Chapter 24
Bailey grabbed Thelma’s business card to give to Ashley later, and the two Challengers left the ‘Summer Breeze Exotic Plants and Gardening Store.’ She would remind Ash about the job offer when they got back to their dorm. It could be a great opportunity for her new roommate.
“So, where to now?” Ashley asked. “I’m all done with my shopping for the day. Do you need to grab anything while we’re out?”
“Actually, that whole experience gave me an idea for my own much-needed upgrade,” Bailey said while pulling her wand out of her purse. “I think it's time to enter the 21st Century.”
“Oh yeah? So where to, gumshoe?”
“I was thinking we could swing by an Onyx store on the way back to the Spire. Maybe grab some fancy new gear.” Bailey stated emphatically.
“Sounds like a plan,” Ashley agreed. She pulled out her own Onyx device to get directions to the closest store, and the two set off. After a few blocks, Ash was feeling a bit cheeky and asked, “So, do you think any of us Challengers are going to hook up this year?”.
“I think it's just a matter of time. I mean, I’m not sure who it will be, but get enough attractive young people in one place, add a dash of intense bonding, and usually, some sparks will start to fly.”
“Well, I’ve been seeing some mild sparkage between you and a certain dreamy boy, no?” Ashley taunted, accentuating the word dreamy to make sure Bailey knew exactly to whom she referred.
Bailey wasn’t phased, “Naw, I think Joel and I just have a close friendship forming. Coming from the Los Angeles acting world, it’s rare to come across anyone so nakedly honest and authentic. I like that about him. But, not sure it’s something I can handle in a significant other.”
Ashley took a hard look at her shopping companion and felt that her words and facial expression were saying two very different things. “Uh-huh. Yea, not buying it. Definite sparkage. You guys are gonna get together and buy a house in Sparkville. I’ll make sure not to walk too close to you two when you are together for fear of being electrocuted.”
“I’m serious!” Bailey knew she wouldn’t be able to convince Ashley, but she really did feel a closeness to Joel already that was very different from the instant chemistry she had before with guys that she ended up dating. But who knows? This competition was going to be hard and intense, as Ashley had already noted, and anything could happen. Bailey didn’t like to close herself off to anything.
The girls laughed together all the way to the Onyx store. Bailey felt very lucky to have met Ashley and Joel so far in this cutthroat game. She had had a lot of friendly relationships but very few close friends. In L.A. there was always a worry that someone was just befriending her to get something from her, or to garner a future share in her success. So, getting close to two people this quickly was off-script for Bailey. She just hoped the friendships could survive whatever madness was to come.
Once at The Onyx Store, Bailey picked up a small handheld device that worked with a stylus to replace her wand. Her meta ability was powerful but had a distinct quirk. She had the ability to channel energy inherent in the power of a single word and manifest it. In practice, she could use an existing word or write one and then push her power through it to bring its effect to life. The quirk was that once she had empowered the word, it would disappear. Her wand was wrapped in lettering. The word ‘shield’ was written dozens of times in tiny print. Every time she used the wand to create a shield, one of the tiny words was used up, erasing it physically from existence. Eventually, she would have to re-wrap the wand with whatever word, or words, she chose.
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Using the smart device in place of the wand would allow her to store words in a notes app but would also allow her to quickly write new words using the stylus. An added benefit was that it offered more privacy than the wand or other methods of writing. She could compose and empower a word without her opponent knowing what it was or getting a chance to counter it. In addition, as a failsafe, she could always fall back on the words written on her new uniform if the device broke or stopped working, and she always had the option to write in the air, but that was an inherently risky option. The disturbance in the movement of air molecules while tracing words in mid-air was temporary. Often, the longer words would either not work at all or even backfire. She thought about the time she tried to write the word “unbolt” to undo a deadbolt from the outside of her house as a child. By the time she had written the full word with her finger in the air and attempted to empower it, only ‘bolt’ registered, and lightning erupted from her finger at the door, shattering the wood. Her foster parents were unhappy, to say the least.
She purchased the device, and as they were leaving the store, Ashley asked innocently, “So, if your power is to activate words, why not just get them tattooed on you so that the most crucial ones are always on hand? Or at least have a few tattoos in case of emergency, like to breathe underwater or fly?”
Since Ashley had shared a bit about her power, Bailey decided that this didn’t need to be some huge secret to hold close to the vest as a trump card of sorts. Plus, she was aware that the cameras were still following them. Admissions like these were likely to increase her screen time in future episodes. “So, you are right that my power essentially works by allowing me to empower written words to manifest their essence. So like, writing and activating the word “shield” would create an actual shield around me for a quick moment. The reason I can’t use tattoos is that once I’ve activated the word, it disappears. The energy is used. The word disappears forever,” she shrugged. “I can’t activate the same word twice. So, tattoos would be a lot of pain for very little benefit. I am going to have a few combat-centric words added to my costume, though, and in bulk too!”
“Huh. Makes sense!” Ashley said in response. She wondered why Bailey was repeating stuff she already knew from earlier in the day until she realized that Bailey had just performed that whole explanation to the small camera that flew in front of them to catch the conversation.
“How about you?” Bailey asked. “You got everything you needed to purchase today? Once we get home, I bet Jax will wrangle us to create our Ruins & Ravens characters or some other nonsense.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure I’m covered on the ‘dangerous plants’ front. Although, I think we just passed a vintage clothing store, and I could always do with some new retro chicness.”
“New retro chicness. Gotta admit, that's a new one to me. Sounds pretty great, though, you fancy bitch!” Bailey was clear to make the teasing playful and positive.
“Hah! Not really. I just love some good vintage style.” Ashley laughed.
After spending the early afternoon shopping, Ash and Bailey headed back to their new dorm. As they approached The Spire, it became clear that the crowd of protestors had grown tenfold. They held signs that read “Who Constrains The Council?” and “New Blood | Not Nepotism.” Someone with a blowhorn was shouting something that neither Ashley nor Bailey could make out. The crowd was doing some sort of call-and-response.
After whirling around, looking left and right, Ashley turned to Bailey and said, “I think I’m going to join this.” She noticed Bailey give a little wince. “I know we are trying to become Heralds, which they might view as part of the problem, but what they are saying isn’t wrong. You want to come too?”
Bailey wished they had remembered to go in through the VIP entrance in The Show’s Tower. Of course, she agreed that The Heralds needed oversight to avoid corruption. But she also knew that she was being filmed right now. Ashley just thrust this lose-lose situation on her, and she wasn’t even batting an eye. If she joined these picketers, the Heralds would surely see, and they might retaliate. Hell, they might throw her out of the goddamn competition. But if she didn’t join, the American public would think that she was some sort of corporate shill or Herald lackey. Fucking Ashley! There was no way that Bailey could escape this situation unscathed.
“You know, my feet are killing me from walking all over the city today, I don’t know how you do it,” Bailey said to Ash with a huge, plastered-on smile. “Let me grab your bags and take them to our room while you do your thing.”
“Oh! Thanks, Bails!” Ashley said, using the nickname that Bailey had detested her whole life. Bailey grabbed the bags forcefully, said goodbye, and stormed off toward the VIP elevators. What had been her favorite day of the competition so far had just become a living PR nightmare, and Ashley was going to hear about it later.