Ladies of the Week 7 Draw

A hush settles as Rhett announces the start of the draw. Claire plays an exciting intro that somehow ends with a question mark—something you didn’t even know music could do five minutes ago. One by one, the cards spin into place.

9♦ – Helena Vasquez

Rhett makes his pronouncement, a devilish grin on his face as he remembers this lady signing a **** contract with Graham. “First up, a flash of red silk and narrowed eyes. Helena Vasquez returns to the deck—barely. Her challenge with Graham still leaves a ghost of collar marks on her reputation, but she’s back on the board. Nineteen, Finance, and dressed like she’s ready to bankrupt someone’s self-esteem. There's a weight in the way her eyes glance off the camera. You know her. She’s not here to play for anyone. She’s here to decide if she plays at all.”

2♥ – Tabitha “Tabby” Cheevers

A much less desired Lady of the College Spread deck then spins into place. Rhett greets her with a sigh, “Next comes Tabby. Visual Arts. Twenty-one and worn thin. She clutches a paintbrush like a security blanket, her sweater covered in older stains than half the professors here. Her nudes got flagged—by her own professor. Some say it was ****. Some say it was love. I say she’s hiding something wilder than paint behind those tired eyes. Probably not potential. Probably not stability. But something.”

3♦ – Rachel Okafor

Another low-tier card falls in line. Rhett almost seems to be laughing. “Rachel Okafor’s the name, Public Administration’s her game. She’s twenty-one, and already one missed email away from filing a lawsuit against the show’s lighting team. Her glasses are thick, her shirt pressed, her face a study in flat refusal. And that permanent front she wears says this is a girl who has lived a life not many of us would want. Her tagline—’Hopelessly oblivious’—doesn’t bode well for her academic future. And her grades are reported to be an average of 3.Oh No You Don’t!”

5♠ – Anika Deshmukh

At least the next card is somewhat higher, but still not reaching the gloriously high levels of last week’s draw. Rhett presses on. “Anika, on the other hand, barely seems to notice she’s on camera. She’s deep in a chemistry textbook, hoodie oversized, a mug of tea sitting beside her like a forgotten experiment. She’s twenty, deeply into that scientific spade suit. Her tagline claims she ‘knows the formula, lacks the spark.’ But you’ve seen those before. The girls who smolder quietly, until someone lights the match and forgets how to breathe.”

J♣ – Aiko Tanaka

Then the last card spins—and offers a little hope in the form of a TA. Rhett throws his hand back melodramatically to point at the screen. “Aiko Tanaka. Now there’s a Computer Scientist who will turn your floppy into a hard disk. She’s Twenty-four – same as the number of notches on her bed post. I counted them. She says they’re marks to record how many companies she’s hacked for fun. The screen glowing behind her with windows of code stacking like poker chips means that might be true. She’s got a face that says she’s already hacked your browser history and made a private folder titled Mistakes You’ll Deny Later. Her tagline? ‘Ctrl+Alt+Del my inhibitions.’ Try not to smirk. She’s not bluffing.”

There’s a pause after the fifth card lands. No gasps. No breathless shocks. No Empresses. No returning Queens. Just five women with average scores and the quiet hum of maybe. The kind of draw that makes some players sigh and others see opportunity.

Rhett shakes his head as he makes his closing comments for the draw phase. “Well, after last week’s orgasmic faculty orgy where half the staff scored and Mr. Impossible here managed to turn a prude into the kind of pianist who can make you meatheads love classical, I guess the deck decided we all needed a nap. Now, it’s time to see who these sickos want to go after this week. Dogs, meet meat!”