The Sibling

Sam was having the time of his life. His first year of college was knocked out, and he had a few weeks before the summer term. This means that means its time to party, baby! The brunette donned his favorite button-down, threw on his slacks, and then darted his way downtown.

All it took was a relatively cheap fake ID, and the 19-year-old Sam Whitaker was in the doors of The LimeLight, a popular nightclub for co-eds to hook up at. Music blared throughout the club while his crew sat up on a deck overlooking the dance floor so that they could view the attendees. The boys upheld a long-standing tradition at times like these. The Dibs calls were beginning.

“Dibs.” The tall boy Franky said as he pointed towards a pretty blonde, shaking her assets wildly to the music.

Sam nodded his head, “Not bad, not bad. How ‘bout this? Dibs.” The boys followed his line of sight to a gorgeously thick Latina showing off how much her hips couldn’t lie. Dibs was a harmless game where the boys would simply point out a hot chick and “Dibs” her, then it was up to the next contender to try to one-up them. Childish, perverted, but harmless. A phrase that encapsulated Sam pretty well.

The Latino Tony laughed, “Alright, Whitaker. I see you. Ah, here we go, Dibs.” Eyes darted to see the latest quarry and to judge Tony’s pick. What they didn’t expect was Sam’s reaction.

Sam stood up from his chair and exclaimed, “Woah, what the fuck is Jess doing here?”

“Jess? Who’s Jess?” Franky asked, confused about why Sam would get upset over another attendee.

Sam scoffed as his face formed a frown. “She’s this chick that’s been messing with my older brother for years. They were supposed to be on a date tonight, and I doubt Dan would come to a place like this.”

“Ah, so she’s some puta dragging your brother along. That sucks, man. That happened with my sister a few years ago.” Tony pat Sam's shoulder in solidarity.

“I just don’t understand why Dan would go for someone like her. She obviously just uses him as a meal ticket or a bed warmer. Bitch.” Sam spat with venom.

“Jeez, Sam, I’ve never seen you get so pissed before,” Franky commented while taking another swig of his drink.

“Me and my brother have always had each other's backs. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t get pissed about this,” Sam explained as he looked back at the brunette currently talking to a dude at the bar. “I’m going to talk to her.”

“And do what? Get yourself kicked out. You know what happens when men try that on a woman at a club.” Tony quickly pointed out the likely outcome of his confrontation.

“I just… Have to say something. I’ll be right back!” Sam started for the stairs before his friends could stop him.

“This guy… I swear he doesn’t think with his head.” Tony remarked as he sat back down.

Franky laughed, “Nah, he thinks with his heart. That’s why we love him. Dudes like a Golden Retriever.”

Now Tony laughed, “Cheers to that brotha!”

As Sam began to walk down the stairwell to the bar, his vision started to blur in and out.

‘I barely drank. What’s going on?’ He thought as he clutched his head. The young man managed to reach the bottom of the stairs as another attendee worriedly approached him.

“Woah, bro, are you okay? You’re pale as a ghost.” The large surfer-looking dude asked. He then yelled for someone to get a glass of water.

Sam slowly closed his eyes without being able to reply, and the world remained black.

**********

When Sam woke up, he found himself in a hotel room like all the other contestants. He quickly patted himself down to notice that his belongings were missing.

‘Did I get fucking roofied and kidnapped? They even took my phone…’ He thought as panic began to set in. He reached for the large stationary phone on the nightstand and tried to call out.

An automatic message immediately began playing. “We’re sorry, this service has not been activated yet. Please try again after the competition has begun. Have a nice day.”

“What the fuck is happening?” Sam questioned as he tried to leave through the front door, which was locked.

“I guess there’s only one other way out,” Sam announced as he eyed the balcony. Without any care about himself, Sam quickly and suddenly attempted to slam against the sliding glass door… and failed. The glass didn’t even budge as the young man bounced right off.

“Fuck! Just what the hell is that made of.” Sam cried out as he was laid out on the floor.

“‘Ding Dong’ Samuel Whitaker, you may now take the elevator to the penthouse suite. Please come at once, or you will be guided there.” The electronic voice announced, surprising Sam off the floor.

“Of course, now they call for me…” Sam groaned. Then a thought occurred to him ‘There aren’t… Cameras in here are there? Fuckers are laughing at me, I bet.’

Sam was able to open the door this time and walked toward the large elevator at the end of the hallway. As he entered, he was immediately taken by the glass wall that displayed a large nighttime cityscape behind him.

‘Just… where am I?’ He wondered.

The elevator announced his arrival moments later, and the doors slid open. Welcoming Sam to the party was a pretty little lady with ginger hair and a Southern accent. Someone Sam would have for sure claimed “Dibs” on earlier.

“Welcome to the party, hun! You’re our final guest, so please take a seat at the end, and we’ll get this show on the road!”

“Who are you, and where the hell am I?” Sam questioned the lass.

A familiar voice called out to the teen. “Sam, it’s probably better if you just go with it.” Sam finally noticed the group of men sitting off to the side on the couch and recognized Victor, who called out to him along with his older brother.

Sam looked at his older brother and his best friend and asked. “Dan? Victor? What’s going on?”

“Now, now, Hun, questions later. Go ahead and sit.” The host spoke, and Sam listened, or at least his body did.

Like the others, Sam panicked internally, ‘Why is my body moving?... And why isn’t Dan saying anything!?’

He recognized the worry in his older brother's eyes but couldn’t understand what was happening to him.

Happily, Vanessa walked to the center of the set and began her speech. “With that, the cast has been assembled. Do you have a favorite yet? Does someone catch your eye? Don't worry if you don’t. It’s not over just yet! We’ll return in a few moments to introduce the true contestants. Be sure not to miss, The Swap.”

Like before, the theme music played as the camera zoomed out and began to pan over the view of the hotel. This time with the beach as a backdrop as the title card came back on. Then, Commercial Break.