Chapter 6

“Morning, Helen. Morning, Stace. I have coffee and blintzes.” With a smile, Sydney woke her subjects from their two month long stasis.

“Do they hurt?” Sydney asked quietly at Helen’s approach. Stacy was in the bathroom, having not woken up until Sydney’s arrival giving the two a few minutes of private time.

“Dey itch.” Scowling at the distortion that the tongue piercing created with her speech, “especially the one in my pussy.” She added for shock effect, which worked, if my student’s sudden reddening was any indication.

“My pussy and my nipples both itch. In a good way, you know.” Pressing a vulnerable set of buttons with the semi-innocent fifteen-year-old, Helen continued describing what she felt and the detailed masturbation session she had this morning in bed with her new inbuilt hardware.

At length.

Even continuing after Stacy arrived minutes later.

“I plan on giving my new hardware another good workout later, want to join me?” The direct proposition further silenced the inexperienced teen. Even with the less-than-articulate speech that Helen used, the nuances were not lost on Sydney.

“Maybe next time,” the suddenly demure, fifteen-year-old resisted out of embarrassment.

Chuckling to herself at a job accomplished, Helen loaded her plate full of the blueberry blitzes and added extra powdered sugar before dipping them in her coffee, ravenously eating a plateful of the high calorie sugary breakfast treats.

“I wouldn’t attach too big of a charm to those things, unless you want the whole world to know. Not that they won’t even with the smaller ones,” Stacy unhelpfully pointed out that Helen’s thin leotard revealed every bump underneath its skin-tight covering.

The camel toe and the rings under the thin bodysuit were quite remarkable. Not that I would tell my wife that, after refusing to let her get her own piercings.

Seeing Sydney getting one-upped brought a smile to my face. At a month past her fifteenth birthday, she was way too sure of herself. My precocious student needed to realize that given the right situation, anyone could outmaneuver her, if she was caught unprepared.

After finishing breakfast, the mistress of the game spoke up: “The next tier of failure cards are harsher than the previous ones. Same with the last deck. Both of you, please do your best.”

“Harsher? I’m already walking around like a porn aerobics instructor and Puma looks like a honeyed tart.”

“If you are worried, don’t lose. Boris is your host for the next event.”

Stacy, oddly, didn’t put up a fight; her psych eval must have missed something. The longer her captivity continued, the less resilient she acted. It was possible that something came out in her post-capture interview that I neglected, but Sydney caught. I’d need to review that later before questioning my apprentice.

Boris, wearing a bowtie, a white leisure suit, and a sky-blue cape, entered the room carrying two handheld activators sporting a single button, and a pair of notepads with pencils on strings.

Sydney giggled at his appearance. Apparently, his outfit was not something planned by her.

“Good morning, Ladies and Germs. Today I will bring you the first installment of ♪Supers Jeopardy♪. Please find a comfortable chair and bring it forward for today’s show.” Giving each ‘contestant’ their utensils and buzzers, he retreated to a far corner, returning with a large projection screen.

Sydney quietly backed off to change while both women moved their easy chairs to the location Boris recommended.

He then went on to explain the rules, “in today’s game, there are seven categories with five rows of increasing dollar amount questions. Each box lower than the previous one is rated more difficult as the dollar amounts increase. Under two of these squares is a randomly generated ‘Double Dollar’ chance. The question remains the same, but one can wager from one dollar to double the original dollar amount shown on that square.

“After pressing the red, candy-like button, you have seven seconds to fully answer the question in the form of a question. Failure to do so will be treated the same as an incorrect response, even if the answer was correct.

“After failing to correctly answer a question that you buzz in for, I will deduct from your score the value amount listed and give your fellow contestant a chance at answering the same question for the same amount of points. If you fail to answer the question in a form of a question properly, then you too will lose points.

“If neither of you buzz in on a question, then that space will become blank and unavailable.

“Today’s game will need only one board with a final ♪Supers Jeopardy♪. question at the end where you will be able to wager all the money you have accumulated for the day. If your balance is at or below zero, then you may not wager anything. If both are at or below zero dollars then you both lose and will be instructed to choose a forfeit. Miss Sydney has instructed me to remind you that while some questions are not easy, there are no trick questions.

“One last reminder: every answer must be in the form of a question. For example, ‘Who is Briar Rabbit?’ or ‘What is The Statue of Liberty?’”

“Two more things to keep in mind, Ladies. First is: today’s winner will be decided by who has the most money from today’s contest after the final question is answered. Second is, only the winner gets to keep the money earned from today. The loser gets bupkis and must choose a forfeit.”

“Are there any questions before we begin, our lovely contestants?”

“You didn’t tell us the categories,” Stacy pointed out.

“I did not. Let me rectify that. My lovely assistant, would you please do the honors?”

Sydney came out of the darkened area in a red sparkly evening gown carrying a telescoping pointer. “Thank you, Boris.” She turned slowly in place, standing with one hand on her walker.

I was very proud of my student; she had come very far from the scared little girl I first met six years ago. Her dream of walking under her own power was coming to fruition.

Tapping the screen where the category to the far left would be revealed, Ding, “70s Heroes.” Ding, “80s Villains.” Ding, 90s Vigilantes.” Ding, “Strife.” Ding, “Larkin.” Ding, “Religion.” Ding, “Priceless Art.”

“We shall take a five-minute break for station identification and a commercial break.” Boris added as an aside to the nonexistent audience, “and so the ladies can run to the potty real quick.”

Pulling out a fake cigarette, the Android lit it. Changing to a heavy Bronx accent with his mechanical face frowning, “Well girls, aren’t you going to pee? I don’t have all day.”

“Boris, be nice,” Sydney chastised her aide and protector while unsuccessfully restraining a grin.

...

“And now for the final ♪Supers Jeopardy♪ round. The category is ‘Christmas Dust Ups’. Stacy has $3900 and Helen has $3400; please note your wagers in anticipation of the question.”

For today’s final Question: Moria O’Shannan had a famous hour-long argument on December 24^th, 2020 with this supposedly mythological personage.”

“Helen Jacoby, you are first since you have a lower dollar amount. You wagered $3000 and your final answer is: ‘Who is Aphrodite?’ which is correct, bringing your total to $6400.”

“Stacy Pinta wagered $3100, your final answer of ‘Who is Athena?’ is incorrect, for a final tally of $800. Today’s winner is Helen Jacoby who also receives a bond for an additional fifty thousand dollars set to mature in three years. All taxes, interest and other nonsense are hers to deal with at the maturity date. Thank you both for playing ♪Supers Jeopardy♪ ... I will now turn you over to our producer and lovely pointer girl, Miss Sydney Thomas.”

“No ... It can’t be, I was sure...” Stacy didn’t seem to handle losing well. Her mental state had been deteriorating since her first loss.

I noticed that, while Sydney looked concerned for her subject, she was not surprised. We would have a long talk later. I still hadn’t discovered what had happened to Stacy.

Helen went to say something, but a quick glance from my student, who had returned to her wheelchair, stalled any derogatory remarks. Those two were getting along better, and not just from the VR gaming sessions.