Genevieve: Day 1 (Writing on the Wall)

Tuesday morning is grey and cold and for once you sit around over breakfast. Jada’s already left for class and Rebekah had been stuck in the bathroom for over half an hour. As you swallow the last bite of cereal, there's a knock at the front door.

It's Freya, you realize, as you go to let her in. It feels strange to speak to her without Rebekah. She notes it too as she sets up her equipment.

“Your manager not joining us today?”

“I think she’ll be here soon,” you reply.

Freya nods as she settles down to record. She checks her camera, adjusts lighting and makes sure there’s nothing in the recording field that shouldn’t be. Finally, she turns back to face you.

“Since your manager, also your girlfriend, isn’t here, let me ask you a related question. Last week you reserved her card, but you didn’t challenge her. Are you intending just to hold onto her until the game ends?”

You pause a moment, remembering how you felt when you watched Milo going down on her. It’s tempting, but it’s not really good play.

“No,” you say eventually. “I’ll challenge her soon.”

“When?” asks Freya.

“This week!”

You turn to see Rebekah enter the room, beaming brightly. She has one hand behind her back, obviously hiding something.

“And we can go for a 9x challenge!”

Freya looks uncertain. “What kind of challenge is that?”

Rebekah brings her hand forward and shows a long plastic stick she’s holding. It’s a pregnancy test with a blue plus sign telling you it’s positive. Your mind spins. You got her pregnant. That wasn’t in your plans. It wasn’t in hers either. What the hell do you do now? Can you finish school when you have to focus on being a new dad? Can Rebekah? Hell, even if she focuses on her streaming, she just got sponsored by an international sex toy company. How will they react to sponsoring a pregnant woman? Your breath catches. Your brain pounds with the chaos of such a major change. Everything’s different now.

“IMPREGNATE!” says Rebekah.

You barely hear Freya speak as she addresses her. “You really seem happy about this.”

“Of course! That’s a 9x challenge. And I bet very few players will have achieved an IMPREGNATE before. It’s like the Phantom of the Opera one he did - something that will have his name go down in College Spread history. Besides, I might only be a 6 but with that multiplier the base challenge value is 54!”

“What?” You look at Rebekah in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

“The points you can score!”

You don’t even realize you’re staring at her open-mouthed for a moment.

“Rebekah… you’re pregnant. This is REAL. We have to focus on this. We’re done with College Spread.”

“No we’re not! This is a great scoring opportunity. And besides, it’s not like being in the game is going to change anything. I’m still pregnant.”

Your head drops to your hands on the table. Your fingers rub your temples as you try to work out how she can possibly be thinking this way. She’s always been ****, but this is way beyond anything you imagined.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks. “We’ve been fucking without protection for months. You must have known this could happen.”

You look at her, barely seeing anything, lost in your own thoughts. You should have known it could happen, but you never stopped to consider it. Pregnant? And she still wants you to play the game?

“Besides, you’ve been fucking random women all year. Who knows… I might not be the only one.”

“That’s not funny,” you croak as the floor drops from your world.

“Well, that IS big news,” says Freya. “The question is, will you be continuing in the game now? It seems you’re mixed about this.”

“Of course we will!”

“No, not after this!”

You and Rebekah speak simultaneously. Then stare at each other.

“Rebekah, I don’t care about the game. I care about you, us… our baby.”

“I know baby, but that doesn’t mean we ruin the game for everyone else. Look, nothing changes, right? We’re still going to have our child.”

“But what about the other things you said - I might get someone else pregnant. I can’t risk that.”

“So wear a condom! Do anal challenges, oral challenges, bondage challenges, public sex, **** contracts. There’s a whole bunch of ways you can still compete and not worry about that.”

She won't stop. Somehow Rebekah doesn't seem to be getting how serious this is. Then again, you haven't told her the other thing that's really bugging you.

“Look, I don't want you having to have sex with either Cassie or Milo. Not in your condition.”

She looks at you incredulously. “It's not like pregnant women can't have sex!”

Freya holds up her hand to interrupt. “Actually, I can help you there. See, when Rhett said this is the last cycle before the final I asked what that meant and he told me that the final isn't based on card draws. Each player has a month to come up with the best challenge they can and they can call on any of the women they've challenged already. The bigger the better, basically.”

You think about it. “So Milo could call on you for the final.”

“Or you could,” says Rebekah. “And it's not like anyone else will be able to play me this cycle. I'm in your free reserve slot, and when you do the challenge you can put me in your hand.”

It's true. And that lets the jealousy subside. Not that it makes you feel any more okay with being in a sex game when you might already be more than one lady's baby daddy.

“But why do you want me in the game?”

“You didn't quit when you start. You didn't ruin it for everyone what…” says Rebekah. She pauses before adding, “You didn't ruin it for you.”

“But I don't care about it,” you say.

“You should. It's a competition.”

You're about to object, to point out how meaningless the game is in the light of what's happened. There's something in the way she said that though. A quiet intensity more ferocious than and scream. It's a competition.

And then it hits you and you wonder how you never saw it before. It's a competition. Just like switching from her focus on philosophy to streaming. Just like her team in Fluorescence. Just like demanding you let her be your manager in College Spread. It's a competition.

And that's how Rebekah defines herself.

By facing the odds. By winning. By losing and coming back harder if she has to. But always by competing.

School would have been safe… and so it doesn't mean anything to her. But everything else is a risk, a chance to prove herself. The black eye her mother gave her comes back into your mind. She never felt safe, did she? And she's dealt with **** by making a world where she doesn't rely on safety but competition.

Your lips seem patched as you stare at her. She's been your rock in this game and now you realize your rock may not be as strong as you thought. How broken she is you didn't know. But you know you love her. And if she needs this, well…

“Okay,” you say at last. “I'll do it.”

“Thank you,“ she says quietly and pulls you into a hug.

Quietly, Freya stands and picks up her equipment.