The lights flashed onto the set.
Behind a large wooden table sat Dyrk, and across from him, on multiple sofas, were five distinct groups of gorgeous people.
'As expected of Star Chasers. They're all gorgeous.'
"Their looks can make anyone jealous, don't you think? It makes you question if we truly belong in the same world."
A man said next to me all of a sudden.
Surprised, I turned my head to see a hand extended in my direction.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jack Bannali, the writer for the show."
"Oh."
I hurriedly shook his hand.
As we let go, he asked,
"You're the manager of Blue Daisy, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"You've got an interesting group."
A smile played on his lips, and just as I turned my head, I witnessed Mia receiving a slap on her hand from Lyla, who shot her a glare. Meanwhile, Olivia, who had been watching the scene, burst into a light laugh and slapped the sofa beside her.
"...Tell me about it."
"Hahaha. It's nice to see such a cheerful group. It's been a while since we've last seen one like theirs."
"Oh?"
What did he mean by that?
Noticing my confusion, the man's eyebrow arched as he asked,
"You must be new to this industry?"
"I am..."
How did he know?
"Ah, that explains it."
Explains what?
"Well, you'll understand what I mean with due time. For now, I just wanted to introduce myself. Couldn't help but to after seeing those clips..."
Alarmed, I looked at him.
"Clips? What clips?"
The only thing I got in return was a smile.
"So you don't know...?"
Covering his mouth, he suddenly laughed.
"Haha. This is going to be fun."
***
The show began on time.
The once bustling studio, filled with dozens of staff and involved parties, fell into silence. The expressions of the ones standing backstage changed, and a palpable tension filled the air.
It was good that the members of Blue Daisy weren't nervous. At least, on the outside. Compared to some of the other Star Chasers present... they weren't lagging by too much.
The studio lights above flashed, moving around and hovering over every one of the groups present.
At the same time, Dyrk, the presenter, entered the stage as he stopped in the middle and started reading the teleprompter.
"Welcome everyone. I'm your host for today, Dyrk Connoway and I once again welcome you to my show."
Without a doubt, he was quite experienced at this, handling the introductions and opening sequence masterfully and smoothly.
A lot of jokes were thrown around, making some of the people backstage laugh.
Personally, I found a lot of them to be funny and even laughed at a few, but I kept getting weird looks from the people around me when I did so.
From the beginning of the interview, it was evident that some of the groups had been trained to handle these types of interviews. They answered politely and even exchanged jokes with the MC. The previous tension seemed to fade at that moment, and what replaced it was a strange silence as some people seemed satisfied with what was happening.
But...
The same couldn't be said for me.
As entertaining as the interview was, it felt a little lacking. It was fun, yes, but... to be honest, if I had the option, I'd switch it for some other channel. It just wasn't engaging enough to keep me from switching to another channel.
I wasn't the only one that seemed to have noticed the problem as some of the writers near me frowned.
"Now, let's start with Blue Daisy. May you select two representatives for this. It doesn't matter who. Just pick whoever you want."
Dyrk's voice suddenly attracted my attention as the lights of the studio suddenly dimmed.
The girls huddled together before two members finally stepped out.
"Oh? So it will be Olivia and Mia?"
Wait, what?
"We will play quick-fire questions. While one reads the question, the other has to answer as fast as possible. You have ten seconds to answer."
Dyrk pointed toward the right where a large clock appeared.
"Every ten seconds the clock will buzz. Once it buzzes, you will have no choice but to go to the next question, or the clock will continue to buzz until you get back on track."
He then turned his attention back toward Mia and Olivia.
"So then. Which one of the two will ask the question, and which one will answer?"
"I will ask, and Olivia will answer."
Mia's reply came instantly as she picked up the set of cards. She started giggling the moment she caught a glimpse of the first question.
Just why is it the two of them...
I couldn't help but glance at Joana who evaded my gaze.
So it was you.
"Let's begin with the rapid questions! Let the clock start!"
Tik—!
The handle of the clock began to move and Mia asked the first question.
"What's your name?"
Olivia raised her brow as if to say 'Did you really just ask me that?', and Mia shrugged back as if to say, 'What? It's what the question is asking.'
No words were exchanged, and yet, I somehow knew what they were saying.
"Girls, you have five seconds left to answ—"
"Mia Stonewall."
Mia's face abruptly changed at the answer, but before she could say anything, she was cut off by Olivia who looked around nonchalantly.
"Uh? That's my—"
"Next question."
"Eh, n—"
Buzz—!
"What? Wai—"
Buzz—!
"F...fine."
With a visible clench of her teeth, Mia threw the first card away, and began reading the second,
"Tell me something funny."
"Oh, oof, there's many."
"Quick! We don't have time!"
"Then... the time when 'I', Mia, went to the barber and asked him what he did for a living because I couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and wanted to make small talk."
"Olivia!"
Mia smacked the side of the sofa as her face flushed.
"Why are you—"
Buzz—!
"I..."
Despite wanting to protest and not continue, Mia could only clench her teeth harder and read the next question.
"An embarrassing story about yourself..."
"Oh, this is kind of fun."
"Quick!"
"When 'I' said thank you to the vending machine after 'I' got 'my' drink. 'I' still remember the faces of the people waiting in line behind me."
"Akh!"
Buzz—!
If I could describe Mia's current expression with one word, it'd be 'terrifying'.
"Something that made you laugh a lot..."
"Remember the time when you told us not to read 'The Girls by the Piers?' That horror book you said was too evil for any of us to read, and ended up throwing it in the Sun River, saying that the book was going to curse us all?"
"Yes...? Why are you bringing that up?"
"I grabbed another copy of the book the next day, drenched it in water, and left it by your bed. That was the first time I ever saw you pass out."
"Wait!"
Mia abruptly stood up from her seat.
"So that was you?!"
Buzz—!
"No! I'm not ha—"
Buzz—!
"H—"
Buzz—!
"Fine."
Buzz—!
"..."
Buzz—!
Mia glared at the clock, and extended both arms as if to say, 'I didn't even speak!'
Buzz—!
"...!"
As I stared at the spectacle that was unfolding right before my very eyes, I couldn't help but glance at my sides where the producers and writers were.
It was a sight that left me at a loss for words.
Clutching their stomachs, several of them glanced downward, their faces turning red as their shoulders trembled.
Even the cameramen were having a hard time as some of the cameras started to wobble.
I noticed a few writers exchanging glances, their eyes reflecting a certain gleam, as they directed their attention toward Olivia and Mia. It was as if they were looking at some treasures.
"Next question please."
Oblivious to what was happening around them, Olivia urged Mia to continue. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the situation as she sat up straight and placed both her hands on her thighs.
"Come, we don't have all day. Shoot. Fire. I'm ready. Take your best shot."
"You..."
"Quick!"
"F,fine... Oh? Finally, a normal question."
Mia's expression finally eased, and a smile graced her lips. Olivia frowned at the sight.
"What if when you go to sleep your brain downloads tomorrow's episode of your life?"
So a philosophical question?
I sighed in relief when I heard the question. Finally, one that Olivia couldn't exploit.
"That's not possible."
"Eh, why?"
"My brain isn't capable of doing that."
I spoke too soon.
"...Uh?"
Buzz—!
"Wait a sec—"
Buzz—!
"No!! I hate this g—"
Buzz—!
Mia looked around her helplessly, settling her gaze over to Sarah, Joana, and Lyla with a hopeful look. Sadly, none of the girls even cared to look back at her as they feigned ignorance.
In the end, Mia's gaze settled on me.
"Manager! Help me!"
And I suddenly found myself at the center of attention as the cameras turned to point in my direction. For some reason, the clock didn't buzz meaning that it was being allowed.
Great.
"Help me!"
"What is it...?"
"Tell her to stop."
"Manager, don't interfere. You should understand exactly why we're doing this."
"You shut up!"
Mia's head flicked my way as she fiercely glared in my direction.
"Manager, you better help me or I'll reveal to everyone your dark secret."
My hair stood on end.
"Wait... Mia. Let's be calm about this."
"No! I'm not having any of this!"
"Wait. Wait."
I pushed my hands down to motion her to calm down.
"C-calm down. We can settle this peacefully. You're not in your right state of mind at the moment."
"I'm calm. I'm so very calm! Now, help me!"
"I... I don't know if I can interfere."
The rules said I couldn't, so...
Mia crossed her arms and sat back.
"Uh? Is that so...? Do you really think I won't tell everyone about how you practice your smile in the mirror every day and say, 'I've got the most beautiful smile in the world' over and over again... Ah!"
Mia covered her mouth, but it was a little too late for that.
"..."
My face suddenly felt hot. Not only were the other groups staring at me, but even the staff beside me were looking at me.
"Pftt."
Joana couldn't contain herself any longer and burst into laughter, breaking the silence. Her laughter triggered a chain reaction, causing more people to join in fits of laughter.
The only one that didn't laugh was Mia who averted her gaze away from me.
"Ah, manager... So, like—"
"Olivia."
My voice came out rather flat.
"Yes, manager?"
"...Destroy her."
"You've got it."
The fits of laughter became even louder.
.
.
.
"I,if you had to c,compare me to an animal, w,what would that be?"
"A rat."
Olivia suddenly liked her lips, and as if that wasn't enough, she continued.
"Like a dirty, nasty, hairy ra—"
"That's enough!"
Mia abruptly stood up and she threw the cards in the air.
"I can't take this anym—"
Buzz—!
"And that marks the end of the round. Thank you very much both of you."
Even Dyrk struggled to contain his laughter as he stood up to mediate between the two of them.
"Now, now. This is all fun and games. There's no need to take this so seriously, and it's not like it's over."
He passed a set of cards to Olivia.
"Uh?"
"It's now your turn to ask the questions."
Both Olivia and Mia blinked, and then Mia's face blossomed into a smile as she took her seat.
"Is that so...?"
She twiddled her hair, putting on a nonchalant air.
"Well, if we must..."