Fourth round

What’s the name of the chocolate-flavoured coffee? Caffè latte. WRONG. Ah, yes, it’s mocha. Too late again. Caffè Americano, the style of coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso, originated in which country? Italy. Correct. Irish coffee includes which other ingredient? Irish Whiskey of course. Correct. The fruit of the coffee tree, referred to as coffee cherry, contains how many beans? I don’t know, three maybe? WRONG. Mocha, a port city famous for the coffee trade, is located in which country. Saudi Arabia. WRONG. I’m almost sure it’s somewhere there though. Might be, but it’s not Saudi Arabia.

“Three mistakes, Tim,” Frank announced, “you’re finally hitting your stride.”

“You got a unique talent of convincing people that they’re winning, when they should feel like they’re losing.”

“It’s not talent, it’s experience again. That and knowing the audience’s expectations, which also comes from experience.”

“Talking with a wise man is a pleasure in itself,” Tim replied with a grin.

“Ha! You’ll get even more pleasure, if you draw the right transformation cards. Three of them.”

“High Heels, Hips Expansion, Butt Expansion.”

“A pretty fitting set, don’t you think?”

“Hard to argue with that. I guess the heels will in a way give me back the lost height. I won’t say that curves are what I had craved the most, but I’m not going to complain either.”

“Not complaining now means embracing later,” Frank replied in a mocked mentor tone.

“I’ll trust your judgement, sensei, you’re the experienced one here.”

“Ha!” the host laughed, then said, “enter The Chamber.”

The transformations were piling up, but apart from the Lust Induction neither seemed life changing, so Tim did not despair. He might not have been exactly stoical, but he believed that he could at least adapt to the changes. Physically the changes were relatively invasive this time, but the contestant managed to withstand the process patiently. For a moment he feared that he might lose balance, when the centre of gravity of his body was altered drastically by three transformations at once, but quickly the newly acquired skills matched the changes. Finally the door opened and Tim could admire himself on the screen. Separately the transformations might have been subtle, but together they altered the appearance of his body significantly. Tim had been slender to begin with, so single hips and buttocks expansions did not turn him into JLo. But together with the heels, which had gained ten centimetres, and the tight skirt it created an attractive feminine appearance. The contestant caught himself thinking that he looked hot. The camera not only exhibited all the transformations, but also again the bulge that remained at the front of the skirt. The audience could see that Tim liked his new self and rewarded him with a loud round of applause.

“Welcome back, Tim,” the host said when the audience quieted down, “you’re looking better with each round.”

“Thank you,” the contestant replied, “I trust your experienced eye.”

“Whenever someone gets the high heels transformation I ask them to do a little performance for us. Would you flaunt your newly acquired skills as well?”

“Sure. I’m curious myself.”

The camera did one more close-up of Tim’s shoes. Not only the heels were thirteen centimetres tall stilettos, the pumps themselves were shiny and incredibly sexy, further enhancing the contestant’s emerging sex-appeal. Tim did not feel fully confident with his new body and outfit yet, but he tried to imitate a model on a catwalk and was himself surprised by how successful he was. The heels on his feet felt so right, as if he had been wearing them his entire life. The added weight around his hips made the swaying look more natural and yes, sexy; Tim was almost enchanted with himself. When the audience began to cheer he smiled out of pure content. He walked two lengths across the stage and then returned to his panel. Before he stopped, the camera made a final close-up of the bulge on his skirt, which caused him to blush.

“We’re glad that you’re enjoying this as much as we are, Tim,” the host said with a grin.

“You’re uncommonly perceptive, Frank” the contestant matched his smile.

“Experience again. Ready for round five?”

“Yes. Battlefields.”