To the auction

In front of the gate to the house is a black limousine and in front of the limousine is a chauffeur waiting for me.

I walk down the path to the gate and open it.

"Mr. Gardner?" the chauffeur asks me and holds the door open for me. "Thank you very much" I say to him and sit inside.

This is the first time I've been in a limo, I think to myself and look around. Inside the limo are several leather benches and a small bar. I decide at first not to drink anything, because I don't want to drink so much for the auction.

The limousine drives off. I hope the 3 of them slowly settle in. Ram even seems to like me quite a bit.

Then I have to think about what is about to happen to me. This is the first time I will be among other rich people, I hope I don't stand out too much. Besides, I wonder how the auction will go.

The ride doesn't take very long and I arrive at 6:05 pm. I get off at an event hall. In front of me a red carpet is laid out, which goes to the entrance of the hall.

I thank my chauffeur again for the ride and go to the entrance. 2 people from the staff open the door for me and I enter.

I am standing in the entrance hall. To my right is a coat rack where you can drop off your jackets and other items. To my left is a small champagne reception.

I walk to the table where a staff member hands me a glass of champagne. I sip the champagne briefly. It tastes fantastic, better than any **** I've ever had. But since I don't want to attract too much attention, I don't finish the glass in one go.

On another table are a few program booklets. I take one, because I want to leaf through it right after I have looked around a bit.

I continue through another door into a large hall in which there are several bar tables. At the edge there are some tables with hot plates for food.

There are a few other people in the room besides me. A few employees are walking around with tablets and handing out drinks and small snacks. There are also a few guests already there.

I go to an empty bar table and survey the guests a bit. What is surprising is that there are quite a few women among the guests. All wear beautiful long dresses and talk to each other.

Then I notice something strange. One of the female guests looks familiar. After a closer look, I clearly see the red hair and the figure of Misty from Pokemon.

A character can't have been invited by RealDreams, I wonder. In addition, she hangs the whole time on the arm of a man, which could be her father.

After more guests arrive, I notice more and more characters coming with their owners. Most of the women are even characters, but a few 'normal' women are still there.

Since I'm still standing alone and it's still a few minutes until the greeting begins, I look at the program booklet.

The first pages again reflect the letter and the general process. But then it gets more interesting.

A large headline reads "Small auction: Super Mario" and below that are some pictures of characters from the popular series. They represent the characters that are offered for sale in the small auction and also the starting bid, which is, however, the same for each of the characters.

I look at the characters. Since there aren't many, only 7 of them, I can go through them all quickly.

_Hm the actually most interesting are the two princesses Peach and Daisy, and Rosalina, I think to myself as I look at the pictures of all of them. I might consider getting one of those if the price is right._

Suddenly I hear a voice from beside me. "Excuse me, but am I correct in assuming this is their first auction?"

I look up and see a man in his 40s standing next to me with a glass of champagne in his hand.

"Oh, what makes you think that, how did I make myself known?" I ask, smiling at him.

"Oh that's quite simple. First of all, they are here without an escort. It doesn't explicitly say in the letter that you're allowed to have an escort, so newcomers always come here without one" he replies, sipping his glass.

"I could be someone who just comes without an escort after all" I return.

"Well, that's true of course, but just saying that shows me that you are a newbie. You know, being accompanied on such occasions shows a certain prestige. Characters who are rare and well-behaved show that they can afford to be here. Why do you think no one comes to your table here?"

I've wondered about that, too. "Why do you come to see me?"

"I don't know, you caught my eye, and a lot of newbies don't come back after their first visit because they're shunned by those who've been here longer. I figured I could show you around" he smiles now too.

"Thank you, I would appreciate that" I return and look around "Where is your escort then?"

"She'll be along shortly, she's just freshening up a bit with a friend."

We talk a bit, and since he is standing in front of me like this he somehow seems familiar, as if I had glimpsed him before.

At 18.45 clock I hear a few clack noises, which probably come from high heels which come from behind me to me.

Also the guest with whom I have talked, and whose name I still do not know, looks to the noises and begins to beam.

"Ah there you are my dear" he says to the arriving woman. I turn around, curious to see who it is.