"God, why did I agree to this? I have no business being on a reality TV show!"
My mentor, Dr. Christophe Belair, chuckles softly. "It's an education program, mademoiselle, and young ones such as ourselves help boost the ratings." He seems to be beefing up his already enticeingly strong French accent, and we're not even in front of the cameras yet.
Despite my reservations, I chuckle too. "Mademoiselle, huh?"
Dr. Belair gives a quick shrug as we continue walking towards the studio. "Your pronunciation…it's getting better! I do wish you were fluent, that way you could speak French during portions of explanation, it'll intimidate those…those…"
I can tell he's trying to come up with an insult for our opponents (if you can call them that), but as always, is too distinguished to do so. I love seeing him in this competitive spirit, makes me feel like we have more in common.
Well, more in common beyond our education background anyway. At 36, Dr. Belair is a world renowned linguist and French military history expert. As his protégé, I am following closely behind in his footsteps. At 27, I have a masters in linguistics and am about to finish a PhD in French history, and Dr. Belair often quips I shall overthrow him in his position of power someday. I highly doubt it, given his fluency in multiple languages beyond French and English (despite my degree I feel barely proficient in my native tongue) as well as mastery in horseback riding (which went hand in hand with military history). Never mind all the other ways he exceeds me; the important thing is he never makes me feel that way and is a wonderful teacher.
Well, if he can't come up with an insult, I may as well. "Dispense with the formalities while we can, those losers are going down!"
Dr. Belair gives a hearty laugh. "So simple, and so American. I often forget that behind that intelligence and poise, you can be quite animalistic."
I sigh. He never lets me forget that, despite being born in France like he was, I grew up in America. This is not a sore spot for me, I'm proud to be an American and this country afforded me many privileges. Normally, I'd respond to his ribbing in jest, but today I am not in the mood. France has always held a strange fascination for me, and today I have to throw down my intelligence on the "motherland" to educate millions then hopefully help win this fight. A non-French French expert; I might as well draw a target on my back. Needless to say, I'm nervous. If calling someone a loser is animalistic, I'd hate to think what he'd say if I said worse.
I must have been lost in thought with a scowl on my face, because Dr. Belair said "But, when you think about it, loser fits…I hope to win as well!" He looked at me and smiled. Well, I had to smile back. He was so ruggedly handsome, and he'd fit in well with this Deadliest Warrior crowd. As such a popular TV show, I can't believe we got asked to be on! Maybe this won't be so bad, maybe I won't make a fool of myself, and maybe someone will learn something from this.