Bad news for two young women

Amy's heart has never been beating so rapidly in her life. Her entire future is going to be decided in the next minute. There's absolutely nothing left within her power to change the outcome of what happens next. It's just down to the cards.

Jennifer shuffles the deck in front of everyone, and then gives each player a chance to cut it. Then she shuffles it one more time. She places it down on a raised wooden platform, and then draws the top card.

"We have... Oh my oh my oh my. The ace of hearts!"

Amy's heart drops like a stone. Cindy's legs buckle and she drops to her knees, half sighing with relief, half sobbing. Clearly the young redhead's stoic act was just a front, and under the surface, she was just as stressed as the rest of them.

Amy feels sick. Cindy now has a pair of aces, and the only way Amy can beat her is if the next two cards are both a queen or a three, which feels like infinitesimally small odds.

Apart from that, the only way she avoids clothing stripping is by beating Becky's pair of 5s, which is not only rather unlikely, but would push Becky into third place, meaning that her friend would get stripped, which also feels entirely unacceptable.

Come to think of it... Amy can't think of a single combination of two cards that could come out and give Amy and Becky first and second place now.

Fuck. One of them is getting stripped. For a decade. This is really happening.

And despite how much Amy loves her friend, she finds herself desperately hoping that it's Becky who takes the L.

Please universe! One time! Give me a queen!

"The second flop card is... The eight of spades!"

Well, that doesn't help or hinder anyone. Amy has two spades in her hand, but that doesn't help her right now because she would need all three community cards to be spades to give her a flush, and the ace of hearts has already ruined that opportunity.

There's only one more chance for Amy to catch a queen and overtake Becky's hand. And with the queen of diamonds in Jasmine's possession, and not in the deck, that means there's only 2 cards in around 35 left in the deck that help her - the queen of clubs and the queen of hearts.

Amy catches Becky's gaze. Her brunette friend's face, full of pity mixed with a touch of anxiety, gives away that she also fully understands the situation.

"Oh this is so exciting... What a big moment... The final card of the flop is... The six of spades!"

Amy feels instantly crushed by reality. No queen. Becky is safe and she isn't. She's going to have to choose to lose her bra or her panties or something, and she'll be **** to wear outfits that make that part of her body look erotic, for the next ten years.

But... Why does Becky look so haunted? Becky's safe, right? She dodged the queen... Right?

"Ooh a six! That's good, right?" A cutesy voice asks uncertainly from Amy and Becky's left.

Oh no.

Now Amy understands the look of horror on her friend's face.

"Unbelievable! Debbie pairs her six on the third and final card of the flop, catapulting her into second place! There you have it folks! We have Cindy in first place with a pair of aces, instantly winning 250 thousand dollars! Followed by Deborah with her pair of sixes, who has just won 100 grand!" Johnny announces to an absolutely roaring crowd.

"Waaaaah! I did it! That was scary!" Debbie squeaks in her painfully cute voice.

Holy shit. Amy couldn't find one of the two last remaining queens, but apparently Debbie managed to find one of the last two remaining sixes, which has the same effect of launching her up to second place.

Johnny's voice darkens. "Which means... Becky's pair of 5s puts her in third place. She is contractually bound to choose an item of clothing to lose until her 30th birthday. And Amy... Amy Barnes... All you have is Queen High. And to think, if you'd taken your other queen, you'd comfortably be sitting in second place. But now, now you have to live with the consequences of your decisions for a long, long time. You're going to be close to naked, every day, for the entirety of your 20s."

The words are like knives into Amy's heart.

Jennifer takes over talking, in an authoratitive but not unkind voice. "Becky, I need you to immediately choose one of the following options to lose for your twenties: outfits, bras, or panties. And Amy, poor poor Amy, you have to choose two."

This has got to be a dream!

But it's not. It's real. It's a waking nightmare. It's the true start of Amy's decade of shame.