The Second Drinking Game

Pressure Drop

AJ stood and stretched. She was already feeling the warm buzz of a real good time encroaching.

“I should head out,” She said. “Us girls are about to embark on our pre-challenge bender.”

“Ah. Mind if I join?” Jake asked. “Might be kinda nice hanging out when I’ve got you all together.”

But she held up her hand.

“Sorry, ‘Master’,” She said. “This one’s girls only.”

Jake frowned.

“I really fucking hate when you all call me that.”

“I know. And I don’t like thinking of you like that,” AJ agreed. “But you gotta remember what your place is in this sometimes.”

She shrugged.

“We gotta have a chance to unwind outside of that context. Nobody to impress, no points at stake. Just us hanging and forgetting about all this.”

Jake sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I get that, but goddamnit…you’re my friends!” He objected.

“Some of em’ are a bit more than that,” AJ said.

Jake bristled at that, and AJ reached out and put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

“Relax. I get it,” She said gently. “And I’ll get something together that you can come to.”

She gave him a squeeze.

“But before we all have to compete to impress you?” She said, “We need some girl time.”

Jake gave her a resigned nod, but stood anyway.

“Let me walk you down at least,” He said. “And uh…hey. Thanks for coming to see me. I think I needed it.”

She lifted his arm, and she did likewise. The two bumped elbows; their own private handshake since shortly after they’d met.

“Anytime, man,” She grinned. “But you gotta stop counting on me to come to your rescue. I’m union. You gotta pay up if you want me workin’ this much overtime.”

At that, they both laughed.

When they reached the bottom of the shaft, they found Emily waiting for them. AJ couldn’t help but notice the change in her body language since her transformation. Really, AJ couldn’t help but notice her body in general; the language sort of came with the territory.

Where early on she’d been shy, even ashamed of her own condition, she now seemed oblivious to it. No…that undersold her. She carried it.

“Uhm, hey babe,” Jake greeted. “What’s up?”

“Oh, not much,” She said. “I just wanted to talk to you for a sec before me and the girls got wasted.”

AJ nodded.

“I’ll see myself out.”

Emily shook her head. Her hair was about thigh length at the moment, and framed her otherwise naked body like a figure hugging curtain.

“You’re fine, AJ,” She said. “Won’t take a minute.”

She strolled up to Jake, putting her arms around his neck, stacking on her toes, and stretched to give him a kiss.

“I want you to go out with me when the contests are over,” She said.

Jake savored the kiss, his hands on her hips.

“Ok,” He said. “I’m sorry I haven’t…y’know, spent more time with you. It’s kinda hard with having to host one of you every night and-”

She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. She removed, smiled, then kissed him again.

“But nothing,” She said. “I’m still your girlfriend, and I wanna go on a date. You pick when and where.”

“Alright,” Jake grinned like an idiot. “You got it. I’ll figure it out and get back to you.”

It all made AJ’s heart melt a little. For all her criticisms of the relationship, or how things had ended between him and Hannah, she couldn’t deny that Em made Jake happy.

Novel concept, she thought. Might wanna try it sometime.

“Okay. That’s it,” Emily said, withdrawing abruptly.

She turned to AJ.

“You mind escorting me to the bar?” She asked, extending an arm.

AJ took it. It was just Emily being Emily, but she couldn’t help but feel a little swell of pride at having such a beautiful woman on her arm.

“You trying to make me jealous, AJ?” Jake said, picking up on the gesture right away.

“Goddamn right,” AJ replied with a wink. “You keep leaving her alone and I might just steal her away from you.”

“Ooooh,” Emily said, looking up at her. “I kinda like the sound of that.”

“You girls have fun!” Jake said, waving them away with a laugh.

The two headed off to the bar.

*****

“Okay. We’re gonna change the rules a bit this time,” Lacy said as she addressed the women assembled around the tiki bar.

She looked around, hunting for any objections. When none seemed to come, Rachel watched Lacy’s gaze settle on AJ and her Mother.

“Everybody okay with that?” She added.

“No issues here, jooonam,” Farra said, and the warm smile she gave her son-turned-daughter made Rachel suddenly ache for her own parents. “You’re the mistress of ceremonies here.”

“Yeah, fuck it,” AJ agreed, in an accidental admission of who it was that Lacy really looked up to. “Let’s rock and roll.”

Lacy nodded.

“Last time, we played hot potato,” She explained. “I asked a question to someone, then they asked a question to someone else, then so on and so forth.”

“That’s right,” Julie agreed. “And it worked reasonably well. Any reason you felt the need to change it?”

“You are,” Lacy admitted. “Well…you and Lindsey and Loretta and Leah.”

She rolled her green eyes, and brushed her shaggy dark hair.

“Okay, so like…a lot of us know each other. And have for a really long time,” She said. “I guess that thinking it over, that kinda sucks for the others. You’re a little left out of the loop.”

Lacy spread her hands.

“This time, I’m going to make sure everyone gets asked a question, and everyone gets to ask a question.”

Julie nodded, but Rachel had to fight back a grimace. She was one of the relative outsiders who wouldn’t have been asked much. And given the secrets she was keeping, absolutely preferred it that way.

It was Exe who chimed in. Or Sabrina, Rachel tried to remind herself. She’d only just heard about the change of protocol in that regard.

“So if we’re not like, going back and forth, then who asks who?”

Lacy nodded.

“I’ll start. I’ll grill the first person with a few questions or follow up questions,” She said. “After that, they can do the same to someone else. You can only pick someone who hasn’t gone yet.”

“Doesn’t that mean you have to go last?” Sabrina asked. “I mean, that kinda sucks, right?”

Lacy only shrugged.

“If you wanna draw straws or whatever to take over next time, you’re welcome to it,” She said. “But I’ll tell you this. This little drink-and-talk shit? It’s not just to unwind. It’s our last chance to speak in front of an audience before the popularity poll, and this is the fairest way of making sure everyone gets to do that.”

Sabrina regarded that, then nodded.

“Fair enough. Go off, queen.”

Lacy smiled at that. In her odd, boyish sort of way, she was very pretty when she smiled.

“Alrighty,” She said. “Other than the order, rules are the same as last time. If you want to answer a question, saywe ‘find out.’ If you refuse to answer, or at least a quarter of us think you’re lying, you have to take a shot of this.”

At this queue, Lacy placed another full amber bottle of liquid on the counter; a bottle decorated with roses, old world font, and which Rachel knew by reputation as tasting awful.

Lacy turned to both copies of her mother.

“And you two have to take doubles, when the time comes.”

Both of them laughed at that. Farra had a musical laugh, but the two of them laughing together was dissonant.

“Fair enough,” The one sitting next to Loretta answered. “In fact, you could hand us both a beer so I can get started leveling the playing field.”

“You got it, doc,” AJ said, shimmying over the bar to slide a drink to the unoccupied Farra in the corner.

“Oh, man. This rules,” Lindsey said with a smile. “Can I have some of the Malort now? Like, for fun?”

“You’re a strange woman,” Farra said with a look.

Lindsey shrugged.

“I think it tastes like grapefruit.”

“I think it tastes like fermented fish piss,” AJ said, pouring it into a glass. “But if you wanna start whipping yourself, I ain’t gonna stop you.”

Lindsey knocked her shot back gratefully.

“Okay, game time.” Lacy said, slapping her hands together.

She turned to point to Loretta, who was dressed in a fairly showy looking bikini.

“Are you and my Mom an item?”

The Farra sitting next to her opened her mouth to object to the question, but Loretta answered it first.

“Yes.” She said without hesitation.

Rachel raised her eyebrow. She’d pushed Loretta’s sexuality from straight to bi, along with a few of the other girls who’d attended her gym. And she’d heard rumors. But the immediacy, and sincerity of her answer was still surprising.

“Like, are you two having fun, or are you like an item, item,” Lacy asked as a follow up.

“Lacy!” The Farras snapped as one.

But Loretta’s second answer was as cool as her previous one.

“I don’t know,” She said, taking Farra’s hand in her own.

“But I’m very fond of your Mom’s. She’s gorgeous, brilliant, and one of the most interesting conversationalists I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to know.”

Farra’s prim and proper posture melted.

“Lori…”

Loretta leaned over and planted a full, long kiss on her lips.

“I dunno what this all is. And I’ve never felt this way about a woman before,” Loretta said. “But I ain’t all that interested in covering it up.”

Farra took Loretta into their arms, and the two shared another kiss. A general “aww” rose up around the bar.

When the Farra she’d kissed pulled back, she was looking up at Lacy with apprehension.

But Lacy had a warm smile on her face.

“Good. I’m happy for you two,” She said. “Seriously, Mom, if you found something good here, you don’t need to worry about my blessing or whatever.”

“And your father?” Farra asked quietly.

Lacy only shrugged.

“You’re adults. I love you both. You’ll figure it out.”

The look Loretta gave her was surprised, and to Rachel’s eyes, respectful.

“I’m not trying to steal her or anything.”

But Lacy only raised a hand.

“I don’t own my Mom. I’m just glad you make her happy.”

The two women drew closer, with Farra giving Loretta a peck on the cheek.

“I’ll do my best,” Loretta said. “Like I said, we’re feeling this out. But…”

She turned to Farra, lowering her gaze. It was the first time Rachel had ever seen the woman project anything but complete confidence.

Farra put a finger under chin and lifted her gaze to meet hers.

“It’s not just you,” She said, giving her a quick soft kiss.

Loretta straightened herself.

“I’m hoggin’ the microphone,” She said. “You got anything else for me?”

“No,” Lacy said, smiling. “But if this is gonna be a thing thing…don’t hurt her, or I’ll kick your ass. ”

“Joonam…” Farra said, though this time, her tone was somewhere between gratitude and admonishment.

“Okay…movin’ on,” Lacy asked, her voice a bit thick. “Who’s next, Loretta?”

Loretta nodded, then looked around the table.

“Megan,” She started.

“Fuck around,” Megan answered.

Loretta blinked.

“Not to criticize your approach,” She said. “But I haven’t even asked the question yet.”

Megan smiled and nodded, accepting her shot from AJ. She took it back in a big swallow, then coughed and grimaced.

“The hell are you doing to yourself?” Sabrina asked, putting a protective arm around her.

“Getting drunk,” Megan said, when she’d finally recovered her powers of speech. “What’s even in that? It tastes like…”

“Castor oil,” Farra supplied. “Though you might be a bit too young to know what that is.”

“It tastes the way old fish smells,” Megan supplied.

“So, that’s the thing? You’re gonna get drunk?” Loretta asked.

Megan nodded through her grimace, clearly struggling to keep the liquor down.

“Yes,” She coughed. “And can I have a glass of wine? Don’t ask me what kind. I don’t know enough to give an informed answer.”

Lacy nodded, and retrieved a wine glass, pouring a large rosé for her.

“Here’s a big glass of white girl wine,” She said. “Seems like a good starting point for you.”

Megan smiled gratefully in spite of the dig, and took it, immediately taking a large swallow to chase the Malort. Rachel suspected it wasn’t that much more pleasant, but after the Malort, it probably tasted great.

“So…yeah,” Loretta said. “You wanna tell us a bit more about that?”

The girl nodded vigorously.

“I’m making some resolutions for the coming round,” She said. “Assuming I’m not eliminated.”

“I think you got enough of a buffer that you don’t have to worry about it,” Loretta said. “But what’s on the list?”

“Lots of stuff!” Megan said, “Getting laid. Getting drunk. Staying up all night.”

“Showing your ankles. Voting,” Sabrina finished for her, “Girl’s going wild over here.”

Megan turned to Sabrina and gave her a huge, earnest grin.

“And you’ll help me. Right, bestie?”

Sabrina rolled her eyes, but smiled.

“Don’t push it.”

Megan stuck a playful tongue out.

“I will absolutely push it,” She said.

She composed herself, then turned back to the rest of the group.

“Anyway, it’s not just doing wild stuff. I’ve got a lot of personal exploring to do, and this is as good a place as any to start.”

She shook her head.

“I’m not everyone’s little sister here. Just Jake’s,” Megan explained. “And getting to know you guys and coping with the stuff being thrown at us…well, it’s made me realize that I’ve not given enough time to chase new experiences for myself. I’ve missed out on a lot, so I’m going to use the time here in a relatively safe space to explore.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d call it a ‘safe’ place, by any means. But we certainly have time to focus on introspection here” Farra said. “Truthfully, I’m beginning to miss my job.”

“Hey! That brings me to my question quite nicely!” Megan said, turning to Julie. “Why do you work so much?”

Julie gave her a tired smile. She was still dressed in her sexy sailor costume from having ferried some of the girls over to an island restaurant where they’d had dinner. Rachel was struck again by how pretty she was, and how utterly different she looked from the woman who’d arrived here in the first place.

“Other than the fact that bonus points are really useful?” Julie asked. “It sort of depends. At first, it was all about distracting myself from…y’know, everything.”

“Yeah…” Megan said, her tone softening. “How are you doing with all that?”

Julie seemed almost annoyed with the question.

“I’m not that fragile, guys,” She said. “I’m a Mom, a worker, and I’m older than everyone here but Farra, even if I don’t look like it. You don’t need to handle me with care.”

“Sorry,” Megan said with a blush.

It seemed to soften her up.

“It’s alright,” Julie said, then took a breath. “I did take it pretty hard. That’s why I started working so much. But even now that I’m in a better place, it’s kinda like Farra said. I just missed having something to do.”

She gave a girlish chuckle.

“I used to think, ‘God, what I’d give for a vacation’,” She said. “Now that I’m on one, I’m just bored. I guess I need the structure of jobs to go to.”

“I can see that,” Megan said. “I’ve been a student for so long that I’m not sure what else I’d even do.”

She mulled her next question over.

“Is it exciting at all, though? Being young again,” Megan said. “I mean, insert various etceteras about how messed up this situation is, but there’s got to be some appeal in getting half your life back.”

“More than I wanna admit,” Julie said. “It really could be a second chance.”

“Could be?” Megan asked, confused. “I would have thought it simply was.”

Julie swirled her drink, a bright blue concoction that Rachel was fairly sure was a Blue Hawaiian.

“Yeah. I don’t know if I want it. Or if I’m gonna take it,” She said. “I guess I’m still trying to figure all that out.”

“Have you put any thought into what you might do if you had a do-over?” Megan asked quietly.

“Fuck around,” Julie said quickly, then downed the remainder of her drink in one long gulp.

“You,” She pointed to Hannah with a cough. “You’re one of the ones I’m worried about.”

“Me?” Hannah asked, turning to her. “What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t it…I dunno, bother you to see a guy you almost married hooking up with all these girls?” Julie asked. “It would have really pissed me off.”

Hannah made a see-sawing gesture.

“It’s not something I hadn’t already mentally prepared myself for,” She said, taking a quick look at Emily. “And I’d be lying if I said spending time with him hadn’t reawakened some feelings I had for him.”

AJ snorted.

“Pretty sure those weren’t really put to bed in the first place, babes.”

Hannah gave her the finger.

“Look, we’re all finding our own comforts here. I’ve had fun spending time with all of you. Getting to…know some of you.”

This time, Rachel could tell she was studiously avoiding Emily. But the implication was there, and everyone at the bar knew it.

“Is…that why you were worried about me? Because of Jake?” Hannah asked, pointing, though not looking at, Emily. “Because she’s got it even worse than I did in that regard.”

Julie shook her head.

“It’s part of it, but I know they know they mind borked you to be into all this,” She said. “What’s that like?”

Hannah sighed, and idly fidgeted with her skirt.

“Not into all this as a scenario,” She said. “I’m sexually aroused by the changes you’re all going through.”

She was blushing furiously, and Emily reached over to squeeze her hand.

“You can’t help it. It’s okay.”

The table went quiet at that. Rachel shook her head. Why were they all so unwilling to discuss what they all knew?

“I can’t,” Hannah admitted. “It was **** on me. But…well, fuck it. I’ve been here for a few hours now. I’m drunk..”

She looked around the bar.

“The curse does bring some perspective,” She said. “About your second chance, or Megan’s new thirst for discovery. You’ve got Lacy taking control of her life, Farra and Loretta finding something to enjoy.”

She squeezed Emily’s hand in return.

“My relationship with you. We started out just having sex, but I really, really like you.”

Emily bit her lip, then leaned over and kissed her. It was a brief kiss; a supportive one. And it brought Rachel to one of those rare moments where she envied people who could have sex and relationships so easily.

“My point is that while this whole thing is bad, it’s not without its silver linings,” She said. “And since we’re all stuck in it against our will anyway, it’s important to find those.”

This time, Emily’s kiss was more passionate and heartfelt.

“Awww! Yay!” Lindsey piped up, applauding. “Fuck yeah! I’m down for that.”

“I think you just volunteered to go next,” Hannah said. “Am I correct in assuming you’re enjoying all this?”

Lindsey shrugged.

“I dunno, man,” She said. “I’m a roll with the punches kinda girl. Life just kinda happens to you, and you’ve gotta take it as it comes.”

“Yeah, I get all that,” Hannah said. “But it just seems like you’re taking this a ton better than most. Is there any reason why?”

“I mean, back home I was a pretty average student who barely made ends meet and spent all my nights driving drunks around New York,” Lindsey said. “I’ve got friends and family or whatever, but my life wasn’t exactly so fantastic that I can’t embrace an adventure when it drops in my lap.”

“Uh huh,” Hannah said, examining her. “And how come it is you haven’t talked about any of that? I don’t know anything about your family. Or your life outside this game. Or…any of it. You’ve just showed up here and played.”

It was a barbed question, but Lindsey only seemed bemused.

“You ever asked about any of it?”

“Well…no,” Hannah admitted.

“And why would you?” Lindsey said. “Me and Sabs here are the outsiders. We don’t really know any of you. And you’ve all had enough of your own bullshit to parse that you haven’t really gotten the time to know either of us.”

“You’ve got a point,” Hannah said. “I apologize if that felt like an attack.”

“Whatever, dude,” Lindsey said. “If I were you, I’d probably be a little suspicious of the blue haired pixie dream girl who seemed to be enjoying herself too much too.”

Lindsey looked at Hannah.

“Got anything else for me?”

“Only one more question,” Hannah said. “Why were you topless the day you got here?”

Lindsey gave her a big, full smile.

“Fuck around!” She said. “I want some more of that grapefruit fish pee.”

When she’d finished downing it, she turned to Sabrina.

“Speaking of the outsiders, you’re up next, Sabs.”

Sabrina wrinkled her nose.

“Please don’t fucking call me that.”

“Yeah!” Megan agreed tipsily, before adding, “Sorry. I got excited.” when she saw the look the two of them were giving her.

“Whatever. What have you got for me?” Sabrina asked.

Lindsey paused.

“Y’know, I don’t actually know,” She said. “What do you wanna talk about?”

Sabrina thought it over.

“That I’m sorry for how I treated everyone when I got here,” She said. “I was still in the mindset that I was the center of the goddamn universe. I’m trying to change that a bit, but I was kind of a bitch at the start.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Lindsey added. “We’re all figuring it out.”

“Look at this!” AJ added. “Everyone all getting along and shit.”

She shot a look back at Hannah.

“It’s like what you were saying. Silver linings, right?”

Hannah raised her glass in toast and took a swallow.

“I’m curious about you, Rachel,” Hannah said.

Rachel, who’d been fairly deep in observing the others, snapped up.

“Uhm…what about me?” She asked.

“You run one of the most popular hangout spots on this entire island, but when we all get together, you’re as quiet as a mouse.”

Emily giggled.

“That’s Rach. Bit of an introvert.”

“It’s true,” Rachel admitted. “I’ve always felt at home teaching classes and stuff. I guess I’m just not very fun at parties.”

Emily gave her a hug.

“You are too, at least when you’ve loosened up a little.

“It’s kind of an odd reward,” Hannah mused. “Just giving you a gym and whatnot.”

Rachel stiffened.

“What do you mean?” She asked, uneasily.

“Just that everything else that’s been done to any of us, reward or punishment, has had some sort of impact on the game,” Hannah said. “Giving you a gym doesn’t seem to.”

A number of the women turned to Leah, but the hostess only waved them off.

“Don’t look at me,” She said. “I don’t know a bloody thing anymore.”

Rachel concentrated very hard on keeping her face stoic.

“I don’t know,” She said. “Maybe they were giving us a place to socialize.”

Hannah nodded.

“I suppose that makes sense,” She said. “It’s a shame Leah can’t give us any more insight than that.”

“I know, I know,” AJ said with a sigh. “But I couldn’t really bring her down to our level if she had all the info, y’know? It’s like inviting the dealer to join the game.”

“Yes, yes. We know the reasons,” Leah said. “Still rather impulsive, darling. I could have helped you all out a little.”

“Anything else for me?” Rachel interrupted, and was palpably relieved when Hannah shook her head.

Her own question was probably too clever by half, especially considering Hannah’s inquiry. But she had to learn more about her own actions.

“I’ve got a question for Emily,” Rachel said. “You seem…different. More comfortable with your change. You were kinda freaked out when you first got it.”

Emily crossed her arms beneath her bare breasts.

“And your question is?”

“You feeling a little better?” Rachel asked.

Emily was, by far, the contestant Rachel had done the most work on; a control group of sorts that she got to see the most often. The change was simple; to make her less uncomfortable with, and eventually proud of the body she was **** to show off. That it was working in one capacity or another was self-evident, but she needed to hear how much it was working from her own mouth.

Emily responded by biting her lip. That was normally a nervous tick, but she was smiling in spite of it.

“Yeeah,” She admitted. “I’m more than feeling better about it. I’m feeling good.”

“You’re feeling good?” Julie asked incredulously. “God, I’d be dying of embarrassment if I were you.”

“Yeah. And I guess I should be,’ Emily admitted. “But it is kinda…liberating, I guess? I get to be sexy all the time. Or at least I do if I own it.”

She brushed back her hair, which now that she was sitting, draped over and accentuated her shapely rear.

“Besides, I’ve got one of the most unique looks on the show.”

Julie shook her head in a way that implied that she couldn’t possibly understand it. Hannah, who was rosy cheeked from the red wine in front of her, was attempting not to gawk and failing spectacularly. AJ didn’t even bother to hide her admiration.

Rachel made an effort not to look, though not out of any attraction to her friend. Apparently her little push was working more than she could have hoped.

She felt conflicted. Emily might very well be stuck this way from now on. Was it wrong of Rachel to help her feel more at ease with her situation? Even though she hadn’t asked?

It’s not like you hated every minute of doing it, either.

“And Jake. What’s the story with you two now?” Rachel asked.

This question was a bit of mummery, and one that the two friends had planned out in advance. By asking, Rachel had played her part. Emily played hers with an exaggerated shrug.

“What about him? He’s my boyfriend. We’re cool,” Emily said.

“But you cheated on him. And he did it to you, too,” Rachel added. “I know you two had like, an agreement or whatever, but you totally did it before that.”

Emily frowned, and to Rachel’s eye, it seemed legitimate. It really pained her.

“Yeah. That sucked,” She admitted. “I was pretty shitty for that.”

“Oh, bull. Shit.” Hannah objected. “You can’t just sit there and beat yourself up over that. It was…”

Emily silenced her with a sweet smile, but Rachel could see she was agitated despite stopping for her rival-turned-lover.

“Yeah. Kind of an accident. I get that,” Emily said. “And it really was. Our changes just synchronized and…”

She pantomimed an explosion.

Then she shrugged.

“I still shouldn’t have lied about it.”

“And why did you?” Rachel asked.

This question was not on script, but to her credit, Emily didn’t shy away from it.

“Because I’m kind of in love with him,” She admitted. “And I was scared.”

AJ leaned against the bar, looking down at her.

“Y’know, he is a good dude,” She said, looking between her and Hannah.. “Come clean with him and he’ll understand. You two ain’t exactly been in full control of yourselves.”

“She’s not wrong,” Hannah said. “And we plan to tell him. He already knows that we’ve…enjoyed the situation a few times.”

“But he doesn’t know who shot first,” Emily said. “He will though. I’m on it.”

Emily clapped an arm over Rachel’s shoulder.

“That all for your turn, bestie?”

“Yup,” Rachel said with a wink, then whispered. “Hope it helps.”

“It will or it won’t,” Emily whispered back, and Rachel couldn’t help but smile as she remembered AJ’s own words to a similar effect.

“So,” Emily spoke up. “My question’s for Lacy.”

“Okay,” Lacy said, looking a little wary. “Shoot.”

Despite Emily’s confident selection, she didn’t seem to know where to start now that she’d made it. She swirled her glass of green cocktail, then downed it in a long gulp. Lacy watched with growing apprehension, while Farra, whose bodies had been merrily chatting with Loretta and Julie on the sideline, was now watching the two of them closely.

“I’m kind of curious. You sort of remade your whole body,” She said. “As an artist with a certain appreciation of the female form, how did you come up with the body you did.”

The tension drained from Lacy’s posture.

“Well, it kinda depends on the part,” She said. “I didn’t wanna get rid of myself, y’know? I took Dad’s eyes, and his fitness obsession. My Mom’s heritage…”

“That’s very sweet Joonam,” Farra said with a warm smile. “You really do look like my daughter.”

“Yeah, but I think I get what she’s asking,” AJ said. “You got some unique parts in there, if you’ll allow me a crudism.”

Lacy rolled her eyes.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “I always liked tall women. So I added a few inches.”

AJ beamed, and Lacy laughed.

“Fishing for compliments, AJ. Shitty habit.”

AJ made a show of tossing back her hair.

“We all our weaknesses.”

Emily, who’d filled her empty glass with something green and pungent smelling, was now making a deep examination of its contents.

“And the freckles?” She asked, looking up from it.

Lacy shifted uncomfortably.

“I…thought they’d be cute,” She said, before adding quickly. “And I had them as a kid.”

Emily nodded, then put a smile.

“They are cute,” she said. “You look awesome.”

It seemed to put Lacy at ease, but Rachel knew better. Even without being able to see her back and thighs tighten, she could have read her old friend easily.

She’s worried

“Okay. I’m done,” Emily said, taking another big sip. “Thanks for indulging me. It was so cool that you were able to do that.”

“Thanks,” Lacy said, then turned to AJ.

“I guess you have to go at some point, but man…I don’t feel like we have to ask you much of anything.”

AJ cocked her head.

“Whaddaya mean?”

Lacy considered that for a moment.

“Just that you’re open about shit. It’s something I’ve always admired about you.”

“Oh, stop it,” AJ said, even managing a blush.

“No, I’m serious,” Lacy said.

It was clear that she, who had been here along with AJ, Hannah and Emily before the game even started, was getting seriously tipsy.

_Probably doesn’t even know how to drink in that body yet, _Rachel realized.

“It’s like….you can look the truth in the face. And when you stare it down, you can come to terms with what you see.”

“Uh…thanks,” AJ said, a little uncomfortably.

She recovered herself quickly.

“I mean, really. It’s sweet as hell,” She said, trying on a smile. “But you got a question for me or what?”

Lacy thought about it, then shook her head.

“Nah. The floor’s yours, gorgeous..”

AJ grinned, winked and clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth. It was AJ being AJ, but Rachel had caught something different during the exchange.

Prior to her radical reevaluation of her best friend’s lover, Rachel hadn’t thought much of what Jake had to say. But he’d once described his strength as a salesperson as listening 75% of the time and talking only 25%. Rachel had sympathized, and moments like this were why.

Drunk and chatty as most of the girls were, nobody but her seemed to notice AJ’s brief, guilty glance to the side. Or Leah’s quick, hurt expression when she stared down at the bar.

Rachel did. Maybe it was a coincidence, but she didn’t think so. She filed the information away for later.

“My questions’ for you, Doc,” AJ said, turning to the Farras.

The one nearest to her leaned over the bar.

“Hit me, darling.”

AJ smiled, but it was a faint.

“Well…I guess I wanna know what’s going to happen to us,” She said.

Both Farras tilted their heads in surprise. The synchronization was almost comic.

“What do you mean?”

AJ screwed up her face, looking for the words.

“I dunno. You’re a sociologist, right? What do you think of this whole mess?”

Farra smiled.

“You want me to do a social psycho analysis on 12 strangers?” She asked.

AJ shrugged, and Farra nodded.

“Alright, let’s talk about anomie,” She said.

Lacy straightened.

“Oh! I know this one!” She said, “Isn’t that when mores or norms break down.”

Farra smiled.

“Good work, Lacy,” She said. “You caught the essence of it. Anomie is when a group lacks conventions or ethical standards. It’s an explicit rejection of convention or traditional morality.”

Hannah screwed up her face.

“That hardly seems like a fair characterization of us or our situation,” She said. “None of us have rejected normality just because we were torn away from it.”

Farra swirled her wine, then took a long drink.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. I would argue that a number of us were inclined to anomie before arriving here, though,” Farra replied. “And at any rate, while we typically view it as a conscious rejection in the context of social movements, I would argue that one’s social conformity is **** more often than it isn’t. Why shouldn’t that be true for social non-conformity as well?”

AJ cocked an eyebrow.

“You wanna break that down in non-nerd?” She asked. “Hanna’s got a point, doc. Most of us were pretty normal when we got roped into all this.”

Farra gave her an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

“AJ, darling…you went to college. And you’re all the way around the world from stupid,” She said.

The Farra with her hair braided, sitting next to Lacy, steepled her hands and rested her chin on them.

“I’m calling you to the front of the class,” She said. “What might cause a sudden breakdown in normal behavior among a small group?”

There was a playful twinkle in her eyes. She was in professor mode, and Rachel guessed she was enjoying it enormously.

AJ frowned.

“I’m guessing getting kidnapped and **** into fucking someone you know,” She said. “People change fast when the shit goes down.”

The Farra with unbound hair tipped her glass toward AJ.

“Good girl. Trauma and sudden uprooting of a group is a principle driver,” She said. “But you alluded to another component, too.”

“Take my home country,” She continued. “The country is forcibly opened to foreign business in the 1950s and 60s. By the late 70s, women are wearing beehive hairdos, miniskirts and disco plays in all our clubs. Two years later, everyone’s in hijabs and a great deal of western culture is prohibited. What happened?”

“The Revolution. I know my history, doc,” AJ said. “I’m guessing your point is that authority can change the game, too.”

“Exactly,” Farra agreed. “Top down pressure from power structures can cause groups to either conform or more radically reject society’s expectations. To delve harder into, or even embrace anomie.”

“So which do you think is happening with us?” Rachel asked. “The conformity or the rejection.”

Farra smiled.

“This is where it gets very granular,” She said. “Individuals react differently under that pressure, and we’re all no exception. I think how we continue to react and cope is very much an open question.”

Lacy sighed.

“That’s a lot of talking to avoid answering my question,” Lacy teased.

“Did I?” Her mother challenged. “It’s a large enough group that we can discern certain commonalities. We’re all far more sexually active than we were a few weeks ago. There’s been a certain breakdown in traditional sexual dynamics. And I would argue that our work ethics are going through some radical readjustment the longer we live in a setting which provides us everything. But beyond that, how we’re adapting to the behavioral standard being thrust on us is highly individualistic.”

She placed a hand on Loretta’s thigh.

“Lori here has been quick to embrace her freedom, and to make up some lost time in experimenting around. Megan has at least made a verbal commitment to rejecting the standards the showrunners are forcing on us, and Lacy even rejected her own gender identity to better align with it,” Farra explained. “On the other side of the coin, AJ and Rachel actively rejected what was done to them, and Julie seems to be clinging to a routine in an attempt to preserve normalcy. Then you’ve got more confused cases like Emily, who seems torn between rejecting the traditional relationship dynamic and insecurity over its breakdown.”

Rachel frowned, thinking of her own breakdown. Given what she was doing to her fellow contestants, she wasn’t as rebellious as Farra had indicated.

“That’s a hell of a way to put it,” Emily said, looking abashed. “It’s confusing, you know?”

Farra gave her a sympathetic look.

“I don’t mean to make us sound like lab mice in a social experiment, but in a sense we sort of are,” She said. “I suspect at the very least that our viewers feel that way. It’s what reality TV does. We gain vicarious enjoyment by watching normal, or even abnormal people react to a controlled, abnormal situation.”

“So what happens next?” Lacy said. “I know you can’t like, say exactly, but you’ve got to have some guesses.”

“Actually, that was going to be my question for her,” Farra said, pointing to Leah. “What do you think will happen next? I understand this is the first season of our particular program, but some of our comments lead me to believe that your network is running similar projects.”

“My network is running the same show with different variables, even,” Leah said. “It’s a worldwide obsession where I come from.”

Farra gestured for her to continue.

“Which isn’t to say I know what’s coming,” Leah said. “As you pointed out, everyone behaves differently under pressure.”

“I think we’re getting a sense for how we’re going to fare,” Julie said. “We’ve been here for nearly a month now, right?”

Leah let out a throaty laugh.

“No, love. You don’t,” She said. “The pressure is only beginning to mount. It will increase substantially from here. Our changes will worsen, the challenges will get more difficult, and we’ll all be scrabbling more for points and the tensions will start to boil over.”

“Tensions? What tensions?” Megan asked.

“Tensions between the lot of you,” Leah said. “There are some emerging between you already. Add in the hurricane, the next power shift after the points are distributed and the prickly matter of our saboteur, and we’re headed into some rather stormy waters."

She snapped her finger at the Malort.

“Hand me that. I want to hear if it’s as wretched as you make it sound.”

She poured herself two fingers worth, swirled it, smelled it, then winced.

“I think things are about to get a great deal more bitter around here over the coming round,” Leah said. “By the time we get together to do this again, I think we’ll be at one another’s throats.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the girls then. Leah knocked the drink back, gagging at the taste.

“And on that awful note,” She coughed, “Let’s call it a night. We all have a very, very meaningful day tomorrow.”