different income levels, judging by their clothes. Being here instilled in me once again how this competition could pluck someone who was sixteen or someone who was sixty. There was no discrimination on age, or anything else for that matter. They really made it known that this wasn’t just a young person’s competition.
Everyone appeared nervous, some way more than others, though a couple of the guys looked a bit smug, or at least they were trying to.
One of the participants raised his hand slowly, looking a little nervous.
“You. Do you know the answer to my question? What do you see?” Christian asked.
“I see…nervousness,” the older man said.
“Wrong! You don’t see nervousness, you see your competition! Sure, one person from your megacity will be your partner, and that’s the person who you’re trying to win with, but the rest of them are not your friends. You might get friendly during training, even braid one another’s hair and giggle at your little jokes, but at the end of the day these people can end you! These other people are all trying to get back home, to their families, their lives, their jobs, with that one single wish that can and will change their lives forever! You all have one thing in common, and that’s the will to win. If you don’t currently have that will, you better find it soon,” Christian said snarkily.
Nobody said a word, not even the workers and guards, as Christian looked around at us. I almost felt like I had done something bad and my mother was here to scold me, telling me everything I had done wrong but giving me no way to fix it. I knew these next two weeks were going to be awful, but my lack of choice in the matter made me know I just had to suck it up and deal with it.
“Now, with that said, I want you all to congregate with your group members. Some of you who arrived earlier have already gotten that luxury, but our stragglers have not, and I’m nothing if not a fair man. I’ll call for you all when we’re ready for our first stage of training, which, yes, will be starting today,” Christian said, before walking away.
I looked around at my group, Jamie at one end, followed by Matthew, me, and finally, Liam. One of these people was going to be my partner, the person I relied on in WorldNet, the only person who would truly have my back. The others, while from my area, were enemies as far as I was concerned. But, without being told who my partner would be, I had to be friendly with all of them, so as not to cause any bad blood before getting paired up. The last thing I needed was to piss off my future partner and then get grouped with them.
“Well, my name is Matthew, though I’m sure you guys might have already known that,” Matthew said.
“I’m Alexia,” I replied.
“Jamie.”
“I’m Liam. It’s nice to meet you all. Are any of you fans of this? You know, like watching it on TV in the past?” Liam asked.
“I usually watch it, but I’ve never been super into it. I guess it can be painful sometimes, watching people go at it with each other, essentially trying to destroy one another for their own benefit. I guess that’s easier to do when you don’t know the person, though,” Matthew said.
“That’s what makes me so uncomfortable. I get that you want to win, who doesn’t, but it’s better to at least let those people just lose instead of being eliminated,” Jamie said.
“What about you?” Liam asked, as he looked at me.
“I don’t get too into it, but I’ve watched it. I just hope we all don’t go down each other’s throats,” I said.
“Why don’t we make a pact, then? Since we don’t know who’s going to be paired up together, how about we all agree that we won’t take one another out? Christian said not to get too friendly, but if we all focus on just winning with dignity or by only taking out other people, we can feel a little more safe around each other,” Liam said.
“I’m in for something like that,” Matthew
Everyone appeared nervous, some way more than others, though a couple of the guys looked a bit smug, or at least they were trying to.
One of the participants raised his hand slowly, looking a little nervous.
“You. Do you know the answer to my question? What do you see?” Christian asked.
“I see…nervousness,” the older man said.
“Wrong! You don’t see nervousness, you see your competition! Sure, one person from your megacity will be your partner, and that’s the person who you’re trying to win with, but the rest of them are not your friends. You might get friendly during training, even braid one another’s hair and giggle at your little jokes, but at the end of the day these people can end you! These other people are all trying to get back home, to their families, their lives, their jobs, with that one single wish that can and will change their lives forever! You all have one thing in common, and that’s the will to win. If you don’t currently have that will, you better find it soon,” Christian said snarkily.
Nobody said a word, not even the workers and guards, as Christian looked around at us. I almost felt like I had done something bad and my mother was here to scold me, telling me everything I had done wrong but giving me no way to fix it. I knew these next two weeks were going to be awful, but my lack of choice in the matter made me know I just had to suck it up and deal with it.
“Now, with that said, I want you all to congregate with your group members. Some of you who arrived earlier have already gotten that luxury, but our stragglers have not, and I’m nothing if not a fair man. I’ll call for you all when we’re ready for our first stage of training, which, yes, will be starting today,” Christian said, before walking away.
I looked around at my group, Jamie at one end, followed by Matthew, me, and finally, Liam. One of these people was going to be my partner, the person I relied on in WorldNet, the only person who would truly have my back. The others, while from my area, were enemies as far as I was concerned. But, without being told who my partner would be, I had to be friendly with all of them, so as not to cause any bad blood before getting paired up. The last thing I needed was to piss off my future partner and then get grouped with them.
“Well, my name is Matthew, though I’m sure you guys might have already known that,” Matthew said.
“I’m Alexia,” I replied.
“Jamie.”
“I’m Liam. It’s nice to meet you all. Are any of you fans of this? You know, like watching it on TV in the past?” Liam asked.
“I usually watch it, but I’ve never been super into it. I guess it can be painful sometimes, watching people go at it with each other, essentially trying to destroy one another for their own benefit. I guess that’s easier to do when you don’t know the person, though,” Matthew said.
“That’s what makes me so uncomfortable. I get that you want to win, who doesn’t, but it’s better to at least let those people just lose instead of being eliminated,” Jamie said.
“What about you?” Liam asked, as he looked at me.
“I don’t get too into it, but I’ve watched it. I just hope we all don’t go down each other’s throats,” I said.
“Why don’t we make a pact, then? Since we don’t know who’s going to be paired up together, how about we all agree that we won’t take one another out? Christian said not to get too friendly, but if we all focus on just winning with dignity or by only taking out other people, we can feel a little more safe around each other,” Liam said.
“I’m in for something like that,” Matthew
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