The Spirited Start

“Contestants, your first day begins now!” Jocelyn cheered brightly.

Assuming she was done with her announcement, most everyone in the grand hall turned back to their food, or in the case of Jason, his coffee.

“And with it being your first day, it’s time to give you all your very own monitor thingies!”

“Monitor thingies?” Babs repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Your point monitors!” Jocelyn clarified, as though that explained everything.

Judging by the series of raised eyebrows and tilted heads she received in response, however, it was clear that further clarification was needed.

“The things you’ll use to keep track of your points, spend them at the shops, and generally keep tabs on how fabulously you’re doing.” She punctuated that sentence with the snap of her fingers.

With a series of little *pops*, a small device appeared around each of the contestants’ wrists, resembling a sleek, featureless metal band, though each one shimmered with a slightly different colour depending on the contestant it belonged to.

A few of the girls immediately began examining their new accessories.

Mika raised her arm, turning it this way and that as she watched the faint blue light ripple across the band. Sylvie cautiously poked hers with a finger, while Esme gave the thing a brief, unimpressed glance before returning her attention to Jocelyn.

Cassandra, meanwhile, looked absolutely horrified.

“What is the meaning of this!?” she demanded, holding her arm out in rage. “You dare place some enchanted shackle upon my person!?”

“Oh, don't be so dramatic, Cassandra,” Jocelyn replied, waving her off. “It's a bracelet.”

“A shackle all the same!”

Cassandra grabbed the band with her free hand and pulled.

It didn't budge.

She pulled harder.

Still nothing.

“They're pretty simple to use,” Jocelyn continued, entirely ignoring the increasingly furious witch. “Just tap your wrist and your personal interface will appear!”

Mika immediately tapped hers.

A small holographic blue screen sprang to life above her wrist, causing her ears to perk up in surprise. It displayed a neat little collection of information, including her name, her current point balances, and a section dedicated to her transformations.

Well, transformation singular, for now.

“Whoa…”

Mika leaned closer, her tail swishing excitedly behind her as she examined the floating display.

“Neat, huh?” Jocelyn grinned. “And don't worry, you can close it just as easily. Just give your wrist another tap.” She tapped her own wrist to demonstrate.

Mika did so, and the screen promptly vanished.

She tapped it again, causing it to reappear.

Another tap.

Gone.

Another.

Back again.

“Woah…”

“Now, as you already know, there are three different types of points you'll be dealing with this season: Victory Points, Bonus Points, and Ghost Points!”

She raised one finger.

“First, Victory Points, or VP for short. These are the most important ones! Your VP determines your progress toward actually winning the season.”

With a theatrical sweep of her cane, a massive glowing leaderboard appeared behind her, hovering above the raised stage at the far end of the dining hall. Its brilliant white light clashed with the warm amber glow of the morning sunlight flooding into the room, making it stand out rather impressively, though the contrast also made it somewhat uncomfortable to look at.

VICTORY POINT LEADERBOARD

1. Barbara — 2 VP

2. Esmerelda — 1 VP

3. Mika — 0 VP

3. Sylvie — 0 VP

3. Cassandra — 0 VP

3. Eleanor — 0 VP

3. April — 0 VP

Babs glanced up at the screen, and a rather smug grin spread across her face.

“Hah! Look at that. Already on top.”

“By one point,” Esme remarked dryly from her table.

Babs merely rolled her eyes in response.

Cassandra finally stopped wrestling with her wristband long enough to look up.

“Preposterous!” she snapped. “How is that uncouth brute ahead of me!?”

Babs turned toward her. “I don't really aim to be ‘couth’, witch girl, but it's not like you can say much after your performance.”

“Ladies, ladies!” Jocelyn interrupted cheerfully, clapping her hands together. “There's plenty of time for petty arguments later! In fact, I encourage them.”

She gestured back toward the leaderboard.

“And because everyone needs to know who's winning, your VP balance is completely public. You can check the leaderboard whenever you like, and so can everyone else.”

Sylvie glanced down at her own wrist.

“So… everyone can see how many points we have with these?”

“Victory Points, yes!” Jocelyn clarified. “But that brings us rather nicely to our next two categories.”

She raised a second and third finger.

“Bonus Points and Ghost Points! Or BP and GP, if you're feeling particularly lazy. These are your lovely little rewards for doing well in certain audience polls, completing special tasks, and generally giving our viewers something worth watching! But we went over all this last night; what’s important is you can keep track of them with your bracelets.

Sylvie cautiously tapped her wrist again, bringing up her little yellow holographic screen. Her eyes scanned over the information before settling on the sections marked BP and GP.

“So… these are private?”

“Correct!” Jocelyn chirped. “Unlike your Victory Points, these two are yours and yours alone to know about! Unless, of course, you decide to tell someone.”

“Oh, okay…” Sylvie murmured.

“Although!” Jocelyn added, raising a finger. “Just because you can tell someone how many points you have doesn't mean you have to tell them the truth.”

“…Huh?” Sylvie's calm faltered slightly.

“Why, you could have a thousand Bonus Points and tell everyone you've only got five. Or have absolutely none and claim you're positively swimming in them.” Jocelyn explained cheerfully. “Nobody's going to stop you!”

“So we're just supposed to take each other's word for it?” Esme asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Precisely! Though I'd recommend being very careful about who you believe… Trust is a wonderful thing, but can be a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.”

Jocelyn watched the contestants exchange increasingly suspicious glances. “Oh, don't look so worried, ladies. I'm sure you're all perfectly trustworthy individuals who would never dream of lying to one another!”

“Yeah, right.” Esme snorted.

“See? Such confidence in her fellow contestants!” Jocelyn exclaimed, gesturing toward Esme with her cane. “That's exactly the sort of positive attitude I like to see.”

Esme rolled her eyes.

“Anyway.” Jocelyn continued, clapping her hands together. “That should be just about everything you need to know about your lovely little bracelets. They're quite handy, really. And don't worry about losing them, because you can't!”

Cassandra, who was still trying to pry hers off, finally gave up with an irritated huff, throwing her arms into the air.

Jason glanced down at his own naked wrist, then at the various glowing bracelets adorning the girls' arms.

“Uh, Jocelyn? How come I don't get one?”

Jocelyn turned toward him, looking momentarily confused.

“Hm? Oh, well, that's because you don't have any points to keep track of, silly.”

“Oh. Right,” Jason replied, glancing back at Mika's holographic screen. “So I can't see their points, then?”

“Well, you can see the public leaderboard whenever you like!” Jocelyn explained. “And if one of the girls wants to let you know, they can certainly tell you.”

She raised a finger.

“But once again, there’s no guarantee she’s telling the truth, of course. Their private points are just as private from you as they are from everyone else.” She punctuated her point with a wink.

“Ah, gotcha,” Jason nodded, not really reassured in the slightest.

“Now then!” Jocelyn declared, very deliberately ignoring the still struggling Cassandra. “Before I leave you all to enjoy your breakfast, there's just one last little thing.”

She turned toward Barbara, who had finally given up glaring at her wristband and was now looking rather impatiently toward the buffet stretching alongside the dining hall.

“Barbara, darling!”

Babs looked back over her shoulder at the ghost host.

“What?”

“And April, of course!”

April's ears perked up at the sudden mention of her name.

“Y-yes?”

Jocelyn floated a little higher, spreading her arms dramatically with a smile on her face.

“I'd like to wish you both the very best of luck on your date”

She gestured toward Jason, who had been quietly hoping to avoid becoming the centre of attention again.

“Let's hope the three of you have a simply marvellous time together!”

“And as for everyone else, enjoy yourselves, relax, mingle with one another, and take advantage of the hotel's amenities to your hearts' content!” Jocelyn spread her arms wide, flashing the contestants one final, brilliant smile.

“Wishing you all the very best.”

With that, Jocelyn took a theatrical bow, sweeping her hat from her head as a cloud of glittering smoke erupted around her.

POOF!

With their host gone, the hall once again fell into a calm near-silence, only interrupted by the occasional squeak of a chair or clattering of cutlery against plates.

Babs let out an irritated huff before turning her attention toward the buffet. She was still rather annoyed by the whole situation, but the moment her eyes fell upon the enormous spread of food laid out before her, she very nearly forgot what she'd been angry about in the first place.

And then, just as she spotted the hot food section, her eyes lit up.

There, nestled amongst the various breakfast dishes, was something she hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

Ham and potato hash.

Practically rushing over, Babs snatched up a serving spoon and dug into one of her favourite meals, piling a generous helping onto her plate. She then scooped a fried egg straight off the hotplate, slapped it on top, and added a spoonful of creamed mushrooms on the side for good measure.

The aroma alone was enough to make her mouth water.

To think she'd actually get to eat anything again after all this time, let alone this…

Plate in hand, Babs practically skipped back toward the tables like a giddy schoolgirl, a rather ridiculous sight considering her towering stature and usually abrasive demeanour.

She plopped herself down beside Sylvie, diagonally across from Jason, and immediately grabbed her fork.

Not wasting another second, she plunged it into the hash, making absolutely certain to get a little bit of everything in her first mouthful.

And then she tasted it.

Just like Dad used to make.

Babs practically melted into her chair.

Her shoulders sagged, her eyes fluttered shut, and a long, blissful sigh escaped her as she savoured the familiar taste. For a few precious moments, the ridiculous situation she'd found herself in seemed to disappear entirely.

Sylvie, meanwhile, cautiously glanced sideways at the enormous woman who had decided to sit right beside her, looking rather uncomfortable with the sudden proximity.

Jason, on the other hand, was having some difficulty keeping his attention on his own ‘breakfast’, his eyes instead deciding to wander their way up towards Babs’ unrestrained breasts swaying with every slight move.

Mika was just enjoying her applejacks.

April approached the table shortly afterwards, carrying a plate piled with freshly sliced fruit. She glanced around for somewhere to sit before settling into the chair next to Jason after a brief exchange of glances.

Unfortunately for her, the movement caught Babs' attention.

The towering woman's eyes met hers, and a small glint of recognition appeared in them.

“Oh, that makes things easier!” Babs exclaimed, opening her mouth before she'd quite finished chewing. “Don't have to go looking for the cat.”

The cat gave her a quizzical look, not sure how she felt about being referred to as ‘the cat’.

Babs looked back over to Jason, still chowing down.

“Sho, I’ve got a date today, with you” she pointed her fork at Jason, then swung it towards April, “and you.”

“Uh, yeah, I believe so…” Jason got out, not quite sure what to make of Babs just yet.

“Sho what’re we gonna do?” Babs asked through another mouthful of food.

“I… don't know? I thought the idea was for you to sort that out.”

“What kinda guy doeshn't plan a date with a girl he'sh tryna go out with?” Babs managed through yet another mouthful of hash.

“Uh.. me? I guess,” Jason replied, shrugging awkwardly.

“Um, I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be the ones planning the date,” April chimed in, glancing between the two. “At least, that's what I understood from Jocelyn.”

Babs merely shrugged. “Whatever.”

And with that, she returned her attention to her hash, apparently finding it far more interesting than the question of what they were actually going to do today.

April glanced over at Jason, noticing the distinct lack of food in front of him.

“Hey, how come you're not eating anything?”

“Oh, I'm not really much of a breakfast person,” Jason replied, lifting his coffee cup. “Just need a cup of coffee to get me started.”

“Ah, I see. I don't really drink hot drinks myself,” April admitted. “Learned not to the hard way.”

Jason raised an eyebrow, a little confused by the remark.

“The hard way? What do you—”

BUUUURP!

A loud belch erupted from beside him, cutting his question short.

Jason turned to find a rather offended-looking Sylvie staring down at her half-eaten slice of toast, seated beside Babs, who was blissfully leaning back in her chair, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Her plate, which had been piled high with food only moments ago, was now completely empty.

“So, whaddya wanna do?” Babs asked the two almost immediately.

“Just finish my fruit for now,” April answered, taking a nice big bite out of the slice of honeydew melon she was holding.

“And what about you, Ghost Boy?”

Somewhat put off by Babs' forward nature, Jason struggled to come up with a particularly interesting answer.

“Uh… finish off my coffee?”

“Boooring,” Babs declared, abruptly standing up from the table with enough force to make it shake slightly.

Sylvie winced as her plate rattled against the tabletop, instinctively pulling her half-eaten toast closer to herself. She gave Babs another disapproving look through the corner of her eye.

“I gotta take a leak and get my duds on. Back in five!”

With that, she sauntered out of the dining hall, though not before stopping by the buffet to snatch a couple of slices of bacon, which she unceremoniously scoffed down on her way out.

Jason took another sip of his coffee and glanced around the room. He felt like he ought to make an effort to speak to somebody, but with so many unfamiliar faces scattered around the tables, he had absolutely no idea where to begin.

After a few moments of awkward indecision, he settled on a course of action.

Finishing his coffee.

Jason craned his neck back and brought the coffee cup to his lips, letting the remaining liquid slide into his mouth.

Mmm, that was a good course of action.

Okay, now what…? Jason thought, debating what his next next course of action would be.

“Honestly, the nerve of that woman…” Sylvie muttered from beside him, still looking rather peeved as she straightened her plate. “Does she have absolutely no consideration for the people around her?”

Jason glanced over at her.

“Uh, yeah, she's certainly… something,” he replied with an awkward shrug, not particularly eager to stir the pot.

“Eh, she's not that bad,” Mika chimed in between spoonfuls of Apple Jacks. “You should've seen some of the guys I used to work with. She's practically a saint compared to them.”

Jason gave a small chuckle, but then something occurred to him.

Wait a minute.

What was he doing!?

Here he was, sitting at a table surrounded by actual ghosts, people who had experienced death firsthand, and he was wasting his time wondering what to do next!

He should be documenting this stuff!

With a sudden burst of enthusiasm, Jason reached into his jacket's breast pocket and pulled out his trusty notepad. Flipping it open, he turned toward Mika with an excited expression.

“Hey, could I ask you some questions?”

Mika raised an eyebrow, her spoon hovering halfway to her mouth.

“Uh, sure? Shoot.”

“Great!” Jason exclaimed, readying his pen. “Okay, first off, what caused you to die? What did it feel like to die? What was being dead like? Did anybody ever see you? Could you interact with the mortal world in any way? Were you able to move objects? Could you leave the place you died? Did you ever encounter any other ghosts?”

Mika blinked.

That was… quite a lot of questions.

“Uhhh…” she began, looking a little flummoxed as she tried to remember where he'd started. “Well, the reason I died was because my coworker didn't do any safety checks. Basically murder, if you ask me. And… what was the second question?”

Jason opened his mouth to repeat himself.

BANG!

The dining hall doors burst open.

“RIGHT!”

Every head in the room turned toward the entrance.

There stood Babs, now dressed in a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and her familiar leather jacket.

In other words, exactly the same outfit she'd been wearing last night.

“Since you didn't have the balls to do it, I went ahead and sorted out a plan for us!” she shouted across the hall.

Jason froze, his pen still hovering over his notepad.

Did she really have to announce that to everyone?

He could practically feel the other contestants' eyes turning toward him.

Babs, entirely unconcerned by the attention she'd attracted, marched straight over to the table and planted one hand firmly on Jason's shoulder and the other on April's, pulling them both towards her.

She flashed the pair a broad, enthusiastic grin.

“We're going bowling!”