The Propaganda Club Ch. 01

Note: Slow.

The wheels on Jillian's suitcase rumbled along the wood of the jetty with periodic thuds, one each time they passed over the tiny little gaps between each plank. A man at the end of the jetty greeted her with a smile, and an outstretched palm, reaching slightly across her path and down towards her luggage. His skin was lightly tanned from the sun, and his hair had been so carefully styled that despite the light sea breeze, not a single hair seemed to blow out of place as he stood there.

'I'll take that off your hands for you,' he said. He had a small trolley beside him, small but capacious enough for her luggage and the bags and suitcases of the few others who were coming up behind her, whom she hadn't yet spoken to at all.

Jillian looked towards the beachfront house to her right. 'We're barely a minute's walk away,' she said, 'I can just take it myself.'

The man's smile didn't fade, or budge at all, as he repeated himself. 'Nonetheless,' he said, 'I'll take that off your hands for you. It's my job. We will deliver your luggage to your rooms with an introductory package, to help you all get settled in.'

The woman behind her, whose name she didn't know yet, eagerly passed her bags over to this concierge, or so he seemed, although Jillian hadn't previously been under the impression that she'd be staying at a place with that much luxury that they'd have people around to insist on this level of hospitality. They were already getting paid for participating in the study, and despite the thing being organised through people who sounded a lot like they had some money - some institute for public relations - she had no idea where they'd got this much spare cash from.

'Oh!' the woman behind her exclaimed, as she heaved the suitcase up off the ground, before the man took it himself and set it in the trolley. Then he took Jillian's, and two more after that, before he set his hands on the handlebars and smiled to them again, before he stretched his hand out, using his whole palm to point, looking almost as if striking the air as he did so, over at the beach.

'Now,' he said, 'you can see a little path up the sand dunes over there. They've already come out to meet you. There, they're coming down right now - do you see? Good, they'll show you around the place, tell you a bit about expectations, and rules, how things work, that sort of thing, and then they'll show you to your rooms. And when you get there your luggage will be waiting for you.'

'Thank you,' the four girls said - at least, Jillian assumed that the word girls was more appropriate, since they all looked around her age, although, for that matter, she didn't know how old any of the others were yet, either - and with that, he gave them one last smile and a nod of his head, and he was off. They walked after him for a while, before he made a turn away from where they were supposed to be headed, and when for a moment they stopped to see whether they should go his way or keep going the way he'd told them, he looked over his shoulder, back at them, and waved his hand, pointing with his whole hand again, towards the other side of the beach, where they could now see, as they turned, two posts marking the path up through the sand dunes, and leaning on one of them, a barefooted woman in an office shirt slightly unbuttoned and worn as loosely as her bun, out of which stray brown hairs fell and blew lightly around her face. The woman raised a hand to wave at them, with a little twinkle of her fingers as she did. They walked over.

'Glad you're all here,' she said, with a smile on her face that crinkled her eyes. 'What do you think of the scenery so far?'

'It's so pretty,' the girl next to Jillian said, a slightly babyfaced girl. There were nods and echoes of agreement all around.

'Good, I'm glad you like it,' said the woman, getting up from her leaning position on the wooden post. 'When it's still enough, which it might be today, now that I think of it, you can spot quite a variety of fish swimming around in the water, if you're patient enough.' She clasped her hands together and suddenly stood herself straight up, as if snapping to attention, her previously loose demeanour turning into a surprisingly polished posture. And as she did so, a stray breeze cast her hair back from her face, and Jillian noticed her irises were two different colours: one icy blue, and one a lush green, and for just a second she was struck by how uniquely beautiful it made this woman.

'So!' she said. 'I think we can skip the handshakes, since you all know why you're here. My name's Hailey, and I'm what you might call the director here, although I'd really prefer it if you didn't - Hailey works just fine. In a moment, I'll introduce you to all you need to know for your stay here, and I'll give you a little tour around, but first, I thought we might as well get you all introduced to each other. Now that you're all here, and ready to begin your participation proper, let's get you learning each other's names, shall we?' She pointed at the babyfaced girl standing next to Jillian. 'How about you? Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself - just your name, and where you're from, and then tell us one positive thing about one of the other girls.'

'Ok,' said the girl, slowly. 'Well, my name's Jenny, I'm from Korea, and ... I really like your freckles,' she said, with a little bit of nervous laughter.

'Oh, thank you,' said Hailey, the sparse freckles bunching up as she smiled back at her. 'But the goal here was really to hear something nice about another one of these three lovely ladies you came with, not me. Trust me, my ego is way too big already.'

'Well,' said Jenny, again in thought for a moment, 'I like your figure,' she said to Jillian.

'Thank you,' said Jillian. She didn't know what else to say.

Hailey gestured to Jillian next.

'Hi, my name's Jillian,' she said. 'I'm from China - well, not really, I mean, technically, but I've been here so long that - '

'Just "China" is fine,' said Hailey, waving her hand. The others laughed a bit.

'Right,' said Jillian, with an abashed smile. 'I'm from China. And ... to be honest, it's hard to say anything much when I haven't been able to really talk to anyone, but I really like your outfit,' she said to the tallest of the four of them, who had her black hair dyed with bright red streaks, and had the kind of hourglass figure that inspired envy in women everywhere, and was wearing very tight jeans and a top that just so slightly bared a hint of her belly - not exactly iconic, but she had to say something.

'You're next, then,' Hailey said to her.

'Okay,' she said. 'I'm Erica - oh, and thank you, by the way - I'm Erica, and I'm just from here, so nothing really interesting to say there, and I also think it's pretty hard to -'

'Where are your parents from?' Hailey interjected.

'China and Vietnam.'

'China and Vietnam,' Hailey repeated with a smile. 'Sorry, please continue.'

'Uh - I don't know, I think you all seem like nice people. I don't know.'

Last was the shortest among them, a very small girl, who looked nearly waifish, but whose figure belied a lot of fitness underneath her slender and delicate appearance. 'I'm Aiko,' she said, 'and I only left Japan for study two years ago. I couldn't think of anything bad to say about anyone. Everyone is great.'

Jillian guessed she'd meant to say something slightly more eloquent, but she smiled politely at the intention.

'Great. Well, now that we all know each other, shall we move on?' said Hailey. With that, she turned and started the walk up the simple wooden steps through the sand dunes.

They followed after her, and walked on to a large grassy field which expanded out towards the west, with a view to the sea on the other side of the island, and hills dotted with trees and a smattering of flowers in bloom. Near them, though, the field was dominated by the presence of the enormous mansion in the opulent embodiment of neoclassicism, its very presence radiating style.

The mansion had at least three floors from what she could tell, and was vastly larger than any other house she'd ever seen. Just to get to the door, they had to pass through enormous Ionic-style columns, with small gardens framing the stairs up to the entrance, carefully cultivated ivy spiralling up the pillars, with ferns growing out in spirals from the base, as if reflecting the top of the pillars. Hailey pushed the doors open far more easily than their size would've suggested, and they went in.

Hailey's bare feet made soft sounds on what appeared to be marble, chequered like a chessboard, as she padded through to the centre of the floor. There was a large, regal staircase, and on each side of the staircase were two statues, a man on the right and a woman on the left, both almost mirroring each other, with one hand raised up above their heads and the other pointing down to the floor. The hair of the woman covered half her face, and one of her breasts and one of her thighs were bared by the garment she wore. There was an inscription on the statues, only part of which Jillian could make out from where she stood: '... TO HATHAWAY HOUSE ON...'

Hailey stood in front of the statue of the woman, and turned to face them again. She tucked her hair behind her ear, before she spoke. 'Okay. So, here's where you'll be staying for the next four weeks. Through here -' and she led them through to another room where there was a large table, where a group of men were eating, their hair still damp from a swim, Jillian guessed, ' - we've got the main dining room. And these fine specimens you can get to know later, but as I'm sure you don't need me to explain, this is where people will normally gather to eat. Unless otherwise specified, by the way, it is compulsory to come here for your main meals. Sticking to your room and being asocial is a big no-no.'

The men waved and said brief 'hi's to the girls, before they moved on, following Hailey down a corridor along the side of the mansion with one side of it a long window which overlooked another large garden below them.

'This way is the main living room, which will be the main social area, at least inside the house, anyway.' She gave a small wave to an olive-skinned girl lounging on the couch in short shorts and a tank top with headphones on, who waved back to Hailey and the new girls. In her hands she had what looked like a magazine. Jillian could see what looked like a pale-skinned Asian woman's face on it, probably Chinese, with bleached blonde hair.

Hailey showed them the rest of the essential places to know, and they ended back in the foyer, where they'd started. The mansion was so expansive and so architecturally demanding it was hard to believe that this was just a house all alone on an island. It was a giant, almost circular structure, with four entrances symmetrically placed around it, and these unusual details made it feel, at least to Jillian, less like a house being borrowed for a research project and more like a disguise for a neo-pagan temple, as ridiculous as that idea sounded.

She clapped her hands together. 'So,' she said, 'that's the place. Now, I'm sure you've read the contracts you've signed, but from here on out, not a word of the experiment is to be disclosed to anyone - and I'd like to remind you that this applies not only to telling people about the experiment when you go back home, but also to disclosing specific personal details to each other, for the purposes of experimental integrity. Don't worry too much about that, since we'll make sure that we let you know as you go which things you aren't allowed to communicate to another participant.'

'Are we allowed to know the purpose of the experiment now?' asked Erica. 'Since we're on the island now, and we're kind of committed at this point.'

'No,' said Hailey. 'And that falls into the category of discussions we'd like you to nip in the bud, as a great first example. You're free to have your own thoughts on that matter, but don't share them with others. Again, experimental integrity. We've already told you all we're willing to disclose right now - that it's a psychological experiment which will be conducted over the course of your four week stay here - and that's all we'll say about it. I hope that won't be a concern at this point.' Hailey gave another smile in Erica's direction. It seemed to be almost a habit, Jillian thought.

'As for rules, I've covered the main ones, as well as the additional common sense health and safety things, and lastly, I just have to remind you once more of your last major set of obligations as a participant. As I'm - again - sure you read when you signed, we guarantee that no permanent harm, physical or otherwise, will come to you in the normal course of this experiment, and to the best of our ability we aim to avoid temporary harm, but I will remind you that you may find yourselves in situations which may make you uncomfortable, but if you do decide to ignore instructions or go against them, not only will you not be paid, but you may also be responsible for the expenses we incurred on your behalf. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure, but that's just there to prevent people from using us for a free holiday, as you probably had explained to you when you signed up.'

Hailey breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. 'Thank God that's done,' she said, placing a hand to her chest. 'I always sound so obnoxious, saying all that. Any questions?' She looked around, and seeing none, said, 'Wonderful. I'll have you shown to your rooms, then. Enjoy your stay.'

And with that she was out the door, and gone, and four women with light brown skin appeared as if out of the air in a doorway to their left, and ushered them up the stairs, and then one by one took paired off with each of them to lead them individually to their own rooms.

Jillian was taken to the third storey, and given a room with what she thought was probably one of the best views the house had to offer. Her room overlooked the small spa, the gardens, and faced the beach. The room spanned a corner, so the window had a panoramic view of about as much of the island's gorgeous scenery as she could have hoped for.

As promised, on the desk there was a small bouquet, with fruits and chocolates, and her luggage had been tidily set beside the bed. Jillian knelt down and set the suitcase down on the ground. She opened it up and started taking out her clothes and sorting them out on the bed and hanging the tops up in the wardrobe, folding her pants under them, and her underwear in the chest of drawers by the bed.

She took out her sunblock, but noticed that they'd left a substantial supply of it for her. She turned back to her suitcase to grab her swimsuit. That was strange. She'd already unpacked her clothes, and the suitcase was nearly empty, but she couldn't spot her swimsuit. But she was sure she'd packed it. There was no way she was dumb enough left it at home when she was going to an island. She rummaged through her pants and through her underwear, because maybe she'd got it mixed in with them and just hadn't noticed it, but no - it wasn't anywhere to be found.

Jillian left her room and down the long hallway, down the stairs, where there was a tall, shirtless, and quite handsome young man with a towel over his shoulder who was clearly on his way to the beach.

'Hi,' said the man with a smile, pushing his thick brown hair back from his face before extending his hand out to her. 'Tom. You look new here.'

'Jillian,' said Jillian, and smiled back at him, but he must have spotted the concern he'd interrupted still on her face.

'Is there something wrong?' he asked. 'You look like you're in a rush.'

Jillian tried to laugh off some of her tension. 'Not in a rush,' she said. 'It's just that I lost my swimsuit. Or maybe I forgot to pack it, I don't know, but I was sure I'd packed it, and now I can't find it anywhere, and I didn't want to be stuck four weeks on an island and not be able to go swimming, you know?'

Tom laughed. He had big and bright blue eyes which seemed to sparkle with vitality, especially when he laughed. 'Oh, yeah, I can see how that'd be frustrating. I'm sure they can sort something out for you though. I mean if you own a place like this you've probably got a few clothes to spare.'

'Ha. Actually, I was kind of on my way to do just that,' she said. 'I'm kind of eager to go for a swim, so maybe I'll see you down there if I'm lucky.'

'Right, yeah,' said Tom, pushing his hair back from his forehead again. 'I hope you find your swimsuit then, I'd love to see you down there.'

'Have fun,' said Jillian, as they both carried on the way they'd been going. She could have sworn she saw Tom's head turn around just after she passed him, and wondered if he'd tried to catch a look at her from behind. Well, he wasn't so bad himself.

But her swimsuit. Where had it gone? She was certain she'd packed it, more and more certain the more she thought about it, and the more she remembered the sight of her own hands taking the swimsuit out from the wardrobe and putting it right into her suitcase, as one of the very first things to go in, and the suitcase hadn't been opened at all since then. She'd closed it up with her clothes for the trip, and then it had just been sitting on the boat until she got here.

When she made it back to the ground floor, she saw the back of Hailey's loose bun and her slacks rolled up above her pale ankle, her hands clasped behind her back as she spoke to the girl they'd passed earlier, in the short shorts and tank top, now with her headphones hanging around her neck. She had a nice figure as well, Jillian noticed: she looked to be of Arab origin, or maybe she was a fair-skinned Indian; her sleek legs were almost perfectly shaped, toned and without an ounce of extra fat on them apart from just enough to give her thighs that beautiful curve.

Did they ban ugly people from this island, or something? Jillian was starting to think that she should be flattered she was brought here in the first place.

Hailey turned, her eyebrows raised, and her eyes crinkled in that already familiar way when she saw Jillian. 'Jillian,' she said, 'this is Zahra. Zahra, Jillian.'

'Hi,' said both of them, and then Jillian: 'Sorry to interrupt, but I noticed that I'm missing a swimsuit.'

'Missing, as in -' asked Hailey.

'I don't know. I swear I packed it, I mean, I'd have to be a real idiot not to pack that when I'm going to an island, but I just can't find it. It's not in my luggage, so maybe I just forgot it, but I was just wondering if you could ask to see if maybe it went missing somehow - I mean, I probably just forgot, but still - or maybe if you had something lying around I could borrow so I can still enjoy the beach while I'm here, if that's not too much trouble.'

'It's possible it went missing or got misplaced somehow. Maybe it'll turn up. Things have a way of doing that. What did it look like?'

'A one-piece, dark red, nothing really distinctive,' said Jillian.

'I'll pass it on,' said Hailey. 'In the meantime, I'll see about getting you something else you can use to swim. Don't worry, I'm sure we can sort something out.' Her tone was friendly, but also seemed somehow to terminate the conversation then and there, as she turned back to Zahra.

Jillian heard only a few words of their conversation as they walked through to another room, so she headed outside.

She spent the rest of the day seeing the enormous house and its many rooms, although, since she didn't hear back about a swimsuit that day, she couldn't go swimming. She met a few more of the group, and more and more started to suspect that they really did ban ugly people altogether from coming here. The men were all slightly older than the girls, with thick hair, almost all brown or blond, and all of them in great shape. Some slim and lean like runners, like Tom was, some clearly having spent a lot of time in the gym to build enough muscle that a lot of them looked like they could sling every one of the girls over their shoulders without breaking a sweat. The girls were all attractive themselves, with incredible figures, especially in some of the skimpier bikinis that a lot of them were wearing, and they came from a much greater variety of places - at least, Jillian had only met white men on the island so far - and she met girls from East Asia, India, Iran, and Lebanon, although her accent made Jillian confuse the Lebanese girl for French at first.