Stay tonight, fight the break of dawn

While Nick was off having his date with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, there was a lot of activity in the other parts of the hotel at the moment.

“So that’s my plan for tomorrow night,” Gina finished. Her smile was a little dopey, like a puppy looking for approval from her master after fetching his slippers. “What do you think? You like the idea?”

“…I’m impressed by your initiative, Gina,” Amelia said, nodding. The two women were discussing Gina’s party tomorrow night over a cup of coffee in the café, and Amelia was pleasantly surprised that Gina was taking things seriously this time.

“Th-thanks,” Gina said, scratching the back of her neck and blushing. She glanced bashfully up at the older woman. “Last time, I really whiffed it by not having any plans until the last minute, so I’ve been spending a couple days thinking about what to do. And this one just seemed fitting, you know? I think Dakota will go along with it, too.”

Amelia nodded again. “Learning from your past mistakes and thinking critically about how to improve are admirable traits to develop, especially for someone with your track record.”

Gina winced. She knew Amelia didn’t mean anything by what she’d said, but the words still stung regardless.

“That did not come out as I intended,” Amelia said hastily, realizing herself how her statement could have been taken as being overly critical. “I just meant that you’re making great strides in approaching issues with responsibility. Other women might just slip back into negative habits, but you appear to be genuinely trying to make a positive change.”

Not everyone was so lucky, as Amelia could attest. Sometimes she wished that her own poor qualities could be so easily overcome. But like Gina, it was a constant struggle.

The punk girl overflowed with relief. “I’m glad you approve,” she said, beaming at Amelia. “Last time, it was fun, but… I think I went a little overboard. I mean, all those events? It was a little too stuffy and scripted, don’t you think?”

“Pardon my misunderstanding,” Amelia noted, raising a quizzical eyebrow, “but that was the theme of the party, was it not?”

Gina laughed out loud. “Well, you’ve got me there!” She admitted, shaking her head. “You’re not wrong, that’s why this time, we’re going for a little more casual here. Or at least, I’m aiming for that, anyhow. Maybe some nice decorations to make the place look nice?”

She didn’t want to use that cabin that transformed into whatever they wanted it to. If they were going to throw a party, it was going to be a casual affair that she put together herself, by hand.

“Oh, hey you guys! What’s up?”

Gina raised her head and looked down at the street beside the deck, and her face brightened when she saw who it was. “Hey! Sylvia, and Marley. That’s unusual. I would have expected to see Carly with you guys.”

Marley shook her head. “My sister’s doing a photo shoot,” she explained. “And since Dakota let us know that she was going to be with Dani, we thought we’d spend the day together in case they wanted to use the room.”

“Yep, they could have gone to Dani’s room, but somehow, I don’t think they’ll be choosing that one,” Sylvia said, snickering.

Amelia raised a curious eyebrow. “And why would that be?” She questioned.

“Weeeeelll…” Sylvia didn’t even bother hiding the gleeful smile on her face, while Marley just rolled her eyes. “Considering who Dani’s roommate is, and whose date it is today, I assumed that the Romance Suite would be occupied for the whole day.”

It took Gina a second to put the pieces together. “Huh?”

“I see,” Amelia said, realizing immediately what Sylvia was getting at. “You’re referring to Vivian Carrington.”

Sylvia smirked and nodded knowingly while Marley sighed and shook her head.

“Still lost over here,” Gina raised her hand.

“Remember Vivian’s transformation from this last round?” Sylvia chuckled.

“Which one?” There had been a lot of transformations and none of them had involved Gina, so the punk girl had kind of tuned most of it out.

“The one where she gets really sensitive whenever someone else is having sex,” Marley clarified. “If you’re wondering why you didn’t see much of Vivian yesterday, it seems to be because Dawn and Nick were doing stuff during the day, and she decided to retire for some privacy.”

“And that’s Dawn,” Sylvia said, beaming triumphantly as if she was somehow responsible for the cat girl’s moral degradation. “Can you imagine what Daddy and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin are getting up to right now? Poor Vivian… we should all be so lucky!”

Sylvia had half a mind to borrow that transformation herself today, just to see what all the hubbub was about. It couldn’t be that bad considering Vivian was able to weather it pretty fine the other day. But she also didn’t want to poison the well- if her Daddy knew she was sneaking in on his sexy times with the other girls, he might be hesitant to go further with her, and that just wouldn’t do at all! There was only so much teasing a girl can put the audience through before she has to actually give it up and stop with the blueballing, and even though Sylvia wasn’t to blame for the lack of sex between her and the master, as a former host she knew that sooner or later the audience’s patience would run out and they’d start holding her responsible in the popularity polls.

So the less she intruded on Nick, the better.

Of course, while no one could tell what the redhead was planning, everybody could see the gleeful, plotting smile on her face.

“…Anyway, it’s a good thing you two came by, actually,” Gina said, ignoring the discussion about Vivian and how Nick was probably definitely getting devoured by a ravenous killer. “We were just talking about you.”

“Oh really? Little ol’ me? And whatever would you be saying about me, my girls?” Sylvia perked up excitedly, rocking on the balls of her feet.

“That is not technically accurate,” Amelia clarified.

“Eh, it kind of is,” Gina said. “You were actually the inspiration for my party theme for tomorrow, you know!”

Sylvia’s eyes widened. “Oh? Is it going to be a party where you do a sexual challenge and get transformations?” That was always where her mind leapt to first.

Gina stared at her and Marley just sighed and shook her head.

“It is not,” Amelia bluntly stated.

Sylvia puffed up her cheeks and sighed. “Well, oh well, then,” she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Like always though, her bad mood passed as soon as it occurred. “So what is it? What’s this special party idea that you have me to thank for?”

Gina laughed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not that we have you to thank for it. I just had a note of inspiration, what, after your transformation vote last time.”

She may not have been paying attention to all the transformations, especially not the ones that came in batches, but she definitely remembered this one.

“It’s kind of a bummer that you didn’t get that one transformation, that lets you throw a slumber party,” Gina explained. “So I was thinking, to make up for it, what if we made my party tomorrow night a slumber party theme?”

Sylvia’s face lit up. “Really!? You mean it?” That sounded like a wonderful idea. “I love it! Let’s do that, totally!”

Amelia nodded in approval. “I also thought it was an excellent idea for the party,” she agreed. “Of course, I will not be in attendance.”

“Eh? Why not?” This was the first Gina was hearing about this. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, and of course you’re invited like everybody else!”

“Perhaps, but my presence would be contrary to the theme,” Amelia pointed out. She adjusted her glasses. “After all- isn’t the appeal of a slumber party that the parents are not present?”

While Amelia might not be related to any of the women in Nick’s harem (or Nick himself, for that matter) because of her Maternal Instinct transformation she reflexively thought of any woman her stepson slept with as her own daughter.

Gina pouted. “Well, you could make an exception!” She pointed out. “Come on, you said it yourself that it sounded like it would be a lot of fun!”

Actually, what Amelia had said was that it sounded like it would be a good idea for a theme. Nothing about a slumber party appealed to her on a personal level, however. She had spent a great deal of care not saying that to Gina, however; she truly did think it was a good idea, but if she made her own thought on the subject known, it was likely that the punk girl would simply redesign the whole thing to appeal to her, just like last time. And that would just result in another mess.

“…Well, if you’re not going to be there, I’ll just have to think of another theme, then,” Gina decided, frowning.

“What? But it’s such a good one!” Sylvia gasped.

“Yeah, don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” Marley questioned.

“I don’t know, don’t you think your tits are going a little overboard?” Gina replied like a petulant brat, indicating tauntingly to Marley’s enhanced chest.

The brunette hastily covered herself, turning red. “This-! I’m working on it, okay?!” She stammered out, biting her lip.

“…Sorry,” Gina lamely apologized. She’d lashed out on reflex to mask her disappointment, but that was bad. “I just got a little upset there. But seriously, Amelia, if you’re not going to come because of the theme, I’ll pick something else!”

Amelia sighed and adjusted her glasses. “Do not do that.”

Gina flinched, taken aback by the sharpness in the other woman’s voice. “Wh-what? Why not?” She stammered in confusion.

Amelia stared pointedly at her. “This is an important learning experience for you, Gina,” she said bluntly. “You can’t please everybody.”

“W-well, I know that, but… still…” Gina looked down, shrinking slightly under Amelia’s words.

The teacher wished that she could speak with more care, but her tone wasn’t exactly gentle at the moment. She was almost forceful in how she spoke with the other girl, trying to get Gina to understand the reason for her position.

“You can’t please everybody,” she repeated herself. “If you will be holding these parties every round, you have to understand that not everyone will always wish to attend. I understand that has not been an issue before, but that could be to detriment of everyone.”

“Detriment how?” Sylvia asked, leaning up against the railing of the deck. “There are a ton of boons at the party to be gotten! Everyone should come if they’re able to!”

“Even if they do not find the theme to be appealing?” Amelia asked sharply, catching both women by surprise.

Marley nodded slightly, mostly to herself. She kind of agreed with Amelia, she just didn’t want to say anything. Not everybody should be obligated, or expected, to go to every party that Gina threw for them.

“Suppose your proposition for a party would be a book club,” Amelia said, posing a hypothetical that was so laughable in Gina’s case that the punk girl didn’t even know how to respond. “Would you insist that everyone attend, even if they did not wish to read a book? What about Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, who stubbornly refuses to learn to read at all?”

“Well, I just wouldn’t do a book club, then!” Gina replied. “That sounds like a boring-ass party anyway, if you ask me!”

Amelia raised her eyebrow. “…That is not the point.”

“I hate to say it, but I think I understand where she’s coming from,” Sylvia admitted. “It’s like… well, I really, really love the slumber party idea, Gina! I think it’s going to be a blast! But maybe not everybody would want to stay up all night swapping sex stories.”

“Isn’t it usually ghost stories?” Marley pointed out.

Sylvia ignored her. “There are a lot of great party ideas that a ton of people would love to do! Like a cooking theme one night, maybe, with Mary as the head chef! But then, the people who don’t like cooking, well, they’ll feel split, they don’t really want to go, but it could feel kind of like an obligation, you know?”

“I-I guess…” Gina mumbled.

“Sylvia is expressing my point better than I could,” Amelia admitted, and the young girl looked up at her in awe.

“Really?”

Amelia nodded. “By excusing myself from tomorrow night’s festivities, I will be relieving the burden, so to speak. Other people will be gladdened to not feel obligated themselves.”

Gina sunk into her seat. “Gladdened…?”

“…That came out wrong,” Amelia said, fighting off her flustering. “What I mean to say, is that… …While it is always nice to receive an invitation, sometimes that invitation may come across as an insistent obligation. Particularly in an environment such as this, where the pressure is heavy to go along with the group and conform, even when doing something you would not choose to do on your own. It may already be the case that these parties are perceived as an obligation to the other women here. That is not to say that they do not enjoy them, but they may perceive things as if they have ****. Does that make sense?”

She hated how imprecise and tedious her explanation had become. But she needed to choose her words carefully and focus on redundancy, just to make sure she didn’t miss anything.

Unfortunately, Gina still looked a little bummed out. “I guess what you’re saying makes sense,” she mumbled, scratching her head. “I don’t want to pressure anyone into going to a party if that’s not what they want…”

“That is a good start,” Amelia said gently. “And that is one reason why I will be sitting the festivities out. While I have no doubt that you’ve an enjoyable evening in mind for all of us, the activities of slumber parties are not things that inspire me terribly. And by making a point to not attend, perhaps that will help others become comfortable with the idea that they are not obligated to attend every party you throw. Only the ones that they will truly enjoy. So what do you think? In my opinion, this would be the best result for all parties involved.”

Gina couldn’t help snigger at the wordplay, but it seemed to go right over Amelia’s head.

“…Yeah, you’re right,” the punk girl admitted. “I don’t want everybody to feel like they have to go.”

“So, yes slumber party?” Sylvia asked hopefully.

Gina nodded. “Yeah. Yes slumber party,” she assured the former host.

“Whoopie! That’s just great, my girl!” Sylvia cheered. “We’ll be able to create the absolute perfect party environment, too, maybe-”

“Actually, I wanted to handle the decorating myself,” Gina interrupted Sylvia before she could take the whole theme over for herself. “I was thinking we could actually hold it in the Lounge. You know, everybody getting together in the middle of all our rooms? Get a few streamers and stuff, maybe some Halloween decorations to make it feel kind of spooky? Ooh, and black tape for the lights, that’s the perfect ambience if you ask me!”

“Oh, in that case, yeah, that sounds like a great idea, too!” Sylvia nodded in agreement. “Wait, I know! We can ask Nola! I’m sure she’ll be happy to help us decorate!”

Before Gina could interject, Sylvia cupped her hands over her mouth and called at the top of her lungs, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Did someone call for a leprechaun?” Nola chirped, popping right up in a flash. “Happy to be of assistance! What can I do for you? If you’re looking for some fun times to be had, or maybe an exciting idea for a sexual transformation, I’m always happy to lend my advice!” She was about to keep going on, but Sylvia put a quick stop to that. Once Nola got on a roll, it was hard to get her to keep quiet.

“Thanks Nola, but it’s fine, really,” Sylvia assured the other girl, shaking her head. “Actually, we were wondering, could you point us in the direction of where we can get some supplies? Gina’s trying to pick out some decorations for her party, only the hotel’s completely restructured itself since Dakota took back over, and nothing’s where I put it.”

Nola stiffened. “Eh? Decorations? I… I guess I could help you find some, um… maybe?”

She suddenly didn’t look all that eager to help, which was a surprise.

“Yeah, just some stuff for a slumber party,” Gina explained. “With maybe a bit of a spooky theme to it? Fake cobwebs, candles, black tape…”

“I-I have no idea!” Nola shook her head quickly. “What would I know about a closet full of party decorations? Black tape? Never seen anything like that before, nope! I’m not a nosy girl who peeks at things she shouldn’t!”

She started to sweat.

“Are you unwell?” Amelia questioned. The strange sprightly girl was acting quite differently from how Amelia usually noticed her behavior, and it was causing her to feel concerned.

“I… I’ll get all the decorations myself!” Nola said, a big smile nearly breaking her face in half. “You don’t have to worry about everything! Leave it all to me! I’m a master at throwing parties you know, remember that one time? Hah!”

She laughed loudly, earning her strange looks from the other girls. But then, Nola was always getting strange looks for one reason or another.

“I’ll get it all done in a flash!” The leprechaun chirped, and she popped away before anyone could get a word in edgewise.

“…Well, that was… unusual,” Marley noted, staring in confusion at the blank spot in the street where Nola had just been standing seconds before.

“That’s Nola alright,” Sylvia said, rolling her eyes. “Unusual.”

“At least she’s willing to help,” Gina said. “That’s good! I’m getting really excited for tomorrow night, myself!”

“Me too!” Sylvia nodded in agreement. “…Wait! I don’t have pajamas! What an oversight! Come on, Marley, we need to go buy some! Knowing Kim, she’ll probably have a sale up already!” She grabbed Marley by the wrist and started dragging her down the road.

“H-hey, I already have pajamas,” Marley pointed out.

“But not ones that fit,” Sylvia pointed out right back, indicating to Marley’s enhanced chest.

Marley looked down at her massive boobs, then up at Sylvia.

“…Sylvia, the party’s tomorrow night,” she reminded the other woman. “My boobs will be back to normal by then, remember?”

Sylvia stared at her daughter with a blank expression and blinked.

“…Sure they will be!” She said with a nod, completely unconvincing.

Marley’s eye twitched.