Coming From Behind

Anna had a problem. She was down a lot of points. Trevor's outburst the other night had completely blindsided her. If she was going to stand any chance of winning this thing, she'd need to play more aggressively.

She and Chloe waited at the gazebo, lit purple and red in the desert twilight. A little ways in the distance a figure drew near. Anna squinted, making out Aaliyah's form as the woman drew closer.

"Where's Hanna?" Chloe asked when Aaliyah finally made it to the gazebo.

"She moved out of my suite. I do not know where she is right now. Today it will be only me."

Aaliyah took a seat and nervously adjusted the hem of her dress, which was so short that it did nothing to hide her panties beneath.

"Why did you call us here?" Aaliyah asked her. "I thought we were waiting until the end of the round to meet."

"That was the plan," Anna began, "but I've been giving it some thought. I think we need to step up our game. The girls at the top of the leaderboard have a huge advantage."

"Nothings really changed though," Chloe said, "and last time we all agreed that the best thing to do was to sit and wait."

"I have been thinking about this as well actually," Aaliyah added. "I think I agree with Anna. The three of us are not doing well. Sitting and waiting might not be our best plan."

Chloe frowned but didn't argue.

"So the important question then," Anna said, "is what to do. I only have 600 bonus points. Not enough for anything really."

"Hanna and I have 2200," Aaliyah told them. "It's more than you, but actually there is not much we can buy for that. I have checked, and the only thing I can afford is the dream which reveals something that would make Trevor happy."

Chloe kicked her feet.

"What about you?" Anna asked her.

"I've got 3500," she revealed.

Anna whistled. "Ok, now we're talking."

"I'm still not convinced we need to make a move just yet," Chloe insisted. "We risk making enemies."

"You're down thirty points," Anna said. "Aaliyah's down twenty one, and I'm down nineteen. If we want to make up the difference we can't play it safe."

Chloe looked a little unconvinced, but she nodded. Good.

"So what?" Chloe asked. "We get the dream and then decide how best to leverage it?"

"I don't know," Aaliyah replied. "That might be helpful for one of us, but it does not help us very much as a group."

Anna had been thinking the same thing. It didn't help her very much if Aaliyah or Chloe found some way to earn a few Victory Points themselves. "I think we need to avoid defense for the moment and do something more on the offensive side of things," Anna said.

"I could buy a heads up on the next contest," Chloe suggested. "I have just enough to afford it, and getting a few extra days to plan could make the difference."

Anna shook her head. "If you buy that then you aren't allowed to tell us what the contest is. Only you'd be allowed to know."

"She could share strategies though maybe," Aaliyah speculated, "even if she can't tell us what the game specifically is."

It wasn't the worst idea in the world, but Anna knew that they needed to get ambitious. "We'll already have an advantage in the contest since we'll have each others' backs. I think we need to focus on taking someone down so that we can catch up."

The group fell silent. It was Aaliyah who spoke first. "Laura and Paige are tied for first. They should be the targets. Natalie and Audrey are almost tied for second, but they have only half as many points as the first two."

Anna nodded. She agreed.

"What are we talking about doing here?" Chloe asked.

Quiet. Then, once again, Aaliyah, "It costs 500 bonus points to add to a contestants libido for the day. I can buy this four times for one of the leaders on the day of the contest. Then they will have a hard time playing well."

Anna hadn't thought of that, but it wasn't a bad idea. Four of those boosts stacking on top of each other might just guarantee a poor performance from whoever they picked.

"That's...not the worst thing in the world," Chloe conceded. "The effects would wear off quickly."

Aaliyah nodded. "And we would give ourselves better odds. I think it's a good plan."

"Maybe we can do better though," Anna added.

"You have something in mind?" Aaliyah asked.

"I might," she replied. "Chloe has 3500 points. If one of us transfers her another 500, she could buy an extra transformation for someone."

Chloe looked shocked, and Aaliyah frowned.

"What would be the point of that?" Aaliyah asked.

Alright. This might not be an easy sell, but Anna was convinced it was the right thing to do. "Paige strikes me as sort of fragile. I don't think she's handling all this very well. And if we put a little pressure on her we might be able to take her out of the fight."

"That's just cruel," Chloe said in a soft voice, shocked at the suggestion.

Aaliyah stayed silent.

"Think about it though," Anna continued, "It would give us a big advantage for, like, the rest of the game. Not just one contest, but the whole thing."

"I don't know if I could do that to someone," Chloe confessed.

"If we're going to play to win," Anna told her, "then we need to play to win. At the end of the day only one of us is walking away. Fail, and Trevor will own us forever."

Chloe stared at her feet, thinking.

"I agree with Anna," Aaliyah finally said. "This is the best strategy."

Anna held her breath. They needed Chloe's points to pull this off.

"Fine," Chloe said at last. "You're right. Only one person can win, and I won't be his ****. There's not much point to half-assing it."

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't exactly looking forward to doing this, Paige seemed like a nice girl, but this was a contest. It was Anna, or everyone else.

"Anna," Aaliyah said, "you should be the one to transfer Chloe the points."

"I only have 600 though!" she exclaimed. That would tap her dry.

"Chloe is spending all of her points too," Aaliyah insisted. "Plus, it seems like having all of our points in one pot is more useful for buying things. This way, we keep my 2200 points all together."

"Good point," Chloe agreed. "That way we can at least afford a dream or something next round if we need it."

Anna barely had any bonus points at all. It didn't seem fair that she had to spend what little she had. She looked between her two co-conspirators, but they seemed to have made up their minds. Ugh. Fine. It was only 500 points. She'd manage.

"Alright," Anna said. "Let's do it then."

She moved over to the front of the gazebo, where a thin screen had been embedded into the wood. They were set up throughout the resort and acted as interfaces for spending bonus points. Having one here was one of the reasons she'd chosen the gazebo as their meeting place. That and it was far away from prying eyes.

Anna transferred her points over and then stepped aside so Chloe could take her place. Chloe hesitated, her finger over button that would confirm her choice, and for a second Anna worried she would back out. But then Chloe's face hardened and, to Anna's relief, she pressed down.

"It is done then," Aaliyah said.

Anna nodded. One down, seven to go.