Magic Trick

A HOLOGRAM WITH CHANGING NUMBERS APPEARED FROM THE BOX. 

So far, I can see numbers one to six. What does this mean?

"On my signal, the hologram will present your team a number that will be your new cluster," said Jager Borg. "Here we go. In three, two, one!"

The numbers stopped moving and for Queens, it gave us…

"One," I read ours. Then I stared at Haru's.

One also appeared in theirs.

I looked at Fei and held his hand. "I knew it… We're in the same cluster. There's a big chance we have to fight each other."

Fei sighed and held my hand gentler. "Don't worry. If it comes to that, just follow your heart. It will tell you what to do."

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I don't wanna hurt you!" I insisted.

"Look, Tiberion got One as well," Ellis pointed to the other table.

"Taki and Taka got One, too," Jia whispered. 

I looked at Rakisha and she doesn't give a damn about what's happening. Chikelu, on the other hand, was holding the box, which had a hologram that said Three.

"I don't wanna fight you, guys," I honestly confessed.

"I told you. You don't need to worry. We'll be okay, Trick," Fei insisted.

"I think I'm gonna concede if I really need to fight you, guys," Ellis said. That was wise, actually. "But if I'm gonna be against Haru, it's on, bitch." And wisdom expired right at that moment.

Haru's face twitched. "You really think you have what it takes to beat me?" 

Ellis giggled. "Oh, you have no idea, baby. I'm gonna beat you real hard, and instead of saying stop, you'll say harder." 

"Stop being a tramp. It's not the time for it," I murmured to Ellis.

"Oh, I didn't know being a hoe had a schedule," Ellis scoffed.

Jager continued speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, you got your new clusters. May I call on all who got Number One? Will you please stand?"

All of us on the table stood. The Filipinos and the Merizem representatives stood as well. 

"Number One, we have Manhattan, Queens, Manila, and Merizem," Jager read what's on the screen. "Up next, number two?"

The teams per cluster were: 

Number 2: Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, and Saskatchewan. 

 Number 3: Tirana, Kathmandu, Berlin, and New Orleans.

 Number 4: Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Jakarta, and Edinburgh.

 Number 5: Amsterdam, Auckland, Bangkok, and Dublin.

 Number 6: Marseilles, St. Petersburg, Seoul, and Stockholm.

"Oh, gosh, the Campbells are in the same cluster again as the bitches from Dublin," I noticed.

"Salvatore is also with the Oliveira brothers," Ellis said sadly, then Haru grunted. 

"But there's something odd about Cluster six, though," Jia said.

"You're right," Fei said to Jia. "I think we're okay together. Our cluster is great."

"What do you mean, Fei?" I asked.

"If they were against each other, why were they in the same cluster? Do you think the Borgs, the Hyeons, the Saint-Pierres, and the Sovietskayas will have to kill each other this early, at this point of the competition? Definitely not. There's a big reason they're all in the same cluster," Fei explained. "And somehow, to our advantage, we're okay, as we're in the same cluster together, so please, please, pretty please, don't worry, Trick. We're okay."

That magic of keeping me sane and feeling okay by Fei was the best magic he had. He's so logical, that it kept me reassured. Somehow, my doubts flew away. 

Jager explained the process of the next level. "Now, the competition gets tighter and tighter, as we now proceed to Level 3. Level 3 is the cluster versus cluster round. For the entire month, we will be determining the Top 12 teams who will proceed to Level 4. Every week, three clusters will fight for their lives. Two clusters will fight on a single day, which means there will be three fights. Of course, whichever team will have the most number of fights won will advance to the next level. That means, you have to win at least two and the cluster match is over. I understand that some of the teams here have only two members. All you have to do is pick one between the two of you to fight for the remaining candidate of the other team. You're lucky if you're against two as well. Now, in the event that there will be a tie, there will be a sudden death round within the same day to determine the winner. We're not moving on to the next battle until someone emerges as the champion of the day's bout. So far, do you have any questions? This is now the time to express yourself before I move on to the next point."

Everyone remained silent. I believe it's explained clearly by Jager Borg.

Jang-mi then replied. "Everything is clear, Mr. Borg." 

"I see. If that's the case, I will now be announcing the first match to be held at the Orkatta Dome two days from now. Are you ready?" asked Jager.

"The first battle is between…"

Jager Borg then referred to the big screen that showed all the teams' faces. It was interesting, because we never had those photoshoots or anything, but they all have our photos. I think the CCTV cameras and the AI of the Russians have something to do with it. 

I stared at all of the people in this function hall. All of them looked really serious. Until…

Two emojis appeared in both boxes on the screen. The one on the left had his tongue out and the other one was laughing. 

"Let's party first, everyone! The announcement of the first battle will be two days from now, so all of you must be ready. But for now, let us celebrate your success as you're all now in Level 3. Thank you very much and have a wonderful night!" Jager Borg sprightly said, and left the platform. All applauded after that.

Servers approached the tables and provided us all with sumptuous appetizers. I was already amazed by that, until after some minutes, the entrée arrived. The banquet was interesting, but what's more interesting was the after-dinner get-together. 

All of the teams were in the garden front of the hotel and chillin' with some alcohol, or digestif as they call it. Ellis and I just had some wine. 

Of course, as expected of Ellis, he's like a tiger on the prowl of men. His eyes were all over the crowd, until Haru stood in front of him.

"What are you looking for?" Haru asked.

"Dessert?" Ellis answered.

Haru's left eyebrow raised. "Didn't we have crème brulee earlier?" 

"Oh, I think I want something stickier than that," Ellis said, and looked at me, and laughed. I laughed as well. Perhaps, the alcohol is taking over me.

"You're looking for the Oliveiras, aren't you? Or the Campbells?" Haru asked.

"Take your pick," Ellis nonchalantly uttered.

"Hey, Haru!" A familiar voice said, as she moved closer to us.

"Fenna," Haru cleared his throat. "how are you?"

"I'm doing okay. Can I talk to you for a minute? Let's catch up," Fenna aggressively said. Haru then looked at Ellis, but Ellis just kept drinking his wine.

"Take your pick," Ellis said.

"Yeah, sure, Fenna," Haru said while he's still looking at Ellis. "How about we talk over there?"

"Let's go!" Fenna joyously reacted.

I saw Ellis's eyes squinted, and they followed where Haru and Fenna went. "Oh, so, he's made his move. My turn. I'll make sure I'm gonna crash his castle with my little soldiers."

"Are you trying to do some chess analogy? I think there's something wrong about it," I said.

"I never said I was good in sports," Ellis then emptied his glass and got another one from the server who passed by. I had enough, though and returned my glass on the tray. 

"Hi, guys!" Jia went over our area and brought out a fancy chocolate guy, who was really stunning. "Please meet Dakarai Karam, my boyfriend. Dakarai, here are my good friends, Ellis and Trick, and you know Fei, of course."

"Where on Earth can I find an ebony emperor like you? I love your skin, honey," Ellis extended his arm and shook Dakarai's hand. "Ellis Sanz."

"Trick Sylvanie," I introduced myself and had a handshake with him. Fei waved his hand to him and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, all, guys. I hope you are enjoying the night," Dakarai said. "because after tonight, it will be really serious."

"How serious?" I asked, then stared at Fei, as if I didn't know anything about the tea.

"Dead serious, like literally, blood will spill in that dome, for sure… And you know all about it, yeah?" Dakarai winked.

Ellis hit my arm. "Bitch! What did you find out?" 

"Dakarai here is like a human lie detector, so…" Jia giggled.

"I'll tell you later," I whispered to Ellis.

"Right now, I want you all to get to know the people. You know, form some allies. I know you have friends already, but it won't hurt to extend your circle a little more. They will be very helpful in your journey here. There are some good eggs here, though, like the Kuala Lumpur team, the Saskatchewan team, and let me introduce you to… Hey, Beam! Ploy! Ton! Come here for a second," Dakarai called the people who were near to us. 

"This is Channarong Chaisongkhram a.k.a. Beam, Songsuda Suwannarat a.k.a. Ploy and Phassakorn Watthana a.k.a. Ton. They're from Bangkok," Dakarai introduced.

"[Sawadee khrap]," greeted Beam.

"Nice to meet you, Manhattan and Queens," said Ploy.

"What's up, guys?" asked Ton.

"Aww, they're so kind and gentle," Ellis reacted.

"But not in battles," Beam winked.

Ellis's mouth opened in shock. Fei, Jia, and Dakarai just chuckled. I, on the other hand, detected his slut mode has been activated. 

"Interesting. Tell me more about it," Ellis then put his hand on Beam's shoulder, and stared at Haru who was also looking at him while talking to Fenna from the other side of the garden.

Oh, gosh. This is gonna be a long night.