Boar a la mode de Touraine

When separated from the other girls, Caleb was left alone with his thoughts concerning his upcoming date, and he was still stuck on the night before. As he walked through the hotel lobby he found himself wondering who could have been behind Eliza’s transformation the night before, despite Eliza’s casual insistence to drop it. It didn’t sit right with him that he could be going on a date with someone who would do that intentionally to someone else.

Then there was the question of if he was in any position to judge someone for doing that. All the girls here were **** into their positions and all of them were at real risk if they failed to score points with him. Was there any doubt that some would want to secure their position at the cost of others? And given the stakes, was he in any position to judge? It’s not like he was a paragon of morality, he had also chosen momentary peace of mind and enjoyment over what was right. So even if it was wrong, what right did he have to cast any stones?

Caleb found himself drifting toward the library and looked toward the seat where he had been accosted by Stella. Was he overthinking this? Maybe the impish woman was right and he should just be focused on enjoying the moment. Maybe that would be better for the girls too? They needed points after all. He started to run his hands nervously through his hair.

But would he just be encouraging behaviour that would lead to the further loss of all these people? He remembered Eliza’s words from that morning, there is no question that just existing hedonistically would encourage the sort of transformations that would lead to those little deaths of personality. What was he to do? Some Master, he had no control from the start, and now that he was trying to actually take this junk seriously?

Then there was the mere thought of his date with Mira coming up which was a smaller but no less dangerous landmine. He had never given his agent much thought before coming here. They had never met in person and while yes, obviously she had a gorgeous face, he had only ever seen it through a computer screen. If he was being truly honest, the emotion he most associated with her was annoyance at the pressure she consistently put on him to aim higher, to do better. He knew she was well-intentioned, all of that just felt so out of reach.

He knew little and less about her personally. He hadn’t known she had sung opera before coming here, though he had always guessed she had chosen her job in some connection to the way her own voice had sounded. What she did in her free time? Her beliefs? Her morals? He knew nothing and felt like he had no time to learn.

The Master sighed, he needed to get changed, if he spent too much time meandering, Mira would catch him down here and if there was one thing he did know about his agent it was that it was not wise to defy her when given clear instruction.

Meanwhile, in the Pierrot Suite Eliza had gathered Noemi, Lily, and Maddy and was explaining to them what had happened on her date. All the girls listened intently, though Lily tried to hide her distaste at the sweeter moments that Eliza had shared with Caleb. When Eliza brought up the Sabotage that she had been whammyed with the Plant girl broke her silence.

“Well we obviously know who did it right? There’s no one else despicable enough to “play the game” and try to foment the competition like that. Plus we know she had a Sabotage she hadn’t bothered to hide it.” Lily crossed her arms as she huffed in disgust.

Noemi had opened her mouth to speak but now mirrored Lily’s gesture before continuing, “Y-yeah, obviously, it had to have been Maya. She’s the only person here who would do something so, so categorically stupid” Her last words had an edge to them as she bit her lip in frustration.

Maddy who was slightly distracted by how the two busty women pushed up their chests, shook her head as she regained her senses, “We don’t know that right? Anyone could have snuck their way to the Sabotage Shop in the last day and a half, it’s not a given that Maya’s and Noemi’s old one are the only ones out right?”

Nodding her head the professor picked up where Maddy left off, “Maddy is absolutely correct. Everyone has had an opportunity to go there on their own now. It’s why they’re hiding BP counts from us, if they were on display it would be obvious when someone bought a sabotage. Now unless we physically see the purchase happen or see them use it there’s no way of telling. Even with the masks that there are only one of each if the person is clever enough we will only know that it has been bought not who has it.

Noemi moved her hands to clench her fists at her side, “Still I guess you would have to be pretty rotten to use a Sabotage on someone right? It’s obviously such a bad thing to **** on someone else.”

Running a hand along the Chilean Woman’s back Eliza sighed, “No, just ****. You weren’t here when we discussed this but I don’t think these sabotages are bad if agreed to. If I had known about the Sabotage last night maybe I would have planned around it,” this elicited a sour look from Lily and the professor held up her hands defensively, “I’m purely speaking in hypotheticals. Besides we have to accept that in order to get ahead we have to be intimate with Caleb.”

“There’s always the bounty board,” the plant woman muttered.

Maddy smiled, “I checked, it looks like the bounties are still there, no one has taken them yet. You know, Lily if you need the VP that much and don’t want to interact with Caleb. I wouldn’t be mad if you used the Sabotage on me. If it wasn’t too bad I mean…” Her voice petered out towards the end.

Lily grimaced, “That’s kind of you Maddy, but I’m fine. I have no plans on using a Sabotage, I don’t plan on sinking to Maya’s level and playing the game. I’m going to prove that we can defy this thing to the end.”

Eliza cast Lily a worried look but didn’t say anything before looking at Noemi, “If you wanted to claim that bounty, I’d extend the same offer to you. I know you were worried about interacting with Caleb before and your date is towards the end of the round.”

Blushing Deeply, Noemi shook her head, “No I think…I think we’re good now besides I think I have the most VP out of anyone right now. Really you should be using the Sabotage on me.”

Considering the circumstances, Eliza couldn’t disagree, “Well maybe we can peruse the shop later, only if there is something mild. I don’t want to inconvenience you like before.”

Noemi’s face turned even deeper red, “No it’s ok, I think it really helped with getting through to Caleb. I’m excited for our date now I think it’s going to go really well.”

With a scoff, Lily stood up, “Well if that’s everything, I’m going to head off I want to see if there’s anything on the island that might help us get out of here. Maddy, do you want to come along?”

Maddy shook her head, “No I actually have to talk to the fauns about my date tomorrow.”

“Suit yourself,” Lily said evenly before leaving the room.

As Eliza watched her leave, her worries about Lily in this place only increased.

When Caleb made it back downstairs he was now dressed in a red shirt to match Mira’s dress as well as a suit jacket, pants, and belt. From the bottom of the steps by the entrance to the Auditorium, Mira looked him up and down measuredly

She nodded furtively, “Yes, much better. Now then are you ready?” She extended her hand out to Caleb as he finished descending the stairs.

Caleb reached out and gently took it, but raised an eyebrow, “I’m not sure how ready I can be given you haven’t told me what we are doing.”

Mira used her hand to guide him down towards the entrance and opened the double doors, “I did some investigating and found out that the devil truly was not kidding in terms of their media library. We can get pretty much everything we might ever want to watch here. So I picked something out for us to watch together.”

Not bothering to hide his surprise, Caleb walked with Mira to the front row of seats and sat next to her, “I didn’t really ever picture you as a film buff.”

Her smile shifted into a smirk, “I’m not really, what I grabbed is not a movie necessarily but the 2023 performance of Carmen by the Metropolitan Opera. I had wanted to grab tickets to see it when it was in production live but found them too difficult to obtain. Fortunately, they recorded the production so all might enjoy it,” She looked Caleb square in the face, “Do you enjoy opera Caleb?”

Caleb scratched his cheek nervously, “I’ll be honest, everything I know about Opera comes from Bugs Bunny.”

That earned a small chuckle from Mira, “To be fair I think that’s many people’s experience. Which is a shame considering how beautiful they are. Not to mention that they are a cornerstone of culture.”

“I guess it’s not the easiest art form to get into, I mean it’s all in another language right?” Caleb raised.

“That doesn’t stop people from being into K-pop or anime. No, I think the biggest detraction is that Opera has earned a reputation for being stuffy and upperclass which is truly a shame as some of the most human stories come from Opera.”

Caleb had to admit his interest was piqued, “So what is this one about?”

Shooting him a wry grin as the lights turned down and the movie screen descended, “It’s a story as old as time. A story of falling in love with someone you shouldn’t”

As the film began playing, it focused on the pit orchestra playing the medley and Caleb looked over at Mira, “Hey wait a minute I recognize this music.”

Chuckling again, like windchimes, eyes focused on the screen, “It won’t be the last time that happens tonight, a lot of Music from Carmen has just soaked into popular culture. Just watch and keep an open mind.”

Caleb turned his eyes to the screen. He recognized that Mira was sharing her world with him, an aspect of herself that he hadn’t seen before. He wasn’t sure how into it he would be, but he would give it his all to focus.

By the time they reached the Habanera early in act one, he was ready to express his recognition of the song to Mira only to turn and see her face. She was staring at the screen with such contented pleasure, almost a reverence of what was in front of her. As the light of the screen played off her features, as she carefully observed the recording, in that moment she appeared like the most beautiful person Caleb had ever seen. Radiating such a quiet passion for what was in front of her.

He closed his mouth and refocused on the screen. He wondered if by the end he could even see a fraction of what he saw reflected in her eyes.

Over two hours later, the lights turned back on in the theatre and the screen rolled up leaving Caleb sitting awed in his seat. The story had been…intense to say the least. A soldier named Jose falling in love with a gypsy woman, obsessively so. Having his love rewarded by losing everything and then eventually only to lose the woman as well to the point of madness and ****. There was a dark beauty to it

Caleb thought about his own position and began to wonder if such a thing could happen here at the hotel. Maybe not in this season but in previous seasons. The whole point of the show was to drive up emotion in the contestants, even with the barring on **** he could see it getting quite messy.

Distancing himself from his thoughts, he looked over to Mira, “Was it what you wanted?”

Mira smiled softly, “I still wish I could have seen it live, but yes it was a beautiful performance. Carmen will always hold a special place in my heart, it was the first Opera I got the chance to perform in.”

Caleb smiled and leaned towards her, “Oh were you Carmen?”

Mira scoffed and waved her hand, “I was much too young for the role, Carmen should exude sensuality. No, I was part of the chorus but it was still my first and the start of my journey as a professional.”

There was a moment's pause as Caleb considered the idea of the Bengali woman ever being too young and awkward for such a role when his thinking was cut off by her speaking, “Caleb, in Carmen who do you think is the villain?”

Caleb paused to think, “Wouldn’t it be Carmen herself? How she tempts Jose and corrupts him while mocking him draws parallels to the imagery of the tempting of Adam by Eve and the serpent. Eventually, it causes his life to fall apart…and…” He stopped, “No it’s Jose himself isn’t it?”

“There’s not a right answer, but I do think it’s Jose. You speak of tempting but she was a woman seeking love and affection, she is always clear of her intentions. Jose is the one who sees himself as the victim but routinely it is his own actions that cause ruin. He is the one who seeks Carmen out, he is the one who attacks Zuniga, who neglects Carmen once he is **** to leave the military…” the singer let the words hang

“And the one who kills Carmen in a fit of jealousy. He refuses to hold himself accountable to his actions and then blames his suffering on others.” Caleb concludes.

Mira stood, “So tell me this then Caleb, you can recognize Jose as the villain. How do you view yourself?”

“What?” Caleb was startled by the turn of attention on himself

“You consistently refuse to improve and wallow in your situation. That was before you even got here. Now you’re here having women thrown at you and your first impulse in this auditorium was to complain.” Mira’s eyes were sharp as she looked down at Caleb.

Caleb clutched the sides of his seat and moved to stand, “Wait, I know I started that way but-”

Mira jabbed a finger into his chest causing him to fall back into his seat, “You’re trying now? Is that what you’re going to say? So what happens at the first setback? Will you go back to bemoaning your situation? That’s what you DO Caleb. You’re trying something now but that doesn’t change who you are. So why don’t you tell me now, why? Why be complacent? Why do you refuse to change and improve.”

“I-I” Caleb felt his face growing hot and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the seat.

“Tell me, is it just too hard? Are you lazy? Because if that’s the case then I pity all the girls here.” Mira’s tone was dismissive.

“No! That’s not it! That’s not why!” Caleb raised his voice defensively

Mira grabbed him by the collar and leaned in, “Then what is it? You’re talented, handsome, and could do so much more with yourself so why let things like fear hold you back?”

“Because I don’t deserve better!” Caleb grabbed Mira’s hand and cried out, wresting himself from her grip, “Because I’m too much like…my mom and I don’t deserve a better life. I hated her so much…” Hot angry tears began to form in Caleb’s eyes, “She brazenly cheated on dad and then hopped out of our lives, and what? I go and do the exact same thing as her. People like that don’t deserve to be happy.”

There was a sharp sound throughout the theater and it was only when Caleb instinctively reached up and grabbed his cheek that he realized Mira had slapped him.

“People don’t get what they deserve,” She stated matter-of-factly, “Did I deserve to lose my voice during the prime of my career?” Caleb opened his mouth to answer and the agent held up her hand, “You don’t decide what life does for you, you do the best with what you can and turning down opportunities handed to you on grounds like that? Is a spit in the face for all of us who never had a choice in the matter. You think you’re a bad person? Be better. Don’t be Jose”

Caleb sat there stunned and then Mira lowered her arm to him, “I’ve always believed in your ability to be more Caleb. It angers me to think you’re settling for less.”

Taking her hand Caleb stood up at last and wiped his eyes, “I…I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

“That’s all I can ask. Now, I’ve heard there is a special room for us to have dinner in?” She strode in front of him, swaying her hips, “Guide me to dinner?”

Caleb summoned his resolve and nodded.