A Choice of a Different Kind

The host stared into space for a second. She then raised her right arm.

“Might want to cover your eyes and not breathe for a sec.” As she threw something, it started billowing smoke.

Mica felt a strange sensation running through her. Then, there was a slight pop in her ear, and the smoke began to drift away, revealing something that dumbfounded her.

It looked like her old high school’s track field. The fading blue bleachers showed signs of rust where the paint had flaked away. The asphalt track itself was cracked in numerous places, with weeds sprouting tall between the lanes as faded as the bleachers. The infield had uneven patches of dirt and a hole that was supposed to be the long jump pit. The only reason she did not think it was the actual track field was a row of trees rising behind the bleachers. Glancing behind her, she spotted the mansion where she and the others were … being hosted.

“My my, this is what your education dollars get you?” Mica turned to the on-her-shoulder host.

The host smirked, “It's amazing that they manage to produce any noteworthy results.”

She tilted her head, “I do see how they failed in making you a star athlete or even being interested in being one. It appears that they barely bothered to clean the place. No matter. A bit of a refresh is in order.”

She snapped her fingers. A ripple of something seemed to emanate from the host’s snap. Spreading out from her, the faded lane marks were replaced with new glowing lines. The asphalt underneath repaired the cracks as the weeds withered and disappeared. The dirt of the infield burst into a green wave of grass. The long jump pit had golden sand swirled into place, rimmed with polished white boards. The bleachers groaned and seemed to shake the rust off, revealing new blue paint underneath.

Mica blinked. Of course, their host could do that, conjure a place she hadn’t seen in years and then make it brand new. What else …

Mica jumped at a raised voice. “Why did you do that?”

She sighed. Of course, there was Dr. Haywood and the others. Not only would their host-cum-kidnapper presumably film this to whoever was watching, but she had to do this in front of people she knew. Damn.

“You more than prove that you can conjure a new area on a whim, so why this place?” Mica turned to see Dr. Haywood marching from the bleachers. Trailing close behind him was everyone else.

The host purred out, “Well, dear, it’s not any of your concern. Now, chop chop, the show must go on. Thomas, please make your way to the bleachers.”

Dr Haywood stared at the host. Mica glanced at his pictures. The book was again too far to read the cover. The little kettle was puffing a good amount of steam before settling down. He shrugged and turned on his heels towards the bleachers.

As the others started to follow Dr. Haywood, the host raised her voice, “Not you guys. Only Thomas. Mica’s challenge needs a decision from the girl herself.”

Mica bristled at the host moving even closer to her face. Why did this person insist on being this close to her?

The host whispered into her ear, “Let me be clear on this, I am offering a choice. You can compete against the record of your old school for the events coming up, or you can pick two of your fellows to compete against. Do be snappy.”

Mica shook. Compete against her old school record? If she remembered correctly, while not hosting the … best facilities, her school had several notable athletes. There was even one who had competed in the Summer Olympics a few years ago. Surely the record at her school was stupidly high.

On the other side, could she throw two of the others with her? It could give her an advantage in the challenge. But what about the next one? And the one after that? She may need the others' help in the future. What to do?

Well, she would not compete against any records. Her best chance at getting all her points was to compete against her fellows. Getting points now was a priority. Which two, though? Not Julie or Dr. Quirke or Mrs Popov … or was it the Popovs now? A question to ask later.

The best way was to choose two that she didn’t know. It wouldn’t ruin her previous relationships, which were more valuable. She saw them often enough on campus. Besides this whole harem thing, she would have a lot more time interacting with them than the others. However, she was tempted into choosing Julie out of spite. Make her eat her words. However, as much as she hated admitting it, Julie was not wrong in that speech of hers last night. Plinker. Besides, Julie’s change would seem to give her a physical boost. How much? Not worth pondering at this time.

Anyway, who out of the following would she have a shot at beating? Not the bartender. Mica had heard that the bartender occasionally participated in a bar run and bar hopping, whatever those were. However, it did sound like she was doing some physical activities. Besides, her colleagues might not like her to pick their favorite bartender.

Among the other three, the most obvious one to cut out was the one with a leaf stuck out of her sleeve. That one had spent time in the woods and probably was there all night. So, an outdoorsy type, and she would definitely outpace her, no matter what.

That left the other two, the air attendant and the other stranger. Well, it could be worse. Looking at them, they seemed, well, average. The flight stewardess was curvier than she was. That flight stewardess was also close to her height, in any case. She couldn’t imagine that attending to people in an aircraft was that physical. Also, being stupidly drunk last night, hopefully, she would not perform at her best.

The other was almost a foot taller than her. She frowned. It was also annoying. It asked a lot of rude and irritating questions last night. It had stood a little too close to her and looked down on her. Like vermin. She would enjoy dragging her into the mess that this challenge may become.

She straightened as best she could with that stupid host leaning on her.

“I choose to have those two as my opponents”, as she raised both arms to point.

The host grinned, “Well, you certainly took your sweet time with that monumental decision. I was growing bored and would have picked randomly for you. Never mind.”

The host swiftly leaped over to where the flight attendant, the one with a leaf stuck in her sleeve, and the other one were. She grabbed the shirt of the other and the leaf one.

Mica moved forward, waving her hands, “Wait a minute! Not the one in the striped shirt th…”

“Sorry, dear. I saw where you pointed, and it seemed to me one of them was directed at her. Would everyone else please move to the bleachers, and you three to the starting line. We’ll be getting on soon.”

Mica’s stomach dropped a few inches. This was not good.