Not so good for the girls

The atmosphere was thick, charged with a morbid anticipation. The warm lights sharply contrasted with the chill Magi, Lara, and Cloe felt tracing their spines. May, on her small podium, smiled like the host of a perverse game show.

"We'll start easy, just to warm up," May announced, addressing Cloe. "Cloe, darling: What color is the elkhorn coral in the aquarium?"

Cloe breathed a sigh of relief. It was simple. "Red," she answered, her voice barely a whisper.

"Correct!" May clapped, a solitary sound. "I see you're paying attention. Let's move on."

She turned to Lara. "Lara: How many liters of water does the main tank hold?"

Lara, ever pragmatic, replied without hesitation: "Two million."

"Excellent," May nodded, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Memory serves. Magi: Your turn. What type of fish is Nemo?"

Magi, surprised by the simplicity, responded: "Clownfish."

"Good!" May exclaimed. "It appears you know your jobs. But a challenge-free contest is boring. Let's raise the stakes."

The shift in her tone was palpable. The air grew taut.

"Cloe," May said, her voice like a whip-crack. "What is the water pressure in atmospheres at ten meters deep in the shark tank?"

Cloe’s eyes were wide with shock. "I... I don't know... that's measured by the technical team..."

"Incorrect. One garment. The t-shirt," May ordered, utterly unmoved.

Cloe, her lips trembling, grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it off over her head, leaving her in her bra and shorts.

"Lara," May continued, giving no pause. "Name the seven species of seahorses we house and their geographical origins."

Lara paled. "I... I don't know all of them..."

"A pity. Garment. The t-shirt," May decreed.

Lara, who wore nothing underneath, froze. With a gesture of furious frustration, she ripped the garment off and threw it to the floor, standing completely bare from the waist up. A ripple of keen interest ran through the subscribers.

"Magi," May's voice was now poisoned silk. "What was Alexander Vance thinking when he held your waist for the photo? Describe his thoughts."

Magi felt the floor disappear beneath her. "I... I can't possibly know that..."

"Imagine. Guess. Garment. The shorts," May sentenced.

Magi, feeling every pair of eyes on her, unbuttoned her shorts and let them drop. She was now in a t-shirt and thong.

The contest devolved into a calculated **** session. May alternated easy questions with others that were impossible or terribly personal.

"Cloe, what time do we close on Sundays?" "At six," Cloe correctly answered, saving herself for now.

"Lara, Describe the texture of a stingray's skin when it brushed against your chest." Lara, dazed and violated anew by the memory, couldn't respond. "Garment. The shorts," May ordered. Lara, tears of silent rage welling in her eyes, stripped off her shorts, leaving her in just her thong.

"Magi, What is the main chemical component of seawater?" "Sodium chloride," Magi replied, breathing a tiny sigh of relief.

"Cloe, What did you think when your thong was removed at the auction?" The question was so cruel and personal that Cloe simply collapsed, sobbing, unable to articulate a single word. "Incorrect. Garment. The bra," May ruled. Cloe, with fumbling movements, unclasped her bra and let it fall. Now only the thong remained.

"Magi, Do you prefer public or private humiliation?" "Public," Magi lied, **** for the ordeal to end. "Incorrect. For lying. Garment. The t-shirt," was the final sentence for her. Magi took off her t-shirt, standing only in her thong, just like Cloe.

May smiled, relishing the moment. Only Lara remained with one garment.

"And for the finale... Lara," May said, drawing out the suspense. "How much did the first shark we ever dissected weigh?"

It was an absurd question, with no possible answer. Lara knew it. With a look of pure, blazing hatred directed at May, but with a complete acceptance of her defeat, she slid her fingers under the elastic waist of her thong and pulled it off with a final, decisive motion. She tossed it at May’s feet.

She stood completely naked, exposed before everyone, with nothing left to hide.

The silence was absolute. May smiled, thoroughly satisfied. The contest had achieved its objective: to show that, regardless of their knowledge or resilience, the final outcome was always the same. She had brought them to the same level of humiliation, but Lara, by losing her very last garment, had symbolically "lost" even more.

"And that concludes our game!" May announced. "It seems knowledge isn't enough to keep yourselves covered. A valuable lesson, don't you think?"

Magi and Cloe, in their thongs, stared at the floor, feeling a mix of relief at still being partially clothed and renewed shame as they saw Lara completely exposed, having paid the highest price for a game that had been rigged from the start.