Chapter 10 - New York
Jude's class travelled south by bus to the city of New York. The boys sat plastered to the windows, exclaiming in excitement as the bus drove through the tunnel into the city and the sprawling city landscape spread out before them. Jude had never been to a big city, and his eyes widened in astonishment at the majestic scene, the buildings reached so far it was hard to see where they ended and the sky began, massive glass covered facades that glimmered in the reflection of the sun. The traffic noise reached them through the double glassed windows and everywhere he looked crowds traversed the streets, futas and females commuting to work and the occasional male on an errand for his mistress.
It had taken some persuasion to get Starigold to let him accompany his class to the qualifiers. At first she'd been against it, stating he should be focused on himself instead of the competition. She finally relented after Meredith asked her to.
He thought back to what happened last week with Chris. He'd wanted to thank her for a long time but his shyness and schedule had kept him away. When she came out of the thicket he resolved to speak to her and then one thing led to another. It made him happy he could give something in return but somehow he'd scared her off towards the end. He brooded upon it but couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong and decided he should apologise the next time he saw her.
The boys exclaimed in collective awe as the bus parked by the hotel. It was a tall building with polished windows that gleamed in the midday sun, mirroring the nearby streets and buildings. Above the entrance hung a large sign with golden letters that said Parsington's Hotel.
The boys got out of the bus, collected their luggage. The interior of the hotel dazzled them even more. The walls were black with golden brims, the ceiling covered in tiny spotlights and the floor covered in expensive persian carpets. Several action paintings with vibrant colours hung on the walls and broke off the monotony of the tapestry.
"Follow me and stay in line," Fawlorne said and walked up to the counter. They passed a restaurant where several futas were having lunch. Heads turned as they spotted the boys in their school uniforms.
"Good evening Ma'm," the receptionist, a young woman with black hair, greeted her.
"Good evening, we have a reservation."
Fawlorne handed her papers to the receptionist.
"Good, I will prepare your keys. You can leave the luggage here and i'll have the porters bring them to you." She prepared their keys and called for a colleague of hers, a brown haired woman, who bowed to Fawlorne.
"Ma'm, I will be your concierge. Thank you for choosing Parsington's."
Their rooms was on the sixth floor. Jude got to share a room with Mikkel. It had two beds, a tv on the wall and a spacious bathroom in beige coloured tiles. When they entered the room Mikkel rushed over to the window and opened it. The loud noise of the traffic below filled the room.
"Hey Jude, come over here."
Jude walked over to stand next to him and gazed out the window. From this height one could see far away, the city was built in straight lines so their vision was not obstructed by any buildings and they could see all the way to the docks on each side.
"On my count we're going to shout the thing we wish the most for, you say 'I want to' then whatever that is. Ready?" Mikkel said.
"Hey, I never agreed to this why should we do something so embarrassing, what if someone listens?"
"Come on, don't be a scaredy cat. I promise it will make you feel good and besides, look around," Mikkel gestured towards the street, "Nobody cares."
"Okay, but don't trick me, you must say it too!"
"Of course, are you ready? On my count, one, two, three!"
"I want to become the First Male of the Empire."
"I want to make them proud."
They looked at each other.
"What was that? I thought we were gonna say the same thing. Who is it you want to make proud?"
Jude fidgeted with his hands.
"Uhm, my parents."
"Ah, I think they already are but that's not a bad thing to wish for," Mikkel smiled at him. It was a true statement but it wasn't entirely true. It wasn't just his parents he wanted to make proud but also Fawlorne, Chris and Meredith. He couldn't say that to Mikkel though.
There was a knock on the door.
"Luggage service."
They received their luggage and began to unpack. Jude was shocked at how many things Mikkel brought, in comparison he'd only brought the bare necessities. Mikkel held up a pair of hotpants that looked several sizes too small for him.
"I'm gonna wear these at all times in the hotel."
"What?! You can't wear something like that here, what would Mrs Fawlorne say? There's other people here too and they will look."
"I don't care if they look, if their eyes sees something they like who am I to deny it?"
"No, stop! what are you doing."
He undressed and put on the hotpants. They were so tight they cut into his butt and made it look even bigger.
"Don't! someone might see you through the window."
A mischievous glow appeared in Mikkels eyes and he jumped up on the bed and shook his ass towards the window. Jude panicked. He waved his arms above his head and tried to grab Mikkel but he slipped away and jumped to the next bed and kept shaking it. Jude turned to get a hold of him but he jumped down and soon Jude was chasing him all over the room.
"I'll get you," he said and chased the giggling Mikkel.
Mikkel jumped up on the first bed and tried to shake his ass some more but Jude finally caught up and they wrestled atop the bed. Mikkel tripped over his feet and fell forward, Jude tried to brace himself but Mikkel was too heavy and they 'tumbled down on the floor.
"Hey are you all right?" Mikkel asked standing on all fours astride Jude with his ass pouting up.
"Yea, I'm okay."
There was a knock on the door and Fawlorne entered the room.
"Boys, you must not forget to close the door," she stopped in her tracks when she saw Mikkel straddling across Jude in nothing more than hotpants, their faces flushed from the wild chase across the room. Oh no, Jude thought, she will berate us.
"Boys, I hardly think this is proper."
Why was she averting her gaze?
"I wanted to remind you we'll meet down in the lobby in ten minutes. I'd suggest that you," she cleared her throat, "conclude whatever it is you were doing until then."
"No, no, Mrs Fawlorne this isn't what it looks like," Jude called out.
"Well, have fun and don't be late" She said and stole a last glance before she left and closed the door. Mikkel rolled over onto his back and laughed so hard tears formed in his eyes. Jude was horror struck though.
"My life is over," he moaned and Mikkel just kept laughing, banging his fists on the floor.
"Hey stop laughing! This isn't funny you."
"Yes it is! It's one of the funniest things ever."
"aaaarrh" Jude stood back up with his fists clenched to his sides then marched over to his bag to finish unpacking. Mikkel eventually settled and followed his lead but kept a wide grin on his face.
The boys spent the next day touring the city. They visited the wall street district, which was a fitting name for it, Jude thought. The buildings were indeed like massive walls obsructing the skies. They'd split into three groups with each group taking a different route so that the boys could choose what they wanted to do. Judes and Mikkels group decided to take a stroll through the shopping district. Mikkel had been hyping up a lingerie boutique he'd heard of.
The boys giggled as they told their guard where they were going, a young Futa straight from the military. They were not allowed to be out of sight of her so she was forced to follow them inside, drawing many gazes from the other shoppers, which was exclusively male. She did her best to keep her eyes away from the sexually suggestive mannequins standing about. Jude felt embarrassed about being in such a place though at the same time it made him excited. Mikkel was as energetic as ever and darted between the stands to check out the merchandise.
"Hey Jude come here."
He showed off a pair of embroidened lingerie that ended halfway up the ass.
"What do you think of these on me?"
"I'd say the style suits, half g-string accentuates the ass but you need a couple of sizes bigger than that."
"Are you saying I'm getting fat?"
"No, only that your ass is."
"Hell yeah," Mikkel exclaimed and gave it a shake and spun around.
"Oi, look at this."
Jude moved over to where Mikkel pointed. It was a set of ivory colored lingerie comprising of a pair of panties with a pink ribbon at the front and a garter belt in the same colour along with pantyhose.
"This would look great on you," Mikkel said. Jude looked at the price tag and gasped. It cost so much that he would have to save half a year's allowance to buy it. It did look cute though. It had transparent embroidery in the form of flowers at the front and curved into a thong on the back. He could see himself impressing Chris with it and imagined the hungry look in her eyes as he showed it off. He could probably ask Meredith to buy it for him but he'd been so ashamed when he had to ask her for a pair of new dancing shoes. She'd accepted right away and not only bought him one pair but four and as many new ballet outfit. She'd already given him so much that asking her for more would be greedy. He sighed and looked at it with a longing.
"I'll buy it for you," Mikkel said.
"You would?" Jude said in surprise then shook his head, "no, that wouldn't be right, I can't accept that."
"I didn't say you shouldn't pay me back. When you win the First Male of the Empire, you can pay me back triple fold. That way we can call it an investment."
"What are you saying? Me winning, that would never happen."
"Hmm, I guess you're right. When you get second after me you can pay it back."
Judes jaw dropped low. He was at a loss for words and mumbled something incoherent as Mikkel laughed.
"Come on, don't be shy. If you help me find something nice I'll let you borrow the money, how about that?"
Jude still wanted to protest but he really liked the set of lingerie so he relented. He helped Mikkel pick out a couple of bottoms and a corset. He wondered how he could have so much money and Mikkel explained that his mother was an investment banker and sent him a monthly allowance.
The boys finished their shopping, Jude held the bag with his garter belt, panties and pantyhose tight to his chest. Even the bag looked so expensive he was worried to scratch it.
Their guard stood erect by the entrance and tried to hide the bulge in her pants.
"Are you done, can we leave?" She asked.
"Just a moment, I have to put these on," Mikkel said and waved one of the skimpiest panties he'd bought in front of her. They all laughed as the guards face twisted in horror. Even Jude grinned though he thought it was unseemly. Mikkel didn't have any limits.
After shopping they went back to the hotel. Fawlorne had booked a training hall for Jan and Mikkel and they left to prepare their sets for the next day. This meant that Jude had the room for himself and he was eager to try out his new lingerie. He put the bag down on the bed, undressed and regarded himself in the mirror. He'd lost a lot of weight during the last months. Starigold's training and diet regimen was harsh and the effects could be seen in his physique.
He poked at a rib that protruded out of his chest and squeezed at his arms and legs, turned around to regard his butt, it was still round but looked slightly smaller than before. All those squats for nothing. He brought out his lingerie and placed it on the bed. First, he put on the panties then slipped into the pantyhose and clipped on the garter belt, it had adjustable latches so he could fit it perfectly. He spun around in front of the mirror, struck a pose and blew himself a kiss. His eyes tingled as he saw how well it fit him. He didn't want to take it off, so he kept it on and laid down on the bed. Stroking himself against the soft linen and hugged the pillow. His thoughts wandered to Chris, it had been such a romantic moment when they stumbled onto each other in the forest. She had listened to him and been so gracious when he thanked her. Jude sighed,that's a futa for you. He was still bummed that she ran off on him, he'd gone looking for her after but when he asked the guards and the other students, no one had seen her. It didn't matter though, there would be ample time to talk when he got back. His mind also wandered to Fawlorne and his cheeks blushed when he thought of the events earlier that day, he decided he would explain the misunderstanding to her later.
He still missed the evenings they spent in the infirmary but at least he got to see her in class. It had become harder to concentrate when he saw her because he knew what was underneath that strict suit she wore, her massive, soft and comfy breasts and the equally impressive cock. He grabbed another pillow and put his head between them, it was nowhere near as soft as her breasts but it had to do. Another thought struck him. Fawlorne would be sleeping in a room nearby, what if? No, what was he thinking? Such lewd thoughts. She'd explained why she did all that for him.
He stayed in bed dreaming of Chris and Fawlorne until it was time for dinner. He put the lingerie back into the bag, took a quick shower and headed downstairs.
Fawlorne gathered everyone in the lobby and instructed them to be at their best behaviour and that any transgressions would affect their grades.
A male waiter greeted them, curtsied to Fawlorne and the guards, then brought them to their table. They were seated along the window. The hotel was pleased to accommodate them and wanted to show off all the cute boys they housed to people passing by. There could be no better endorsement for their establishment.
They ordered their food, Mikkel had a large steak with gravy and mashed potatoes, and Jude ordered a tofu green salad with a light dressing. It was part of the diet Starigold had given him. Greens and soy based products was top priorities. She'd also given him some kind of herbal supplement that was meant to improve his health.
It was the best tofu he'd ever had. For dessert he ordered a tofu pannacotta pudding with cherry sauce, Mikkel had the chocolate cake with extra chocolate and vanilla sauce on the side.
The boys beamed in happiness as they ate their meals. Jude left half of his dessert, he'd probably eaten more than he should but it had been so good it was hard to stop. The waiter asked if he didn't like it and wanted to order something else but Jude said no and thanked him. When the waiter was about to clear away his plate he saw Mikkels hungry stare next to him and told the waiter he could leave the plate. With a quick switch, as to not evoke any stares from Fawlorne, he transferred the Tofu pannacotta to Mikkel, who gorged it down in two bites. It was a breach of etiquette and he felt a moment of shame for his behaviour.
When dinner was finished, Fawlorne sent the boys to their rooms and ordered them to go to bed early.
It would be a big day tomorrow.
Chapter 11 - The qualifiers
Mikkel and Jan left early the next morning. The hotel provided a car to drive them to the venue. The other boys could take their time to eat breakfast and prepare themselves. Jude would wear the same dress he wore to the Banquet during Liberation day, he'd wanted something new but after Ida took all his savings he had nothing left. He wore his new lingerie though. With his hair and makeup done he made his way to the lobby to meet up with the other boys and they were assigned to the cars which would drive them to the venue, they were black cars with tinted windows and with the hotel logo printed upon them. Even after a day in New York he could not help but gawk in wonder at the magnificent view. There were so many strange things and people of different races and colours to look at. Living at the farm he'd never thought there could be this many people in the world and it made him realise how small and insignificant he was.
The cars drove up the driveway to the venue. It was a big arena with more than ten thousand seats. The qualifiers for the First Male of the Empire was a huge event and could've supported a number five times that. Though the championship committee deemed that the venue should be reasonably sized, as to not dazzle the contestants and make them perform beneath their abilities. The event was televised statewide, and every male, futa and female across the Northern American state would be watching. The revenue collected from endorsements was collosal, raking in millions by the double digits, even triple digits.
There were eight qualifying competitions held within the empire. Two boys advanced from each of the seven major states and one from the colonial qualifier. Also, each major state got to nominate a boy directly to the finals, amounting to twenty two contestants in total.
There was some time left before the event would start, so Fawlorne and the boys went to a nearby park to relax. She bought a cup of hot chocolate for each of them and they sat down on the benches to enjoy the beautiful autumn day. The skies were clear, a light wind rustled the trees and the sun lent its warmth. Futa joggers turned their heads to look at the dressed up boys, one stumbled on her legs and almost fell face forward.
Jude sipped on his chocolate and mumbled an apology to Starigold in his mind. Fawlorne never gave him a chance to decline though and pushed the cup into his hands. It would be rude to not enjoy the gift of a futa and it made him happy she thought of him.
After enjoying the day in the park they made their way back to the venue. A short line of fans had already formed by the entrance and the futas whistled and catcalled when they saw them.
The first round of the qualifiers was about to begin. The contestants would perform behind closed doors in the first round to eliminate the ones not up to quality. Only those related or associated with the contestants were allowed to spectate.
The judges sat behind a desk, taking notes of each contestant with dull expressions. There were a lot of performances not up to snuff, mostly from the lower end public schools. One boy did a handyman performance, climbing ladders in an erotic fashion and flexed muscles he didn't have, the judges interrupted the performance and had him sent on his way. Then came Jan, he would perform a free form performance in artistic gymnastics with ribbons. The judges expressions eased and they nodded in approval as Jan danced around the scene. When done all of them signalled he'd passed.
A couple of other boys performed, some played music and others danced, one even performed a mimicry act. It was unorthodox but made the judges laugh so he passed to the final round.
It was time for Mikkel to take to the scene. Jude held his thumbs and whispered a prayer to the goddess in his heart.
Loud boom back music rumbled out of the speakers and the Judges faces turned towards the sound, irritated, and one covered her ears, but then Mikkel walked out onto the stage and their demeanor changed in an instant. Even for a stuck up aristocrat the sensual sway of Mikkels hips was alluring. Mikkel took the center of the stage, propped his ass up to them and shook it to the music.
One judge shook her head but the other two stared transfixed with drool hanging from their mouths.
Mikkel finished his number by dropping his butt to the ground and twitching it to the last beats. There was a tense silence as Jude and his classmates awaited the judges verdict. The first pushed the disapproval button and a red cross flashed on the display beneath her name.
"Oh, no!" the boys exclaimed, raising their hands to their cheeks. The other two judges, seeming to have realised the number was finished, then slammed their hands down on the approval buttons so that two green lights flashed.
"He did it! He passed," The boys shouted and hugged each other.
"Sit down and be quiet," Fawlorne called out.
A voice rang out in the speaker.
"With that we conclude the first round of the qualifiers and we'll take an hour break to make ready for the event. All performers must stay in the back area."
A male attendant walked towards them.
"Excuse me, is there a Jude Lee here?"
"Yes, there's a Jude here," Fawlorne said, "what about it?"
"My boss, Milveden of the Championship Committee, requested to meet with him if it's alright." Fawlorne glanced at Jude who raised his shoulders. Why would someone wish to speak with him?
"Okay then," Fawlorne said, stood and motioned for Jude to follow.
The attendant led them backstage and beyond until they reached a door. Jude saw Mikkel on their way and waved to him. He was beaming in joy and showed off his ass shaking technique to some of the other contestants who tried to emulate it.
The attendant opened the door and gestured them inside.
There was a white desk with two chairs in front of it, on the walls hung pictures of males in lewd positions and scant clothing. Jude's cheeks burned as he saw them. Behind the desk sat a Futa.
"Good Evening you must be Mrs Fawlorne, Jude's homeroom teacher. I'm Milveden Parker, nice to meet you." she shook hands with Fawlorne.
"And you must be Jude."
"Good evening ma'm," He said, lifted the hem of his dress and curtsied.
"Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"
"Do you have coffee?"
"Of course. And Jude, would you also like something to drink?"
"Uhm, I can have some water, please. If you have it." She smiled at that and walked over to the door and opened it.
"Hey Tim, could you bring us two cups of coffee and a glass of water? Put some lemon in it as well."
"Yes Mistress," they heard the voice of the attendant they met before.
"Thanks, sweetie."
She walked back to sit in her chair.
"That's my bound male, his name is Tim, cute huh?"
"Very," Mrs Fawlorne responded curtly.
"Anyway, I was surprised to hear we have a future star among us today."
She turned to Jude.
"Hanna was up in flames over your performance, saying it was one best ballet performances she'd ever seen," She flashed her white teeth in a smile, "I wish I could've been there."
"Thank you ma'm, it makes me happy to know that you think so highly of me."
"When I heard that you were in the audience it got me thinking," she went on, "what if we could have you perform an opening number, you know, to get the crowd riled up."
Jude froze. It took weeks of preparation to perform in front of audience, to do it on a moment's notice was impossible.
"Absolutely out of the question," Fawlorne said and Jude flashed her a thankful look.
"Jude is here to cheer for his friends, not to perform."
"hmm, that is disappointing but what if we had a short interview instead, it would be a great opportunity to get his face out there and let the crowds know who he is."
Fawlorne stroked her chin and lowered her gaze.
"Just five minutes tops. Talk has gone around about the orphan boy who blew the committee away and were awarded a first seed ticket, people are curious," Milveden said.
"I suppose that is possible," Fawlorne said.
Jude looked at her in horror. Him? In an interview in front of ten thousand people and millions watching. The Championships were the most watched broadcast in the empire and beyond. With the qualifiers averaging a hundred million viewers and the finals close to a billion, and he would speak before all these people. It was only a year back he got over his fear of speaking before class.
His hands trembled, and it spread to his shoulders. Fawlorne saw it and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Jude, it will be fine. I believe in you."
Milveden clasped her hands together.
"Great, we've already prepared some questions if you'd like to have a look." she pushed a paper their way.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Milveden called out and Tim entered the room, carrying a tray with their drinks. He put them down on the desk and curtsied to Fawlorne and Milveden before he left.
They reviewed the questions while sipping on their drinks and a sense of uneasiness grew within Jude. When they were done they got up and Milveden said.
"I need you to stay backstage Jude. Tim will direct you where to stand." She shook hands with Fawlorne and Jude curtsied as they left.
His hands were sweaty and he couldn't stop fussing about things. Would people think his dress looked cheap? Was his hair okay? Why didn't he spend more time on his makeup.
"I will need to get back to the class, will you be all right Jude?" Fawlorne asked.
"I think so."
She got down to a knee and grabbed his hands.
"It'll be okay, I believe in you. Just go out there and answer the questions as truthfully as you can, and everything will fall into place."
"I'll try, thank you, Mrs Fawlorne."
She smiled and patted his head then turned to walk back to her seat, her words did little to still the beating in his chest. The audience had begun to flow into the venue and Jude could hear their raucous excitement where he stood. He kept wiping his hands off his dress until he got worried it would stain. There was a hassle around him as organisers hurried to get everything in order before the start. Camera teams checked their cameras and attendants rushed around to make sure that none of the contestants had run off.
All the boys fidgeted in nervousness and then the lights was turned down low. A futa announcer took to the stage under loud applause. Jude's chest heaved, and he checked his dress for the seventh time. The organisers placed him right at the front, just behind the curtains and he could hear the voices of the front rows.
Why did Mrs Fawlorne put him up to this? He wanted to run away but it was too late, everyone was looking at him and the announcer had begun speaking. They would call him in at any moment.
"So with that said I'd like to officially declare The Championships of the First Male of the Empire started!" The announcer's voice echoed through the arena.
"Before we begin the performances, we have a little threat for you. Everyone has been wondering about this mysterious boy who impressed the committee so much they awarded him a ticket to the finals. He's an orphan which had to see his parents murdered by the ruthless soldiers of the federation."
The audience booed at the mention of the federation and many shook their heads in disgust.
"He survived and was taken in by the merciful school of Meredith Lee, and there he prospered to grow into a fine, young boy ready to take his place on the world stage." Her voice intensified, "I present to you, Jude Lee!"
Jude stood still, unmoving. he was so out of it he didn't take the cue that it was time for him to get on the stage.
"Hey, that means it's time to go, come on, get in there!" An organiser said and pushed him forward. His legs were so tense he couldn't bend them at the knees and he marched out like a puppet on strings. Then the lights shone and blinded him, the cheers of the audience hit like thunder as the eyes of thousands in attendance and millions more watching on their screens focused on him. He forced himself to walk out to the announcer and then first curtsied to her and then to the audience, it was the stiffest curtsy he'd ever done.
"Jude Lee, Ladies and futas!" She said and stepped forward to Jude with a mic in her hands.
"So to begin Jude, I just gave the audience a brief account of your background but I think everyone would like to hear about it directly from the source, what was it like to grow up in a warzone?"
"Eh yes, hello, I'm Jude!"
The entire audience laughed and the announcer smiled. Jude realised what he'd said and his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He fidgeted with his hands in front of his dress, trying to make himself look small, there was nowhere to hide though.
"Nice to meet you Jude. I'm Tara."
Jude looked up at her. What a handsome futa. She was dressed in a three buttoned navy blue suit with a grey vest and matching tie.
"Ehrm, it was a good, I think. We had a dairy farm close to the border. My parents were very good to me and they loved me and..." The memory of his mother pierced by enemy bullets flashed through his mind and his voice trailed off. "Sorry, I was so young I don't remember much."
He averted his gaze to the floor.
"But you made it away, I'm sure your parents would be very proud if they saw you today."
"I-I hope so, my mother gave her life so I could get away." He sniffed suddenly, oh no, was he about to cry? In front of everyone. The crowd gave out a collective 'aww' and the announcer Tara hugged his shoulders.
"It's okay, you're safe now."
She let go off him and stroked his cheek.
"Tell us a little about school? You're enrolled at Meredith Lee's school for boys, correct?"
"Yes, Ms Meredith adopted me when I was eleven and I've been living there ever since. I love it, I get to learn a lot of new things and I've made many friends and the teachers are all nice to me, especially my homeroom teacher, Mrs Fawlorne."
The cameras switched to Fawlorne, sitting in the audience, and she waved in response.
"I'm so thankful to everyone especially Ms Meredith who took me in on a whim. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for her."
Tara nodded.
"A striking story, I'm glad you made it trough, lest we would never see you perform. We've all heard about how you got a ticket to the finals, supposedly it was a magical performance, but why ballet and not something else?"
"I found an old tape in the library once, during my second year. It had a tag that said the masters of old. I didn't know what it was but I thought it sounded cool. I hoped it was a cartoon or something." There were scattered laughs among the audience. "But it was a video of ballet dancers. I had never seen anything so beautiful before and I couldn't take my eyes off it. One dancer in particular caught my interest, Damien Stosczynski. He did the Rougardé. I don't know how many times I've watched it but it must've been a hundred."
"That's the move you performed during Liberation Day, right?"
"Yes, it took me seven years but I could finally pull it off."
Tara looked impressed.
"That's quite the feat for an eighteen year old boy."
"Thank you."
"Now finally, is there's something you'd like to say to the audience?"
"Yes." Jude straightened up and faced the audience, he was determined to get this right at least.
"I want to thank everyone who has supported me. There are no words that can express the gratitude I feel within my heart. You are all precious to me. Two of my classmates will also compete in the qualifiers today so if you could give them your heartfelt support that'd make me very happy." He prepared to strike a pose he'd thought up. He took a step forward and raised a fist to the sky, "Come on fight-o!"
The arena fell silent.
No one clapped or cheered and Judes fist trembled as it hung above his head. He couldn't take it back now and the silence was overwhelming. Then someone called out and was immediately followed by several more.
"Soo cute."
"We'll cheer for you Jude."
"Do your best Jude, we believe in you."
"Eh?!" Jude exclaimed and waved his arms.
"No, no, that was not what I meant. Um thank you very much I appreciate it." He began curtsying in all directions.
"Jude Lee, ladies and futas!" Tara called into the mic.
Jude returned to his seat. Many faces turned to look at him
"Great speech, bring back the trophy for us," someone called, and he curtsied in her direction. As he passed the rows of seats one futa raised her arm to get a little handsy but Fawlorne was right on it.
"Keep your hands to yourself or I'll have you thrown out face first!" Their two guards stood up and cracked their knuckles in the futas direction. She blushed and put her arms down. Many looked at her with disdain. Futas can be very protective of boys, especially the cute ones.
Jude sat down and shrunk into his seat. Why did he have to say all those embarrassing things?
"That went well," Fawlorne said
"Thank you, I hope so," Jude replied.
The contestants had taken to the stage, standing in a line, facing the audience.
The Announcer introduced each of them by name and gave a little background story.
It was time for the qualifiers to begin.
Jude was surprised at the wide array of skills the contestants possessed. There were many dancers and acrobats. The dance styles were mainly modern, such as hip-hop and break dance, and there were no other who did ballet. One acrobat performed a daring number where he walked on a string high above the stage. The crowd gasped as he lost his balance and nearly fell but Jude saw that it was all part of the act to create excitement. The boy with the mimicking act did well and gathered lots of laughs from the audience. There was even one boy who performed a one man drama scene.
Jan did good but Jude wasn't sure how he'd compare to the other contestants, the competition was stiff this year.
Then it was Mikkels turn. The boom back music played.
He entered the scene in his usual manner, pulling no punches and got right to it, twitching, bumping and shaking that ass. A loud cheer rose from the crowd and Jude saw the futas all around him waving their arms, screaming and egging him on.
Mikkel took a little stroll across the stage, making sure each step caused a rumble to his ass. He stopped at the center, widened his stance and got down on his hands with his ass facing the audience. Mikkel had told Jude that he called this particular piece the big Badonkadonk bash, and it was one of his best numbers. He started by shaking it in wide shakes then when the crowd got into it he dropped his butt down on the floor in a split, twitched his asscheeks some more then slid back up as if pulled by a magnet and repeated the process, slamming his butt harder and harder onto the floor. The fifth time he went up to a handstand instead, and hopped around on his hands, twitching his ass cheeks. The cheers were deafening, almost every futa in attendance screamed. Jude spotted one who sat transfixed with a long gob of drool hanging from her mouth. There was a tremble in the arena as the futas stomped their feet to the beat. Mikkel concluded his performance with a cartwheel into a summersault and landed flat on his butt. The entire crowd rose in cheers and Mikkel bowed, first from the front and then with his back turned to them.
Jude knew Mikkel was popular but the overly enthusiastic reception surprised him. Twerking must be really popular among futas.
Some in the upper classes found it crude but Jude knew it took great skill to perform. There were so many ways in which Mikkel could move his butt. He could shake up and down, to the sides, in circles, twitch the buttocks in different directions and there were also many ways in how he shook it. There was the twitch, the wiggle and the full shake among others and they all took an incredible body control to master. He respected Mikkel's art, he was a master of it, and by the cries and shouts from the crowd, they did too.
When all the performances concluded the announcer, Tara, took to the stage.
"Ladies and Futas, Just look at all these beautiful boys."
The cameras swept over a side area of couches were the contestants rested after their performances.
"It's time to move onto the voting part. To everyone watching at home, make sure to pick up that phone and vote so that your favourite will advance."
Two boys would advance among the twenty that made it through the first round. The scoring was set up so people could call in and vote for a small fee. There were five districts in the state of North America, Miami, Southern, Great Lakes, Northeastern and Canada. The votes were counted district by district and the one contestant with the most votes in each district twelve points and the second ten, descending by two point. Along with the district votes there was also the judges vote. There were three judges, and they each got the same number of points to distribute as a single district had.
There would be a half hour pause while the voting took place and Mrs Fawlorne sent one of the guards to buy drinks along with three of the boys. She sent out another guard to take some of the boys to the toilet.
There was a lot of discussions and arguments around them about the performances and who to vote for.
"That mimic boy was so funny, I laughed so hard that it hurt"
"Yea but did you see that Twerk performance, oh mami!"
The Boys who'd gone off to the shop returned with their drinks and snacks.
Jude pulled away the folie from his soybean snack and nibbled on it. He'd since long forgotten his embarrassment at the beginning of the event and was excited to see who would advance to the finals.
The crowd settled and returned to their seats. Above the scene a big stopwatch counted down, only a few seconds left.
Then it hit Zero.
"And the voting is now closed," Tara called out.
"We wish to thank everyone who voted, we hope that the contestant you voted for will win." She put a hand up to her earpiece.
"Ladies and futas, i just received word that this years event broke the voting record of twenty million votes, amazing!" The announcement gathered quite some cheers from the audience. It was a thing of pride to outdo those that had come before you. Jude dropped his jaw, twenty million votes! It was a staggering amount. There was no restrictions a single person could vote, some would vote twice or more so the numbers would be inflated but nonetheless.
"Let's move on to the first stage of the scoring. The judges have tallied theirs scores and are ready to give some lucky boys a head start in the competition."
The three Judges were all outstanding citizens within the state, two were prominent aristocrats and the third was the relative to a prolific entrepreneur. Their names were Christina af Kagg, Sofia af Lewenhaupt and Minny Johnson.
Minny Johnson started, She awarded Jan a two and Mikkel an eight.
Next came Sofia af Lewenhaupt, she gave Jan an eight and Mikkel a two.
And last was Christina af Kagg, she gave Jan a twelve and didn't award Mikkel any points. The twelve pointer to Jan caused a subdued murmur among the crowd. Jude thought it strange, not that Jan wasn't a good contestant but the best? Even an eight was a far stretch. Perhaps it was because Jan was a noble and Mikkel wasn't.
The scoring put Jan at twenty two points and first place, and Mikkel at ten which placed him in the seventh place.
The event moved on, it was time for the districts to reveal their scores.
A face appeared on the big screen with a background of a lit up beach.
"Good evening, sunny Miami! We are delighted to have you with us," Tara greeted the Miami representative.
"Good evening New York, thanks for having us," The futa on the screen responded.
"Now for your scores, what lucky boys will see their fortunes rise?"
"Two points for Jan from Meredith Lee's school for boys."
"Two points for Jan," The announcer repeated. there was a screen above the stage with the name of each contestant on it and a small box with their score.
"Four points to Denis for his beautiful acrobatic number."
The Announcer repeated the score and the tally updated.
"Six points Adam, the line dancer."
"Eight points for Jacob, the dramatist." Jude started praying, please, please give Mikkel some points.
"Ten points for Douglas the mimicking boy". The crowd cheered at the mention of Douglas. Jude's heart sank.
"And twelve points for Mikkel for his amazing twerk performance. No mouths were left dry after that one, if you know what I mean."
Tara laughed.
"We sure do Miami, thank you so much for your votes."
"Thank you."
"Next we have the Great Lakes district. Great Lake, can you hear us?"
Another face appeared on the screen and she began giving out her points.
"And twelve for the twerking boy, Mikkel. There's a certain shape burnt into my retinas I can't get rid off."
The audience went wild, screaming and cahooting.
"Twelve Points for Mikkel, only thing left soft was that boy's butt." The representative from northeastern called.
Chants off "Mikkel, Mikkel, Mikkel," burst into the arena.
"Twelve points for that amazing butt, I mean performance."
"Twelve Points to Mikkel, I'm still trying to catch my breath here."
A miracle happened, Mikkel had scored a perfect score of fifty six from the districts. The mimicking boy placed second and Jan didn't receive anymore points after the first two he got from Miami.
"Everybody give it up for our two winners, Douglas the mimicking boy from the Public school of Saint Withers in Canada and Mikkel From Meredith Lee's school for boys in Northeastern!" The crowd cheered and everyone stood up to salute the two boys who would represent the state during the championships.
"He did it, Mrs Fawlorne!" Jude exclaimed.
"He sure did, Jude, he sure did."
The whole class was on their feet shouting Mikkels name.
"I think you should go and congratulate him," Fawlorne said. She gestured to one of the guards to take Jude backstage.
"But we're not allowed backstage."
"Don't worry, I think they'll make an exception for you. Now hurry before audience leaves and you can't get through."
Jude hurried off with the guard in tow and they were immediately let in backstage. There he spotted Mikkel standing with some futas from the committee. He stopped and waited until they were finished, it would be rude to interrupt but Mikkel caught sight of him and rushed over. They embraced in a hug and jumped around in a circle.
"You did it, Mikkel!"
"Yea I know, I said I would, didn't I?"
Jude was so happy he cried.
A futa of the committee interrupted them
"Mikkel, if I may have some of your time."
"I got to go," He said to Jude.
"I understand, see you later."
Mikkel nodded and turned to speak with the futa, his steps were light, almost bouncing off the floor, which made his butt jiggle.
When walking back Jude spotted Jan and his mother speaking to one of the judges, Sofia Lewenhaupt.
"An eight? You were paid to do your job!" Jan's mother said.
"Ma'm please be quiet, you will get me in trouble," Sofia responded.
"Do you think I care, you upstart shit, I'll have you disowned for this."
She poked a finger at Sofia's chest.
"Ma'm, please be reasonable, if I would've given him a higher score there would be suspicions."
Jan's Mother's face flushed in anger and she kept berating the judge. Jan stood next to her and glared at Sofia.
Jude had never hated Jan, even though he was bullied by him, but in that moment he felt disgusted. To stand there and glare so flagrantly at a futa was beyond rude. He should show some humility and accept the judges' verdict. After all, they were futas and knew better than he, a male, did.
He didn't interject though but let the scene slide. His anger evaporated and his good mood returned. He couldn't believe it. He would be going to the finals with Mikkel!