Everyone Is Watching

Camille struggles to get warm, wondering over the true purpose of the game. She feels Fern—who Camille believes is former patient Nan—is the key. This reassures her, as Fern could only know about Camille’s debts, not her off-book patients or Wingo. When Samuel urges the importance of a fair competition, Camille contends that there will be no winner—the game is a setup. Ned pushes back against her theory.

After Ned leaves the room, the others plot how to ensure that he is the one voted off. Camille urges Maire and Samuel to “lay it all on the line” (244) and admits she knows Fern as a previous patient. Maire thinks Camille is trying to trick them, but Samuel asks for the story. In response, Camille shares the last two sentences from her Game Changer, which refer to them lying on the road and kissing by the lake. Maire, angry, storms off. Camille tells Samuel she doesn’t care about his past, she “just [wants] to get out of here in one piece” (246). Samuel insists he is innocent.

The next challenge is on the veranda. Fern dictates where all the contestants, now dressed in white, are to sit. The challenge is called “Spin, Speak, Shoot,” combining spin the bottle and truth or dare, but with a real gun, which Fern demonstrates is unloaded.