The Reality Engine Ch. 07

Scott had a chance to look the two girls over, and he was impressed. Elizabeth was probably a hair over five feet tall, and she had round facial features and short, brown hair that she wore in a bob. She had a slightly square nose, and a gentle smile with kind, soulful eyes. Jessica could have been Elizabeth's sister, as she had the same round facial features as her best friend. Jessica had brown skin, but Scott couldn't tell her ancestry off-hand. She also had black hair, which she wore in a bob just like her friend. Jessica was slightly shorter than Elizabeth, and also had a more slender figure compared to her friend's more filled out one. Jessica wore a small diamond stud on the right side of her nose, and when she smiled, her beautiful, pearly white teeth seemed to fill up her entire face. Both girls were easy on the eyes and lovely, and they both had a motherly tenderness to them. As if they would listen to all your troubles, and could see into your soul, and knew that, whatever wrongs you'd committed, you were still a decent person and that they still cared.

"No, I was feeling fine," Scott replied. "I'm just not that into loud parties."

"A country mouse, huh?" Jessica asked. "Yeah, me too. Elizabeth likes loud parties more than I do, so I go with her when she wants to go, but I'd rather spend a day out on the lake fishing and drinking a few beers."

"It's not for everyone," Elizabeth said, smiling and giggling.

"I had a lot of fun, and if Adol ever invited me to another, I'd absolutely go," Scott added.

"It's just not your comfort zone, yeah, I understand that," Elizabeth said.

"Do you girls know that Scott here is Dr. Karlov's latest research assistant?" Adol asked.

"Oh, really?" Jessica asked. "What happened to the last one, what was his name?"

"I think it was Trevor," Elizabeth said. "He was such a nice guy, and cute too."

"He got a job at Lockheed Martin in California," Scott said. "I replaced him 10 days ago after he moved on."

"Too bad," Jessica said. "The handwriting was on the wall, so I can't say I'm surprised."

"What do you mean by the handwriting was on the wall?" Scott asked.

Jessica looked at Elizabeth, and at Adol. Written all over her face was a silent question that she dared not ask out loud.

"It's okay, Jessica," Adol said. "Take Scott's question at face value, no hidden agendas here."

"Well, the thing is, Trevor hated working for Dr. Karlov," Jessica said. "He hated everything about it, the straight-jacket nature of the work, the obscene 6 AM wake-up call, the long hours, the below average pay, living in a dorm, eating dining commons food, not having anyone around who was his own age, all of it. Trevor was a 25-year old with a master's degree, you understand, and he told us, more than once, that he hated living with children. Also, we're a four hour drive from the twin cities and there's little nightlife out here, and what nightlife there is caters to college students. He hated that. At his graduate University town, there were theaters and operas and museums and all kinds of cultural events. He missed that, sorely. I get where he was coming from, here in Frostbite Falls, the town hall, movie theater, and bowling alley are all in the same building."

"We don't want to sound like he was throwing Dr. Karlov under the bus," Elizabeth said. "Trevor didn't like Dr. Karlov, at all, but I don't think it was ever personal between them. He understood Dr. Karlov had a tough job too, but he wished his boss was more reasonable with how the work was done. He also would have appreciated market value wages. The last time we talked to him was, when? Two weeks ago at the charity football game?"

"Yeah, I think so," Jessica replied. "I thought, at the time, that his job had turned a corner, since he was all smiles and seemed really happy."

"He'd probably already committed to working at Lockheed by that point," Scott said. "His good mood was probably mostly due to the fact that he was headed for sunny, Southern California."

"If you're smart enough that a company like Lockheed Martin will hire you, and pay you to live in paradise, why would anyone say no?" Jessica asked. "He's probably slaying pussy by now. A guy with a job at a great company like that can pretty much get bitches to spread their legs for him just by mentioning who he works for and how much he's making."

"Which is the exact subject I wanted to discuss with you two," Adol said. "My friend Scott here and I have been discussing this matter, and he doesn't think professional status is enough to get girls. He struggles with women, and he's searching for answers."

"Wait, what?" Elizabeth asked.

"Trevor never struggled," Jessica said. "He was living in the dorms for the 3 weeks he was on the job. The dorms at the University of Frostbite Falls are more than 80% female, and the campus is over 60% female. With numbers like that, a guy doesn't have to put in any work at all. Desperate bitches will figure out who the top catch is, and will literally drop their panties of their own accord in the course of casual conversation. Trevor told me he would sometimes just say hello to a girl, and she would take her clothes off, and beg him to bang her, with no additional effort required on his part."

"I've never heard of anything like that happening," Scott said. "Are you sure he wasn't exaggerating?"

"I asked him the same thing," Jessica said. "I thought he was making it up, but he was insistent that it actually happened. I can understand your doubts, I've never heard of it happening to anyone else either."

"Which dorm was he living in?" Scott asked.

"He was living on the fourth floor of Death Valley Dotty Residence Hall," Elizabeth said. "I can't for the life of me remember what room he was in though."

"I'm living in Maybe Dick Residence Hall, which is on the other side of the Limberger Lily dining commons from Death Valley Dotty Residence Hall," Scott said. "I wonder why we were assigned rooms on two different floors in two different dorms when I was his direct successor? I could probably figure out which dorm room was his just by going to the fourth floor of Death Valley Dotty Hall, and finding out which room is currently unoccupied."

"That does seem wasteful," Elizabeth said, as she smiled and giggled.

"Yeah, if Dr. Karlov's assistants never have the job at the same time, why not just move a new assistant into the same dorm the old assistant used to occupy?" Jessica asked.

"Perhaps Death Valley Dotty Hall is the one where girls drop their panties every time they see a guy, and Maybe Dick Hall is the one where they never do," Scott speculated. "In that case, it could be that I just drew the short straw."

"Oh, come on, don't say that," Jessica said, as she smiled and giggled. "Your luck will turn around, don't give up hope."

"So, then, let's put it to the test," Adol said. "Can I ask you two lovely ladies to help me?"

"Sure, Adol, what do you want us to do?" Elizabeth asked.

"First of all, will you ladies remove Scott's clothing for him?" Adol asked. "Then, will you two ladies remove your own clothing and show Scott some appreciation?"

Elizabeth and Jessica exchanged a look, smiled at each other, and giggled.

"No, I don't think I will," Jessica said. "It's okay with me if you want to, Lizzy."

"No, I'll pass too," Elizabeth said. "Scott seems like a nice guy, but we just all met each other, and I'm not going to get naked for a stranger, sorry."

"You two ladies are both extremely lovely," Scott said. "Beggars can't be choosers, but millionaires, in the game of love, like you two ladies are, can be. It was really nice to meet you today."

"Okay, I need to ask something," Adol said, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "Why the hell did you just deny Scott?"

"Huh?" Jessica asked. "I thought it was obvious, we don't feel comfortable stripping to our birthday suits for someone we just met. It's nothing personal."

Adol pondered what to say next, and he decided that his initial reaction had been too forward. He decided to be more measured.

"Okay, that's fine then," Adol said, feigning a smile. "Never hurts to ask, right?"

"Right," Elizabeth said. "That's the secret to life, you can't accomplish anything if you don't ask. Always ask. If you ask enough girls, some are going to say yes, eventually."

Adol caught a change in vocal inflection from Elizabeth that suggested she thought Scott could ask every girl on earth, and none would ever say yes, but that she was lying in order to be positive and encouraging. Scott missed this change in tone of voice, and he didn't perceive anything unusual about the interaction.

"I do hope you're not sour about it," Jessica said. "Sometimes, people are just not meant to be romantically involved, and that's all there is to it."

"Of course," Scott said. "To each, his or her own."

"Exactly," Elizabeth said, giggling. "I'm sure a nice guy like you will see his luck change in no time flat."

Adol had to use every ounce of self-control he had to not yell at the two girls just then. The way Elizabeth had said it, it was clear to Adol's more attuned senses that she was making fun of Scott. No for an answer was unexpected, but acceptable, making fun of others was not. Scott had completely missed the sarcasm in Elizabeth's voice, and Adol was furious.

"Well, anyway," Jessica said, as she and Elizabeth rose from their seats. "There's a great party going on downstairs, you two boys should come back and join us when you're ready to."

Elizabeth and Jessica left the room, and Adol and Scott were alone. Adol glanced over at Scott, and saw a goofy grin on his face, he was smitten by the two lovely young ladies.

"The nerve of them," Adol said, as soon as he and Scott were alone.

"Yeah," Scott said, not really listening. "They sure are pretty, aren't they?"

"Not the kind of bitches you want to be chasing after, bro," Adol informed Scott. "I thought for sure they'd strip naked for you on the spot."

"What made you think that?" Scott asked.

"Those are two of the sluttiest sluts around," Adol said. "The good girl make-up and outfit and routine are just that, practiced and rehearsed. Don't get me wrong, they are both decent girls, when you boil it all down, but the reason they get invited to every party is that they'll fuck whoever, whenever."

"They don't seem nearly that bad," Scott remarked.

"I've seen them strip naked in a room full of guys and take 10 dicks at a single go before they came up to take count," Adol said. "Last year, at slip-and-slide weekend, they spent the whole weekend naked and fucking. I would walk downstairs at 8 AM, and see one guy dicking their pussy and another guy doing their ass over breakfast. They are tremendously easy, and I've never known them to say no to any guy. Sorry about the implications, but I felt you were owed the truth."

"If you knew that, why did you invite them up here?" Scott asked.

"To give you a confidence boost," Adol said. "I figured getting them both naked for you was a layup, I've never known them to say no before."

"Well, that is the way of things, I suppose," Scott said. "I appreciate you trying to help, I really do."

"A year and a half ago, at a party, I saw them fucking around with two drug dealers," Adol said. "Both guys were broke and had been in and out of jail a few times, real losers. No other girl would talk to them, but they scored with Elizabeth and Jessica that night. They know your position, know you work for Dr. Karlov, and due to their experience with Trevor, they know you've got money and a real future. How did two dead-beat drug dealers get lucky, but you didn't?"

"Sounds easy to me," Scott said. "The two drug dealers offered them drugs."

"Except both guys were broke at the time," Adol said. "One of the two guys had gotten out of jail three days before the party, and the other had gotten out a month before. Neither one had any drugs yet, as they were still on parole and being closely monitored. I just don't get it."

"You're really filling me with a lot of confidence here, bro," Scott said.

"Sorry about that," Adol said, smiling. "Look, here was the lesson I was going to teach you once you got them both naked, always ask. There is no way for you to know how things are going to go without asking. Things may look totally on the up, and you ask, and you get shot down. Things may look like a no-go, but you ask, and you get a yes. Always ask. As a man, the unfortunate reality is that we are the gender that must pursue, and we are the gender that must make the ask. Always ask, be thankful when the answer is yes, and be gracious when the answer is no, but always ask."

"Thank you for the advice, I will take it to heart," Scott said, and, at that moment, something occurred to him.

"What is it?" Adol asked, when he noticed the far-away look on his friend's face.

"Nothing," Scott said. "Something just crossed my mind, but it's not important. Want to go back down to the party and meet up with Richard?"

"Sure," Adol said.

Soon enough, Scott, Adol, and Richard left the party and returned to campus. Adol did Scott the courtesy of dropping him off at Mojave Max Hall. Scott had an appointment to help Steve get ready for his date with Kloe.

"Hey, my man," Steve said, as Scott walked into Steve's dorm room. Henry was already present, helping his roommate get dressed.

"You look good," Scott said, noticing that Steve wore dress pants, and dress shoes, and a nice cardigan sweater, on top of a black t-shirt. "Best not to keep the lady waiting. What have you got planned for tonight?"

"I thought mini golf, dinner at Rosario's, and a stage show at the theater," Steve said.

"I wasn't aware there was a theater in town," Scott said.

"Student theater, here on campus at Frostbite Falls University," Steve said. "They're doing Pinocchio, at least, I think that's what it is."

"Better make sure," Scott said.

"Yeah," Steve said. "I know this is just for her Facebook, but I'm so nervous."

"Don't be," Scott said. "Kloe is a nice girl, and the two of you will have a great time. Rosario's is a nice touch. It's the priciest restaurant in town, and pictures of a date there will look great on Facebook."

"You think so?" Steve asked. "I thought maybe it was a bit too much."

"Nonsense," Scott said. "This is about saving face, remember? Derrick and Kloe were small-town sweethearts who are breaking up because Derrick got a better offer once he was in a slightly larger fishpond. Nothing will help Kloe save face with her hometown friends more than pictures of a date, with her new man, at the most expensive restaurant in town."

"That's exactly why I suggested it," Henry said. "Facebook is not reality. On Facebook, the pictures people post are supposed to stoke the envy of others. From the point of view of her friends, Kloe broke up with her small-town boyfriend, and traded up for big city bucks. That's every small-town girl's secret fantasy. It's basically the Cinderella story made real."

"I'd listen to Henry, he knows what he's talking about," Scott said.

"I trust you guys," Steve said. "I only hope Kloe will like it. Are you guys going to meet with Bridget and Chad to select the girl for Calvin tonight?"

"That was the plan," Henry said. "We can postpone it until you're available to be there too, if you want."

"No, that's okay," Steve said. "I trust you guys to make the right decision, and the priority right now is to get the girl picked out as soon as possible. Ideally, we want the first date to be on Friday night, and I'd rather the date happen soon, than that I should be involved in picking the lady. Calvin might not have all the time in the world, you know? Once you've got her signed, sealed, and delivered, just send me a text to tell me, okay?"

Henry and Scott promised Steve they would, and with a hug between friends exchanged, Steve set out on his date with Kloe.

Meanwhile, in her dorm room on the second floor of Maybe Dick Hall, Kloe was getting ready for her date with Steve. Her roommate, Mary, and Tammy were the two girls helping her get dressed.

"Oh God, I'm so nervous," Kloe said.

"Don't be," Mary said. "Steve is a nice guy, and the two of you will have a great time. Just remember, you're only doing this to help him out with Alania. That's what's important."

"Unless you think he's cute," Tammy said. "It's okay if you think he's cute. I saw the picture of him you have on your phone, and I think he's kind of cute."

"Alania told me that she caught you sucking his cock last night," Mary said, giggling. "If he has a cute weenie, that's well worth dating a guy for. Heaven only knows, I'd dated guys who had less going for them."

"Just first date jitters, is all," Kloe said, with a smile. "It doesn't matter how much of a justification we both have for going out on this date. The fact remains that a date is a date, and a first date is always nerve-racking."

"You need to pull out all the stops, and plaster photos all over your Facebook," Mary said. "That jerk ex-boyfriend of yours is already way ahead of the game. Did you see his Facebook this morning? Absolutely disgusting. He broke up with you, and then, he was out dancing with 3 other girls less than 12 hours later. Have some restraint. Could he at least pretend he wasn't cheating on you at the end?"

"Easy for you to say, since you have a boyfriend," Tammy replied. "I don't, and while Derrick is a douchebag, he's a cute, hotter than hell douchebag. I'd let him bonk me, but I'd hate myself the entire time he was doing it."

"That's why we had to break up," Kloe said. "Now that he's got options, I'm not good enough for him anymore. Heaven only knows how many girls he's stuffing his cock into tonight while I go out on a date with Steve."

"Why not just unfriend him on Facebook, so you don't have to look at the pictures?" Tammy suggested.

"That's not possible," Kloe said. "Mostly because everyone else in my life, including both of you, will look at those pictures every morning and ask me about them. Don't absolve yourselves of sin, sisters, you both think he's a douchebag, but you're both going to wake up every morning to look at the pictures."

Tammy and Mary exchanged a look.

"Well, I mean, about the pictures, they popped up in my feed this morning, and I couldn't look away, no matter how much I wanted to," Mary said.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to give up looking at the pictures," Kloe said, with a laugh. "I get it, and no matter how hurt I am that he scorned me, I still want to see the pictures. Did you see that photo where he's lifting that tight, spindly blonde up in the air on the dance floor, and you can see her thong? Absolutely disgraceful, but also, absolutely fucking hot."

"Yeah," Mary said, as she sighed. "Who is that spindly blonde? She's sure a looker."

"Hell if I know," Kloe said. "Maybe someone he lives next to over in Death Valley Dotty Residence Hall?"

"Probably," Tammy said. "If he'd lived over on the guy's wing of our floor here, maybe you could have kept watch on him, and held onto him a little longer."

"Would have only delayed the inevitable," Kloe said, as she snapped her shoes onto her feet and finished dressing. "How do I look?"

"Perfect," Mary said. "Where are you meeting Steve?"

"He said he'd come pick me up in the lobby of Maybe Dick Hall," Kloe said, as she glanced at her cell phone, and saw there was a message from Steve. "Perfect timing, he says he's leaving Mojave Max Hall right now, and that he'll be there in five minutes."

"Why is he picking you up in the lobby?" Mary asked. "Why not come up to your room?"

"In order to come up to this room," Tammy replied. "He'd have to walk past Alania's room, and I don't think he has enough courage to do that just yet."