At the curved bar, Dax appears at my elbow in a dark green jacket that says he wants to look rugged and has a stylist. “You really are treating this like a talk show.”
I sip my drink. “I contain performance instincts at a cellular level.”
“No kidding.” He tips his glass toward the room. “You’re killing it.”
“I’m socializing against my will, Dax. Try to keep your praise respectful.”
He grins. “You see the interview ranking feed yet?”
“No. Do I want to?”
“Depends whether you enjoy becoming a problem.”
He points across the room to a translucent display embedded in the wall near a sponsor lounge. Names flicker there underINITIAL IMPACT METRICS.A few early standouts already have arrows climbing beside them.
Mine is in the top cluster.
“Well,” I murmur. “Would you look at that. The people love nonsense.”
Dax laughs. “You’re going to be impossible.”
“Going to be?”
We drift through the room trading comments with other contestants, some friendly, some sharpened. Sonya is over by a media pod doing an interview with the expression of a woman negotiating hostage terms. Kett from the arena has somehow made formalwear look combative. The blue-skinned influencer is glowing under ring lights and calling everyonebabeswith predatory efficiency.
A sponsor woman with diamond chips glittering along her collarbone says, “We love contestants with crossover appeal.”
“That sounds filthy,” I reply.
She laughs too long. “You’ll do very well here if you last.”
Ah.
There it is. The soft center of every conversation in this room.
If.
If you last.
If you perform.
If you become profitable.
If your pain rates high enough to justify lighting design.
I smile anyway.
A waiter passes with trays of smoked riverfish on crisp pastry shells, citrus glazes shining under the lights. I take two becauseI have learned the hard way that charm on an empty stomach is just self-harm with diction.
The music shifts. Somewhere behind me a cluster of reporters erupts in laughter at something I said thirty seconds ago. Lovely. The sound skims over the room, bright and easy.
This part, I can do in my sleep.
A junior correspondent with magnificent hair asks, “So what should viewers expect from Bron Varek this season?”
I lean one shoulder against a pillar and consider. “Excellent posture under pressure. Deeply questionable judgment. A stirring commitment to survival.”
“Any weaknesses?”
