Playing House

Who: Damon, Mattie, Michael and Hannah
When: 8:20 p.m.
Where: Table 5, the ballroom

Damon was having a completely delightful day. He'd made inroads with the lovely Mattie the day before, he'd spent the morning watching porn and some of the afternoon watching what went on in the sitting room, and then he'd spent some time experiencing just about every sex toy he'd packed along. Oh, yes, he was a happy camper right about now. There was a smug smile on his face that wouldn't quit as he showered and got ready for the evening ahead.

He wasn't the suit and tie sort of guy, but he had a couple of nice outfits, because Damon liked to be prepared for any eventuality. He took the time to dry his hair rather than letting it go every which way, put on deodorant and subtle aftershave and dressed in his preferred evening look of black on black: knife-creased slacks and a dress shirt with pinstripes for a subtly textured look. Socks and polished shoes and he was good to go. After he'd spent about twenty minutes watching the party from on camera, he made his way down to the ballroom.

Once he was inside the doorway and started looking around, he noticed the placecards on the tables. Now, that was interesting. He put a pleasant half-smile on his face and went in search of his table. After a casual glance at the placecards, he had to work not to beam like he'd just hit the jackpot. Which in a way he had. Shy, mousy little Mattie, Hannah the strident blind chick, and Michael, about whom he knew very little. Well, that was all right. He'd find out soon enough. Oh scientists, from whom all blessings flow. Thank you.

Damon seated himself for the moment, waiting for someone else from his table to join.

Who: Abel, Lark, Mack, Nate
When: Day 9; half past 8pm
Where: The Ballroom

( Whatever happened that night, Nate had already labeled it a success. His tastebuds were too happy not to. )

Who: Trix, Lily and Mick
Where: the ballroom
When: Eight o'clock

Mick had been looking forward to this, he really had. The pizza night had been fun, and he was sure this dinner would be, too. And he really couldn't wait to see what kinds of food they would serve. Just out of curiosity, of course. And he also hoped that there would be enough for seconds, because heading straight to the kitchen after the dinner would definitely look weird. He had done his best to dress up, donning a loose white shirt with a grey jacket and black jeans. For him that was as fancy as it could get and he felt a little like he was playing dress up.

When he entered the room he made a beeline for the food table, waving at people he recognized as he went along, and then he marveled at the options for a while before pouring himself a glass of water. The wine was awfully tempting but he could resist. At his table he read over the names, none he was familiar with yet, and sat down, looking forward to meeting new people.

Who: Avery, Jessica, Madison and Miles
Where: the ballroom
When: just after eight

The last thing Avery wanted to do was go to the dinner that was being held in the ballroom tonight. There was the problem of food that he hadn't seen prepared, and the unpleasantness of having to be in a large group of people. He'd spent the day changing his mind about whether or not he was going to go. Why couldn't he just stay in his room or maybe hide out in the library, where he didn't have to make conversation? Sadly, he knew why. If he didn't attend, he might be struck with those random cold spells again. He didn't know how and he might never know, but he was convinced that those had somehow been controlled by the scientists. It was too convenient that he'd felt normal the very second he'd been around another person, and then when he'd been alone again, he'd been freezing cold once more.

Reluctantly, he got dressed in slacks, loafers and a green button-down shirt, the most formal outfit he had with him, and after brushing his teeth and combing his hair, he left his room to go downstairs. Lingering by the door, Avery saw that there were a few other people in the room. He'd hate to be the first one there. He went inside, about to sit down at an unobtrusive table in the corner when he realized there were place cards at each seat. Blushing at his near-gaffe, he crept along from table to table until he found his name. Before he sat down, he glanced at the other names of the people assigned to sit here. He'd met both Miles and Jessica and had liked them fine, so he felt at least marginally better as he took his seat.

The food actually smelled terrific, and he thought that maybe it'd be okay to eat. Probably a chef had prepared it, and someone like that would be more likely to be clean with their hands and the utensils they used than a random housemate. Avery decided he'd wait for others to get here, because he'd feel strange sitting at the table eating alone. Plus, there were ladies at his table, and he'd been taught that gentlemen should never start eating until after the ladies had.

Who: Audrey, Ethan, and Lina
When: Shortly after 8
Where: the ballroom

The amount of girlish flailing and tee-heeing over the scientist-thrown party had been annoying, but something Lina could easily ignore. She wasn't about to dress up for the event -- really, dressing up wasn't a thing Lina did... ever -- but she did put on something that was at least slightly nicer than her usual jeans and a hoodie. Most people would have passed it off as club-wear, and they were more or less right. Leather pants, a draped black halter top, her usual boots and she was out the door. Make-up was not something Lina did, either.

When she walked into the ballroom, Lina was glad she had overlooked her earlier considerations of skipping the thing all together. The food smelled amazing, and Lina was not shy about helping herself to damn near a little bit of everything. When her plates were piled high, she grabbed a beer and headed to the nearest empty table. Only to see delicate little name cards set on every plate. Lina groaned internally and rolled her eyes, but went about finding the table the scientists had assigned her to anyway. If her dining companions annoyed her, she'd just move. Luckily she recognized one name -- Ethan, she'd met him and he had not yet proven himself to be an idiot -- and Audrey. She didn't know Audrey, but thought it was possible she was one of the people from upstairs. Neither Ethan or Audrey were there yet, so she sat down and with an internal 'ah, what the hell,' dug straight into her food. "Oh, Jesus tapdancing Christ. There's an orgy in my mouth." Okay. For food like this she could quite possibly put up with a great deal of annoyance. If she had to.

Who: Rupert, Camber, Chris and Daphne
When: Ten minutes past eight
Where: The ball room!

Rupert had taken one Valium before getting dressed, and one after. And he was still a bit shaky. These social gatherings made him nervous; in fact, if the whole affair didn't sound a little bit mandatory, Rupert wouldn't even go. He had thought about not going, but then thought better of that, seeing as the whole reason he was here was to socialize and learn to survive events like this with his dignity intact.

He had dressed in a formal black suit and white button-down shirt, and then he had tried a tie, a bowtie, and nothing at the collar. Thinking anything else might be a bit much, Rupert had gone without anything at the collar, and even unbuttoned it. He felt slightly naked, but at least he looked relaxed...Right?

Arriving at the ballroom precisely at 8pm, Rupert heard the bells chime and then the doors open, and then he decided to hang around and not actually walk into the ballroom before anyone else was there. In fact, he stood a good ten minutes nearby before he made his way inside, and even then there were very few people already there, none of which he knew. As he looked around, Rupert found a table-assignment sheet, which meant he wasn't going to be able to just sit alone in a corner and pretend he didn't exist. As he looked at where his name was, he swallowed hard. He had been assigned to sit with Daphne, the gorgeous and freckled avid reader; Chris, the confident mocker and Camber, who seemed to have been causing a fuss in the journals. Rupert made his way over to his table, and sat there alone for a little while. "Brilliant. I-I am l-l-like the o-ov-o-overeager b-b-ball date." He rolled his eyes. Forgetting he had taken two already, he took another Valium, chasing it down with a glass of water.

Who: Abel and Lark, possibly anyone else who hears the commotion and wants an easy laugh
When: Either really late at night or really early in the morning, depending on your perspective
Where: Second floor

Of all the stuff this house had in abundance, Lark was of the opinion that it really needed more bathrooms. There was one public bathroom on the first floor, conveniently located next to the room they'd taken over for the slumber party... but someone had been in there, and she needed to go now. Where was there another public bathroom? She couldn't remember. Did she really have to run all the way back up to her room? Lark debated this for a moment, and finally took off at a run for the stairs. Screw caution. She'd spent hours playing a life-size Barbie and hadn't particularly enjoyed the experience, so she was in no mood to dance the potty dance and wait around.

She hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Was there a bathroom in the library? There had to be one somewhere on the second floor. The hallways were dark, and Lark was pretty focused on her bathroom needs, so perhaps she wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she should have. She reached the top of the stairs and rounded the corner -- only to slam right into somebody. Or something. Her arms flailed out as she tried to catch her balance and not fall down the stairs, and as she caught herself on the banister she looked up to see what - or who - she'd run into. In the shadows, she saw what her hurried mind could interpret only as the face of death. Lark screamed bloody murder.

Who: Trix and Nate
Where: In the snow!
When: Day 9; mid-morning

( The scientists had given him tools that more than compensated for his lack of tact and intelligence. )

Who: Trix and Chris with a dash of Delaney later on
Where: The sitting room
When: Mid-afternoon

Trix loved this house. It was a surprisingly welcome change from the hustle and bustle of her London life and she found herself relaxing more and more, feeling perfectly content with just ambling about the house. Today's activity, she had decided, would be listening to some music - yes, her life had become so easy and simple that simply blessing the ears with some pleasant tunes was a goal - and so eventually she ambled down to the sitting room, iPod and weed in hand, because listening to music without some form of psycho active substance was pointless.

Once she reached the room, she settled upon the largest sofa she could find, perching on it while she lit her spliff before swinging her legs over the arm and lying down. After a bit of fidgeting with her clothes, making sure that she wasn't flashing anyone too badly, she popped in her earbuds and sighed, letting her body sink into the soft cushioning of the couch. Yeah, Trix could definitely get used to this. She began to play a couple tracks (something soothing and ballady because she and her drugs were in that kind of mood) and closed her eyes, letting her senses be consumed. She sighed happily. Yep. This place was fucking fantastic.

WEATHER REPORT: No changes.

EVENTS: Well, the removals have started again. Today James, Ben, and Skittles are all removed. Ho hum.

Today, everyone will find that it is impossible to open the ballroom doors. No sound can be heard from inside, but the doors will not budge. If one goes outside to try and peer in the windows, they will find that the drapes have been pulled. Even Experiment B can’t see inside the ballroom – the feeds for that room have been shut off. Of course, the scientists have promised that dinner will be provided tonight, but it’s impossible to know what to expect. Different characters are likely to have different expectations, or perhaps hopes. What will happen at eight o’clock? What will be waiting for them? A gourmet meal? A Vegas-style buffet? A variety of pizzas? Ten thousand McDonalds chicken nuggets?

At eight o’clock on the dot, a loud bell chimes in every room. The dining room doors unlock, and inside a feast fit for royalty.

Inside, classical music is playing softly. A long serving table stretches the length of the entire back wall. It is laden with several different salads, three soups, a dozen different appetizers and side dishes, a rack of lamb, roast duck, glazed salmon, steamed lobster, and prime rib. For dessert, the choice of tiramisu, pomegranate cheesecake, and a five-layer chocolate cake. Waiting by the bar are several bottles of wine and chilled champagne. There are seven different seating tables, all set with fine china and fresh flower centerpieces. Surprisingly, each place has a name. Yes, the scientists have opted for assigned seating. Of course, one could ignore the seating arrangements the scientists have chosen, but one can’t help but be curious as to why the scientists may have seated people where they did. Was there a motivation behind these choices? ( Seating chart behind the cut... )

NOTE: Please do not start scenes that take place past 8 PM yet. We want to give it a few days to see if our holds are apped so we can even out all the tables. We will announce on the OOC when it's safe to play dinner threads. Thank you!

Who: Bryce Matthews and Spencer Bishop
What: Bryce is in the locker room and gets a RUDE awakening
When: Day 8, around 10am
Where: Locker room
Rating: R for nudity and sexual content.
Status: Complete!

( Even asleep one can experience a nightmare. )

Who: Spencer and Chris
When: Mid afternoon
Where: Library

The library in this place was fucking ridiculous. Sure, Spencer liked big fancyass rooms as much as the next guy but this was seriously taking the piss. On the cameras, the room hadn't looked like much but, as the lawyer first made his way in and realised the sheer size of it, his face screwed up in disbelief. Really? A house should not have a library like this. A museum or some sort of high brow academy, perhaps, but certainly not a building holding a relatively small group of people.

Nevertheless, Spencer thought it a waste to not give the room a decent look through, so he meandered through the bookcases, a beer from lunch in hand, stopping whenever he saw something which looked vaguely interesting. He thought he might as well pick up any books which might keep him entertained. He had a whole year to spend here after all. He stumbled across the law section and bent down to give it a look. Their selection was pretty pitiful, but then again Spencer was used to having entire law libraries. He nonetheless sneered at it. Disappointing for a library of this scale, to be quite frank, he thought, not realising the outlandish and unrealistic nature of his expectations. He scanned the shelves, wondering if he could find a section on state law to determine their current location. After all, a bit of casual sleuthing couldn't hurt, right?

Who: Girls girls girls!
When: 11:30ish
Where: First floor sitting room

Daphne really couldn't have been happier with the day's events. The slumber party had been a random idea to attempt to get to know a few of the girls better, and endear herself to a chunk of people. The fact that issues with Camber had arisen from it was really just the cherry on top. If there was any way at all for Daphne to work things to make everyone hate Camber and pity Daphne as the sweet-hearted victim? That... that was just Christmas. Only here a day and already things were just falling in her lap.

Emily had helped her set up as promised, and Daphne was of a mind to bring Emily under her wing. The girl struck Daphne as being kind-hearted, but altogether naive and easily manipulated. Daphne was pretty sure she could make the girl think they were best friends forever without even breaking a sweat. After introductions went around, Daphne had insisted on those who brought extra breaking out their dresses and seeing what looks they could create. Daphne had just urged an expensive Alexander McQueen silk-chiffon minidress on an extremely uncomfortable-looking Lark, who kept trying to insist it was far too nice and she'd never feel right. Daphne waved off her objections and shooed her to the corner to try it on. "Hush, hush. It's part of the fun, dear! You don't have to wear it tomorrow if you don't want to." She'd never be able to pull it off the way Daphne could, anyway. "Ladies, what would you all say to a game of truth or dare? Liven things up a bit between trying things on."

Who: Avery and Spencer
Where: the pool area
When: early afternoon

( He stood next to a lounge chair, his face a study in deep contemplation. )

Who: Cam and open
Where: Game Room B and possibly spilling elsewhere
When: 11:45 or so

( Okay, so it wasn't strictly a heinously late hour )

Who: Trix and open
Where: Game Room B
When: Early afternoon

It took Trix five minutes after her "introduction post" to get antsy, desperately wanting to venture out of her room. Sure, her room was cute - it was all fun colours and lace, like Marie Antoinette on acid - but she had spent enough time in there for one day and she was keen to explore. Thus, she slipped on some clothes and headed out the door, ambling into whichever rooms weren't locked. She liked this house. It was big and quite impressive, though she would hope so if she was going to spend a whole year here. It seemed spacious though and, quite frankly, Trix thought that a year here wouldn't be that hard at all. She had lived in teeny tiny apartments, practically homebound by her constant state of inebriation. Living in some fancy mansion for a while was going to be cake.

When she made her way into one of the game rooms, she grinned broadly, her eyes settling on the jukebox. Trix loved jukeboxes, with their popsicle coloured 1950s lolita vibe. She had always wanted one but had always had to settle for messing with the one in a delapidated retro diner, the song catalogue missing numbers or the correct titles. Nevertheless, she had always enjoyed it, plugging in her 50p and tapping some random numbers to see what out of date hit played. It was the closest an adult could get to lucky bags or finding out the toy in their Happy Meal. It more than kept Trix satisfied.

She sauntered over to the jukebox, draping herself over it while she browsed the catalogue. Hmmm, classic rock 'n' roll or modern day club crowd pleaser? Choices, choices.

Who: Lark and Nate
When: Day 8; around 8pm
Where: Game Room B

( He'd spent a large majority of his time back in his room watching the camera feeds and journals - both of the things he'd been complaining about for a whole week when he'd been confined to the fourth floor. )

Who: Audrey and Daphne
When: 4PM
Where: Near the lake

Daphne had spent the better part of an hour pouring over the outdoor feeds, and trying to get a good idea of the landscape. Moreover, trying to get a good idea of what areas she - and therein, the rest of Experiment B - couldn't see. Once she had as good of an idea as she'd ever get, she bundled up for the cold weather and headed outside. It only took a few feet to regret choosing an outdoor meeting spot. She'd taken winter skiing vacations with her family before, but she'd spent an awful lot of time cozying up with some handsome thing in front of the fire during those. Getting through so much snow was a pain in the ass, and before she was halfway to the lake she could feel a stitch in her lungs every time she breathed in.

In time she reached the lake, and walked along the edge of the icy shore to a spot she deemed 'safe.' There was nothing within earshot where a camera could be placed, so it had to be relatively safe - didn't it? She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and pulled her scarf more securely around her neck and lower face. She had to wish the scientists would have just put them on their own private island. All this snow was going to get old fast.

Who: Abel and open
Where: First Floor
When: around 5pm

( Who you tryin' to get crazy with ese? Don't you know I'm loco? )

Who: Emily and Open to All
Where: the kitchen
When: early evening, around 5pm

( For Emily, the evening and dinnertime just couldn't come fast enough. )