First round

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Who Wanna Be a Bimbo! My name is Frank Trustworthy and today with me is the greatest celebrity we had ever hosted on this show - Bill Browne!”

The audience began to clap as they usually did, but only when the actor entered the stage and they realised that it actually was THE Bill Browne, the cheering got significantly louder. Bill was a sight to behold. An expensive neatly-tailored suit enhanced his tall muscular frame. A charming smile brightened his ruggedly handsome face. His stride was smooth, but confident; he captivated the audience instantly. Frank waited for the audience to calm down before continuing.

“Do you wanna be a bimbo, Bill?”

“Not at all,” Browne replied with a smug smile and confidence in his voice, “I’m here to win. That’s what I do.”

“We all though that you got tired of playing the macho man and wanted to adopt some femininity.”

“Ha ha! Nothing like that. I’ll keep all my masculinity intact.”

“So you’re here for the money?”

“Nah. I got enough of it. I’ll donate my entire prize to charity. I’m here to show that I can succeed at anything in which I choose to participate.”

“Good luck, Bill. I’m sure that the public loves your macho persona, but in my audience many would love to see you bimbofied.”

“They’ll be disappointed.”

“We’ll see about that. Draw the categories.”

“Recognise Cars.” Good, Bill thought to himself, it’s all going according to plan. “Cats, Swords.” There’s no need to worry, five were supposed to be random. “Phobias.” O-oh. “Flags of America.” Oof, he relaxed inwardly, but managed to maintain a poker face. “Leaves, Egyptian Mythology.” It’s five already. “Eurovision, Rivers.” Something is very wrong, these aren’t the fixed categories. “Space Conquest, The Second Best, French Geography.” Shit, Browne realised he had been set up, the bribed employee of the quiz most likely had not kept his end of the deal. But the formal contract was ironclad, there was no way for him to withdraw now.

“Are you happy with the categories?” Frank asked with his customary professional stage smile, but Bill thought he had heard a trace of mockery in his voice.

“They’ll do. I’d dealt with worse obstacles.”

“We’re glad to hear it. Which one for the first round?”

“Recognise Cars,” Bill answered, successfully feigning confidence.

This was one of the two supposedly fixed categories, so he might as well start with it. It soon turned out that the cars were different from the ones he had memorised, but Browne was a fan of automobiles in general, so had no problems with naming the models of the cars he saw on the screen. These were all classics: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, Citroën 2CV, Fiat 124 Sport Spider, Aston Martin DB5 and Ferrari F40.

“A flawless run,” the host announced as the audience clapped, “congratulations Bill, you’re on your path to victory. Which category for the second round?”

“Flags of America,” Browne answered. He still wondered whether there was that trace of mockery in Trustworthy’s voice or was he just imagining it. But the flawless first round had improved his morale, so he felt more confident before going into the next one, which in theory should not be hard either.