The Contestant#19  

Stop right there! Before you start reading this, have you read ‘Up Late’

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“Did you win yet?” Vinny asked the second he accepted the call. 

 

Corey laughed as they walked along the beach, watching the tide rise and fall. 

 

“It hasn’t even been two weeks yet.” Corey laughed into the phone. 

 

“Ahh, don’t worry, you’re gonna win, I can feel it in my knee.” Vinny said. 

 

Corey laughed again, even after three decades of knowing their grandfather, Corey still couldn’t figure the man out. 

 

“Isn’t that only for rain?” Corey asked. 

 

“Shut up Neily. If I tell ya you’re gonna win, then your gonna win. Speaking of winning, how is the future Mrs?” Vinny asked. 

 

Corey rolled their eyes. 

 

“You’re crazy, you know that? We haven’t even been on an official date yet.” Corey said. 

 

“Ahh, who cares! When I met your grandmother, she had a boyfriend! We Cambio’s are irresistible!” Vinny said. 

 

“Wait, grandma cheated on her boyfriend with you?” Corey asked. 

 

“Yeah, don’t tell your mother.” Vinny said in a low voice. 

 

“Stop trying to change the subject! What’s the competition looking like?” Vinny asked. 

 

“Everyone’s alright. For the most part.” Corey said, thinking back to Edwin’s remarks. 

 

“’For the most part?’ What the fuck does that mean?! Are they being rude to you down there? Huh? Cause you know I’ll be on the next flight out there! You know I’m not afraid to shove my foot into some asses.” Vince yelled into the phone. 

 

“Papa calm down! Nobodies being mean to me. Jesus.  ” Corey said. 

 

“Is that Corey?” Corey heard their father yell. 

 

“No fool! It’s a telemarketer!” Vinny yelled back. 

 

Corey laughed as their grandfather muttered something in Italian. 

 

“Come on old man, just let me talk to my kid real quick.” Alex said, his voice now louder and more clear. 

 

Vinny sighed dramatically before some ruffling could be heard. 

 

“Hey kiddo, how’s Hawaii?” Alex asked. 

 

“It’s stunning, we’ve got this private little beach behind the house, and every night since we’ve gotten here I’ve just been sitting in the sand watching the sunsets. Kinda makes me wish I had my camera.” Corey said. 

“Ah, I bet those pictures would be stunning. But other than that, everything going alright?” Alex asked, his voice climbing an octave or two at the end.  

 

“Oh no old man, I’m not telling you shit.” Corey said with a laugh. 

 

“What? Why the hell not?” Alex asked, deeply offended. 

 

“You know exactly why. Ya got loose lips old man! As a matter of fact, I’m starting to think it was you that leak the news about me being in this competition!” Corey said. 

 

“What? You think I blabbed? Are you kidding me? Those Cambio’s couldn’t keep a secret to save their lives, and you think I’m the one who blabbed to the family about this?!” Alex said, shocked at what he was hearing.  

 

“All I’m saying is when I came out to you, I knew I wouldn’t have to come out to the rest of the family.” Corey said, causing their father to gasp. 

 

“That’s not fair! That was my first ever smartphone! How the hell was I supposed to know that I created a family wide group chat?” Alex shouted into the phone. 

 

“You know what? I knew when I told you you were gonna blab. I even told mom and Chloe that after I told you I wouldn’t have to even come out cause you’d do it for me.” Corey said. 

 

Alex gasped like a teenage girl being told a scandalous secrete. 

 

“Corey what the hell?! I figured Chloe would’ve known, but YOUR MOTHER! You came out to YOUR MOTHER, MY WIFE, before ME!” Alex yelled into the phone. 

 

“Well you know what they say, ‘the Smiley men have loose lips.’” Corey said into the phone.  

 

“You know, they also say it’s the testosterone that cause us to be like that, so I guess that makes you a gum flapper  then too Smiley!” Alex shot back, emphasizing their last name.
 

Corey laughed into the phone yet again; while being in Hawaii and getting to know Adriana was going well, Corey missed being at home. 

 

“How’s my boy?” Corey asked, trying to keep their mind off their slight home sickness. 

 

“My God, if I didn’t know any better I’d think that fucker was your blood son. He wakes up at the ass crack of dawn just like his fucking father and his crazy ass great-grandfather. And once that suckers up, EVERYONE has to be up.” Alex groaned.  

 

“Hey! Be nice to your grandson! He’s just a baby!” Corey laughed into the phone.  

 

“Just a baby my ass! This groan ass man is like a hundred pounds. And your mother insists on letting him sleep on the bench at the foot of the bed, so every night I have to feel his hot ass breath on my toes!” Alex complained.  

 

“He’ll keep your feet warm!” Said Corey. 

 

“Fuck you kid, it’s fucking summer!” Alex said.  

 

“Speaking of your son, I gotta go take him for a walk.” Said Alex. 

 

After saying goodbye to their father and grandfather, Corey hung up the phone and made their way back towards the house. 

 

Just as Corey was making their way into the backyard, the back door of the house slid open and out walked Adriana. 

 

“You’re up early.” Adriana said.  

 

“Yeah, since I first learned how to talk I’ve never gone a single day without talking to my grandfather.” Corey said. 

 

“Geez, you weren’t messing around, you’re really all about food and family.” Adriana said with a laugh.  

 

“Yep, my dad’s mother always says ‘the two f’s make the world go round’.” Corey said.  

 

“Hey I’m about to go for a walk, care to join me?” She asked. 

 

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Said Corey. 

 

So, after informing the house staff that they were leaving, Corey and Adriana slipped out the front door and began walking.   

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