Getting to Know Each Other [Liam x Krzysztof x Dorothy FTE]

Kris soon ran up to the group. You've noticed he has a thin box of some sort under his left arm. Upon entering, she noticed Dorothy and Liam standing next to her. Eh, it was not fitting for a driver to finish last, but he had reasons.

"Sorry, guys! I did some exploring on my way here already, and looked into one of the...Wow. That's one expensive-looking place, isn't it? Look at that chandelier!"

He sat next to Dorothy, and started swinging on his chair.

"So, anything I missed? You seem to be in great moods, so no fight yet, I presume?" Krzysztof winked at the other two. Somehow, he did not think those two would fight anyone, let alone each other.

"This..." Kris put the box on the table and opened it, revealing a 10x10 checkerboard and a bunch of game pieces. "Is an international checkers set. Always played those back home. Found it back in one of those closets in the foyer hall. The other one was locked for some reason... Hmmm..."

Kris closed the box and looked at the chandelier once again. It was very peculiar. Every candle's flame was a different color. Very, very interesting. OK, let's get back to talking, let's ask Liam and Dorothy something.

"So, any plans for the game now that you two have got in? I wander what challenges will await us."

Yeah, that's a nice topic. Sure would allow to hammer in the fact that we all have got in. We all got past the most difficult step. It's all gonna be easy from there, isn't it? The excitement for the competition was killing Kris.

"A checkerboard?  That's cool!  But w-why would the other closet be locked?  I thought this place was all f-for us to explore?"

This manor was made for us, right?  Then why would they lock off certain parts of it from us?  What are they hiding from us?  What else is locked away?

"Plans for the game?  I guess my plan is to win, but I'd also like to m-make some friends along the way.  I'm glad to see I'm already making progress with that goal."

Let's just hope you don't drive all of your friends away before this is over.  

"Now that you m-mention it, I am starting to wonder what kind of ordeals they'll put us through.  There'll probably be challenges suited to all the different contestants, seeing as this is all to help us improve ourselves."

I wonder what a challenge suited to me would be like.  Kris's challenge would probably be something driving related, but I don't think there are any cars in the manor.  Dorothy's challenge would be definitely be something language related.  Mine would probably be something related to sword-fighting.

"Here's hoping we can all make it to the end of the competition w-without anything bad happening."

What's the worst that could happen?  This is all televised, right?  Anything that goes wrong will be on TV for all to see, so it should be safe here.  Yeah.  Just gotta stop worrying.

"Have either of you guys seen w-where we're sleeping yet?  They had to have prepared rooms or something for us, right?  I hope they're not making us sleep on a couch or something."

Dorothy smiled kindly at Liam. So far from what he said, he didn't deserve to be a target of her scathing sarcasm at the moment.

"Don't worry, Liam.", she said. "There's no way anything bad will happen here. This is all on TV, and I'm sure a major scandal is the last thing the production company needs. The worst thing that can happen is that you won't make it into Neo Hope's Peak Academy."

She put a finger on her chin and began to think. "Although, I'm curious... How can only 10 people be accepted into the school when the old Hope's Peak had around 16 students in a class? I mean, I wasn't around before the Tragedy struck, so what I know, I have from my mom. Maybe they're going to do this competition twice to get a full class of new Ultimates?"

She sighed, but she sounded content when doing so. "Although it's just a dream to me, I still like it."

Dorothy then pointed upwards from where she sat. "Our dorms are directly above us. I've been exploring the place for a bit and went up the stairs. There are four hallways each with five rooms. My room has a balcony, so I'm sure you guys have one, too! I haven't taken a long enough look at my bed yet, so I don't know how soft the bed is or how well I can sleep in there."

She then commented on what Krzysztof said about the locked closet he had found. "My guess is that the equipment used for special effects is hidden in there. Exploring the area is fine for us, but there are places after all that we shouldn't get into, just to keep the show's 'magic' alive, you know? It wouldn't be any fun for the audience to see just what exactly goes on behind the cameras."

Then she saw that the Stunt Driver already had prepared the game. She turned towards Krzysztof and looked at him.

"Okay, let's play. I'll let you make the first move, okay?"

“Balconies, huh.” That meant Kris could wake up, and just go outside and breathe in some air and not get sick. That was not the luxury he ever experienced, as evidenced by the gas mask in his pocket. Moreover, the air here was actually fresh and pleasant to breathe. “It’s gonna be amazing. Waking up to no smog and all.”

He turned back to Liam, whose stuttering got more intense when the topic shifted to making it into the academy. “Don’t worry about that, we’ll work together making sure you’ll get through. You know what they say, right? ‘Last, but not least.’” Kris said, trying to cheer Liam up by making a little joke about the way he was announced.

Dorothy raised a valid point about the possible contents of the locked closet. In fact, that explanation made more sense than Krzysztof’s. Let’s hope no one else notices that. A praise was in order though. That, and he could relate to the whole show magic thing. “That’s an amazing idea! I get what you mean. Almost all of the car sounds you hear are added in postproduction. Most of the cars I drive on set are pretty much the same, and only differ in the outer looks. I see them having similar sort of ‘magic’.”

With Liam as the arbiter, Kris was ready to play. He was a decent player. He had weaknesses, he’s no Ultimate Board Game Pro after all. He was too impulsive to care about the bigger picture, about the strategy. However, it was offset by the smaller-scale play, by his tactics. His moves were quick, and fueled more by instinct, gained by playing with his dad, rather than deep thought. It still should work against a novice.

I wonder who's going to make it into the academy.  There's going to be those who can brute-force their way through the show, and others who're going to outsmart the rest of us.  Where do I fit into that?  I'm not going to be able to make it on pure force, and I'm not really the type of person to outsmart others.  How am I going to make it in when I don't even have a strategy of my own?

"Y-Yeah, you guys have a point.  Last pick shouldn't mean worst competitor!  We can make sure to look after each other in this competition!  If we have each other, what could go wrong?  And it's like Dorothy said, this is s-still before the the competition begins, so we should relax for now."

They're right.  There's no use worrying about it right now.  I just have to keep calm.  I still have plenty of time to prepare for whatever lies ahead.

"You're welcome!  I prefer to sit and watch over participating."

It's nice to be see them both enjoying themselves.  I wasn't sure what to expect once I got here, but if the rest of my our stay at the manor is going to be like this, then I think I'm okay with it.  

Suddenly a smile started to appear on Liam's face.

"You know, this place is nicer than I thought it would be.  Same with the people staying here.  Almost everyone seems a lot n-nicer than I thought they'd be.  Especially you guys."