For The Camera

Six

Eli

At first, I'm not really sure what to do now that I'm on my own. Then I decide to do what Kelly suggested and start exploring the house a little.

It's sparsely decorated and stylishly furnished, with lots of free space. Lots of space in general. The living room is the biggest room by far, taking up almost the entire first floor. There's a huge TV in front of a large couch that looks like at least five people can comfortably fit on it, and next to the TV there's a shelf filled with DVDs.

As I step closer to examine them, I realize that most of them are cheesy rom-coms, which is almost as surprising as the fact that Lowe still owns DVDs. And then there are also some old black-and-white movies; Sunset Boulevard, The Grapes of Wrath, Double Indemnity. I haven't seen most of them, but they seem like they are a wild mix of genres. It's an interesting peek into the interests of the residents of this house, and I can't help but wonder who bought which ones.

Near the couch there's a fireplace with a bunch of beanbag chairs in front of it. It looks surprisingly cozy, not as sterile and impersonal as I expected this house to be. This impression only intensifies as I walk to the far end of the living room and find a large shelf filled with board games and several tall book shelves.

I feel like just by strolling around the house I get an idea of what Lowe, his brother and this mysterious Naira are like; they apparently enjoy watching movies, reading and playing board games. And then of course there's that passion for music that physically manifests itself in form of a large piano, which seems to be the centrepiece of the room, and the large chest filled with old records.

Connected to the living room is the open kitchen. It's huge, long wooden countertops and a big table in the centre that seats at least eight people. The walls are lined with shelves which hold big jars filled with all kinds of ingredients, herbs are growing in little pots. Someone here clearly enjoys cooking, judging by the variety of tools and ingredients, and I myself can't wait to get to work here; my dad is a cook in a small restaurant, and though I don't have the same kind of passion for cooking, I do enjoy it on occasion.

The entire space is awash with light that spills through the insane amount of large windows; there's almost more glass than concrete, but since the premises are well-warded behind the metal gate, I don't feel observed.

Whistling to myself, I stroll over to the fridge. Sure enough there are at least five containers with leftovers, and even though they look appetizing, I decide to heed Lowe's advice and don't touch them. Probably not a good idea to purposely clash with someone who lives here on my very first day here.

Instead I grab an apple and decide to go out onto the terrace. It's connected to the living room; I use one of the three keys that Kelly gave me to unlock the door. Outside, there's a big swimming pool, surrounded by a few wooden loungers. I sink onto one of them and, looking out at the garden, eat my apple.

So far, so good. I've made it here, I've tried to be polite to everyone I've met so far, and the mansion is even better than I imagined. Now all that's left to do is find something to send Kara to get my first bonus and to show her that it was the right decision to send me here.

I'm just not sure how. I could text her that Nathan will be working on a song with a rapper, but that seems risky, seeing as there probably aren't a lot of people who know about it and I don't want to make myself a subject right away should someone wonder who leaked that bit of information.

I let my gaze wander, taking in the mansion, and suddenly get an idea.

Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I google: nathan lowe mansion. Nothing comes up. Good. Nobody seems to know where exactly Lowe's house is located, that's good.