Session 6: Part 1: "Saturday Night Fever?"
Another emission of 'The Darkest Truth' was ending. This time, they talked about Sain's life, bringing some girls who said that they were annoyed non-stop by the Big Emblem contestant. Another nightmare for Pent and his 'gang of producers and on/off-stage folks'…
Right after the classical, distinguished music curtain ended –sign that the show was over and no one at their homes could see them- Nergal and the rest of the crew stood up. Denning started walking, repeating his never-ending chant over and over again. Limstella left the studio quickly, and Sonia run to her dressing room at the speed of light.
Only Nergal stayed in the studio, walking to where Lord Darin, head of LBC (Laus BroadCasting), was standing, with a bunch of papers in his hand.
"Now what?", Nergal sort of greeted, pissed. He knew that Darin's appearance there wouldn't be for free.
"Nothing. I have the rating scales here", the big built man replied, worried. "Lycia TV still has the first place, although you've been doing quite well", he added, handing the papers back to the black dressed host.
"And what?", he said, dropping them to the floor, furiously. "It's just a matter of time before they loose audience. They are just 'hypnotized' by the 'Big Emblem' thing. Leave it to me, as we have already talked"
"But…"
"But what?", Nergal asked, with less patience that when the chat began. "You'll be the winner in the rating scale, and I'll surely find what I'm looking for", he added, convincing. "Marquess Pherae's channel will have nothing to offer against us, don't worry"
"If you say so…", Darin shrugged, giving up.
"Now, I think we have to talk about something…", Nergal said, now calmly, while walking by Marquess Laus' side, leaving the studio.
"Great, so we put a stalker in the program", Isadora sighed, annoyed. She was thinking in stop watching that annoying TV show, 'The Darkest Truth', with the rest of the crew, and start having dinner with her beloved Harken from the next day on. That would be a good deal…
"Hey, we don't know if that's the truth, so we shouldn't worry", Wallace said, switching the TV off. "By the way, the boy has some taste…", he added, chuckling.
Alina rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, this things just bring trouble", she said, also sighing.
"Why do you worry now, if they haven't talked about you?", the bald producer asked, with the clear intention of harassing the foreigner girl, who just glared at him, as if it were a new habit.
"Enough", Pent cried, also annoyed. "We have better things to discuss today. Like this week's activity, you know"
Everyone in the room nodded.
"Well, I already have an idea, and I think it's quite original", he went on, smiling proudly. "An open to the public bar, next Saturday night"
Wallace rose an eyebrow.
"You mean that we take them to some bar and see if they get drunk or not, with all the audience and the curious ones around?", he asked, incredulous.
"Something like that", Pent grinned, approvingly. "The thing is like this: during the week, they train hard to administrate a bar or a pub, and on Saturday night, we drove them to an already rented space and they can show what they practiced all week, in contact with the real world, once again"
Isadora raised her hand, as if she were at school, calling her teacher attention.
"But wouldn't we be breaking the rules, that way?", she asked, not so sure. "They are supposed to have no contact with the outside world"
"Who cares?", Renault said, interacting for the first time. "We have already broke them several times. For example, they shouldn't receive their orders from Alina personally, but from the microphone. Then, the nominations shouldn't be like they are now, that's too messy. And what's more important, at a month of started the game, we should have already kicked out a candidate, but everyone's still there, so… who cares about the rules?", he enumerated, all of a sudden, without taking breaks to breath.
"In that case, I have nothing to say against that idea", Isadora said, giving up. "Do what you think you have to"
"I think like her", Alina said, shrugging.
"Go for it, Penty!", Wallace joked, earning another glare, this time from Pent.
Renault didn't said anything, but nodded.
"Alright, let's have some party this Saturday", Pent grinned triumphal. "So, we'll have the transmission from there, and we'll know who has to leave the Castle there, also. Alina, tell me: how does the elimination go at this rate?"
The brownish-reddish reporter took one of her papers that were on the table and read,
"Erk: 20%, Karel, 20%, Messages in support of any of the nominees: 25%. Life threatens, 34%, 'Alina, you suck and you should get shot in the head', 1%"
She left the paper on the table once again, sighing.
"We still have time to tell who has to leave the Castle, but as far as the phone poll goes… I think we'll have to cheat the results, or to do as the audience says. In that case, we should have to change the show's game and rules, in my opinion"
"Alright, thanks", Pent thanked, lost in his thoughts. "Now go to the Castle with Heath and Rath and tell them their activity"
"Alright, Lo… boss", she corrected herself halfway of the sentence, waving at everyone, before leaving the room.
"Should I start looking for pubs and discos?", Isadora asked.
"Ok, you three do that", Pent approved, standing up from his chair. "I'm leaving. See you later", he said, between some yawns.
"Oh, a bar?", Serra asked, starry-eyed. Finally someone saw the great potential and the beauty in her, she thought.
Alina nodded.
"Yes. You'll have to train
hard during the week, so you can show all your attitudes there. You'll have to
take care of the farm, also, so don't let the poor ducks, cow and others die
of starvation", the reporter explained, smiling.
"What about the jobs? Are we supposed to do everything?", Hector asked, yawning.
"Well, yes. You'll say who does each job, so I think it's quite democratic. We will just come to pick you up on Saturday. The rest, is all yours. Oh, and the elimination will also take place there, so get your things ready if you have to leave"
"Can't I leave now?", Erk asked, hopeless.
"No, Erk, I have strict orders to let you in here", Alina sighed, shrugging. "I don't know why Pen… the boss wants you to stay in here so desperately"
"I would die to know", the young mage mumbled bitterly.
"Well, that was all for today. I'll see you next Saturday!", Alina waved, happily. After that, she was gone…
"Oh, a pub… I'll surely be the star!!", Serra exclaimed, already daydreaming and thinking in all her fans, pushing each other to be able to get near her, the 'amazingly beautiful shooting star', in her own words.
"Serra, will you let my arm at ease?", Farina said, trying to get rid of the cleric, who was holding her arm so tightly that she felt it was going to lose it.
"Ah, sorry", the pink haired girl said, still day-dreaming.
"Well, I think it's time to talk about our duties", the out-going pegasus knight said, solemnly. "I think I should be left in charge of the finances and the economy. With my skill we'll surely earn lots of money"
The gang looked among themselves, to see if someone was in disagreement.
"Well, then Farina will be the one in charge of all that", Eliwood said, acting as some boss. "What then?"
"I think the barmen should be able to do some nifty things while preparing the drinks", Farina suggested, taking note of everything. "That way, people will become attracted and will spend more money on drinks"
"Nice point", Guy nodded, approving. "But who will do that?"
"I think that the magic users should do it", the blue haired girl added, managing everything. "With that, Erk, Lucius and Canas already have work to do. Plus, magic is cheaper than special effects"
"But… I should use magic for something else!", Lucius said, against tat idea. "And I have to keep an eye on…"
"Oh, come on! It's an easy job! You three are the best ones to do it!"
"But…", Lucius whined, not so convinced.
"No way", Erk said. "Oh, why should I bother? I'll end up doing that, nonetheless", he said at the next instant resigned. "Just with one condition: Serra won't be there"
The mentioned girl folded her arms, annoyed.
"Alright", she said, offended. "Bartending is a job for losers. How could, a beauty like me, end up in that kind of things?"
"Alright, Erk, Canas and Lucius will be the barmen", Eliwood said, finishing that. "We could do something innovative… like some show…"
"My sister and I can perform a little show!", Nils proposed, excited. "She dances and I play my flute, okay?"
"Nils!", Ninian exclaimed, like a whisper.
"Matthew can take care of the wardrobe!", Hector proposed, just to say something. Needless to say, the mentioned guy grinned, thinking in some plans of his own…
"Okay!", Eliwood said, satisfied. But we should think in more things…"
"Oh, I got it", Serra shouted, over-excited. "We, the girls, should have protagonism. Maybe we could do something like a… 'fashion parade'? Oh, yes, I can already see my fans claiming my beauty…"
Everyone looked in another direction, annoyed (and they would have sweat-dropped, for sure!).
"Never ever!!", Raven yelled, violently. "My si… None of you should walk around the crowd in bikinis, if that's what you mean!!!!!"
Even in his outburst, he was able to control himself and avoid saying 'my sister, Priscilla'. Smart guy.
"Great! You'll be a bouncer, Raven", Eliwood said, while Farina took note quickly.
"This is gonna be much difficult than thought", Lyn commented, giggling for herself.
"They are really quite enthusiastic about this", Renault commented, taking a look at the wall filled with TV sets. Two days have passed since they were given the activity, and everyone seemed to be really immersed in what they were doing.
"Yeah, sometimes Pent has good ideas", Wallace said, taking advantage of the fact that the boss wasn't there. Or so he thought.
"I had already heard you, 'Wally'", Pent said, closing the door behind him, and freezing Wallace's blood at the same time.
"You should be a little more careful if you are going to talk badly about your boss", Alina giggled, raising her head from a bunch of papers she had in her hand.
"Ahahah, very funny", Wallace said annoyed, faking his laugh. Obviously, he wasn't having a good relationship with Alina, and the other way round.
"Little children, the kindergarten is in the other block", Pent said ironically, putting them into shame. "Now, where's Isadora? She's quite punctual, usually"
Incredibly enough, it seemed like he had actually called her. The door opened at the next instant, and Isadora and Harken came in. They weren't looking quite well, as Isadora came in rubbing her right wrist and some bad shape, and Harken was really pissed off.
"Hi Harken. Long time since the last day I saw you", Wallace greeted.
"Oh, my, what happened?", Alina asked, more worried in her friend and boss's health.
"Almost nothing", Isadora said, sitting down and drinking a glass of water that Harken gave her. "You aren't the only one who was attacked. They are looking for some dirty fight", she added, looking at her hand pitifully. "The thing was that I was walking when someone pushed me forwards. I fall down and landed on my right hand. Hopefully, my Harken happened to be walking around here, and well, here we are", she explained, throwing a kiss to her boyfriend.
"In fact, I was in my way here", the blonde haired man said, a bit calmer. "I wanted to have dinner with you"
"Oh, my love…"
"Honey…"
Pent coughed, interrupting the sugar-like scene.
"Sorry, but you are in your workplace, Isadora", he said, breaking the lover's aura on the room. "You know how you are supposed to behave"
"Oh, Penty, don't be that strict", Wallace joked.
"Thanks for that, Wally", Pent replied back, grinning. "Now, I think we'll just postpone our meeting, shouldn't we?"
"You say that for me?" Isadora asked, putting some ice over her wounded wrist. "It's fine now, don't worry for me"
"I'm leaving now", Harken said, kissing Isadora sweetly on her lips. "Good evening", he said to the rest, while walking out of the room.
"I didn't say that because of you two", Pent explained, picking his coat. "It's just that we aren't in the best atmosphere to work properly. Besides, I have a meeting in an hour, so… bye", he added, leaving the room.
"Seems we are all in some kind of strike", Alina commented, while putting her things in her bag. She wasn't going to miss her chance to leave the place earlier…
"No, no, Erk, not like that!!!!!", Farina yelled, as she saw another broken glass in the floor. "If you don't pay more attention and have a good attitude towards this, the bar will be a ruin!! We'll even have to pay more for all the glasses you would break!!!"
Erk sighed, tired. He had been playing with those glasses for several hours, and still, he couldn't find a way to handle them in a stylish way. They just kept on falling on the ground, turning into little pieces of glass.
"Farina, can't you realize that this isn't my thing?", he asked, resigned. "Just let me cast some magic on them and let's be finished, okay?"
The pegasus sister thought for a while, analyzing the pros and cons.
"Alright, it'll be cheaper that way…", she said, busy. "Look, keep on practicing, I have other things to do"
"Ok"
Meanwhile, the rest was also practicing. Lowen was in the kitchen, planning the menu, and Priscilla was there, helping him a bit. Nils was just running everywhere, sign that he was completely bored. Bartre, also bored, was chasing the younger member, just for fun, thing that earned him a position as a bouncer.
"What about the music?", Lyn asked, sipping one of the drinks made by Canas. "Who will be the DJ?"
"I really have no idea", Rebecca replied, leaving her glass on the table as soon as she could. Definitely, Lucius was a great bishop to be a bartender… even if he was just a monk.
"Someone that still has no job…", Matthew said, joining the chat at that instant. "That reminds me of someone… see you!". And with that, he was gone. As well as the other drinks that were on the table.
Lloyd Reed got into the LBC building walking slowly, as if he didn't want to be there. He greeted one of the secretaries sitting at the Hall and made his way to the studio where his brother Linus and Ursula were waiting for him, as well as Sonia, who had a new 'mission' for them.
"Hi", he greeted lazily, waving at everyone in the small studio as he sat down in one of the sofas.
"Ten minutes late", Sonia complained, checking her watch. "You should know that I don't like to waste my precious time waiting"
"Oh, sorry", Lloyd 'apologized', faking his concern.
"Hmph", Sonia mumbled, annoyed. However, she let that one go. "You'll have some work to do this Saturday night, and don't start complaining and saying that you already have an arrangement; in that case suspend it. You'll have to cover the Big Emblem event at "The Shrine" this Saturday", she explained, suddenly.
"Can't you send someone else, like Denning?", Lloyd asked, resigned. "I already have a plan for Saturday"
"Are you kidding me?", Sonia asked, irritated. "You know that he isn't working properly, repeating the same thing over and over again"
Linus raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't we supposed to investigate more important things?", he asked, quite annoyed. "We were part of a team that used to investigate more profound things, like bribery and murder, or complots against the Bern townsfolk, not social parties or reality shows, and we were no talk-show!"
"You said it first: 'used to, 'were''. You do that no longer", Sonia sentenced, coldly. "You three, along with Uhai the cameraman, are going to "The Shrine" this Saturday, and it's out of the question", she repeated, walking to the door. There, she stopped and turned back. "I think I shouldn't remind you to get us some scandalizing things, like drunk contestants, ridiculous reporters and shameful hosts". That said, she left the studio, leaving behind the three Black Fang members.
"I'm nervous, I'm nervous, I'M NERVOUS!!!", Alina yelled, getting into Heath's van. They had already left the 'Castle gang' at "The Shrine", one of the biggest discos in town, and they had to return to the channel to give the last details to the transmission. Now, it was time to see how everything would turn out.
"You had already said that like twenty times before", Rath complained behind her, in the back of the van. "Since you first saw us in the morning in fact"
"Ah, sorry", Alina apologized. "It's just that I'm nervous. Had I already told you that I'm nervous, hadn't I?"
Rath sighed bitterly, and
Heath couldn't help but chuckling.
"Do us a favor?", he asked the
young reporter, starting his dusty van's engine. "Don't say that you are
nervous again, or Rath will shot you with his bow"
"Ah, ok. I won't say that I'm… that, you know", the brownish-reddish reporter said, correcting herself halfway of her sentence.
"See? We are understanding each other peacefully", Heath joked, making their way to the disco. "Hey, how do you think this will turn out? Good, bad, regular, really sucking?"
"I don't know", Alina admitted, leaning backwards in her seat. "I just hope it will be at least good, but with those folks around… I have my doubts"
"Which folks? The 'castle gang'?", Heath asked, referring to the contestants as the 'Castle Gang', nickname that they earned to make the dialogue easier.
"Well, they will make it funny, nonetheless", Alina said, giggling. "But I'm afraid of those guys from LBC. I don't want them to pop up and ruin everything… or to make their own editing and bringing shame to us"
"Or to show you drunk", Rath added, all of a sudden.
Alina turned back, just to glare at him.
"I don't drink that much of alcohol. However, a single cup of it drives me to the unknown dimension", the girl confessed, annoyed with the Sacaen cameraman. "So if any of you see me near a cup of any alcoholic drink, kick me, punch me or whatever, but just separate me from that one", she asked, confidently. "Needless to say, you aren't supposed to try anything, as well as me"
"That's no fun", Heath joked, turning left.
"Don't blame me. Blame Lord Pent"
"…"
And so, part of the Big Emblem crew went on its way to the disco…
Hi there, it's been a long time. Rather short chapter (compared to the others). Well, this is part 1, uploaded to say "I'm still alive (if anybody cares)", and because I'm having a rather nasty block (and now I'm hooked with the Olympics, so…!). So, well… part 2 will cover the 'event', but I don't think I'll have it soon, but who knows; every time I say something like that, the chapter gets written in less than 2 weeks (but I don't think this will be the case). Well, all for now…