winner of BBLV has the option of taking Veto home with them. Enjoy"
Everyone was thrilled with the cute addition to the house. Jeremy especially took a shine to her and liked to carrying her around everywhere he went.
The day was filled with "puppy love" as the houseguests awaited the next set of challenges.

THE CHALLENGES

The houseguests were sequestered in the Girl's Room while the house was being set up for the Reward Challenge. They took turns holding Veto while then listened to the crew run around the house. They were told to exit the room and go directly to the living room. The big screen television was set up in the middle of the room. The set lit up as soon as everyone was seated. Josh was on the screen standing in front of a large yellow and red flag.
"Welcome to the Amazing Race Reward Challenge. On the table in front of you are envelops, one for each of you. The envelop will give you a clue to the first "pit stop". Once you reach the pit stop room you have to complete the task in that room. When you have finished we will tell you to pick up one of the envelops in that room. That will be the clue to the next room and the next task. The last person to complete the task at each pit stop will be eliminated from the game. You will know you are the last if you complete the task and there are no more envelops directing you to the next stop. Once you have been eliminated please come back to the living room. This is a race, so time is very important but also be careful to complete the tasks correctly. Okay, grab your first envelop! Racers ready? GO!"
The first clue lead the racers to the Boy's Room. Matt was the first one done and grabbed his envelop but Diana and Jeremy were not far behind. The order stayed that way until they were the only three left. Jeremy was eliminated and Diana took a slight lead over Matt. The last clue lead them to the kitchen. They had to find a hidden picture in the cabinets. The two tore apart the kitchen looking for the picture until finally Diana found it taped to the bottom of the frying pan. She grabbed it and ran for the living room. She had won the Amazing Race!
Josh appeared on the screen again to congratulate her and to give her the reward she had won.
"I have in my hand two envelops. The are marked #1 and #2. Please choose an envelop."
Diana was hesitiant. she eventually chose #2.
"Okay, you chose #2 so let's first see what was in #1."
He opened it slowly and withdrew a single piece of paper with the word "IMMUNITY" typed on it. Diana was disappointed. She really wanted to be immune for this round of nominations. Josh started to open the second envelop. Inside was a piece of paper that said "BAR SOMEONE FROM HoH COMPETITION". She had won the ability to stop someone from competing in the challenge, therefore assuring they didn't win the power in the house. Diana was horrified! She didn't want to make any enemies by barring someone from playing. She asked if there was anyone who didn't want to play but noone volunteered. She turned to the TV screen and told Josh that was had chosen NOT to use her reward. Everyone who was eligibile would compete in the challenge.
"Okay, thanks Diana. We will move directly into the Head of Household competition now. Please move out into the yard."
The houseguests had wondered why the race had not taken them outside and why the curtains had been drawn, now they had their answer. Outside there were different colored tiles arranged on the ground in straight lines all leading to a middle circle tile. There were four tiles in each line. They also found a paddle at the end of each row with "TRUE" on one side and "FALSE" on the other. The players, everyone but Joshua the former HoH, picked up their paddle, chose a color and stood on the first tiles. Josh's voice came over the loud speaker to explain the game.
"Good, you have all chosen a line. This game is designed to see how much you know about the people you are sharing a house with. I will ask you all a "true or false" question about the all of the people who are playing this game. When I say "answer" please chose true or false and raise your paddle up high so we can see your answer. If you get the answer right you may move ahead one tile. You see that all the tile lines lead to that circle in the middle, whoever makes it to the circle first will be the new Head of Household! Everyone ready? Let's begin!"
The houseguests stayed neck and neck in the beginning with everyone reaching at least two points. Ian and Matt broke ahead and got to their fourth tile at the same time. They were each just one step away from the middle circle tile. Josh asked the next question and only one got to advance. Ian was once again the Head of Household! He was safe for another round but he would have to nominate two people again. A bittersweet victory.

NOMINATIONS/EVICTION

Ian decided to enjoy the HoH title a little more this time. He invited all of the others to have a "camp out" in the HoH room and they didn't get much sleep. He made sure that the personal fridge in the room was fully stocked with caesar salad and ramen noodles.
Even with all this fun Ian hadn't forgotten the most important part of his position. Ian took just as much care deciding on the nominees as he did the last time he had to make that decision. He took every scenario into consideration. This was not a job he took lightly. He consulted with some of the other houseguests he felt closest with for advice and guidance, but he knew that the choice was ultimately his own. He took the Safe Box into the HoH room (he was careful not to get romaine lettuce on it) and spread out all of the keys onto the bed. He slipped five keys into the box and locked them in place. The other two he put in the black velvet bag. With a big sigh, Ian brought everything into the living room and called everyone around. Once everyone was seated he gave a small speech

"Hi again, guys. First thing's first, I have to thank all of you for your outpouring of support for me... I think most of you understand that this is an even tougher week than the last, with only seven of you even available for me to choose from, and very little reason to put anyone up except for the fact that the game has to progress forward. That said, we'll pull the keys and I'll try my best to explain my decisions."

He pulled the first key from the box. One by one the others followed. In the end it was Jeremy and Joshua who did not have their keys. The two guys were up for nomination.
Ian spoke to the two nominees to explain his decision. He addressed Jeremy first.

"Jeremy, you will no doubt see this nomination as an attack against you and anything I say here probably won't register as being genuine, but hopefully you'll surprise me and really hear what I have to say and know I mean it completely. I like you, Jeremy. I would think that our conversation tonight should be some pretty concrete evidence of that. We connected at the beginning of the game, and that was a lot of fun. You've cracked me up on so many occasions, and I wish I wasn't the one to have to do this to you. That said, I will also supply the reason for your nomination. Your latest confessional on the site was the nail in the coffin, eliminating any question of having to do this. Without the proper info, you stated that my not speaking at the eviction chat was a "slap in the face" to Leo. Quite frankly, I thought you were well aware that the only reasons I didn't say anything when I was asked to were: a) no-one would shut-up long enough for me to be able to get a word in; and b) Mel was rushing the chat because we'd taken long enough. So I gave Leo all the support I possibly could in IM straight to him instead of wasting the group's time. I was never rude to Leo, nor was I rude to the group and without any of the info, you shouted the word that I was being cocky about Leo's eviction when I was anything but. Ask anyone, I was as nervous as anyone would be on the chopping block, I had no way to know Leo would go. And that's what made me want to put you up this week. You have no problem making up stories in order to make other people look bad, whether you know what you're talking about or not. I've witnessed you trying to stir shit up long enough, and I just think that this nomination was completely warranted. Again, while the nomination is personal, I don't wish to lose your friendship. I'll leave that part of it in your court, because I'm more than willing to look past this game and continue to be friends with you, if you'll accept it."

Then he turned to Joshua.

"And Joshua... After the nomination of Jeremy, I was left with 6 people who hadn't given me any reason to put them up. I thought very long and very hard about it, and when it comes down to it, you are the only person of the six who I hadn't talked to on a one-to-one basis this past week and told I wasn't going to put them up, so... you became my fall-back guy. There is nothing attached to this nomination that is backed by a malicious intent, and I hope you see that."

Jeremy, who was usually just the "house clown" trying to make everyone laugh, went into over drive. He talked with as many people as he could about the vote. He was not going to go without a fight. He felt others were working against him. When it came time to vote he was certain that he had the support he needed to stay in the house. Joshua took a quieter approach to the nomination.
The night of the vote was upon them and the five people who were eligible to vote took turns going into the Confessional Room. They each looked depressed that one of these two guys would be leaving the house. Elizabeth was the last person to go in to vote. Jeremy had tried to get her support earlier and thought he had succeeded. She left the Confessional Room and Josh appeared on the big screen TV to give the results.
"Well, this was a very close vote! You have both been very strong players in this game, but unfortunately one of you has been evicted."
There was a maddening pause while the houseguests looked at the two nominees. Just when it looked like Joshua and Jeremy were going to explode Josh continued.
"By a vote of 3 to 2, Jeremy you have been evicted from the Big Brother Las Vegas house. You have a minute to say your good-byes then please take your things and leave the house. Thanks for playing"
Jeremy was stunned. He thought he had garnered enough support to remain in the game. He was angry and vowed that he would get his revenge in the media, namely the AM Las Vegas interview. He was determined to remain a factor in this game even though he had been voted out! What effect will Jeremy's actions have on the game? Stay tuned for Episode 6!