But where I stand, well, I don't know

Dawn rolled over in bed and sprang up, crying out in pain.

“Huh?! Wuzzat?” Gina groggily looked around, confused. She was still trying to adjust to having an actual sleep schedule instead of waking up whenever her body demanded another chemical infusion to keep from feeling awful.

Dawn muttered curses under her breath. She tucked her tail out from underneath her, nursing it gently. I'm getting real sick of this thing. Sure, it was cute, and there could have certainly been worse transformations, but unfortunately for Dawn she tossed and turned in her sleep a lot. This led to her squashing the darn thing practically every night.

“I wish I could do something about this,” she mumbled to herself as she got out of bed. With how her tail was throbbing, there was no point in trying to get back to sleep. Unlike a certain blonde roommate of hers, who had already passed out.

So Dawn decided to begin her day. After getting dressed in a light t-shirt and a skirt (it was difficult to wear tight clothes- another unfortunate cost of her new appendage) she headed downstairs to go get some breakfast.

To her surprise, she wasn’t the first person up. Dakota sat back in her seat with a scowl on her face, chewing on a piece of toast. Dawn’s eyes skipped over to the girl’s hand, and saw the number “11”. Mentally, she breathed a sigh of relief.

So they hardly did anything last night. That’s good. Dakota had already received a head start of 10 points before her date even began. While Dani and Carly had passed her (though for very different reasons) Dawn had seriously expected Dakota to make up that difference and then some on her day with Nick.

But apparently, her biggest threat hadn’t made as much progress as she’d feared.

“Good morning, you’re up early,” Dawn greeted her politely. Dakota scowled.

“No sense staying in there,” she grumbled, turning away. “So when do you think the others are going to show up? Nick said he’d be down in like half an hour…”

Is she… making small talk? Dawn was surprised, she didn’t think that was the other girl’s thing. “Wait, Nick’s coming?”

Nick had only had breakfast with them once so far, the day after his date with Dani. And that had been because he’d been dragged into it.

“Everyone’s coming,” Dakota replied. “Don’t you know what day it is?”

Dawn gasped. That’s right, she’d almost forgotten. At the end of each week was the popularity poll!

The second the realization came, Sylvia appeared in front of them with a coy smile on her face.

“Good morning my girls, it’s nice to see you both so eager!” She giggled, her eyes sliding between the two of them. “Hopefully the rest of you will be showing up shortly!”

Dakota glared at Sylvia, who let the glare wash off her like water off a duck’s back. “As Dakota just alluded to,” she continued, “today is the day we do a quick check of the popularity polls! Once we get everyone sorted out, then we’ll get to assigning you some Bonus Points! Ooh, I can’t wait to see what the audience thought of your special days with the master! Speaking of which, here come a few now!”

Dani and Carly walked into the banquet hall. Dani was still clearly getting used to wearing skirts, having to tug the hem down over her thighs. Carly, on the other hand, was enjoying her new outfit for the day; she was dressed in a white skintight bodysuit with gold and black accents that hugged her figure. The number “00” was emblazoned in the center of her massive cleavage.

“Good morning!” Carly greeted the others with a smile, rushing to get breakfast. Meanwhile, Dani focused on sitting down as fast as possible to avoid a possible wardrobe malfunction. She had a sour look on her face and Dawn winced in sympathy. Out of everyone here, she’d gotten the harshest transformation by far.

Nick was the next one down. He was staring warily at Sylvia as he entered the room, and everyone could see how nervous he was.

“Hey, are you okay?” Carly was the only one who had the forethought to check in on how Nick was doing.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I guess,” he said, sitting down without getting breakfast. He kept glancing nervously at Sylvia.

Carly patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Let’s just do our best. It's just the popularity polls.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about!” Sylvia grinned, completely ambivalent to how upset Nick was. “Today’s a happy day! We get to see how beloved your dates all were! And if that isn’t enough, we’ll also get to check everyone’s popularity, as well!

She was so perky as she announced these things that it could almost be forgotten how twisted this entire system was.

“We’re still waiting for the others to show up,” Carly reminded Sylvia. The blonde scowled. She was about to say something when the door to the banquet hall opened and Kim entered. She looked a little embarrassed.

“Sorry,” she said, smiling sheepishly, “I’ve gotten so used to sleeping in these past few days I forgot we had a meeting.”

“Where’s Mary?” Dani asked, looking for the little redhead that usually tagged along with Kim or Holly.

“Mary goes to the chapel to pray every morning,” Kim said. “I guess she’s still-"

“I’m here!” Mary followed Kim inside, a little out of breath. “Sorry, I had to run… to make it on time…”

“Well, at least you’re on time,” Sylvia said, checking an exaggeratedly-large pocketwatch. “The same cannot be said for our friends Gina and Holly. I distinctly remember saying they should be here promptly at 7 o’clock!”

Sylvia turned to Dawn. “Would you happen to know where your buddy is?”

“If I had to guess? Sleeping,” Dawn replied. Lo and behold she was proven right a few seconds later as a tired Gina lazily strolled into the banquet hall, yawning.

“And that just leaves Holly,” Sylvia said, turning to Dakota. The pale girl smirked in reply.

Sylvia sighed. She knew exactly where Holly was, and what she was doing, and as much as she enjoyed allowing her contestants the opportunity to indulge their carnal desires, they had a schedule to get to.

“I’ll send the faeries to retrieve her,” Sylvia decided, tapping her cane on the floor. Twenty minutes later a very flustered Holly rushed into the room, cheeks flushed and hair dripping wet like she’d just come out of the shower.

“Where were you?” Mary asked.

Holly had no answer; none she could give to Mary, anyway. She glanced at Nick and averted her eyes.

“Now then! Good morning, my boy and girls!” Sylvia applauded. “It's my pleasure to announce that we’ve almost reached the end of our first week of Harem Hotel: Island Holiday Season!”

As always, the canned applause followed immediately after.

“You girls all worked very hard this week,” Sylvia continued. “I’m proud of you, so proud. While some of you definitely put in more of an effort to appeal to your master than others,” she glanced at Carly as she said this, “I know you all worked hard on improving your relationships with him. And that’s why it is my honor to present you with your rewards for such a great week!”

Kim and Dawn both perked up at the word “reward”, Dawn’s tail twitching with excitement.

“But before we can get to that, let’s take a look at our standing,” Sylvia said. “We have two rankings to check, now that things have settled out! To start, let’s look at everyone’s current scores!”

A screen appeared in the air beside her, displaying their faces, names, and Victory Point totals.

1st: Carly – 16 VP

2nd: Dani – 15 VP

3rd: Dakota – 11 VP

4th: Gina – 4 VP

5th: Kim – 2 VP

5th: Mary – 2 VP

6th: Dawn – 0 VP

6th: Holly – 0V

“Hmm, these scores are quite a wild distribution!” Sylvia smirked, stroking her chin. “But it seems like only a few of you girls are taking things seriously! Ah, well, I suppose that’s what happens when we remove the negative VP elimination system from a season. Still, though, I’d think if you wanted to win, a few of you girls might have tried to be a little more proactive.”

She glanced at Dawn, who growled, her ears flattening out on her head.

“…Well, anyway, our first challenge tomorrow should be proof paramount that simply abstaining from the sexy times won’t get you very far,” Sylvia said, leaving that ominous warning in the air. “Oh, yes, you’ll all be getting some real hands-on experience with the master tomorrow, I promise.”

Dani winced, and Mary looked a little green around the gills. Carly and Gina just beamed ear to ear and Dakota smirked. The other girls were all somewhere in the middle between those feelings, and Nick himself…

Nick was just trying to think of a way he could get through this without hurting anybody.

“We’ll discuss all that tomorrow, though,” Sylvia promised them. “For now, we need to take a look at how many BP everyone has! This is an important tally, after all. So let’s check in!”

The numbers on the screen shifted along with the order of the contestants, demonstrating a new hierarchy.

1. Dawn – 2000 BP

2. Kim – 2000 BP

3. Carly – 1900 BP

4. Dakota – 1700 BP

5. Dani – 1500 BP

6. Mary – 1500 BP

7. Gina – 1000 BP

8. Holly – 0 BP

Dawn was pleased to see she was actually at the top of a list for once, even if her BP score was tied with Kim’s, technically. But she still felt a little miffed. If she hadn’t given 500 BP to buy Gina those patches the first night, then she’d be sitting pretty in an undisputable first place with 2500 BP.

That’s when she noticed something.

“Hey, wait a minute!” She scowled. “Gina spent all her BP on those patches! How is she at 1000 BP now?!”

Gina smirked. “Because momma’s got game, that’s how,” she said, glancing at Sylvia and Nick, who both felt a little embarrassed remembering how they'd gotten played.

“Gina made a wager that was covered by me,” Sylvia explained. “And that resulted in her winning 1000 BP due to her guile.”

“In that case, she should give me back the 500 BP I used to help purchase those Adicktion Patches for her,” Dawn insisted. “And pay back Holly, too!”

“It’s fine, I don’t need it,” Holly said, shaking her head. But Dawn was adamant.

“You can’t just give away points, right?” Mary asked. “Wasn’t that night an emergency?”

“Check your rulebook,” Dawn said. “Contestants are able to give each other BP if they choose. Gina, I want my money back!”

“I earned that fair and square!” Gina sniffed.

“And you wouldn’t have been able to if it weren’t for MY initial investment,” Dawn insisted. “It’s basic economics!”

“Seriously!?” Gina couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Hey, come on, that’s not necessary,” Carly said. “You did that to help her, right? You shouldn’t **** her to pay you back!”

“That’s right,” Kim nodded. “You should have established a firm repayment contract first, before giving her your BP.”

“But… but-!” Dawn couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “It’s not right!”

“Regardless of what’s right, I’m not going to **** Gina to pay you money for saving her,” Sylvia put it simply. “And as the host, that’s my decision.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Nick agreed. He’d been silent up until now, but he definitely didn’t think that what Dawn was trying to pull was okay.

Dawn scowled, but settled back in her seat. There was nothing more she could say if Nick was taking her side, as well. It wasn't fair! She was just trying to get ahead in the points like they were supposed to. Why was everybody defending a burnout like Gina?

“Well, after that bit of hotness, shall we get back to it?” Sylvia purred. “Looking at all your dates, that is! But before we see what the audience had to say, Nick, what about you? Which was your favorite date? What was the most fun for you?”

Nick winced. “M-Me?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Yes, you. You’re the master, after all. You’re the whole reason these girls are here. So what is it? What was your favorite date? Was it spraying Dani down in the sauna? Or climbing a mountain with Carly? Or that sweet, chaste kiss with Kim in the Ferris wheel? Spill!”

Nick’s cheeks flustered. He glanced at all the girls in turn, his eyes stopping briefly on Holly for a second longer before he looked down at the ground.

“I-I liked them all,” he said, which wasn’t a lie, but also wasn’t the answer Sylvia was looking for. She sighed, realizing that was probably the best she was going to get.

“Well, hopefully our audience was a little more honest about their feelings than our master!” She grinned, waving her cane through the air. “Let’s take a look at how everybody decided to rank your dates!”

And with that, the screen shifted again, displaying the dates in order from most to least popular.

1st: Kim: Botanical Garden and Amusement Park

2nd: Mary: Carriage Ride Picnic and Bookstore

3rd: Dani: Working Out and Steamy Massages

4th: Dawn: Cat Café and Bad Tweenwave Movies

5th: Holly: Deep Blue Aquarium

6th: Carly: Mountain Climbing

7th: Gina: Music Store and Karaoke Bar

8th: Dakota: Playground and Swimming Lessons

"Steamy massages?!" Dani sputtered indignantly. But her complaints were drowned out by someone else.

“Eighth?!” Dakota exclaimed, rising from her seat. “My date got last place?!”

Sylvia shrugged. “What can I say? You picked a location that had deep, personal meaning for you and Nick, but when it came to the audience, well… there’s only so much swinging a person can do before things start to get boring. Unless it’s the ‘have sex with each other’s spouses’ kind of swinging, of course.”

Dakota fumed at her.

Gina also seemed to be disappointed. “Seventh, huh… darn, and here I thought I had it in the bag.”

“It could be recency bias,” Dawn replied. That’s what she was attributing her own poor standing to. “People didn’t vote as highly for your date because it was first, while other girls’ were firmer in people’s minds.”

“Or maybe they didn’t like how you conned the master,” Sylvia said, glaring daggers at Gina, who shrugged.

“I got fifth… wow…” Holly was shocked. Judging by her abysmal ranking in the popularity poll, she’d expected to get last, or at least pretty close to it. And while she wasn’t in the top half of dates, she still did better than she’d hoped.

But by far the two most shocked girls were the ones in first and second.

“Congratulations to Team Virgin!” Sylvia applauded a stunned Kim and Mary. “You two did great!”

“For real? B-But we ate at McDonald’s!” Kim protested. "And we didn’t do anything sexy!”

Sylvia shrugged. “The audience works in mysterious ways. I think that they really responded to how genuine you two were on your dates, and how you opened up and had fun. You especially, Kim, seemed to win them over quite nicely with your modest charms.”

Kim blushed, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt a little. Mary glanced at Nick and smiled shyly.

“Now then, as I said, you’ll each be getting BP depending on how you scored, my girls. And it’s fairly simple, too. For each spot above last you were voted, you get 100 BP! Meaning the new results look like this!

1. Kim – 2000 BP + 700 BP = 2700 BP

2. Dawn – 2000 BP + 400 BP = 2400 BP

3. Carly – 1900 BP + 200 BP = 2100 BP

4. Mary – 1500 BP + 600 BP = 2100 BP

5. Dani – 1500 BP +500 BP = 2100 BP

6. Dakota – 1700 BP + 0 BP = 1700 BP

7. Gina – 1000 BP + 100 BP = 1100 BP

8. Holly – 0 BP + 300 BP = 300 BP

Dawn’s heart sank as she saw Kim’s name rise above hers on the scoreboard. She wasn't alone. Seeing Mary and Dani rise up to overtake Dakota made the black-haired girl seethe, but she restrained herself.

Holly swallowed. She had some BP again. It wasn’t as much as she’d had before, but it was a start. Not that she cared about BP or anything. But if someone needed help, maybe she could pitch in like last time. And as long as she got the same amount of votes as before, then she’d get that 500 BP again.

But she began to worry. What if she got even less points? What if she got below 3%? Then she wouldn’t get ANYTHING. Could that happen? She was certain that the audience must like her even less now, after having agreed to be Nick’s personal cockblocker.

“I see you girls are noting the drastic difference in BP that’s starting to accrue,” Sylvia noted with a smirk. “Well, let me assure you that things aren’t over yet! That was just the first of our rankings! Don’t forget, today’s the day where we take a look at how you ladies scored in the popularity poll! And if those BP bonuses were to whet your appetite, here’s where the REAL money comes in! And this time, we had QUITE the runaway in first place!” She added with a wink. Sylvia waved her cane and the screen shifted, revealing new numbers.

1. Kim – 16.83%

2. Dani – 14.43%

3. Dawn – 14.19%

4. Mary – 13.26%

5. Holly – 10.67%

6. Dakota – 10.57%

7. Carly – 10.57%

8. Gina – 9.49%

Dakota was a ball of fury as she glared at her ranking. How the mighty had fallen. While Dawn had only slipped a little in the rankings, Dakota had plunged down almost 5%, which was devastating.

“I told you,” Sylvia’s voice hissed in her ear. “Don’t assume that your initial popularity was because of who you are. Our audience finally got a peak at the real you… and they didn’t like what they saw.”

Dakota glowered back at her. "They haven't seen anything yet."

Sylvia ignored her and turned to Gina. Dakota may have fallen far, but her drop wasn’t nearly as shocking as Gina’s. Having plummeted from third place all the way to last, Gina’s drop had been drastic, being the only girl to get less than 10% of the vote.

“You, on the other hand, I’m surprised by,” Sylvia said, tapping her chin. “The audience wanted to change you into someone else so badly, and yet when they did… that person hardly got any votes. Perhaps they just don’t like you.”

All Gina had to offer was a crooked smile. Last place was suitable for someone like her.

“I can’t believe I scored so high!” Mary marveled, turning to Holly. The girls had been in seventh and eighth respectively last time, but had rocketed up significantly.

Holly was shocked. She’d gotten fifth place… again? And it was out of popularity, this time?

“Why so surprised?” Sylvia whispered to her. “You gave the audience quite a show yesterday, after all. And they liked what they saw.”

Holly’s blood went cold. She’d been so focused on taking care of her needs, she hadn’t cared at the time about what she was showing to the audience. But they’d seen everything…

Kim was also shocked. While she hadn’t increased her percentage by as much as those two in comparison, it was hard to argue that she wasn’t the undisputed winner of this poll. She was the only girl who’d scored above 15%, meaning her lead in terms of BP was about to get a major boost.

“With these results, let’s take a look at how everyone’s point totals will increase!” Sylvia clapped her hands. “Again, for each 3% of the vote you girls got, you’ll each be receiving 500 VP! Which means that our current distribution will net you all… this much!”

More numbers appeared on the chart.

1. Kim – 16.83% +2500 BP

2. Dani – 14.43% +2000 BP

3. Dawn – 14.19% +2000 BP

4. Mary – 13.26% +2000 BP

5. Holly – 10.67% +1500 BP

6. Dakota – 10.57% +1500 BP

7. Carly – 10.57% +1500 BP

8. Gina – 9.49% +1500 BP

“Look at how lucky everyone was!” Sylvia continued. “Everyone got at least 1500 extra BP! Now, added to your existing totals, we can see that the wealth is NOT distributed evenly among you girls!” She laughed.

1. Kim – 2700 BP + 2500 BP = 5200 BP

2. Dawn – 2400 BP + 2000 BP = 4400 BP

3. Mary – 2100 BP + 2000 BP = 4100 BP

4. Dani – 2100 BP + 2000 BP = 4100 BP

5. Carly – 2100 BP + 1500 BP = 3600 BP

6. Dakota – 1700 BP + 1500 BP = 3200 BP

7. Gina – 1100 BP + 1500 BP = 2600 BP

8. Holly – 300 BP + 1500 BP = 1800 BP

“As we can see with these numbers,” Sylvia continued, tapping the screen with her cane, “Kim has a commanding lead with 5200 BP.” She turned to Kim with a smile. “What can I say? The audience positively adores you!”

Kim flashed a winning smile back at her.

“Next, Dawn, Mary, and Dani are all scrambling about in the upper 4000s,” Sylvia continued, moving on to the next girls on the list. “Meanwhile, Carly and Dakota remain competitive enough in the 3000 point range, in spite of their poor showing in the polls today. They really need to buckle down and start winning the audience over! And finally, bringing up the rear, poor little unpopular Gina who had to blow most of her money on her Adicktion Patches, and Holly, still trying to claw her way out of the hole she started the game in.”

“It’s just BP,” Holly said, frowning. “It’s not that important.”

“Then the scores should be just fine with you, since you have the least amount of it,” Sylvia replied. She clapped her hands. “Now then, my girls! That wraps up the Popularity Poll for Round 1! You all have the rest of the day off! And if I were you, I’d advise using it to figure out what you’re going to buy with all that BP of yours! The sky’s the limit! And in the meantime, be prepared. The first challenge is tomorrow.”

Sylvia blew a kiss to Nick and strolled out of the banquet hall. With her gone, the girls began to talk with one another, while some of them went finish getting their breakfast. Speculation about the upcoming round was the popular discussion topic, apparently.

Nick went over to Dawn, who was talking with Dani while Gina sat listlessly beside her. He had something to discuss with the three of them.

“Guys,” he said, resulting in three heads turning. “We need to talk.”