My brother was the internet’s favorite punching bag, thoroughly blacklisted and desperate for any kind of traffic. To salvage his career, he dragged me onto a family reality show. Around others, he walked on eggshells, so terrified of the haters that he’d probably apologize to a stray dog if he bumped into it. But around the trolls? I chose violence. My brother: "Chloe, keep a low profile, I'm begging you." The fans: "So satisfying, keep dragging them! We love to see it!" 01 I had just gotten back to the States from studying abroad when my brother accepted a gig on a family-oriented reality show. He invited our mom. She took a sip of her tea and said coldly, "I'm not going. It's too embarrassing." He invited our dad. Dad didn't even look up from his mountain of paperwork. "For fifty million dollars a day, I'll consider it." My brother: "..." Left with no options, he turned his pleading eyes to me. I waved my hand dismissively. "It's just a reality show. Your big sister will go with you." Our mom looked at me with an expression that screamed you have no idea what you're in for. My brother was so moved he practically sobbed, pulling me into a massive hug. "Chloe, you are the absolute best. I'm so grateful for you." I patted his head affectionately. "Look at you, Hayes. You're a big star now. Having a brother like you is my pride and joy." Hayes flushed with embarrassment. "Um, Chloe... could you maybe check the internet first?" I had rushed back home so quickly that I wasn't caught up on domestic entertainment news. Smiling, I opened up X. And my smile instantly froze. In a twisted sense of the word, he was indeed "popular." Ever since he debuted two years ago, his name had been synonymous with mass cyberbullying. His singing and dancing were painfully average, yet he somehow secured a top debut spot on a massive idol survival show. The internet accused him of crying his way to the top and turned his dance practice videos into "senior citizen physical therapy" memes. In that moment, I deeply regretted saying, "You are my pride and joy." And very soon, my brother would deeply regret saying, "I'm so grateful for you." 02 The show, Dearest Family, was filmed at a luxury resort. It was a seven-day, 24/7 continuous livestream format. Drones followed us the second we stepped foot on the mountain path. When Hayes and I arrived at the base of the hill, another pair of guests was already waiting. The guy looked about twenty-five, tall with a slight tan, accompanied by a girl in casual activewear who looked visibly annoyed. They were whispering to each other, but the girl's sour expression spoke volumes. When she saw us, she tilted her chin up and scoffed loudly. Hayes leaned in and whispered in my ear, "That's Connor Vance. During the survival show two years ago, he ranked twelfth and got eliminated. The whole internet says I stole his spot in the final lineup." I instantly understood. The producers were staging a bloodbath for ratings. As we walked over, Connor lowered his eyes, looking perfectly meek and subservient as he greeted us. Hayes, practically traumatized by the internet's hatred, was walking on thin ice. He extended his hand, his smile bordering on desperate people-pleasing. Even so, the livestream chat was already tearing him apart: "Connor is so sweet. I can't believe he has to film with the guy who stole his dream." "Seeing Hayes's fake, pretentious face makes me sick." "Connor is too nice for initiating the greeting. Hayes has zero social awareness." "Take away his pretty face, and what does Hayes even have against Connor?!" I stood there, completely deadpan, watching Connor flash a painfully "friendly" smile. "You must be Hayes's sister," Connor said. "I'm Connor, and this is my sister, Hailey. She won the National Youth Dance Championship last year." Right on cue, Hailey smugly raised her chin, looking me up and down with sheer disdain. "Wow, I didn't even know Hayes had a sister." Connor quickly jumped in, playing the peacemaker. "Hayes doesn't like bringing up his family in public. It's totally normal you didn't know." Hailey scoffed again. "Makes sense. For someone who only debuted because of his face, his family probably isn't much to brag about anyway." 03 The Vance siblings came out swinging. Whether the producers had scripted this or not, the live chat was eating it up. "True, I tried looking up Hayes's background online and found nothing." "Some influencers analyzed it and said his family is probably poor, which is why he had to sell a sob story to debut." My brow furrowed slightly. Seeing my reaction, Hayes secretly squeezed my hand. "Chloe, please bear with it. The fans are terrifying." While we waited for the rest of the cast to arrive, Connor and Hailey fired off like a synchronized machine gun. "The Youth Dance Championship—do you even know what that is? Oh, sorry, I forgot you probably don't study dance. Of course you wouldn't know." "A national title is just okay, I guess. My real goal is to take home an international trophy within five years." The chat flooded with praise: "Connor's family is elite. His sister is so talented!" "A dance champion! What a massive slap in the face to a certain someone who debuted with zero talent." "His sister isn't even defending him. Looks like that whole family is just empty heads and pretty faces." The more Hailey talked, the more arrogant she got. Suddenly, I turned to Hayes. "Go grab me a water." Hayes nodded obediently and scurried off to find a PA. The second he was out of earshot, I turned my deadpan gaze to Connor. "Connor, was it? Your sister is a dance champion. What about you? What titles do you hold? What honors have you won?" I pulled out my phone, opening a search engine right in front of him. "I just looked you up. The only thing attached to your name is '12th place on a reality show.' For someone who loves to show off this much, if you had a single other achievement, your PR team would have bought billboards for it by now." Connor: "..." I smoothly pivoted to Hailey. "National dance champion? Which competition? Which circuit? What scale? Last I checked, there are over two dozen youth dance competitions in the States every year, and about fifteen of them hold less weight than your brother's 12th place finish." Hailey: "..." 04 Their faces went from flushed red to a sickly pale green. It was glorious. I casually looked away. Sigh. I should probably hold back a little. Don't want to bully the kids too hard. I was ready to call a truce, but they weren't. Hailey glared at me, refusing to back down. "That's because my brother is humble! Everyone knows Connor carried Hayes on America's Next Idol!" "Oh," I replied flatly. She choked on her anger, taking a deep breath. "The title I won last year was for Dance Dynasty. That's infinitely better than whatever you two losers have going on." I actually remembered Dance Dynasty. My nine-year-old niece won it three years in a row. She actually declined their invitation last year because she thought the judging format was garbage. Listening to Hailey's arrogant bragging, I frowned. A drone hovered above us, and a producer was standing just out of frame. I walked right up to him, pointing at Hailey. "She's launching personal attacks. Is the production team not going to step in?" The producer made a hand gesture. "This is a live, unfiltered broadcast. The directing team does not interfere during recording." I feigned a look of sudden realization. "So, no rules against cursing people out either?" "We are instructed to remain hands-off." "Understood." It was a simple, clarifying conversation, but the live chat lost its collective mind. "What is she doing? Tattling? Is she in kindergarten? So gross!" "Just like Hayes! Utterly pathetic." "Hailey might be cocky, but at least she has the talent to back it up. Can this woman do anything besides cry to the producers?" "The show obviously wants drama. Snitching makes her look like a clown." "Hailey is just being blunt and honest. Chloe is pulling sneaky, underhanded stunts." 05 By the time I walked back, the last two pairs of guests had arrived. Hailey was currently giving an incredibly animated recount of her Dance Dynasty performance from last year. I listened for a moment before speaking up. "Dance Dynasty, huh? Sounds familiar." Everyone subconsciously looked at me. Hailey's smile stiffened, but she couldn't hide her smugness. "Pretty impressive, right?" I smiled back. "They invited me, but I didn't go." "Why?" "Because I was overseas at the Global Apex Dance Championship." I had completely hijacked her narrative. Her eyes went wide with disbelief. "What place did you get?!" Anyone in the industry knew the Apex Championship was the undisputed, most prestigious dance competition on the planet. The live chat erupted: "She's totally bluffing. Does she even know the prestige of Apex?" "Only the absolute elite compete there. If she's that good, why does Hayes suck so much?" I slowly lifted my gaze, meeting the expectant stares of everyone in the group. Deadpan, I replied, "Oh. I was a judge." Hailey: "..." The silence hung in the air for a brutal ten seconds. Finally, Hailey's voice cracked an octave. "You're lying! You're barely in your twenties. That's impossible!" I tilted my head. "The Apex Championship is split into twelve regional divisions. I was just a judge for one of the regionals, not the grand finale." I paused, my eyes drifting over to a shell-shocked Connor. I let out a soft chuckle. "Twelve divisions. So funny. It matches your rank exactly." Connor: "..." Hailey was practically stomping her feet. "Impossible! You're definitely making this up." I looked at her like she was an idiot. "The judges' roster is public record online. Oh, and right—my name is Chloe Sterling." 06 At first, the audience reacted exactly like Hailey. A unified wall of denial, aggressively accusing me of being a pathological liar. Until someone posted a screenshot of the official Apex Championship judges' roster. There it was. Under the Sixth Regional Division, right in the middle of a list of foreign veterans with impossibly long names, the crisp, simple name "Chloe Sterling" stood out like a beacon. "Holy sh*t. She's actually a judge." "My god. Just qualifying to compete there is insane. To be on the judging panel... how good is she?!" "Okay, she's amazing, but Hayes still sucks, right? The fact that he stole Connor's spot doesn't change just because his sister is a prodigy." "Exactly! Don't lose focus! Chloe might be a god, but Hayes still belongs in the trash." "Am I the only one who thinks Chloe is kind of savage? LMAO look at Connor's face, he looks like he's going to throw up." The tension was broken when Hayes came jogging back, happily clutching a bottle of water. I took it naturally and twisted the cap off. "What took so long?" "The crew was short-handed with the set dressing, so I helped out a bit." "Oh. Well, everyone's here. Let's head up." Hayes finally looked around, flashing a polite, sunny smile at the new arrivals. Then, he shuffled closer to me, lowering his voice. "Chloe, is it just me, or is the vibe super weird? What did you guys talk about while I was gone?" Connor and Hailey's venomous glares instantly burned into the side of my head. I remained perfectly unfazed, tilting my head innocently. "Huh? Weird vibe? Not at all. We're getting along fabulously." 07 The four pairs of guests—eight people in total—arrived at the resort right around noon. The estate was massive, featuring a luxury hotel up front and sprawling orchards and farms in the back. True to form, the production crew abandoned us the second we dropped our bags. We were entirely responsible for our own survival. According to the rules of the previous season, this was the moment where the cast divided up the chores. Connor stepped into the center of the room, wearing a warm, perfectly manufactured smile. "Hailey and I will take care of the cooking. Lexi, how about you and your mom hit the farm and harvest some vegetables? Marcus, would it be too much trouble for you and your girlfriend to wash the produce and prep the rice?" Everyone had just hiked up a mountain. They were exhausted, sprawled across the living room furniture, completely drained. Lexi, a young up-and-coming pop singer, was terrified of being branded "lazy" by the internet. She forced a pained smile. "Sure." Marcus, a veteran actor who knew exactly how reality TV editing worked, didn't argue either. Finally, Connor's gaze landed on Hayes and me. I was curled up deep in the sofa. As the camera panned over, everyone in the room—and the thousands watching online—clearly heard my phone blast an enthusiastic digital voice: "Three of a kind! Read 'em and weep!" "..." Hayes was sitting bolt upright next to me, looking like a nervous middle-schooler on his first day of class. Seeing Connor stare at us, he anxiously tugged my sleeve. "Chloe. Time to work." I was currently annihilating my opponents in Texas Hold'em. I ignored him. Hayes awkwardly stood up and asked Connor, "Is there anything we can help with?" Connor's expression softened slightly, thinking he had won. "Would you guys mind taking care of the dishes after lunch?" "All in!" I happily tapped my screen. Without looking up, I said, "Yes, we would mind." Connor's brow furrowed. "Lunch is only meaningful if it's a collaborative group effort." "Are you out of your mind?" I shifted my weight, starting a new hand. "We eat to stay alive. You’re only standing there acting like the boss because the cameras are rolling and everyone here is too polite to tell you off. Try assigning chores like that in your own house and see if your mom doesn't slap you across the face." "..." 08 Connor was visibly suppressing a vein popping in his forehead. "It's just washing the dishes. You won't even do something that simple?" I shrugged. "If it's so simple, you and your sister can do it." Connor finally snapped. "Everyone else is contributing. Does your conscience really not bother you, sitting there playing games while we work?" "Weren't you the one handing out the assignments from the jump?" I finally looked up, my expression the picture of innocence. "You're exploiting their good manners. Don't try to morally kidnap me, sweetheart. I don't have any morals to kidnap." "..." Seeing her brother getting publicly humiliated, Hailey stormed over. "Chloe Sterling! I don't care if you're a world-class judge, you don't get to act like a diva here! You're contributing nothing! Do you expect us to cook and serve it to you on a silver platter?" Hayes tried to intervene, but hearing Hailey insult me made his protective instincts flare. "My sister isn't like that!" he argued quietly. The live chat was a warzone: "Chloe's attitude is absolute trash." "Is she seriously waiting for them to feed her?" "The Sterling siblings are both leeches. Yuck!" Connor took a deep breath, playing the exhausted martyr. "I'm not obligated to cook for you. Since you refuse to help, you two can figure out your own lunch." "Figure it out on our own?!" Hayes panicked, looking at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Chloe, I didn't even know you knew how to turn on a stove!" I stared at him. "Do you know how to wash dishes?" Before he could answer, I rolled my eyes. "You don't even know how to wash your own socks." Hayes: "..." Having delivered his ultimatum, Connor led the rest of the cast out to work. I nestled back into the couch and booted up another round of poker. Fifteen minutes later, Lexi returned with a basket, looking miserable. "There are chickens and fish out back, but my mom and I have no idea how to catch them." Connor glanced at the pathetic pile of greens in her basket and offered a comforting smile. "It's fine. A vegetarian meal is healthy." He said that, but when a completely meatless, severely lacking spread of vegetables was finally placed on the dining table, everyone sat there awkwardly, unsure of how to pretend they were excited. Despite the depressing meal, Hailey couldn't resist a victory lap. "Time to eat! My brother's cooking is incredible, you guys have to try this." She cast a pointed, mocking glance toward the living room where Hayes and I were sitting. "Looks like some people are going hungry today. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I don't feel sorry for them." The second the words left her mouth, a booming voice echoed from the front lobby. "Delivery for Chloe Sterling?!" I kicked Hayes's shin. "Go get it." He looked bewildered. "Who is it, Chloe?" I was currently calculating pot odds, not looking up. "Oh. Uber Eats." "..." 09 The dining table was massive, which only made the few plates of sad vegetables look even more pathetic. Hayes and I began unpacking the delivery, and within seconds, we had completely covered our half of the table. Crispy fried chicken, gourmet burgers, loaded spicy bowls, and a mountain of fries. The moment the lids came off, an overpowering, mouth-watering aroma hijacked the entire room. Hailey stared at us, her eyes practically bugging out of her head. "You... you can't order delivery!" I happily bit into a piece of perfectly fried chicken. "Is there a rule that says I can't?" Hailey choked. "No one has ever ordered takeout on a reality survival show!" I took a massive sip of my Coke and looked at Hayes. "Is that true?" He took a very polite, reserved bite of his spicy bowl. "Yeah, Chloe. Never." "Well, whatever. The crew didn't stop the driver." Right then, I heard a very distinct, very loud gulp. It was Lexi. There was absolutely no way the two of us could finish this feast. I waved my hand at the others. "Come on over, there's plenty!" Lexi looked like she might cry from gratitude. "Can we really?" "Of course you can." By the end of it, even Marcus and his girlfriend had abandoned the boiled cabbage and joined our side of the table. Connor and Hailey's faces looked like they had just swallowed live wasps. They sat in suffocating silence, glaring daggers at us. Finally, they snapped. They slammed their chopsticks down. "Chloe, you are crossing a line." I elegantly wiped my mouth with a napkin. "What did I do?" Hailey pointed a trembling finger at the still-massive pile of food. "You ordered way more than you needed! You're just trying to buy everyone off and isolate us!" I was genuinely speechless at the sheer audacity. I gave her a thumbs up. "Usually, when assholes talk sh*t, it's just for laughs. But you? You've elevated it to an art form." Hearing that, Hayes nearly dropped his chopsticks, frantically reaching for my arm. "Chloe, don't—" Unfortunately for him, he forgot one crucial detail about me. When I'm full, I have way too much energy. And when I have too much energy, I like to start fires. 10 Hailey's eyes instantly welled up with angry tears. Connor rushed to his sister's defense, his "nice guy" mask slipping. "Chloe, she was just trying to be considerate. She didn't want to see everyone's hard work go to waste. You ordered an absurd amount of food for two people. It's perfectly normal for Hailey to question your motives." I couldn't even be bothered to fully open my eyes. "Mind your own business. I spent my own money. What right do you have to police my bank account?" Hearing me indirectly call him a meddling dog, Connor's perfectly manicured composure shattered. "I was just trying to reason with you! Why do you keep insulting us?" I let out an "Oh," and looked him dead in the eye, perfectly serious. "Not only will I insult you to your face, but if you're ever having trouble hearing me, I'll happily carve it right into your tombstone." "..." Connor and Hailey stormed off, absolutely seething. Hayes looked like he was preparing for the apocalypse. "We're dead. Chloe, the audience is definitely calling for our heads right now." Since I was full and had nothing better to do, I pulled out my phone and opened the livestream. He was right. A massive chunk of the chat was screaming for our blood. "Chloe is so arrogant! Connor was just trying to be a good team player!" "She does zero work and has the audacity to roast people. Where did the producers even find her?" "Get Hayes and Chloe off my screen. They are insufferable." But surprisingly, a counter-wave was fighting back. "Honestly, she's not wrong. The show literally didn't ban delivery." "Yeah, our poor Lexi was exhausted and still forced to go pick vegetables. It was hard to watch." "Marcus is a total carnivore. Forcing him to eat plain lettuce is a crime against humanity." "Am I the only one who thinks Chloe is kind of a badass LMAO. I think I'm falling in love." I watched the scrolling text for two seconds, then leaned over and whispered to Hayes. "Did you actually steal Connor's debut spot? Did Dad pull strings for you?" Hayes looked horrified. "No! I snuck off to do the show behind Dad's back. I would never dare ask him to rig it." "Then how did you..." "I honestly have no idea! During the initial evaluations, I was graded a 'D'. Then the second ranking hit and suddenly I had hundreds of thousands of votes. They confiscated our phones, so I didn't even know who was voting for me. I was completely clueless when they announced I was second." 11 That afternoon, Connor loudly rallied the rest of the cast to go explore the resort grounds. Noticeably, he didn't invite Hayes and me. We were currently huddled on the couch, scrolling through the voting analytics and comment sections from his time in the survival show’s boot camp. Connor and Hailey shot us looks of supreme pity before they left, treating us like absolute idiots. I knew exactly what they were thinking. Going out meant the drones and the main crew would follow them, guaranteeing maximum screen time and traffic. By staying in the hotel, we were actively sabotaging our own relevance. Connor practically strutted out the door. At 2:00 PM, after we had finished combing through the data, I shot Hayes a look. Hayes hesitated. "Chloe, is this really a good idea...?" "Hurry up. Stop stalling." He took a deep breath and opened an app on his phone. At the exact same moment, I turned to the single, stationary camera left in the living room. "Hayes and I are going live on IG right now. Room 645183. Come through if you're interested." Live chat: ??? Three seconds later, a tidal wave of viewers crashed into the livestream. Hayes and I were comfortably lounging on the couch, cracking sunflower seeds. I watched the chaotic blur of the chat and smiled. "Slow down, ask one at a time. No need to rush." There were thousands of people, and the vast majority opened with immediate, aggressive insults. I casually multi-tasked, banning accounts with one hand while addressing them with the other. "Your mouth is pretty filthy. Did you forget to wipe after you talked out of your ass?" Once I had thoroughly terrified the chat into a semblance of order, I started picking questions. Chat: "How do you justify your brother stealing Connor's debut spot?" I countered with a question of my own. "If you beat the guy in second place, what place are you in?" Chat: "First." I nodded. "Exactly. Connor ranked twelfth. Why aren't you going after him for being completely useless and failing to beat the guy in eleventh place? What does his failure have to do with my brother?" Chat: "...Wait, that kind of makes sense?" Chat: "But Hayes can't even sing or dance! He didn't deserve to debut. If they kicked him out, Connor would have made the cut!" Their questions were sharp, and Hayes looked at me like a kicked puppy. I shifted my weight, a mocking smile playing on my lips. "Are you guys all Connor's diehard fans?" Chat: "No, we're just casual viewers! We just hate seeing injustice." I laughed out loud. "So, casual viewers are allowed to hate my brother, but casual viewers aren't allowed to like him? If random people can passionately defend Connor, why couldn't random people passionately vote for Hayes to debut?" A few commenters panicked. "Hayes has no talent! What would casual viewers even like about him?" "His face," I stated, completely deadpan. "If Connor's aggressively average, tragically rushed face can somehow attract fans, why wouldn't people vote for someone as gorgeous as my brother? Since when is being hot a crime?" Chat: "...Okay, fair point." Because, objectively speaking, Hayes's face was a lethal weapon.
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