Taking Stock

Hanna plucked the flier off the door and stepped back inside. "Looks like the rules for the next contest came in," she called out to her roommates.

"Let's hear it," Natalie said.

"Speak loudly!" Laura shouted from the kitchen.

Hanna read the rules out, then handed the paper to Natalie to look over.

"Doesn't seem too bad," Hanna noted.

"I'm worried about the chips that do things outside the contest," Natalie said. "The last contest had effects on us outside the game too and, well...".

Hanna blushed. Her and Laura had certainly noticed Natalie's habit of taking a shower before bed every night, although neither had said anything about it.

"Doesn't sound like there's much strategy to it," Hanna grumbled. "Just get lucky opening the right box."

Laura came out of the kitchen with a stack of plates and set them down on the table. "I don't know. There's probably some best way to go about deciding when to bank or trade or whatever."

"Riley's probably working it out right now," Natalie grumbled as she squinted at the flier.

"What do you mean?" Hanna asked.

"He's a data scientist," Natalie elaborated. "This kind of thing is what he does for fun."

"Like those math guys who did card counting," Laura added over her shoulder as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Exactly," Natalie confirmed.

"Need any help in there?" Hanna called out.

"I've got it," Laura said, re-emerging with a serving plate in each hand. One held scrambled eggs, the other bacon. "Toast will be coming out in just a minute."

Natalie set down the flier. "Either of you have any plans today?"

"I was going to see my mom, actually," Hanna told her.

"You changed your mind then?" Natalie asked.

Hanna sighed. "Yeah. I was being petty last night. I should have stopped by sooner. She's still my mom."

"I don't know why you're so upset," Laura said, carrying a plate of buttered toast. "She cold-clocked Violet. That's like, pretty damn cool."

"It's reckless," Hanna replied, frowning. "She could have got us eliminated."

"Yeah, alright, that's pretty bad," Laura agreed. "Still though." She mimed a right hook and laughed.

"Well," Natalie said. "I'm going to see about taking a dip in the lake this afternoon if either of you want to join me."

"I'm in," Laura said as she sat down at the table.

"Maybe after I see my mom," Hanna told her. She wasn't sure she'd be feeling up to it.

The three of them began to load up their plates. Hanna prepared one extra.

"You're heading out now?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah," Hanna confirmed. "In case Violet didn't think about having breakfast brought out for her. I'll see you guys later?"

"Sure thing," Laura said.

Hanna took a plate in each hand and Natalie stood to get the door for her.

"Good luck," Natalie offered.

"Thanks," Hanna said back. Then she made her way through the brisk morning air to the plaza. It wasn't too long of a walk, but having to keep the plates upright made things a little harder than they otherwise would have been. To her relief she managed to make it all the way to the stairs without dropping a single thing.

When she finally made it to the top and saw her mother Hanna's heart sank. Aaliyah hung from the pillory like a deflated balloon. It was just a little too tall for her knees to reach the floor, so she was awkwardly supporting herself as best she could on bent legs. She looked absolutely exhausted.

Hanna met her mother's eyes. She didn't know what she'd expected. Maybe for her mom to be happy to see her, or angry to be locked up. What she hadn't expected though was for her mom to seem so...defeated.

Hanna set the plates down in front of the pillory. "I brought you breakfast," she said in a weakly optimistic voice.

Her mom stared back with tired eyes.

What have they done to you, Hanna thought.

Reaching back she undid the ballgag and let it drop. Violet had said not to interfere, but Hanna didn't care. Her mom flexed her jaw, moving it from side to side, but didn't speak.

"She gave you a blanket at least," Hanna noted, eyeing the strangely contorted comforter wrapped around her mom.

"Trevor brought it out, actually." Her mom's voice was harsh and raspy. She coughed, clearing her throat. "He's a good boy."

Hanna felt a warmth in her chest, and a little shame. Trevor had taken care of her mom when she hadn't. She'd owe him for that.

"Mom," Hanna said, crouching down next to her, "what were you thinking?"

Tears began to well in Aaliyah's eyes. Hanna was taken by surprise; she didn't often see her mom cry.

"I'm sorry," her mother said. "I don't know what came over me. Violet...she said...it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have done it."

"You could have gotten us eliminated," Hanna said. She tried to sound angry, but seeing her mom so beaten down had taken a lot of the wind out of her sails.

"I know."

Hanna didn't know how to handle such contrition from her mother. She was used to having to either roll over or fight tooth and nail. This was uncharted territory.

"We're in danger here," Hanna insisted. "You need to start taking that seriously."

"I know. And I'm sorry. For all of it. For leaving you on your own."

Hanna swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm supposed to be able to count on you. Instead I've been all alone. When you do bother to step up it's to fight with me."

Tears streaked down her mother's cheeks. "I thought...I thought I was showing you how to be strong. I wanted you to stick to your values. When you refused to do things my way, I took out my frustrations on you. I am so sorry. I've...I've been a a terrible mother."

Hanna could hardly believe what she was hearing. "I...no. You're not a bad mom."

"I just want you back," Aaliyah said. "I've been reading the rules. I've been playing the game. You aren't on your own anymore. I promise."

Her mom was asking for forgiveness. Begging for it. Hanna searched for the right words. "It's not just about the game. You yelled at me mom."

"I overreacted. Seeing you try and...I couldn't take it. I know that I can be difficult. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Hanna knew how hard it was for her mom to swallow her pride like this. She'd never seen her go so belly-up. It was so genuine. How could she stay mad?

"I...I know you were just trying to help. It's alright."

Her mom let out a deep breath. "Will you move back in?"

Hanna pulled back, looking away. "I think I need a little more time."

Aaliyah looked devastated, but held it together. "Your piano is still in our suite. Are you practicing?"

Hanna sighed. "I'll ask the servants to bring one over to Natalie's and Laura's."

"Good," her mom said, still sniffling although she'd gotten her tears back under control. "And...I know the round is ending and...you don't have to worry about our points. I took care of it."

Hanna froze. Her mom wasn't meeting her eyes. "Mom...what does that mean?"

"It means we're not negative anymore."

"How?" Hanna almost whispered.

"Please, don't worry about it."

Hanna's stomach was weak. "Tell me that you and Trevor...didn't..."

"No! But...I did one of the bounties. It got us fifteen points. We're safe."

Hanna stared in horror. Fifteen points. That was the bounty to...

"What about dad?" Hanna asked.

It had been the wrong thing to say. Hanna could see the guilt crash down on her mom like a sledge hammer. "I did what I had to do to keep you safe. He'd understand. It was...necessary."

Except that it wasn't. Hanna had earned the one point they had needed a long time ago. But she'd never told her mom. And Trevor...well, he hadn't known it was her mom. That mattered, somehow.

But her poor mother. Hanna tried to tell her, but the words wouldn't come out. "I brought you breakfast," she said instead, changing the subject.

Her mom gave her a sad but proud smile. "Thank you. You are a good daughter. I do not tell you that enough."

Hanna reached down to pick up a plate, but when she looked back her mom was holding her gaze with an intense expression.

"I mean it," Aaliyah said. "I am lucky to have you. I love you Hanna."

"I love you too, mom," Hanna told her. "Now eat up. It's getting cold."

Hanna spoon-fed her mom breakfast, taking breaks to have some of her own. The two talked for a little while afterwards, and Hanna helped take off the blanket as the rising sun began to beat down on them. After some time though Hanna had to leave.

Regretfully she said her goodbyes, promising to return with dinner, and walked back to the suite. She just wanted to be alone, but it seemed like that wasn't in the cards. A servant was waiting for her outside the door.

***

Anna shielded her eyes against the sun. Hanna had finally made it.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I was up at the plaza and didn't get the message until I got back."

"It's fine," Chloe told her. "Sorry to hear about your mom."

Hanna's face fell. "Yeah. She's...doing alright."

Anna hadn't been able to believe it when she'd heard. What a completely stupid thing to do. Aaliyah had risked all of them.

"She'll be able to play tomorrow, right?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," Hanna told her. "She gets out in the morning."

Well that was something at least. "I'm guessing she'll be run down though," Anna said. "It'll be up to you tomorrow."

Hanna blinked, then spoke carefully. "You're probably right. I'll try my best."

Satisfied, Anna moved on to the next point of order. "Everyone read the rules for the contest, right?"

The other two nodded.

"Good. Then we need to get on the same page for our strategy."

"There's some obvious ways to help each other out," Chloe said. "We don't take good chips from each other, or give bad chips to each other."

"That should go without saying but I'm glad you brought it up," Anna agreed. "We don't tear each other down."

"Is there any way to actually help each other?" Hanna asked. "Maybe trading a high-value chip to someone who isn't doing as well?"

The group fell quiet as they thought it over.

"I don't know," Chloe finally said. "Maybe, but I think the opportunities will be few and far between. Mostly I think this one will be about staying out of each other's way."

"I guess that's not bad," Hanna concluded. "We'll each have two fewer people able to pawn off bad chips on us, or to steal our own good chips. That'll go a decent ways."

"True. Plus," Anna added, "trading a good chip for a bad one would be a dead give away."

Chloe made a sound of agreement.

"Would that really be so bad?" Hanna asked. "I know it's better if no one knows about our alliance, the element of surprise and all that, but it seems worth it if we can boost one of us up to the top three."

"We've definitely got to lie low," Anna told her.

"Why?" Hanna asked, confused.

"Your mom didn't tell you?" Anna asked.

"No. Tell me what?"

"Paige's transformation. That was us."

Hanna's mouth hung open. "What? Why?"

"Paige was tied for first. We think the extra transformation might knock her off her game."

"My mom was ok with that?" Hanna asked, still shocked.

"We all were," Chloe said flatly.

"We didn't like it either," Anna told her, "but it's important to remember that only one of us is going to walk away from this. Pull even one punch, come in second, and that's it."

Hanna stared down at her lap, considering. "It seems a little ****," she finally said.

"Do you have a better idea on how to knock someone out of first?" Anna asked.

Hanna shook her head.

"It was a hard call to make," Chloe said softly. "But we're playing to win. It's not our fault we got put in this position. We're just doing the best we can."

"You're ok with this, right?" Anna asked. She didn't like how hard of a time Hanna was having coming to terms. She knew they had gone pretty far, but it was good strategy.

Hanna chewed her lip, but eventually nodded. "I would have argued against it, but I get why you guys did it."

Anna wasn't so sure she did. She'd need to keep an eye on her.