Week 1: Wacky Wednesday (The Daily Meeting)

Nicole opened her eyes to see Max’s sleeping face in front of her. He was still knocked out as she slowly got out of bed. Thankfully, she managed to sneak out of the room without waking him. She wandered the halls until she got to the cafeteria. Lisa was already up and working in the kitchen with the other maids while some of the others were chatting at their usual meeting table. Nicole thought back to what she discussed with Max last night and knew that she didn’t interact with them much. She knew that her project kept a lot of free time occupied, but that’s no excuse. Nicole couldn’t be an effective leader if she didn’t know anything about the people she was leading.

She decided to strike up a conversation with Lisa since she was alone right now. Nicole headed to the kitchen to see Lisa peeling some apples as she noticed her walk in.

“Hello Nicole, breakfast isn’t ready yet if you’re hungry.”

Nicole shook her head, “No, I’m not hungry yet. I was coming to talk with you.”

Lisa looked a bit surprised, “What brought this on?”

“I was thinking that I couldn’t be an effective leader if I don’t know anything about everyone. There isn’t much I know about anyone here, and my roommate isn’t the chattiest person either.”

Lisa smirked, “Fair enough. Jessica doesn’t look like she plays well with others.”

Nicole sighs, “I’m worried about her. She’s taking her situation here too lightly. The only reason she isn’t dead last is because of Gina.”

“Yes, I won’t lie and say I particularly care about her though. If she’s not smart enough to see the reality of her situation, then I’m not going to waste time trying to help her. I’m more focused on winning this game and getting what I desire.”

“What is it that desire? You were summoned before me, so I’ve never heard what you wanted.”

Lisa sighed, “What I want is to settle all of my mother’s debts. She left it all to me to pay off when she died.”

“How much did she owe?”

Lisa looked uncomfortable and replied, “A lot.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It's fine. However, it's almost time to start the meeting. I need to finish things up here before joining you.”

Nicole nodded as she walked back to the meeting table. In her absence, everyone else had arrived and was waiting for the food to be served. It didn’t take long for Lisa and the other maids to arrive with their breakfast of waffles, apple slices, and water.

After finishing her breakfast, Nicole started the meeting like normal.

“Hello everyone, let’s start the meeting for today. Does anyone have anything they want to share?”

Serena spoke up, “Yesterday, Crystal and I encountered a treasure chest in the resort. I don’t know what kind of items we can expect inside them but they seem useful.”

Nicole noticed the new earrings that Serena wore and wondered if it was the item that she found inside. She was curious about what it did.

Lisa frowned, “I wonder how rare they are? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of them if we're just finding out about them now.”

Kimberly glanced at Gina, “Either way, the items are just another device this resort uses to cause confusion and chaos. Who knows what items people are keeping hidden to use when they need it most?”

Gina replied, “You worry too much. I’m sure that everyone can get along with each other just fine. That’s the whole reason we have this alliance in the first place.”

Kimberly looked like she didn’t believe a word Gina said as she replied, “Anyway, since my transformation compels me to be Max’s secretary, I’ve talked with him, and he agreed to let me help him plan out his day, which means that after every meeting, I can discuss how to use his time more efficiently. If any of you in particular want to send him a message or want some alone time with him, then let me know. It’ll still ultimately be up to Max to decide what he wants to do.”

Nicole responded, “Maybe we should plan something to do with Max.”

Brianna replied, “How about we all hang out at the beach? The weather always seems nice here, so anytime seems to be good.”

Jessica smiles, “The beach is one of the nicest parts of this place.”

Lisa said, “If we’re going to ask Max to hang out at the beach, then we should have a plan to do something other than chilling under the sun.”

Serena asked, “How about we play a sport?”

Gina smirked, “Like beach volleyball.”

Nicole said, “That could work. We could even set a specific time to meet up since we can’t contact each other or Max at a moment’s notice. Why don’t we ask him to meet us to play some beach volleyball at 1 p.m.?”

Ann, our bubbly host, pops into existence at the table and says, “That’s a great idea. In fact, why don’t we make it a bit more interesting and make it an event.”

“An event?” asked Crystal.

“Yes, if you can get Max to join in on the fun, then I’ll make it an event. Events are an additional way for the contestants to get more points. However, just showing up to play beach volleyball isn’t enough, so we’ll make it into a beach volleyball tournament.”

Nicole asked, “Do you decide when the events happen, or is it randomized somehow?”

Ann smiled, “I decide when the events happen, but you can incentivize me to create an event by creating gatherings of all the contestants. There’s no guarantee, but the more you do it, the more likely I’ll come in and make it an event.”

“What is the prize for winning this event?” asked Gina.

Ann beamed and replied, “1,000 BP! It’s a special opportunity, so make sure to convince Max to come.”

“What are the points for the other places?” asked Brianna.

Ann made the motion of zipping up her lips before saying, “I wouldn’t want to ruin all the surprises for the event. There’s no use getting your hopes up for it if it's not going to happen. I hope to see you all there.”

Ann looked pointedly at Jessica but said nothing as she disappeared just as quickly as she appeared.

Lisa was excited to win some more points and spend some more time with Max, especially since she noticed that some of the other contestants gained some VP other than Brianna. If she was going to have a chance to get some extra points for herself, then she had to make sure that what he asked of her was completed for the day.

The constant will gain a sexual thrill from changing or transforming the other contestants while also inherently believing that the Master is greatly superior to her. This will make the Master’s words very persuasive to her, especially regarding corrupting other people (Corruptive Stepford's Wife)

After that was completed, Nicole spoke up once again.

“Was there anything else that anyone wanted to add on before we ended the meeting?”

Kimberly said, “I’ll go and talk to Max like we planned. I’ll do my best to convince him to come and let you all know if he will when we meet up at the beach.”

“Even if he doesn’t, I wouldn’t mind chilling by the beach for a while, especially with the other company I’ll have,” replied Serena.

Crystal nudged Serena and shook her head while Serena shrugged in response. Everyone left the meeting with hope and excitement as they prepared for the beach event.

Kimberly walked into Max’s room to see him sitting at the table eating some breakfast of his own.

“Hey Kimberly, please take a seat.”

Kimberly smiled as she sat down across from Max.

“Thanks.”

Max smiled, “It’s no problem, though there’s only one of you today. Is there a specific reason why?”

Kimberly replied, “Yes, I have very important news to tell you. Ann hijacked our meeting today while we were discussing hanging out at the beach and inviting you to join us. She made it an event where everyone could earn more points through a beach volleyball tournament if you agreed to join us at the beach. My other self is currently picking out some swimsuits to wear at the beach.”

“It must be hard to multitask controlling two bodies at the same time.”

“It's a bit difficult, but it's easier when one of my bodies isn’t doing anything strenuous like sitting down and talking to you, sir.”

“It’s good that I can help you out even if it's indirectly. However, Ann butting in and creating an event just shows you that Ann could always be watching us. Not just her but the countless other people watching this show.”

Kimberly frowned, “You’re right. That part of the show may have slipped my mind a bit.”

“It’s not surprising. I only remembered that’s the case when you mentioned that Ann butted into your discussion since she isn’t normally a part of those meetings. There are no cameras as far as I can see, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

Kimberly replied, “They might not even need them. Maybe everything that happens here can be brought up as a clip simply because they have the magic to do it.”

“True, though we’re getting off-topic. I’ll agree to go to the beach and watch the volleyball tournament.”

Kimberly was a little surprised that he agreed so easily, “That was quick. I didn’t have to convince you at all.”

Max responded, “I agreed to help you, and showing up at an event to help you get more points is part of that. We’re partners now after all.”

Kimberly smiled though she felt even guiltier for how she acted before, “Thank you for giving me a chance, Max.”

Max smiled, “Don’t worry about it. Was there anything else that happened at the meeting besides Ann’s event reveal?”

“Serena mentioned that there are treasure chests that could spawn around the resort too. Have you seen any around?”

“No. Most of the time when I move around the resort, I’m walking to one of the set locations like the library, or I’m wandering around aimlessly. I haven’t explored most of the random doors since there isn’t much of a point in me finding a game room since I can’t play it.”

Kimberly asked, “Do you have any other plans for the day that you want to squeeze in?”

“No, I think that after the event. I’m going to relax and read some manga before my date for the date comes over.”

“All right, I guess my work is done for the day. I look forward to seeing you at the beach at one.”

“I’ll be there.”

Not long after Kimberly left, Max received another visitor. Ann popped up into existence once again.

“Hey, how’s my favorite master doing?” asked Ann as she floated off the floor while drinking what looked like a cosmic smoothie. It shifted and moved unnaturally, and he could’ve sworn he saw something staring back at him for a second before whatever it was disappeared.

“How many masters did you have?”

Ann turned thoughtful at the question until she eventually replied, “You’re the first one since this is my first time hosting this show.”

Max sighed, “We’re your guinea pigs, then?”

Ann chuckled, “Of course not. You know what they say. The first time is always the special one.”

“Oh, speaking from experience?” asked Max as he watched the galaxies in the smoothies shift once again.

“Yeah, this is my first time trying this smoothie, and it's amazing. There isn’t anything quite like it, even though it gives me a feeling of familiarity. Only hosts of the show are allowed to request it.”

Max questioned, “Why?”

“Apparently, it's made from the essence of literal galaxies, and having too much of it in one place can cause unforeseen consequences to happen to the reality of the dimension it's in. That’s why it has an extremely limited distribution.”

“That means that someone’s dimension got screwed over because of a delicious drink.”

Ann laughed nervously, “Yeah, multiple dimensions suffered as a result of this drink. One went from a lush jungle planet to a cold, desert planet populated by crazy zebras. It’s better if you don’t ask.”

“Anyway, what made you pop by? Does it have anything to do with the beach volleyball tournament you’ve set up?”

“Yes, I was just seeing if you were planning on going.”

“I am, though you should know that already, right?”

“Possibly. I could just want to talk to the master of the show. You’re arguably the most important person on this resort.”

“Discounting you, yeah.”

Ann smiled, “No, including me though I have to prepare some things now that I know for sure that you’re coming.”

Serena (Alternate views)