Playing House

Who: Damon and Daphne
When: Late morning
Where: Damon's room

Daphne knew she'd be hurting tonight. As someone who didn't really smoke (please, she valued her skin way too much) and only drank to drunkenness once in a while, she also knew that she would be one of the lucky ones. Still, the caffeine withdrawal was already annoying her. She was the sort of person who functioned on tea, and really wasn't awake until she'd had her morning latte. She was having a slow day today - the drag of which was only redeemed by the knowledge of how much other people were already suffering. Camber's reaction thus far was a little dose of Christmas.

She watched on her computer for the better part of the morning, but finally convinced herself it was time to get up and do something. Still, she couldn't be bothered with dressing yet. The way she saw it, she had limited energy today. She could spend that precious energy on coordinating a proper outfit, or she could do something a bit more productive. Besides, in her silk and lace teal robe and with her hair up in a messy bun, she still looked better than any other girl in the house - even on their best day. She had things to do today. People would be teetering on the edge today, and she wanted to be the helping hand that nudged them over. She also wanted to check in with Rupert. But first, she probably needed to clear up her debt to Damon. She was annoyed at the conditions under which she had lost, but it wouldn't do to go back on her word so early in the year. She lazily tied the ribbon around her robe, and headed down to Damon's room. She thought about just letting herself in - if his door was unlocked, anyway - but in the end she decided to knock softly. God only knew what the crazy bugger was up to. Or who.

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: 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: 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: Rupert and Daphne
Where: The library
When: Morning

Today's awakening had been a bittersweet one. While Rupert had woken up dry, not sweaty and not scorching at all - which felt amazing - what he read in his computer left him extremely unsettled. There were more people, a whole floor of them in the house, and they had been there all along. He supposed he'd have to live with it - and ten more people - it was just the fact that they had been hidden up there all along that bothered him. Why had there been ten people separate from the rest of them for a week, with nothing to do but talk to each other or remain locked up? Was this another experiment of some sort?

All these thoughts busied his mind during his shower, which he found actually refreshed him now. As it was his specialty, Rupert fixed himself some breakfast in record time and then scurried off to the library. There. He was in a public place, but he hadn't gone searching for people, and that was a good enough compromise for him. He settled into a chair, setting his tea and plate of toast on a table next to it, and picked up a book somebody had left nearby called 'My Sister's Skin'. It did not seem familiar, which was a good thing. Furrowing his brow, Rupert sipped on his tea as he prepared to read the first page.

Who: Daphne
When: Early afternoon
Where: Her room

The day of the merge was nearly upon them. Despite the fact that it was the last day they would be able to use the communal viewing station, Daphne had been – and would continue to – spend most of her time in solitary. She had read all the private entries she could, and kept the journal system minimized to the taskbar as she watched the feeds. She had spent the majority of the morning reviewing her notes and solidifying her personal game plan, and finally came to a decision. Experiment B was not the single, solidified group she might have hoped for. She disliked Joseph outright, had no time to even attempt to form a decent bond with the new guy, and Jerrica was still keeping completely to herself. Three out of ten she had no good feel for at all, and she didn’t like those odds. Three out of ten wasn’t the majority, and not even what most people would consider a problem. Daphne, however, was not the sort of woman to wait for them to become a problem.

She would make alliances, then – and sooner, rather than later. She had limited interactions with Madison, but so far, no issue with her. They seemed to get on fine on the computers. Nate and Damon she was relatively certain she could win to her side with little to no difficulty at all. But it was Audrey she felt was her best bet. She and Audrey had hit it off immediately, and seemed to have an unspoken understanding about each other. Audrey would be the one she had to start with.

Once she made up her mind to do it, she sat down at her computer and began to write up her proposal. She would be revealing information to Audrey she would tell no one else – not even Nate or Damon. It was a risk, but Daphne almost never gambled unless she was certain the odds were in her favor. Daphne would not put herself in a situation she didn’t think she could get out of. It was a risk, but one Daphne felt would work in her favor.

When it was written and sent she took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, a light smile playing upon her lips. Yes, this felt safe enough. The ball was in Audrey’s court now. If all went well, they would determine what came next tomorrow.

Who: Damon and Daphne
Where: Daphne's room
When: around 4 p.m.

( I always wanted to go to fuckin' Antigua, didn't you? )

Who: Jerrica and Daphne
When: Early afternoon
Where: Hall/Jerrica’s room, we’ll see if it moves

Experiment B had made it to the halfway point. Just a few more days and they would be unleashed free to roam the rest of the house. Daphne was more than ready. She was practically chomping at the bit. More or less, she felt confident that she knew what she would do down there. She had her preferred targets selected, and loose strategies planned in her head. While she still wanted to be watching practically all the time, she felt it would be wise on her part to make sure she had things squared away with the other participants of Experiment B.

More or less, she felt like she would get on fine with everyone. She enjoyed the company of everyone who had attended her little viewing party, and from what she could tell of Osten’s personality he was a fun one as well. At this point, she was the most curious about those in B she hadn’t had a lot of interaction with. She had decided to make it her priority to get to know these grey areas. She had decided befriending Jerrica would be the harder task, so that was where she started. She had met Jerrica once, and been unable to get a good grasp of who she was.

Other than poor white trash, of course.

Not that Jerrica needed to know that was the sort of impression she’d made! Daphne had every intention of playing nice. She'd even done her version of dressing down, which really just meant she was wearing a pair of jeans and a simple cardigan she'd spent too much money on. Shortly after lunch, and deciding there was nothing too pressing to be watching, she got up and crossed the hall to Jerrica’s room. She plastered a bright, friendly smile on her face, and knocked cheerily on the door. This should be interesting.

Who: Daphne, Audrey, and any other ExBers that want to join in the fun!
When: 7 and on
Where: Daphne’s room

While Jai was setting up in the billiard room, Daphne was preparing for a little party of her own. A viewing party, of course. Not that there was a lot that could be done in the way of preparations, but she made sure her room was presentable and brought in some extra pillows from the supply of linens in case people wanted them. A few hours earlier she had made a request on her computer for party refreshments, and upon checking the dumbwaiter at 6:45 she was delighted to find that the scientists had complied. A case of beer, a pizza, and a massive bowl of popcorn. Daphne grinned from ear to ear and blew a kiss in the general direction of where she thought a camera might be. This almost made up for finding out that her top picks for the bet – Chris and Jamal – both had the personalities of feral cats with feline aids. Oh well, she’d find someone else. Or maybe there was a girl down there dumb enough to sleep with one of them. Assholes or not, they were pretty assholes.

Once the treats were set out on top of her dresser, she propped her bedroom door open with a pillow, and plunked down in front of her computer to see what was going on downstairs.

Who: Nate and OPEN (to ExB)
When: Day 2; early afternoon
Where: Linen closet

( After meeting everyone the day before, Nate had decided that he hadn't made a mistake in agreeing to the experiment. )

Who: Audrey and OPEN to EX B
Where: 4th floor common area
When: Approximately 9:00 am
What: Acclimating

( Thank you, and have a nice year. You are now free to explore. Please, make yourself at home. )