Estate

Chapter 7- Elimination Chamber

Breakfast was just as it usually was. I ignored the dagger eyes. I talked to Tasha, Greg, and we shouted down to Macy. We now had our little inside jokes, which seemed to make the others at the table jealous. No one knew we had been drunk last night, and we aimed to keep it that way. 

"Say, Chandler," Tony grabbed him by the arm, "if we all agreed to compete, would we be able to eliminate each other that way?" 

"You may compete for fun, but I do not think I will allow that." 

"What if we all agree to it?" 

"I- I'll have to think about that." Chandler looked us all over. I believed I was the only one with a face of fear. I wasn't naturally competitive. I wasn't very smart or athletic. "Do you all agree to it?" 

"No." I shouted. "I do not agree to it." 

"I think it's a good idea." Matt spoke up. "We could win faster that way. We wouldn't have to wait out the entire summer." 

"Good point." Greg smiled over at me. I couldn't tell if something had changed since last night. I couldn't read his face. There was no way to tell if he was directly threatening me or if he was trying to signal something to me. "I think we should. What did you have in mind, Tony?" 

"I was thinking about some things. We could have racing, something gross to weed out the weak-willed, or a battle of wits." 

Tasha's hand found mine on the table. I couldn't quite read the expression on her face. She was staring down at Tony the way women in politics stared at someone when they disagreed with them. It was a blank stare that could almost knock someone from their seat. She was all confidence. 

"I think if we do, it should be only ones who agree to it. The ones who don't want to compete, shouldn't have to." I had chills. She spoke with a steady voice that seemed to bounce off the walls and fill the room with a cold wind. 

"If we do it, we should all have to do it." Tony looked directly at me. 

"So, you're saying we should force everyone into one idea because you think it's good?" 

"I think we should have set this up from the beginning. It should have been the strong picking out the weak the entire time." 

"So, you're going to go into a battle of strength with Matt?" She shot back at him. Everyone was sitting still. She had a point. Tony was almost as thin as I was. Matt was used to lifting more than my bodyweight. Tony was petitioning to have himself eliminated. 

"I would compete in whatever Chandler thinks is a challenge. If I go, I go. We all should have to." 

"I will think it out." Chandler stopped them just before Tasha could say more. "I will decide if it is a good idea." 

We had been on edge for three days. I had cried on Tasha's shoulder. I had this vision of us four sitting at the dinner table like Kings and Queens. I just knew that I would be the first to be eliminated. 

She had assured me that the four of us would band together to make sure we survive. She told me that if anyone would be eliminated, it would be Tony. At least, I wouldn't be the first one to go. 

It was that third day when a small group of three came to us in the Lilac Room. Matt led a rounder girl and another ape of a man in front of us. 

"I have a deal for you." 

The four of us exchanged glances, all unsure of what was to come. 

"We are listening, but we promise you nothing." I choked out.