WWXXRLTV - Virtual Reality Television

[Katzaniel]

Jason Whitman stood nervously in front of a presentation screen which was in front of about two dozen of his superiors.

 

"Go on, Jason." The encouraging words came from his immediate boss, Mr. Redding. A week ago, Jason had pulled him aside and suggested that RLTV, or "Real Life Television", should have their own reality show. Normally the station was dedicated to home improvement, cooking, gardening, and the like, but Jason, lowly advertisement director that he was, thought that their very own reality show would be a great gimmick for hiking the ratings. In a way, it was like a weekly advertisement for the station. And now he was here to say that to more than twenty of the station's executives. He cleared his throat and began.

 

--------

 

Half an hour later, Jason was sitting at the table watching them discuss his thought. At first, he was ecstatic: They were seriously considering the thought. Now, he was holding his breath, silently cheering for the side of sanity. Well, honesty, anyway. A few of the executives had adopted the plan immediately, but with the caveat that they send two people, funded by the station, to whom they would not have to pay out the full prize upon winning. Condition their pay on whether they get to the top spots. With two people working together to win, versus all the others who could trust no one, the odds were well in their favour. And that meant that the station could get all the benefits of the initial idea without the financial burden. Jason stayed quiet, but he didn't like the idea at all.

 

--------

 

The meeting broke up right before lunch. It was basically agreed that they should send at least one person. After all, one person was morally all right, was it not? They would have the same chance as everyone else. Or maybe two, who did not work together. Of course, many executives were still gunning for a cooperative pair. Anyway, they would work out the details in the afternoon, and since the basic idea had been agreed upon, Jason was not invited back. Half of him wished that he were brave enough to say something to them, but mostly he was just as happy that he didn't have to sit and listen to them ruin his idea.

 

--------

 

Soon there were a flood of advertisements about RLTV's new reality show. Television ads, of course, which were Jason's territory, but billboards and newspaper ads as well, which were dumped on his department as well. They needed participants, and so they needed interest in the idea before it would ever be on the air. Not before long, Jason, who was working overtime nearly every day, regretted ever suggesting the thing.

 

--------

 

"Next."

 

A bored desk attendant waited for the man in the hat to rise from his seat and amble through the door before turning to the woman who had just come out. He held out his hand for the piece of paper he knew she would have, then began copying the information down on his form. The paper informed him that they wanted this one back for the second round. He cursed inwardly, as that meant more writing.

 

Humourlessly, he looked to her. "Congratulations, Ma'am. We'll phone you tomorrow to schedule the appointment. Have a nice day." She beamed back at his mechanical words, replying with a torrent of excitement. The desk clerk nearly flinched at her emotional display before noticing the man in the hat waiting in the doorway. "Next," he said, taking the easiest way out, and shifting his vision to the piece of paper again.

 

--------

 

OOC: The first couple of days, before I send out the roles, will be RPing your application. Either deciding to apply, or talking to the other applicants in the waiting room, or running the simple obstacle course that they have set for you, or whatever, really. Anyone is welcome to post as a failed applicant, in fact there are going to be a lot of opportunities to post without actually joining the game. Sign ups are still welcome, and will be for the next couple of days. Official player list will be posted then. Have at it!

[Lady Celes Crusader]

Stacy just arrived at the show were a bored clerk asked her to fill out the form. She sats down and tooked the time to read the tiny sentences thrown together in a piece of paper.

 

- Geez! It's as complicated than my used-carsaleman's contract!

 

The New-Yorker carefully fills it and signs it before giving it back to the clerk. The tired woman quickly reads it and gives Stacy her tag, which is number 1698.

 

- Please head this way.

 

- Thanks.

 

The ebony-skinned woman heads for the corridor where everyone is waiting in line, patiently.

[Gryphon]

A wave of noise rolls into the office, cheers and laughter, as the door is opened to reveal a young man who appears to be in his mid twenties. He hesitates on the treshold and turns back to call something unheard to an unseen crowd who evidently approve as they reply with more laughter.

 

The desk attendant supresses a sigh. Not another one probably some stoned loser who can't read without pointing a finger and moving his lips... Oh well, this should prove entertaining.

 

Sliding a form onto the bench in front of him the attendant hands a pen to the newcomer and begins his monologue, "If you can just fill out the checklists, include your name, hobbies, interests, why you want to come on the show and then sign the waver please sir." , before standing back to watch the fun as the new entrant to the office tried to figure out how to spell his name.

 

Much to his suprise the young man simply picked up the form, scanned it quickly and carefully, wrote his name, ticked a few appropriate boxes and then handed back the signed form. Only moments had passed.

 

Handing over the interview details while scanning through the form the attendant arched his eyebrows in suprise at the number of hobbies and passtimes listed by the new applicant 'Zak'. Either he's brighter than he looks, or a lier... well... he did manage to read the form without aid of his finger. Maybe this will be interesting after all. Pointing Zak towards the interviewing area the desk attendant turns his attention back to sorting the forms into interview schedules thinking that the show might just turn out better than he thought.

 

~~~

Edited May 3, 2005 by Gryphon

[Mynx]

Jessica checked her hair and makeup in the mirror one last time before her interview, even though she knew it looked perfect.

Okay girl, she told herself, just like the interview part of the pageants. You got this down pat.

Putting on her best "like me" smile (which was starting to look more like a "I'll do anyone to get anywhere" smile every day), Jessica Casey straightened her nearly see through blouse and stepped through the door.

 

The desk attendant looked up and felt his left eye twitch. Oh dear he thought, before forcing a smile and asking the lady to fill out the form.

He was not surprised that she saw herself as a professional model, but wondered why the hell she would want to be stuck on an island without what she considered to be the 'essentials in life.'

"So, Ms Casey," he finally asked, checking her name on the sheet. "Why do you want to be in this contest?"

Never meantion the money, Jessica silently reminded herself, before giggling and beginning one of her usual "Pick me cos I'm the best" speeches.

 

The desk attendant had to put up with 10 minutes of the innane chatter from the girl before he received a message that they wanted her in the show.

Their funeral, he couldn't help thinking, all too relieved to get the girl out of his office as fast as possible.

 

"Congratulations, we'll call to schedule a meeting."

Jessica considered the classic "Tear-filled thanks" before deciding that maybe she should save her ability to cry on cue for a later date.

Flashing another of her smiles, Jessica Casey flounced out of the room, congratulating herself on how good she was and failing to notice the expression of relief from the attendant.

[Venefyxatu]

When the next applicant entered the room the clerk had to look twice to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. It couldn't be ... this guy looked like he could hardly survive a long bus trip without getting withdrawal symptoms, and he was going to spend the duration of the show on an island? Yeah, right ... he'd be willing to make bets on this guy voting himself out.

 

Preceded by what he tended to call his Liquid Grain Storage Facility (but what other people just called his beer belly), Jack entered the room, dirty sweat-drenched shirt opened a few buttons, worn trousers that were just a bit too short and shoes that looked as though they were made before the wheel was invented.

 

When Jack took the form from the clerk he stopped chewing his bubble gum long enough to let out a belch and grin as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever done. The clerk's eyes crossed before he could restrain himself and point to a table far enough away so that he wouldn't have to smell the guy for a few moments.

 

Jack sat down and started deciphering the form, carefully using his finger to indicate his position, writing slowly in the required fields. When he handed the paper back to the clerk the latter saw that somehow this guy had managed to get several grease stains on it without even eating.

 

With a sigh of relief, he watched the guy enter the interview room after being called in. They wouldn't be crazy enough to accept this guy, would they?

 

 

 

~ The interview ... or at least part of it ~

 

 

 

"So why did you want to be in the show?"

 

Jack hadn't had two questions yet and already his brain was spinning in its beer-bath - the woman doing the interviews should be treated for being hyperactive or something!

 

"Well ... "

 

Belch.

 

" ... I've got this thing about going back to nature, you see?"

 

Belch. The woman's grin had been fossilized on her face by now, but Jack didn't notice.

 

"It'll be like the boy scouts all over, only better, you know? Taught me all about surviving, they did ... I'd make a great asset ..."

 

Beeeeeeelch

 

"... to any team, what wit' all of my outdoor skills."

 

Scratch, scratch.

 

"And of course there's the companionship you develop out there"

 

Chew, scratch, BELCH.

 

 

 

 

~

 

 

When Jack left the room with that "I-knew-they'd-want-me" air, both the clerk and the woman decided to take a break. A long one!

Edited May 3, 2005 by Venefyxatu

[dragonqueen]

Upon entering the building, Pansy had to restrain herself from panicking and backing out. The startling variety of people was intimidating, as was the very idea of an interview. But, taking a deep breath, Pansy screws up her courage and takes a few timid steps.

 

"Um...excuse me?"

 

The desk attendant somehow catches Pansy's barely-there whisper and looks up. Sighing, he handed her a form and a pen and began his monotone spiel. Pansy nodded nervously and scurried away.

[Patrick]

Johnny walked into the interview room quite confidently. Having looked at all the other applicants he felt that his chances were not good, but even better. He had just given his application form in and had almost immediately been called for the interview.

 

"So Mr. Straw is that right?"

 

"Yes."

 

"On your application form it says that your father has recently deceased. I seemed to have heard that he was a very rich man."

 

"I have not seen a single cent of his fortune." - Johnny added quickly, almost too quickly, but the answer seemed to satisfy the interviewer, a tall, slightly overweight man, looking to be in his forties.

 

"So what were you looking for when you applied for..."

 

The interview went on for ten more minutes, with the question mostly being about Johnny's personal viewpoints, and different ways in which he would react to different situations.

 

"Ok, Mr. Straw. I would like to ask you to proceed to the obstacle course within the course of the afternoon."

 

Johnny left the interview room and made his way to the building's cafeteria. He wanted to gather his energy before going to the obstacle course.

 

At the cafeteria he looked around to see whether he could spot any attractive female applicants he would like to meet on the island if he was going to be there.

[Venefyxatu]

Instead of attractive female applicants, however, the first person Johnny saw was Jack. Unfortunately for Johnny, Jack had seen him and decided he'd get to know his competition a little bit.

 

With a complicated gesture that can only be performed by someone who has spent years practicing in bars and philophising while his brains were busy being extremely happy in a large amount of alcohol, Jack used one arm to simultaneously invite Johnny over and order him a beer.

 

Johnny, not one to turn down a free beer, decided to join Jack and almost immediately decided to breathe as little as possible as well. Drinking quickly to prevent his drink from going stale, Johnny did his best to remain polite ... and succeeded somehow.

 

As soon as he could leave without being (overly) rude, though, Johnny excused himself and left the cafetaria while Jack ordered another drink for himself ...

 

 

 

OOC : I apologise profusely for messing up your chance to use the cafetaria to talk to one of the attractive female applicants, but this opportunity was just too good to pass up

[Gnarlitch]

The receptioninst looks up as a large-looking bald man enters and walks towards his desk. "Here we go again!" he thinks.

 

"Uh, I'm here to apply to be on that Survival show?"

 

The receptionist hands over the proper forms and a pen and the bald guy takes a seat to fill them out. The next several minutes are spent reading the form and writing answers...long answers. The guy even writes in his own answers on the multiple choice sections. What a nut. Just another aging, overweight guy trying to relive his youth. The producers probably wouldn't even take the time to talk to him. When the guy was done writing his "essay" he brought the forms back up. The receptionist went into his well practiced spiel about how grateful the station was that he'd taken the time to come by and that they would call him if they wanted an interview. his well-rehearsed speech trailed off as he noticed the look in the bald man's eyes...

 

"I was told that there would be personal interviews today."

 

"Yes...well...er...you see...we already have had many applicants and I am not sure that you are qualified...and...um...gulp..."

 

"Are you even going to look at my application before sending me away?" This delivered in a menacing tone.

 

Thankfully, his phone rang at just that moment, saving him from responding. Then, a smiling producer's assistant appeared as if by magic to escort the large bald menace back to the producers office, congratulating him on being chosen for the show. What the Firk?! "Oh, sorry sir. I missed what you said. Yes, your assistant was just here. Yes, I'll send his app back to you immediately. But, sir...Ohhh, I see. he's a catalyst for dissension and angst. Gotcha. Thankyousir."

 

The receptionist took a moment to scan the application as he walked it back to the producers office, almost choking on what he read. Ex-marine, Gulf War vet, black belt, over twenty different jobs in the last ten years, and Bi-polar?!?! Holy freaking crap! This guy was scary! "Sure hope you know what you're doing," he muters as he hands over the app. before slinking away.

[Zariah]

In her small quarters on the left wing of the ranch, Brianna looked over her application before she slipped it in the brown manila envelope. She headed to the kitchen to see if the post man had brought the mail yet, and was glad to see the counter empty. Heading outside into the brisk late morning breeze, she made a silent wish that her prayers could be heard and answered. The opportunity to get out of this small southern town and see the world was her motivations for entering. She slipped the stamped envelope into the mailbox and headed back to the barn for work.

 

As it was opened at headquarters this is what was written.

 

To the producers/casting director(s):

 

Name: Brianna Michelle Taylor

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Occupation: horse rancher and administrative associate on the Taylor-Berkley Ranch\

Location: small town north of Great Falls, Montana

 

Goals: To get out of Montana and see the world, to have new and exciting experiences

Hobbies: horse-riding, camping, carpentry, fishing, dancing and a volunteer tour guide

Strengths: Adept to outside nature and animals, friendly, focused, soft-spoken

Weaknesses: stubborn, inexperienced with anyone other than town folk and tourists, sensitive about certain issues.

 

What can you bring to the show: Depending on the location, I am pretty good with outdoorsy things, I’m a good competitor, and my particular situation as a (hopefully) participant is unique and maybe interesting to viewers who want top watch the interaction of the participants.

 

Why you want to participate and win: I would participate with the goal of winning. I am from a small unknown town and I want to be able to have an exciting life. I need money for that and I watched a couple seasons of Reality TV shows and saw this as the opportunity to get the funds necessary to make my goals/dreams a reality.

 

(OOC: I’d like to participate, so this would be my character’s application that needs to be approved. If you want her to come in for an interview, she’s fine with that—or you can just accept her and send her the info to come in or whatever needs to be done---but the Mod needs to make some kind of a post so I know what to do next)

[Katzaniel]

"Okay, don't send anyone else in."

 

The desk clerk nearly faints in relief at the words. He whips out a pre-made sign, "NO MORE APPLICANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED", frantically shoos out the one or two people still in the waiting room, and hangs the sign on the front door of the building, locking it.

 

Then he goes to the nearest bar.

 

OOC: Please see the OOC thread.

[Mynx]

Jessica kept pausing in her packing to look at the acceptance letter with glowing pride.

She knew she was a winner...the problem she always had was making other people see this. Well, once she won the money, it would no longer matter.

The only problem she had now was packing...

There were so many items on the list that weren't allowed that Jessica considered to be absolute essentials!

I'm sure they don't really mean for me to be seen without makeup, Jessica thought, as she added her three bags of cosmetics to the bright pink wheel suitcase, along with her hairdryer, kitten heels, fake fur coat, and everything else that she considered to be "essential" to her survival on the island...

 

OOC: I think somebody's going to get a nasty surprise soon *grins*

[Lady Celes Crusader]

One faithful morning, Jack Chaplin runs around the appartment frantically yelling.

 

- Mommy! Mommy! You've got the letter from the TV!!!

 

As soon as Stacy extend her hand toward her son, the boy playfully gives the letter to his mother.

 

- Come on, Mommy! Open it! I wanna see it!

 

- Relax Jack! I'm on it! Let's see if Mommy is going over that island.

 

As soon as she feels the envelope, she soon realize that there's something else with the letter. When she finally open it, she saw the plane tickets and she starts to read the letter.

 

- Jack, help me to pack my luggages.

 

- You're going?

 

- Yes sweetie, I'm going.

 

- Awesome!

 

The little boy keeps running around the appartment screaming his joy for a while, meanwhile Stacy is already scrambling into packing her lugguage while keeping in mind the very nature of the reality she's now a part of.

[Gryphon]

Getting back from a hard day rock-climbing with some buddies Zak finds a big fat envelope with the TV station logo on the front in his letter box.

 

With a cheerful grin to himself he opens it, quickly scanning the contents as he headed for his room.

 

"Accepted? Coool! Dude, I hope it's sunny weather while we're off on this island, it's going to be so much fun."

 

His internal dialog continued as he grabbed a small rucksack off a shelf in his closet and began stuffing a couple of changes of clothes into it. Hesitating he looks longingly at his surfboard up on the opposite wall and for a moment desire wars with common sence...

 

This time, at least, commonsence wins and Zak turns away knowing that there'll be plenty of time to play later. That prize money is going to pay for a lot of time off surfing.

[Gnarlitch]

Dan carefully reads his letter and then goes and collects his things. He hides several survival neccessities about his person. To find them they'll have to strip him naked...

[Zariah]

Two weeks after Brianna had sent off her application, a package was delivered to her. Inside was an acceptance letter, a list of essential information, and legal contracts/forms to be signed. After she informed her family of the news, she made a few calls to find someone to temporarily fill in her work on the Ranch.

 

I sure hope I don’t HAVE to come back here. I’m resolved to NOT come back. So I HAVE to win. And that’s all there is to it….

 

With that thought, she headed to her room to pack her bag.

[Patrick]

After receiving his the tv company's letter Johnny stayed up late at night. He fell asleep with his father's will in his hands. It was the only reason for which he had decided to take part in this survival show.

 

"...for my son, Johnny I leave 75% of my companies shares and my whole fortune, with one condition. He has to be able to prove during the year following my death that he can earn at least 25.000 dollars..."

 

In the morning he woke up and quickly packed. He took the train into town, as he did not want to leave his sports car outside the TV station offices for the whole duration of the show.

[Katzaniel]

The eight participants all receive their letters, fill in the required forms (some need help with this step), pack their luggage, and as necessary board the plane that will take them partway there. As per the instructions in the letter, they all make their way to the station. Once they are all there, they are given last-minute instructions, told to get to know one another, and fed a buffet-style lunch.

 

At one point they were told, "We won't go through your bags to ensure compliance, but we do mean to enforce the weight requirement. If your bags are over the limit, you will have to decide on some of the excess items to leave behind in a storage room in the station."

 

They were also told what to expect about the cameras. "As soon as we get you to the airport, expect the cameramen to be filming. Please do not wave to the camera operators; you will be on film often enough in the coming days. Note that the cameramen and crew do have some food and emergency supplies but they will not be bribed, and you can expect something from them only upon extreme need. Also, despite what we'll tell the viewers, once voted off you will not be flown home immediately. We can't have you telling your neighbours the results simply by the fact that you're home, nor do we really want to spend the money to fly you all home separately. Once voted off, you will join the crew in a cabin and share their supplies. I repeat, however, that you will not be allowed to share anything of the crew's food or shelter while you are still competing."

 

After the lunch, during which a few of the contestants ate more than was healthy, they were led onto the plane for the 2 hour flight to the island. Regarding the footage taken during the flight, one viewer was to remark to another, "Look at the disgusting way that that man hides those peanuts in his pocket! He's not going to make it a day!"

 

OOC: Mynx, you can decide whether your luggage is over weight or not (The same for the rest of you, I suppose). Also, from this point forward, anything written IC and possibly some things not written will be available for anyone to comment on via a post written from a viewer's point of view. Just make sure they don't say anything that might influence voting.

OOC2: ~23 hours to Day phase. Special roles who haven't yet sent me their info, I'll need that before then, thanks.

[Katzaniel]

OOC: Oops...

 

IC:

Immediately before the lunch was offered, two of the participants were pulled to the side.

 

"How would you like a bigger chance of winning just a little less money?" they were asked. It was inferred from the look that there wasn't much choice.

 

The two contestants looked at each other. One shrugged. "Sounds all right, but how does it work?"

 

"You work together. If either one of you wins, you both get a quarter of the prize money. That's still quite a bit, you'll notice, but you have double the odds. More than double, if you play it right. Of the whole group, only you two can trust each other, right to the very end."

 

A rushed conversation was held, at the end of which the plan was complete.

 

"We'll do it," they agreed.

[Mynx]

All through lunch, Jessica had been trying to catch the eye of one of the male contestants...what was his name again? Johnny? She wasn't certain but he looked cute enough for her standards...and the way he acted made her wonder if he had money.

To Jessica Casey, it wasl always about the money.

 

As soon as they got in view of the cameras, Jessica flipped her hair, stuck her chest out and adopted her sexiest, most outgoing pose. It was not really surprising when two of the (male) cameramen immediately tried to focus on the aspiring model's Micro-Mini and Nano-Top.

 

Oblivious to the conversations behind her back (What on earth is she wearing? Does she really think she'll survive this game? Gee, I wonder how easy she is...), Jessica trundled her pink suitcase up to the customs officer and waited for it to be weighed...

 

...Half the airport heard the screech that ensued.

"What do you mean I've got too much?! This is the BARE essentials!"

While two of the customs officers began going through Jessica's suitcase with the aid of one of the show manageers to see what could be removed, the sound guy attached to camerman #1 grinned and elbowed his partner.

"$10 says she'll be gone before midnight."

 

(OOC: feel free here to ridicule or [if you so feel the need] help Jessica out. Anyone truly generous can offer her some spare sneakers and other 'normal' clothes but just remember that if you do, you're unlikely to get thanks due to the complete lack of fashion sense she will see in them )

[Zariah]

Being in an airport was unusual for Brianna, since the only vague memory she recalled was when she took a trip to Alabama to see her Mothers Aunt when she was 7 yrs. Looking around at all the cameramen and hoopla, shocked her a bit, and she tried to fadeinto the background. That wasn't hard with all the comotion going on at the customs table.

 

Maybe if she just put all her clothes on in layers, she could wear them there and just pack her shoes, make-up and god-knows-what-else in the bags....Or she could beg other contestants to spare her some room in their bags for her stuff....should I offer? Er...she doesn't look too friendly...I better not....but I could see if anyone else might help....

 

Brianna cleared her throat and made an announcement.

 

"Hi! Erm..my name is Brianna, and...um...well....this..er...fine looking lady here has an issue...as you can see...and..."

Everyone was looking at her with impatience and so she rushed through the rest of it...

 

"...so if anyone has any extra space maybe they can offer her some in their bag?"

 

"What about you lady?"

 

She looked around and couldn;t see who had asked her the question...but responded, "um...well...I have boots and they're muddy so...I'm SURE she doesn't want muddy clothes...."

 

People began to snicker....

[dragonqueen]

Pansy trailed on the tail end of the group, her wheeled suitcase trundling along behind her. Seeing the cameramen, she remebered how awful she always looked on film. She wasn't quite sure why she had been picked as a contestant, or exactly why she had applied. Well, except that college didn't pay for itself.

 

When her suitcase came in just barely underweight, Pansy let out a sigh of relief. Though she'd showed far more restraint than, say, Jessica, there were still several things Pansy considered to be essentials that others might not.

 

During lunch, Pansy sat off by herself and listened to the other participants converse. Several of them sounded quite shallow, namely Jessica. Pansy was not by nature an antagonistic person, but stupid, shallow, vacous girls like Jessica pushed her to her limits. She could tell already it was going to be a challenge working with Jessica.

 

After lunch, the suitcase crisis ensued. Pansy raised her eyebrows in disbelief. That woman is simply impossible. Why did they have to let her on the show?

[Gryphon]

Zak trundles up to the counter next to where Jessica was busy screaming about her luggage.

 

With a grin for the cute girl attending the counter he places his small rucksack on the scale to be weighed and watches the drama unfold next to him.

 

Moments later he's set to go, his bag weighing in at well under half the weight allowance, Zak thanks the attendant and flirts with her a bit before going off to find out if any of the other guys want to have a beer or two before their flight gets underway.

 

Thoughtfully he stops in at the airport liquor store and buys a box of beer as carryon luggage.

 

Hey, if I'm not allowed to take it with me, I'm sure we can polish most of it off before we have to get on the plane.

 

Strolling over to where the other guys are watching the drama queen with various levels of amusement Zak says, "Anyone want a beer with the floorshow?" with a grin.

[Patrick]

Seeing Jessica being in slight trouble due to her overweight bags Johnny walked over to her, while shaking his head from side to side towards Zak, rejecting the offer for the beer.

 

"You having problems?" - he asked with a smile, full well knowing the answer.

 

"Yes." - Jessica replied and looked at Johnny as if he could help her.

 

Johnny's bag had already been weighed and it turned out that he had space for twelve more pouns. One thing he had always been good at was packing only the essentials.

 

She looks quite pretty - he thought to himself.

 

"I might have a bit of room in my bag." - he said and offered his bag to Jessica so she could put some of her stuff in it if she wanted to.

 

Definately pretty.

Edited May 5, 2005 by Patrick Durham

[Venefyxatu]

Sitting on his luggage, Jack turned to Zak, took off his camouflage-pattern cap to scratch his head and accepted that beer with a grin. With an expert gesture he opened the bottle and emptied half of it. Just as Jessica's bag was weighed again, Jack let out one of the loud belches that most of the other contestants would quickly learn to avoid.

 

By the time it was his turn to have his luggage weighed, he'd already finished his beer. As he was waiting, he wondered whether he should've put the peanuts somewhere else than in his pocket - they might get squashed if he sat down in one of those airplane seats.

 

With a satisfied belch, Jack returned to the others when his luggage was found to be exactly the allowed weight ...