Random generated Prompt: You just scored a spot on a major competition TV show that makes its participants do the craziest things. You’re partnered up with a handsome but over-confident stranger. 

Goal: 30 minutes. Less than 1000 words. 

BEGINNING 

“Oh my goodness, Mo!” I screeched at the top of my lungs.

Monique, my roommate, came sprinting around the corner, “What? What is it?!”

“I got chosen for Fear Factory x Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader 2025!” I exclaimed. 

“Wow, Jen, that’s amazing! You finally got in after, what, five years of applying?”

“Ten, but yes,” I corrected. 

Five weeks later, Mo and I are walking onto the Fear Factory set. 

“I hope your partner is fit!” Mo says excitedly. 

“I just hope they’re fearless because you know I am not giving up for anything,” I replied. 

Finally, we are minutes away from filming and I am getting introduced to who my partner is. A tall man walks through the curtain. My jaw dropped. I looked up to what I could only describe as a Chris Hemsworth and Jason Mamoa lovechild. Okay. Not bad, but is he fearless though? Or just good looking? I thought to myself. 

“Hi. I’m Tucker,” he introduces himself. 

“Hi, Jen,” I replied while shaking his hand a little too long. 

“Alright, are you ready for this?” I shake my head yes with confidence. “Now, I don’t want you to do what you’re not comfortable with, but you should know I don’t plan on quitting,” he smirks. 

“Neither do I,” I laughed back. Two producers walk in and hand us helmets. They count us down from sixty seconds. Tucker and I walk through the curtains onto the set.  

Five hours later, three terrifying challenges, and two teams left to go. Tucker runs back through the curtains into our tent with me riding on his back. He puts me down. I give him a big hug then take a step back after I notice the sweat and stench coming off the both of us. We both stood there awkwardly for a moment. Then, he steps closer and gives me a kiss. I lean in fully. 

He lets go and says, “You were amazing! How did you learn to hold your breath for six minutes?”

  “It’s sad to say but my whole life all I’ve ever wanted to do was to be on competitive game shows. I spend all my money doing these crazy training lessons I wouldn’t use otherwise,” I respond. 

“That’s not sad, that’s dedication and I admire it!” He looks at me infatuated. “I’ve obviously been training my physique for years for random things like this. It helps with the fear part of the competition because I’ve been able to push myself harder than most at the gym,” he flexes his muscles and holds a pose. 

“That’s great for me! We’ve come so far. We’ve only got one more fear round, then the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader finale,” I exclaimed. 

“Oh, pft. We got this in the bag,” he pretends to shoot an imaginary basketball. “How about a kiss for good luck before we go back out?”

I paused for a moment and looked at him. I thought to myself, this was definitely not on my bingo card this year, but hey, he’s tall, handsome, weirdly addicted to completely unnecessary competitive challenges like me, maybe the game show producers paired us up for a reason. And, we’re about to win this damn thing. Why not? I took a step towards him. He instantly wrapped his arms around me, lifted me off the ground and kissed me. Time stopped–until the producers came knocking at our tent. 

He was right. We swept the other team without a sweat in the last fear challenge. I guess it was one lucky kiss. He threw me on top of his shoulders and paraded me in front of the cameras. Usually, I’d be embarrassed if a guy did that, but then I realized it was probably all the adrenaline and plus you kind of need an annoying confidence like that to be on a game show. 

All we had left was the finale round. I was up first. I walked up to my stand a little intimidated by the group of kids in front of me. I was asked three questions. I got two right and one wrong, but the other team only got one right. We were still ahead. I walked back to the sidelines. 

Tucker gave me a big squeeze as he whispered in my ear, “I got this.” He gave me a smack on the butt, then walked to the podium. 

The host of the show started to ask the question, “Approximately how many days does it take the Earth to orbit the sun-” 

BUZZ. Tucker had already submitted his answer before hearing the options. He gave me a wink across the stage. Psh, easy. I thought to myself. 

“Alright, Tucker all you need is to get this question right for $100,000. Let’s see your answer,” The host said. 

“ONE!” Tucker yelled. 

“Oh. My. God. He’s stupid,” I said aloud then walked off the set. 

END

Result: 60 minutes. 823 words. Kind of felt like a fan fiction?