Day 30 - 9.13am

Day 30 in the Big Brother House. Last night Michael became the 3rd person to be evicted from the house after recieving 70% of the votes. All the housemates are up apart from Maria.

Kyle is in the shower and Isabel and Laurie are sitting outside in the garden, while Alex is standing in the kitchen with Liz, Brody and Tess. Alex looks at Liz.

"How was Maria last night?"

Liz shakes her head and sighs. "She said she was fine but I heard her crying last night when she thought that we were all asleep. When I called over to her she said she was fine..." She looks at him sadly. "You know what she can be like sometimes..."

He nods his head and then looks outside towards Isabel and Laurie. "What about those two? How were they?"

Tess looks out as well and sighs. "They didn't want to talk about it...I tried talking to them both and they said that they were fine. I just think they didn't want to think about it."

Brody looks awkwardly at Alex and Liz. "Do you...do you think that one of you two should go and see if Maria is okay?"

Alex nods his head and turns to Liz. "Was she awake?"

Liz shakes her head. "I didn't want to wake her up...I thought it might be worth letting her sleep on."

Tess continues to look outside as she says sadly. "It must be horrible for her...losing someone you care as much about..."

Liz looks at her as she walks over beside her. "It is..." She says quietly.

The four housemates look down guiltily before Brody speaks. "Well, at least we know that there is only another 4 weeks left. Come Monday and we'll be half way through..."

Alex smiles bitterly. "Only another 7 evictions to put up with...another 5 nominations. How are we supposed to nominate another 5 times?"

The others shake their heads and look out towards the garden. Tess sighs loudly as she walks over to him and pats his arm as she walks past. "Because that's the nature of the show. And no matter who you nominate...everyone in here will understand why you had to do it..."

He looks at her as she smiles at him reassurringly. "That doesn't make it easier..."

She smiles. "I know..."

He sighs as he looks at them. "You know guys, I really wouldn't care if you all nominated me this week..."

Liz and Tess smile at him as Brody hits him gently on the back. "Alex, I think any of us would be glad to get out of here today, just don't say anything you'll regret..."

Liz nods her head as she walks over to him and hugs him. "It's just one of those days...we all feel a bit guilty because of what happened."

Brody looks outside and nods his head. "We'll all go eventually..."

Outside Isabel and Laurie sit quietly. Each of them has a blanket wrapped around their shoulders and they have a cup in their hands. Laurie looks at the wall.

"Well, Michael will probably be just rolling home from a night on the town last night. Of course he isn't really a guy for the nightlife but..." Isabel says sadly.

Laurie nods her head but doesn't say anything. Isabel looks at her sadly.

"At least he has Max out there..."

Laurie turns her head and looks at her. "Yeah..."

Isabel sighs as she takes a drink of her cup. "You know, if you're moving in with Michael that means we'll be seeing a lot of each other...designated sisters and all that."

Laurie smiles at her and pulls the cover around her shoulder a little tighter. "Yeah, we will see a lot of each other..."

Isabel smiles at her. "Maybe it will help to remember that when we're in here...hope that maybe that will help things keep rolling in the right direction?"

Laurie smiles. "It would help if we tried to stay friends..."

Isabel nods her head and looks forward. "It would be good." She sighs loudly as she looks ahead. "I hope Michael's okay..."

Laurie nods her head and looks ahead again as she answers quietly. "Me too..."

In the girls room, Maria has just woke up. She is lying in her bed with her eyes open. She looks up and sighs sadly as she looks around the room while she quietly fingers the ring that's on the necklace around her neck. She takes her hand and uses it to cover her eyes for a moment before she sighs loudly and gets out of bed.

10.43am

All the housemates apart from Maria, Liz, Isabel and Alex, are all out in the garden. Maria is in the den with Liz and Alex while Isabel is in the kitchen. The group in the garden are talking about Maria.

Brody looks concerned towards the den. "Do you think she's okay?"

Kyle sighs loudly. "She'll be fine, it'll just be weird at first. Liz will have an idea what she's going through..."

Brody nods his head and turns to Laurie. "How about you Laurie? How are you feeling?"

Laurie smiles sadly. "I'll be fine, as Kyle says...it's just a little weird."

Tess rubs her back reassuringly. "You can talk to us about it if you want to..."

Laurie smiles and nods her head. "I know I can, thanks."

Kyle smiles as he lies down. "Well, that's what we're here for..."

Maria is sitting in silence in the den with both Liz and Alex on either side of her. The pair of them look at each other and shake their heads sadly. Liz looks at Maria.

"Maria, do you not want something to eat? You haven't had any breakfast..."

Maria shakes her head. "I'm ok, I'm really not hungry."

Alex looks at Liz and then to Maria. "Maria, this is not healthy. Come on, this is not something you have to do alone."

Maria looks at him. "I'm okay..."

His gaze softens as he looks at her. "No...you're not. You are not alright..."

Liz takes Maria's hand and sighs. "Maria, I know what you are going through..."

Maria turns to her and smiles sadly. "I know you think you do, but it's really not the same..."

Liz lowers her head and then looks at Alex, she quietly speaks. "Maybe not, but it still hurt. Anyway, I'm going to go and make some coffee...I'll be back in a few minutes."

Liz gets up and walks quickly out of the den. Alex sighs and looks at Maria who is looking out guiltily. She turns to him.

"Before you say it, I know...that wasn't fair."

Alex shakes his head and hugs her to him. "It wasn't, we're only trying to help."

She sighs as she leans her head against him. "I know you are...it's just..it's just not fair. He should be here..."

Alex rubs her back as she begins to talk. "I didn't mean to hurt Liz..."

Alex sighs. "We know you didn't. Don't worry about it." They sit in silence for a minute before Alex begins to speak again. "Things will be okay, I promise..."

Maria begins to cry gently and Alex hugs her closer. "It'll be okay, Maria...things will get better..."

11.48am

Maria and Liz are still in the den talking. Brody is cleaning out the chickens while Kyle and Tess sunbathe in the garden. Laurie, Isabel and Alex are all inside the house. Isabel sits in the conservatory watching as Kyle adjusts Tess' hat so that the sun isn't shining directly in her face. Alex is sitting in the girls room with Laurie.

Alex looks at Laurie and she smiles at him shyly. "You doing the rounds?"

Alex looks at her puzzled as she adds. "Between everyone affected by the eviction."

Alex smiles. "Everyone was affected with Michael's eviction. Just some people were more affected by it than the others."

Laurie nods her head and looks at him. "You aren't sorry he went are you?"

Alex sighs and looks at her and she nods her head. The pair of them sit in silence for a minute and Alex looks at her.

"How are you feeling, Laurie?" Alex ask as he looks at her.

Laurie smiles sadly and avoids his gaze as she looks around the room and answers weakly. "I'm fine..."

He shakes his head and looks at her. "That seems to be the common answer. Doesn't sound any more convincing coming from you than it did coming from Maria."

She turns to him and looks at him with her eyes glazed over. She doesn't say anything but he takes her hand and gives it a squeeze before letting it go.

"It will get easier Laurie..."

She nods her head and smiles at him as she whispers. "I know it will..."

He smiles at her and they sit in silence before he begis to talk. "So, my hand is almost completely better...maybe we could try and fit another bass lesson in this week?"

She smiles at him. "That would be good..."

In the den Liz and Maria is sitting beside Liz. They are facing each other and talking quietly.

Liz smiles at Maria as she talks quietly. "I'm surprised that you persuaded Alex to leave, Maria."

Maria smiles weakly. "I told him to go check on Laurie. I think he was worried about her."

"And Isabel..."

Maria looks angry. "Maybe, of course if she had went when she was supposed to it wouldn't have been a problem."

Liz looks at Maria but doesn't answer as Maria continues to speak quietly. "Liz? You know I didn't mean what I said earlier don't you?"

Liz smiles and nods her head. "I know you didn't."

Maria leans back against the wall and sighs. "I just...I just miss him."

Liz looks at Maria and nods her head as she moves over to beside her. "Remember what we said this time last week, as long as me, you and Alex are together we can survive any eviction..."

Maria nods her head as she smiles. "Yeah, as long as the three of us are together..."

This is Big Brother, will someone please come to the Diary Room.

Liz looks at her and groans. "Great, another task." She stands up and offers her hand to Maria to pull her up, which Maria takes.

The two girls smile and lock arms before walking out the den towards the others in the garden.

Kyle and Tess are now sitting up talking to Laurie, Alex and Isabel who are now all out in the garden. Liz looks at them and asks. "Is Brody away to get the task?"

Isabel nods her head. "Yeah, he's away to get it."

Maria and Liz sit down and smile at Alex who is looking at them concerned. Maria looks at Laurie. "How are you feeling Laurie?"

Laurie smiles at her. "I'm okay...it's just a little weird."

Maria nods her head sadly as she answers quietly. "I know it is..."

Isabel looks at Maria. "I see Michael gave you his ring, that was nice of him..."

Maria glares at her. "Yeah, just one of those things he did to show that he loved me...some people wouldn't do that, of course, some people don't understand the concept of love..."

Isabel looks upset and opens her mouth to respond as Brody walks out the house laughing. Alex looks relieved to hear him and call's to him. "Brody! What's so funny? They don't expect us to dress up as clowns or something?"

Brody laughs as he sits down. "Nope."

He grins at the others and imitates Big Brother as he reads out the sheet. "The housemates are asked to train a cat to do one trick."

The others all look at him.

"Yeah sure, now read the right task."

Brody grins at them. "I swear to God that we have to train a cat!"

Alex takes the sheet from him and reads it through before laughing gently. "He's right...we have to train a cat."

"Man, Big Brother has lost it..." Kyle smiles as he shakes his head.

Tess looks confused. "But what about the chickens? Will the cat not eat the chickens?"

Alex grins at her. "I told you they would end up getting ate in a task..."

She makes a face at him and continues. "Anyway, what trick do we have to teach the cat?"

Brody smiles. "We have to teach the cat how to eat with it's paw."

The others all laugh gently. Isabel looks at them. "That's not even possible..."

Brody looks at them, "Well, Sydney has a cat called Munchie and she eats with her paw..."

"So it is possible?" Laurie looks at him.

Brody nods his head. "I just have no idea how you actually train them to do it..."

"Well, if it can be done then there's no reason we shouldn't bet high...I mean we have plenty of time to practice." Kyle says as he looks at them.

Alex nods his head in agreement. "I agree, I mean...it's a cat, they are smart anyway. I bet all we have to do is shove some meat on its paw and it'll eat it. You know, we could beat it in an hour."

Kyle, Brody and Alex all look at the girls. Liz looks at them both. "How long do we have the cat for?"

Alex looks down quickly and reads. "We have the cat between 8 and 12 and we can train it for 10 minutes every half an hour."

Kyle looks at him. "Why are we only getting it for that long?"

Alex shrugs his shoulders and Laurie answers. "Maybe it would be cruel to train it that long without a break?"

The others nod and Liz looks at them, "In that case we have over $70 this week plus lots of food in the store room. We could bet high if you guys wanted."

Brody nods. "So how about...50%?"

"40%" Liz suggests at the same time.

The group look at each other before Kyle claps his hands together. "So 45% it is. Who wants to take it in?"

Brody takes the sheet of paper and stands up. "Are we sure?"

The others nod and Brody walks in the house.

Laurie leans over and whispers into Tess' ear. "I've never had a pet before..."

Tess looks back at her and whispers back. "Me neither, this will be fun. We'll be able to play with it a lot..."

Kyle and Alex look at each other and then to the two girls. Kyle begins to speak.

"Before this task starts you two..." He points at Tess and Laurie accusingly before continuing. "This is not a pet...that is the difference between us eating good food next week and eating the crap we already have, so don't go taking it easy on it."

The two girls put an innocent expression on their faces and he continues to look at them sternly. "I mean it! Don't go making it think that we offer unconditional love, because if it robs us off our money..."

Alex cuts him off abruptly. "Okay, we'll leave the graphic description until we're not on national TV, or until the cat fails the task..."

The girls look at Alex and Kyle shocked but amused.

Maria shakes her head and stands up and walks over towards the den again. Kyle looks at Alex and then to Liz. "Is she okay?"

Alex shakes his head and then looks at Liz who is looking at the den. "How was she?"

Liz sighs. "She'll be fine..."

2.12pm

The group have just had lunch that Liz prepared. Maria, Laurie, Brody and Kyle are all sitting in the dining area. Tess is cleaning up in the kitchen with Liz and Alex and Isabel are out in the garden.

Alex looks at Isabel and sighs. "How are you feeling? And before you answer, I've heard the "I'm fine" answer too many times today for it to hold any wait."

She looks at him and smiles weakly. "I miss him."

He looks at her and smiles sadly. "I know you do...but, things will get better."

She nods her head and looks away as he continues. "I know those words sound pretty empty, but we all knew that this would happen."

She doesn't look at him and he sighs. "It would be harder for you than anyone, you haven't really had a break in here..."

She turns to him and smiles sadly as her eyes are filled with tears. "I just got over losing Max...now I have to get over Michael. What's going to happen next week if I don't go?"

Alex shakes his head. "I don't know...but look at it this way, you will have got over the hard evictions. Nothing will hurt as bad as the last two have..."

She looks down and smiles bitterly. "Maybe..."

He takes her hand and wraps her fingers around his as he smiles. "I promise that if I get nominated I will act like a complete slime ball so that you will be glad to get rid of me."

She laughs involuntarily. "For some reason I can't see you as a complete slime ball..."

He lets go of his hand and puts on an indignant voice. "Of course I can be a complete slime ball, I have a lot of talents..."

She smiles. "But, slime ball isn't really one of them..."

He sits down and looks at her. "What if I was to empty all the tabasco out?"

She looks at him amused. "That would border on me wanting you out of here...but not quite there yet..."

He thinks for a second. "What if I was to wake you up in the middle of the night with a loud sing song?"

She nods her head. "Definately getting there..."

"Hmmm, you're not making this easy on me...okay, final...what if I was to cook all your meals in the house?"

He grins at her as she puts on an expression of horror. "Okay, that would seal it...I would probably kick you out myself..."

He sits back and looks at her as she smiles. "Well, my mission will be complete then..."

She smiles at him quickly before turning away. "Definately..."

Maria looks out into the garden as Isabel and Alex smile at each other.

"Have you seen anything as pathetic as that? She is taking advantage of his good nature..."

Laurie looks at her. "I don't think that's the case, Maria."

Maria looks at her. "Laurie, Isabel is very clever..."

Laurie looks outside. "She's also very upset..."

Maria shakes her head and looks at Kyle and Brody. "Well, she should have been evicted then shouldn't she have?"

Kyle looks at her and then stands up and heads towards the boys room. "Alex can look after himself, Maria. I'm not Isabel's biggest fan but Alex is a big boy..."

Maria looks out at them. "She should have went, he should have stayed instead of her."

Brody and Laurie exchange a look and shake their heads as Alex walks in the house and heads towards the boys room. As he gets in he notices Kyle who is looking through his cabinet for his book.

"Hey, Kyle." Alex says weakly as he walks over to his own bed.

"Alex, how's it going trying to cheer up the others? Not sure it's a job I'd want..."

Alex sits down on his bed and shakes his head. "Isabel is feeling better she said, and Maria and Laurie both said they were okay now. So, things are going okay..."

Kyle looks at him quizzically. "You aren't upset that Michael went are you?"

Alex shakes his head. " Honestly, if anything I feel guilty. Not because I wanted him to stay, but because of how it has affected the other people in the house. Maria is heartbroken, so is Isabel and although I think Laurie is taking it a little bit better she is still upset. Me and Liz are feeling guilty..."

"You two voted..."

Alex nods his head. "I can't be sure about Liz but I'm pretty sure..."

Kyle nods his head in understanding and sighs as he stands up. "I know you two aren't alone if that's any consolation."

Alex smiles as he looks up at him. "It should be, maybe if they weren't so upset..."

"They'll get over it and after a couple of days things will be back to normal and we won't have to worry about him being a pain in the ass..."

"Every cloud has a silver lining?" Alex asks.

Kyle nods his head as he walks out. "Exactly."

5.24pm

All the housemates are in the garden talking about the task apart from Alex who has went to see Big Brother.

Alex walks into the Diary Room and sits down. He looks into the camera and waits on Big Brother to speak.

Hello Alex.

"Hello Big Brother."

Is there anything you would like to talk to Big Brother about?

Alex looks at the camera determined and begins to speak. "I just wanted to let you know that I won't be nominating on Monday. I can't nominate anyone else in the house, I like them all too much and there is no reason why I wouldn't want to live with them. Even the people that I didn't know that well I've got to know a lot and basically I would hurt someone if I nominated them and I refuse to hurt my friends any more."

He looks at the screen waiting for an answer.

Alex, Big Brother rules state that all the housemates must be involved in the nomination process and failure to follow this rule will result in Big Brother choosing the names of the two people closest to you for nomination.

Alex looks at the camera angrilly. "That's not fair!"

All the housemates were made aware of the rules before they entered the house.

Alex sits forward and glares at the camera as he speaks slowly. "I cannot think of a good reason to vote anyone out of the house so I shouldn't have to, unless you would rather in manufactured reasons to cause as much hurt to my friends as possible?"

Big Brother rules state that all the housemates must be involved in the nomination process and failure to follow this rule will result in Big Brother choosing the names of the two people closest to you for nomination.

He shakes his head and smiles bitterly. "Where have I heard that before? You realise this is cruel and unfair? I can't vote out my friends and that is what you expect me to do..."

All the housemates were made aware of the rules before they entered the house.

Alex runs his hand through his hair. "You said that before as well...there is no way I can do this and be happy about it."

Big Brother is always here if you need to talk about anything, Alex.

Alex looks at the camera sadly and sits in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "I hate your rules...I hate the whole concept of this game. It's not fun anymore..."

Outside in the garden Tess and Laurie are talking excitedly about the cat while Kyle tries to remind them that it's not a pet. Brody watches this and leans in close to Liz.

"It's nice to see that the task has at least took some of their minds of last night..."

Liz nods her head and looks at Laurie before looking at Maria who is sitting in silence. Brody notices this and call's over to Maria.

"What do you think of this task, Maria?"

Maria looks up and smiles at him weakly. "Umm, I think it's okay, it'll be nice having something else in the house even is it is a cat. I would have rather it had been a dog."

"Alex was determined you were a dog before you came in you know..." Laurie adds.

Laurie smiles at Maria as Brody turns to Isabel. "What about you, Isabel? Looking forward to having a furry friend in the house?"

Isabel smiles. "It should be a fun task."

Maria shakes her head and mutters something incoherent. Liz sits beside her and they all sit in silence for a minute. Kyle sits and drums his hands against his legs before standing up. "I'm going to get a drink, you guys want anything?"

Tess smiles at him and nods her head. "That would be great."

He smiles at her and turns to the others. "Anyone else?"

Brody, Liz, and Laurie all want something and Kyle walks in the house. He walks to the kitchen and begins to pour out the drinks when Alex walks out the Diary Room door looking angry.

"What's up?" Kyle asks as Alex walks out the door.

Alex shakes his head and hits the wall angrilly with his hand and Kyle walks towards him and asks again concerned. "Okay, what's up?"

Alex shakes his head and sighs as he leans against the wall. "Nothing."

Kyle raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's really looking like nothing right about now..."

Alex sighs. "Me and Big Brother have a different opinion on things...it's not important."

Kyle nods his head and looks at him for a second before turning back towards the kitchen. Alex looks at him and walks over.

"How's everyone?"

Kyle nods his head. "Laurie and Tess are doing that girl thing they keep doing because we're getting a cat. Maria and Izzy are doing the starey, depressed thing and Liz and Brody are trying to keep everyone happy."

Alex leans against the work-surface. "So we're all still having fun then..."

Kyle sighs and takes a drink as he answers sarcastically. "Oh definately, can't you tell?"

9.42pm

The housemates are inside the house talking in the lounge. The conversation has turned to what they expect the rest of the time in the house will be like.

Maria, Brody and Liz are all sitting on one couch while Tess, Kyle and Laurie sit on the other. Isabel sits on the seat and Alex is lying on the cushions with his feet elevated by the exercise ball.

Isabel smirks at him. "You know, I think you've used that more than I ever have..."

Alex sighs and looks at his feet. "That's because it's the work of genius. You can bounce, you can sit, you can do what it was designed for I guess and it always stays round..."

Brody smiles at him. "You're going to get one aren't you?"

Alex smiles. "That would be a yes..."

Kyle clears his throat overly loudly and looks at Alex ands tried to surpress a smile. "Anyway, before Whitman so rudely interupted..."

"Hey...I was answering an important question."

Kyle rolls his eyes. "About an exercise ball? Besides, it wasn't even a question..."

Alex tilts his head so he can look at Isabel. "Izzy? Sure that was a question?"

"Umm..."

"See, even Isabel didn't think it was a question, it was an observation..." Kyle says.

Alex rolls his eyes. "Now who is drifting off topic?"

Kyle sits back in his seat and smiles. "As I was saying, the tasks we've had so far have been, the stupid water task, the dancing task, Alex's favourite the obstacle course, the memory task and now the cat one. What do you guys think will be next?"

They all sit in silence for a moment before Kyle adds. "It's not a trick question guys..."

Isabel answers. "Probably something creative...you know, paint each other or learn to play a musical instrument..."

The others nod in agreement apart from Maria who mutters to Liz quietly. "Well with any luck she won't be here to see that..."

Alex hears this and adds loudly. "Okay, after that what?"

Isabel looks at Maria and then to Alex who is looking at Brody and Liz hopefully.

Brody answers loudly. "I um...I think it might be a logic task...some puzzle we have to solve..."

Maria glares at Isabel as she responds. "Oooh, maybe it will be something like what something is someplace it shouldn't be, basically because it isn't wanted there and we have to find a way to get it out?"

Isabel shakes her head and doesn't answer as Liz begins to speak loudly. "After that it might be an endurance task..."

Before Maria can say anything Isabel stands up and walks away from the lounge. "I think I'm going to bed guys...what with the cat being here at 8am. Goodnight."

All the housemates apart from Kyle and Maria all say goodnight to her and as soon as she is in the girls room Laurie turned to Maria. "That was nasty Maria..."

Maria looks at her and then to the others. "What? I was discussing the tasks..."

Alex shakes his head. "No you weren't..."

Maria looks at him. "So you take her side?"

He sits up and looks at her. "This has nothing to do with sides, I'm just saying you don't need to put the little digs in. She feels bad enough..."

Kyle smiles. "Well, maybe it will make her realise that if she can't take it she shouldn't dish it out."

Alex shakes his head and lies back down and it's Laurie who begins to talk again. "We're all taking it bad...maybe we should try and remember that..."

Maria rolls her eyes and stands up and sits in the chair that Isabel departed and begins fingering the ring around her neck. "Whatever you say, Laurie..."

In the girls room, Isabel has just got into bed. She takes of her mic and sits it beside her bed and looks at the pictures on the wall above her. She looks at her parents and then the one with Max and Michael on it and closes her eyes as she turns round. She uses her arm to cover her face as she slides under the covers and brings the covers up over her face so nothing can be seen.