Drinking Games

Farra approached the bar slowly, with Braid following closely behind Loose. Braid’s hair was actually in pigtails now, and Loose’s tied in an over shoulder ponytail, but she’d started thinking of her two bodies by those initial hairstyles, and the names had stuck.

The crowd that had beaten her there was impressive. AJ stood behind the bar, mixing drinks for everyone. Emily and Rachel sat side by side talking quietly to one another, while Hannah sipped on a martini between Julie and Loretta, exchanging banter with both. The teal haired girl was talking excitedly with AJ, who turned to her as she approached.

“Dr. J-A!” She said, waving her over. “Glad you could make it!”

“Quite a crowd you’ve gathered!” Farra greeted back. “But seeing as I’m no older than you now, I think you can stick to calling me Farra, dear.”

“Anything you say, Ma’am.” AJ agreed. “What can I get you?”

Farra smiled. She hadn’t known AJ as long as she had Jake, but she’d always taken a liking to her. She opened her mouth to answer when a cry came out from the other side of Teal Hair.

“Mom!”

Ryan bounded up, rushing to her and sweeping her into a full, two armed hug. She kissed her cheek, then repeated the hug and kiss with her other body.

“Hello, son,” Farra said, somewhat astonished by the reversal in her demeanor. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much!” Ryan said with a smile. She was heartbreakingly beautiful when she smiled; every bit the daughter she’d never had, “Lindsey talked me off a ledge.”

She looked back over her shoulder at the teal haired girl, who raised a glass toward them and gave them a wink.

“I…I think I’m going to be okay,” She said.

It was a huge weight off Farra’s chest.

“I’m very glad to hear that.”

Ryan put her hands on Loose’s shoulders, looking her directly in the eye.

“And I'm really, really sorry about earlier. I was being very selfish.”

“It’s okay,” Farra said. “We were going through a lot.”

“It’s not,” Ryan insisted.

She took one of Farra’s hands, paused, and then took on her other body.

“I love you. And I won’t let your change freak me out anymore,” She said. “You’re my Mom, and you’re awesome.”

Four eyes got watery then instead of just two, and at the bar beyond, Farra could hear a few of the girls coo at the pronouncement. For once, Farra was at a loss for words.

Luckily, Ryan was there to save her again.

“I’m going to Lindsey for girl stuff, though.” She said, “I’m sorry, but it’s just kinda personal and it’s a little easier if…y’know…”

Farra nodded, finally collecting herself.

“I do,” She said, remembering her own transition into womanhood. She hadn’t wanted to talk to her mom about it either. “But if you do need me…”

“Of course,” Ryan agreed.

Farra fixated on Lindsey, and walked to her. She let one body hang back, lest she seem like a pair of bouncers readying to remove an unruly patron. Still, Lindsey seemed a little uneasy.

“I understand you helped my son,” She said, doing a little courtesy before her, “You have my gratitude. And if you find yourself in need of a favor…”

“It was nothing, really,” Lindsey insisted. “Just being neighborly is all.”

Farra backed off, as she could tell she was making the girl uncomfortable.

“Well, thank you in any case.”

Realizing she was suddenly the center of attention, she moved both her bodies toward a pair of seats at the end of the bar, and then felt better of it. Too much of her problems stemmed from the simple fact that when she was interacting with people, she tended to put one body first and let the other hang back like a creepy inanimate doll.

Not this time.

She walked Braid walked up to Julie.

“May I?” She asked, gesturing to the empty seat there.

Julie ascented, albeit a bit uncomfortably, and Braid took her seat there. She had Loose take a seat next to Lindsey and Ryan.

“Is that weird? Or like, confusing or whatever?” Lindsey asked.

Farra shrugged.

“You get used to it,” She said. “I’m actually pretty good at taking multiple inputs. It’s moving around that’s a btich.”

“What’s it feel like? Trying to…” Lindsey started to ask.

“No!” Ryan interrupted, “No questions, remember?”

“That’s sweet, son,” Farra said, ”But I don’t mind answering.”

Ryan shook her head though.

“I’m not protecting you, Mom,” She said. “We’re playing a game.”

“Really?” Farra asked, suddenly intrigued. “What kind?”

“We’ll get to it,” AJ said. “Ryan here’s our master of ceremonies. He always is when we do this.”

Across the bar, she turned her head toward Julie.

“Hey, can we talk?” She asked. “We’re sort of stuck living together. If there’s anything I do that bothers you…I want to work on it.”

Julie looked a little uncomfortable. Farra could recognize it as she’d looked uncomfortable more or less the entire day.

“I’m…working on it too,” She said after a moment. “I know it’s not your fault, it’s just…”

“If I do something that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me,” Farra interrupted, not unkindly. “I may not look like it anymore, but I’m a tough old bitch and I can take it. But I’m still new to all this, and trying to figure it out. So if there’s a way I can make this easier on you, I want to know.”

“Besides,” She added. “It’s easier than everyone avoiding me.”

Her eyes darted over to Ryan as she said it. She, watching AJ with anticipation, didn’t notice, but Julie did. She nodded.

“Well, I’ve been guilty of that,” She admitted. “But I’ll be sure to tell you. You’re still easier to deal with than my daughter.”

“Is that who-”

Ryan spoke up to interrupt Farra’, and her voice was so loud speaking to one body that it split the ears of her other.

“No questions!” She exclaimed, slamming both hands on the bar. “There’s a ritual coming, damnit!”

“Yeah, when are we partaking in this madness?” Hannah asked.

“Pretty soon,” AJ said. “Just gonna give a couple more minutes to see if the last two show up.”

“You sound like you’ve done this a time or two,” Loretta said to Hannah.

Hannah nodded.

“They haven’t told me but I know what’s coming.”

Now Farra was even more intrigued. Then her head closest to Loretta turned to her as she muttered.

“I’ll be damned…”

Her other one turned to find Exe (and what a stupid name that was to go by) dragging Megan by the wrist. The latter looked uncomfortable, the former grimly determined.

Even she stopped, though, when she saw all the other contestants ringing the bar.

“Holy shit. You really got all of us.”

AJ nodded.

“Take a seat, we’re about to start a game.”

“A game?” Exe asked, “What kind of game?”

The tall woman nodded to Ryan.

“Tell em’ what we’re doing.”

Farra’s newly minted daughter nodded.

“We are playing a game called Fuck Around or Find Out,” She said.

Hannah made an audible groan.

“I will kick things off, asking one of you a question. If you choose Find Out, you answer it,” Ryan explained. “You-”

“If you’re asking and we’re answering, doesn’t that mean that you’re finding out?” Loretta interrupted to ask. “The name doesn’t make a whole lotta sense.”

Ryan shot her an irritated look.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s a pun.” She said.

“But a pun isn’t really just a thing people know,” Lindsey added. “It’s like wordplay.”

“Like the Importance of Being Earnest!” Megan chimed in, then cast her gaze down when nobody seemed to get it. “Nevermind…”

“I know that one,” Farra said, giving her a supportive pat on the back.

Ryan gave a heavy, theatrical sigh.

“Look, don’t worry about that,” She said. “The important part is that if you pick Find Out, you have to answer the question. And you have to answer it honestly.”

Exe looked skeptical.

“What makes you so convinced we’ll answer honestly?”

To this, Ryan only grinned.

“That’s the beauty of the game. People don’t lie very convincingly when you put them on the spot,” She said. “And if you can catch them, how they lie and what they choose to lie about is revealing.”

“Okay, so if the game is called Fuck Around or Find Out, what’s the first part mean?” Rachel asked.

“If you decide you don’t want to answer a question, or at least 25% of the players decide that your answer was a lie, you Find Out,” Ryan said, “Which means…”

AJ produced a bottle of piss colored liquid from beneath the bar, setting out in view. Farra couldn’t read the label from either angle, but from the one next to Julie, she could tell it was very old styled.

“Oh God,” Hannah said, visibly cringing, “Really, AJ?”

The tall woman nodded.

“It means you have to take a shot of that vile shit,” Ryan said. “Jeppson’s Malort.”

“What is it?” Emily asked, leaning forward so close to examine it that yellowish light danced on her face.

“Back in some days I was considerably less proud of, I dated a woman named Dana,” AJ explained.

“Dana Isane-a” Ryan chimed in.

If AJ disapproved of this label, she didn’t say so.

“Dana was from Chicago, and apparently they drink this shit like water as some sort of psychotic rite of passage,” AJ said. “It kind of explains a lot, actually. It tastes like…”

“Like you know sometimes if you throw up in your own mouth a little?” Julie chimed in. “It’s like that, but if a grapefruit did it in yours. It’s like grapefruit vomit.”

AJ gave her a curious look.

“I live in Indiana,” Julie explained. “We get it over the border.”

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I am VERY excited to try that.” Lindsey said. She was being sarcastic, but Farra thought she might be more excited than she was letting on.

“Basically, when you get asked a question, you have three choices,” Ryan said. “Tell the truth, take a shot and pass the question, or try to lie and hope you don’t get called out. The latter options result in a good ol hork of that stuff.”

“I would recommend having a chaser drink handy,” AJ said. “It’s pretty bad.”

“And the more you drink, the more honest or bad at being dishonest you get,” Loretta said. “I get the appeal as a sort of college drinking game.”

“I’m 30!” Ryan objected.

“Of course you are.” Loretta said, in a tone that implied that perhaps she shouldn’t be.

“They made me do this when Jake brought me around the first time,” Emily recalled. “Only we had cheap vodka instead of…whatever that is.”

“It’s a bitch and ¾ to find,” AJ said. “They only really sell it around Chicago.”

“Did they just have it here?” Farra asked, “At the bar, I mean.”

AJ nodded, and Farra grimaced. That implied some uncomfortable things about the extent to which the showrunners knew about their lives.

AJ began distributing glasses to each girl. Megan tried to push hers away, but Exe put her hand on it and **** it back.

“This is fucking awesome!” Lindsey said, “I’m excited!”

“The 21 year old would be. Those of us north of 30 are pretty much done with our shooting days,” Loretta groaned. “But screw it, I’m in. Who gets the first question?”

Ryan considered for a moment…

*****

“I think we’ll start with…” She said, settling on Lindsey, “You, eager beaver.”

“Well that’s a hell of a way to pay me back for helping,” She said.

She stared daggers at Ryan until she began to look abashed, then allowed herself a huge grin.

“I’m just fuckin with you,” She said. “Go on. Whatcha got?”

Ryan rolled her eyes, but asked her question anyway.

“Why were you topless this morning? For real.”

“Real answer? Because I was at home and I wanted to be. Me and clothes have something of an open relationship, least when I’m in private,” She said. “I didn’t think I was going anywhere, so why bother?”

“Decency. Surprise visitors. The inherent virtue of modesty,” Julie said, giving her a few reasons.

Lindsey brayed out a single loud laugh.

“Overrated!” She said, “Anyway, is it my turn to ask a question?”

Ryan nodded, and Lindsey turned to Exe.

“So you. I’m curious, right…you play video games and stuff for fun,” She said. “But when it became a job did it start to suck? Because stuff like that always sucks for me.”

“Of course not. I love what I do.” Exe said. “Which is a lot more than playing games, by the way. I’m an entertainer that just happens to do that.”

“I guess that tracks,” Lindsey said. “No judgment here, though. Make money where you can.”

But Ryan was looking at her skeptically.

“I think you’re lying,” She said. “I’ve caught you paying people to play for you. Or maybe using someone else’s footage, but I think the former’s more likely.”

“Dude!” Lindsey said, shooting an elbow at her.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Because we’re in this psycho game now,” Lindsey said, groping for the phrase she wanted. “Isn’t holding this over her a little…small…in the grand scheme of things?”

“It’s alright, I’m a big girl,” Exe said, then let out a sigh. “And he’s right. I hate streaming.”

Lindsey blinked.

“Yo, we were totally not going to call you out on that.”

Exe shrugged.

“You’re right. It is a bit small at this point. I was paying my little brother to play while I worked the crowd,” She said with a shrug. “Playing the same 3-4 games got insufferable for me a long time ago. And with him and my parents now all depending on me now, and an agent to pay, I basically work 12 hours a day every day just to keep up with our lifestyles.”

AJ gave her a sympathetic look and gripped the bottle.

“You need this?”

“I don’t think I need whatever’s in that,” She said, “But I’ll take it anyway.”

AJ slid it to her.

“I’m on camera when I go to the gym, when I go on walks, when I play games, when I cook…I basically live in a fucking fishbowl and perform for a crowd all the time,” Exe explained, unscrewing the cap, “So if it ever seems like I’m happy to be here, now you know why.”

Instead of pouring it into the shot glass in front of her, she put the bottle to her full lips and took two big swallows from it. She was grimacing and coughing by the time she put it down.

“What…the fuck?” She coughed, “That i_s _disgusting!”

AJ replaced the bottle with a glass of beer and Exe chased the shot gratefully. She glared at Ryan, and Lindsey was sure she was going to ask him the next question. But when she was fully composed, it was Emily she turned on.

“Emily. You’re dating Jake,” She said. “What’s the deepest, most interesting fantasy he’s ever shared with you.”

The blonde’s pretty, freckled face hardened.

“Are you asking me to help you fuck my boyfriend?”

“I’m just asking a question.” Exe said, nonplussed. “Half the point of these sorts of games is to get at sex stuff, right?”

“Well, you’re gonna have to fuck around,” Emily said, motioning for the bottle.

She followed Exe’s example, drinking directly from the bottle and similarly regretted it. Unlike her predecessor, she had a daiquiri in hand to chase it down with, though Lindsey wondered how long she’d be able to stay upright if she were throwing it back at this rate.

Rachel patted her back as she coughed, then looked surprised when Emily spoke up to her.

“Alright…your turn,” She said between breaths. “Why did you give up on trying to date? I know that’s what you’ve been doing for a long time now.”

Rachel recoiled. She clearly hadn’t expected any hard questions from that quarter. But Emily looked her in the eye and held her gaze.

“Fuck around.” She said after a moment, taking the bottle from her best friend’s hand.

She took a much shorter, almost furtive swallow, but immediately grimaced. Around the table, looks were exchanged, and eyebrows raised. But she composed herself quickly.

“Hannah,” She said, pointing at the named woman without looking. “Why’d you leave Jake? Since Emily thinks he’s so perfect.”

Emily looked cross at that, but Hannah only gave her a tired smile.

“Oh you didn’t need to get me into a drinking game to ask me that one,” Hannah said.

“Good,” Ryan groused. “I was starting to think none of us would learn anything interesting tonight.”

“Jake’s a good man. Cool head. Good provider. Awesome with his family.” She said, “But I don't think he wants to be tied down to anyone. And when people try, he gets skittish. Even dating me for 8 years, I always got the sense he had a foot in the door, scanning outside for other options.”

She shrugged.

“I loved him, but I’m not surprised they picked him for this show,” She said.

Now Emily looked even more angry.

“How can you say that? He’s literally said he won’t cheat on me for this show.”

Lindsey winced, and around the bar, several women wore looks that ranged somewhere between doubt and pity. Already, Emily was starting to look embarrassed about the outburst.

Hannah only answered her gently

“I think he means that, too. So you’re not crazy or naive for believing it,” She said. “But Jake is definitely the type that wonders if the grass is greener in someone else’s lawn. Not just in his love life, either.”

She shrugged.

“He might or might not act on it. He wants to be one of the good guys, so he’ll certainly try not to,” She said. “But a show like this will be a real test of a lot of theories I’ve had about him for a long time.”

“How can you just speak so clinically about someone you dated for 8 years?” Emily asked. “Doesn’t all this matter to you?”

She looked very sulky at that moment, and very young. Hannah gave her a tired smile.

“I think we’ll let that go for the time being. It’s my turn anyway,” She said. “And I’m going to exercise my right to direct a question to the table.”

“Motion accepted.” Ryan said.

“Have you ever been with or been attracted to another woman, and if so, who?” She asked.

AJ snorted.

“How long you got?”

“Not you, smartass,” Hannah said. “Ryan, you’re obviously exempt as well.”

Ryan blushed a little at that, and Lindsey gave her a quick, supportive pat on the thigh. Apparently, she wasn’t quite ready to be considered a woman by others yet.

“Not me,” Said Julie.

“Me either,” Loretta agreed.

Farra, sitting next to them, considered the question before adding.

“I’m going to have to fuck around on that one,” She said, holding out her shot glass.

“What?!” Ryan said, head snapping up. “Mom?!”

Farra shrugged as AJ filled her glass. She was now getting more than a few inquisitive stares from the rest of the bar. Lindsey wondered if she was obfuscating because she didn’t want to lie, didn’t want to explain the truth in front of her son, or was simply playing coy for the benefit of the audience. That last would be good sport, Lindsey decided, and she followed Farra’s lead.

“I will too!” She piped up. The other players seemed less surprised to hear this from her than they had Farra. “Fuck around. Not answering. Pour me some of that stuff.”

She took her drink down in one long, bitter swallow. It was certainly strange, but she found the bitterness and almost acidic taste of it surprisingly pleasant. As she and Farra drank, the game continued.

“I’ve never thought of another girl like that,” Megan said. “But I also don’t think about sex much to begin with.”

Exe considered the question.

“Nobody specific. I’m bi. I just appreciate the human form.”

That brought things around to Rachel.

“No. I’ve been accused of it, mostly by people who think a disinterest in dating is somehow a sign of lesbianism,” She said, shooting a pointed glance at Emily. “But I’ve never been into other women.”

Emily also shook her head.

“No for me. I’m…”

“Bullshit,” Rachel said. “Pour her another of those.”

Emily’s freckled cheeks gained a rosy color.

“Really Rach?”

“Well for starters, I’ve made out with you before. That was for show, but I also know you hooked up with that one girl back when you were in art school. Stefani? Was that her name?” She said.

“That was supposed to be a secret!” Emily fumed.

Rachel had the grace to look abashed, but she didn’t back down.

“Sorry hon,” AJ said, pouring Emily her second shot of the evening.

Emily took it and grimaced. She was starting to look pretty drunk.

Hannah considered their answers.

“So, one lesbian, one man-turned-woman who’s into woman, two bisexuals, and two of you who are at least uncomfortable enough talking about it that you won’t go into details,” Hannah said. “That’s half of us. Seems pretty statistically unlikely unless this was something they screened for.”

Oh. That’s why she asked. Lindsey realized. Clever.

“Anyway, I pick Julie to go next. You’ve been quiet so far,” Hannah said.

“Not so fast!” Ryan said, raising a finger, “You need to answer too. That’s the rule if the question goes to the table.”

Hannah appeared thoughtful, then said.

“I think I’ll take a shot of that disgusting crap after all.”

*****

As Hannah choked down her drink, Julie pondered the question. She didn’t know what to ask any of the other girls, so she finally blurted out the question that had been troubling her own mind.

“Am I a monster if I transform Stacy for this challenge?” She asked. “I guess I’m posing that to the whole table. I’ve certainly thought about it, but I can’t shake the idea that it’s wrong.”

There was an uncomfortable silence at that. She supposed the looks she saw on the other women’s faces was answer enough, though.

“I don’t think so,” Loretta said, finally breaking it.

For the first time since her transformation, Julie thought she saw something much more unpleasant in her expression than the bubbly good humor she usually conducted herself with.

“I’m certainly gonna use it to cure what ails me.”

Before they could go any deeper on that, Lindsey spoke up.

“Boooo!” She called, cupping her hands around her mouth to do it. “No work talk!”

This was met with uncomfortable laughter.

“I agree, and not just because we’re doing this to ‘get away from it’ or whatever,” Exe agreed. “If we get to asking each other about strategy, this is going to stop being fun in a hurry.”

“Okay. Tabling that discussion, then.” Ryan said. “Julie, you got anything else?”

Julie considered, then pointed to Megan. Megan, who seemed to be doing her best to shrink into the bar stool failed to notice.

“Me?” She asked, finally.

Julie nodded.

“You said you don’t think about sex much. But surely you think of it sometimes,” She said. “Have you found anything that gets you going, and if so, what is it?”

****

Of course there was something. Megan had been doing it just before she’d been taken here. But wild horses couldn’t have dragged that confession out of her.

“I…no…nothing like that,” She said reflexively, “I’m pretty uh…pretty not kinky. Very straight laced.”

“Okay, well that’s a bunch of bullshit,” Lindsey said.

“Yeah. You’re very sweet dear, but you’re not a very good liar.” Farra agreed.

Around the bar, several of the women laughed. Megan suspected that her face was about as red as her hair. She took the drink and downed it in three quick swallows. It burned on the way down and was very bitter.

“Guys, leave her alone,” Emily chimed in. “You’re embarrassing her.”

“You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” AJ agreed, “But just know that we’re not making fun of you. One of the fun things about these sorts of games is making other players feel uncomfortable.”

“No. It’s fine, really.” Megan said. “I want to keep playing.”

She was remembering the advice Exe had given her. She didn’t know if stammering like a crazy person in a drinking game would win anyone over, but she thought it was better than meekly going back to bed with her tail between her legs.

“I guess it’s my turn now, anyway. I’ll pose my question to Farra,” She said.

The Farra nearest to her nodded, while the other one sipped on a drink. Both occupied, they looked like any other pair of twins hanging out with her friends.

“Go ahead, dear.”

Megan adjusted her glasses.

“I’m so intrigued by the transformation you’ve undergone. In science fiction terms, you’re what they’d call a hive mind, and while I’m familiar with the concept, I’m curious about its practical implications,” She said.

The Farras simultaneously smiled.

“Is there a question in there, child?” She asked gently.

Megan struggled to articulate just one.

“What’s the best thing and the most challenging thing about the experience?” She finally decided, though that didn’t even begin to cover the breadth of her curiosity.

“Well the easy answer is that my ability to do two things at once is great, and the sensory overload is a challenge, but I’m sure that’s not much of a revelation to anyone. Instead, I’ll point out my favorite thing about it, and the thing I hate most,” She said. “I hate dealing with both bodies’ bodily functions. Eating, drinking, necessaries, eccetera. But the sense of possibility from it and experimenting are my two favorite things.”

Megan actually beamed at that.

“Very cool! If you wanna get some help experimenting and recording results, I have a lot of experience recording field observations for my biology studies,” She said. “If you’re comfortable with it, of course.”

“I would be!” Farra agreed. “In fact, I think it’d be useful to have a second pair of eyes. Or third, technically, I suppose.”

“Yay!” Megan said with a delighted smile that brought out her dimples.

“So it’s like, one mind in two bodies, right?” Lindsey asked. “And your one mind senses what both bodies are feeling?”

Farra wagged her finger at her.

“You’re skipping my turn dear, but I’ll allow it,” She said with a smile. “Yes, that is more or less the essence of it.”

Lindsey cocked her head.

“Do you think if your bodies had sex, it’d feel like, really super good?” She asked. “Like double feedback masturbation.”

Megan was aghast, and looking around, so were a lot of the others. Lindsey looked at their shocked expressions and just said.

“What?! We’re all thinking it…”

“I wasn’t!!” Ryan exclaimed, wide eyed.

The woman in question only looked at her, bemused.

“I wouldn’t know,” She said. “But, AJ, I think she earned herself a drink with the interruptions.”

“Aye aye, Dr.” AJ said, pouring her a shot.

Lindsey took it without complaint and actually seemed to enjoy it this time.

“Meantime, I have a question for you,” She said. “I know the common perception of lesbians is that they tend to prefer a more masculine or feminine partner, usually opposite to what they are. Is that true for you?”

“Well that is the old stereotype,” AJ said, pouring a beer for herself. “It’s not that clear cut for most of us, but I definitely prefer girlier partners. Shocking, I’m sure.”

Farra shrugged.

“Hey, you never know.” She said. “That does make what they’re doing to you a damned shame, AJ.”

AJ looked genuinely affected by this.

“Thanks, Dr. J-A,” She said, but she didn’t linger on the subject.

“Just Farra, please,” She reminded her.

“Right. Sorry…” AJ said. “I got one for Loretta. I know you went to school with Jake and Ryan. You were a cheerleader and shit.”

“Go Pitbulls,” Loretta agreed, making a fist. “What’s your question? Why I sound like a southerner instead of a girl from upstate New York?”

AJ shrugged.

“More how you got down there and whatnot, but close enough.”

“My Mom moved us out Carolina way when I was 17 and she and Dad split. Been there ever since,” She said. “I went to college out there, met Hunter. Started spending all my time meeting and greeting people to help him out. The lifestyle and accent and mannerisms just kinda creep up on you after a while, and at this point I’ve been out there about as long as I ever lived in New York.”

She turned to Ryan.

“You done one of these yet, hon?” She asked.

Ryan shook her head.

“Alright…Since you’re the last, I’ve got a two parter for you.”

“Not really within the rules, but I’ll allow it,” Ryan said.

“First off, now that they made you a woman, did you want to get the tomboy path, or would you rather go all the way now that you’ve gone over?”

Ryan shrugged.

“Like, am I mad I’m hot and stuff? No, not really. I think this is pretty close to what I’d have looked like if I’d been born like this anyway,” She said. “It doesn’t make much difference what I look like. It’s all the same new bullshit to deal with. I just wish they hadn’t made my style so girly.”

“So…why are you going along with it?” Loretta asked. “They haven’t messed with your head yet, right? Why not dress and act however you want until they do.”

Ryan blinked.

“I…honestly hadn’t thought about it yet,” She admitted. “They replaced all my clothes with super girly stuff, so I just kinda went with it.”

“Yeah, fuck that,” AJ agreed. “Go with whatever style you want until they make you do otherwise. Own it.”

“Ohmygod! We should go shopping and shit,” Lindsey offered. “I can help you pick stuff out. Get you a new hairstyle. It’ll be awesome!”

Ryan actually looked a bit excited about this.

“That’s…really cool, actually. Where would we do it?”

“They’ve got shops and salons in the village,” Exe said. “And there’s a train at the hotel you can take over there.”

“We can go after the first round!” Lindsey said, “You and me and AJ. It’ll be fun!”

Farra yawned at that point.

“I’m sorry, everyone,” She said. “As much as I’d like to stay, I’m beat. I’ve been up since 5 this morning.”

“I could use some sleep myself,” Loretta agreed.

“And I’d like to explore a bit,” Megan said. “I have to admit, this was embarrassing, but…well, it was a little fun, too.”

“I’m glad!” Hannah said. “I was worried we were freaking you out a bit.”

“Well…it did a little,” She admitted. “But it was nice to be included, too.”

AJ reached over the bar and squeezed her shoulder with a smile.

“I guess we’ll just call it a night,” She said. “But this was fun. We should keep doing social stuff. Just because we’re in a game doesn’t mean we can’t get along, right?”

“Even when you think of the game and how it’s set up,” Rachel agreed. “Sure we’re all competing for points, but winning just means you only really ‘lose’ if you get eliminated. So there’s plenty of room for everyone.”

“Well, I’m certainly in it to win it,” Exe said. “But I do think it’ll be a better show and an easier situation to cope with if we stay friendly. Probably sounds like a 180 coming from me, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this.”

“That’s why you want to hang out?” Ryan asked, irritated. “So we can bump the show’s ratings?”

Megan felt obligated to stand up for her.

“Hey, that isn’t entirely fair to her. She actually helped me quite a bit earlier when she didn’t have to.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Exe said modestly. “But really, I guess I’m not great at making overtures, but this is my overture. Try to be friends?”

Ryan looked a bit disgruntled, but shrugged.

“Whatever.” She said, “We’ll see.”

Everyone began to disperse then, some to explore more of the facilities, others back to their rooms. Some gathered into small groups to hang out.

For Megan, though, it was time to explore. She thought she’d check out the hotel library first. She wondered if they’d have anything steamy and Victorian there, and if the cameras would record her if she found it.