Attribute Roulette
In the pink bedroom of the sorority president, far from the noise and strobe lights of the easter party downstairs, Emma sat quietly across from Brielle, the president herself and top bitch on campus. A few of Brielle's sorority sisters stood behind her, standing between them and the door, making escape impossible.
Emma had no idea why she was hustled off the quad by them and shepherded all the way up to the bedroom or why on the table stood a black tower of Jenga but in the pit of her stomach she knew it couldn't be good.
Brielle crossed her toned legs and popped her gum, still smug, still perfect. Her dress hugged every curve. Her blonde hair shone like a shampoo commercial. Today she was wearing a slutty easter bunny outfit to celebrate the party happening downstairs.
Emma? She was everything Brielle loved to mock, awkward, hunched, flat chested, bookish, the cardigan draped cliché. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t even want to come to the party, but Brielle and her clique had dragged her in, threatening her. She expected to see maybe beer pong, some sort of hazing ritual or hell even a stripper pole in the back room but Jenga was certainly a surprise.
“Ok let's get this thing going, I have a party to be the center of. Here are the rules dork.” Brielle said, her manicured finger tapping a brick on the bottom row. “You pull, you read, you steal.”
Emma glanced at the tower. “What do you mean ‘steal’?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll see.” Brielle winked. “And because I’m feeling generous, why don’t you go first?”
With trembling fingers, Emma pulled a brick from the middle and read it aloud.
“Nails.”
The word shimmered silver against the black. She looked up, confused. Brielle looked at her hands and watched as her expensive manicure faded away like magic. That’s when Emma felt heat in her own finger tips and looked down to see her grubby, short nails take on the look and appearance that Brielle’s hand just a moment ago.
“Ugh whatever, that colour was played out anyway.” Brielle said annoyed. “My turn.”
Brielle slid a brick out from the top of the tower and looked at it with a puzzled face.
“Empathy? What the fuck is that, some dungeons and dragons shit?” She said jokingly.
But then something fluttered in her chest. Her grin faltered. A wave of remorse washing over her suddenly. She didn’t like it.
Emma meanwhile giggled. It was sharp, unlike her usual shy chuckle. She should have felt bad for Brielle but she couldn’t find the urge inside her to care.
“My turn.” Emma said, almost eager now pulling a brick.
"Makeup."
Instantly, her face shifted, cheekbones smoothing out, lashes thickened and lifted, lids dusted with darker eyeshadow. Her lips gleamed with a high shine pout, and her complexion took on an impossibly flawless glow.
Across the table, Brielle’s skin lost its warmth. Her bronzer faded. Her lashes thinned. Her lip gloss dulled and dried, leaving her looking pale, bare, ordinary. Brielle scoffed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “Whatever. I’ll just get my makeup done later when I get new nails at the salon.”
She pulled out another brick, hoping it was the one she was after but as her eyes landed on what was written the disappointment was hard to hide.
“Weight.”
She hung her head as she felt Emma’s chubby belly inflate her well worked out and toned stomach.
On the other side of the table, Emma marvelled at her body as the pounds melted off in an instant. Her new nailed fingers running over it with glee.
“It’s reversible, just a few weeks in the gym and I’ll be back to normal. It’s all reversible. I just need to pull her intelligence so I can pass my finals.” Brielle thought to herself as she watched Emma grab another brick, hoping it wouldn’t be anything vital.
“Confidence.”
The two girls both shivered at hearing the word but both had vastly different outcomes. Brielle suddenly had a gnawing feeling inside her that, a shadow of doubt hanging over her now. She slid down in her chair starting to feel hopeless. Emma meanwhile had a smirk cross her lips as her chin lifted and her posture straightened. Brielle’s friends even seemed to take notice of her.
“One more and then we stop, whatever it is.” Brielle thought but there was some rising doubt. “Oh but what if I pull something even worse. Should I just stop now?”
As she tried to think, the sound of nails drumming on the table distracted her. She looked over to see Emma grinning at her, making her feel uneasy.
“Come on, I don’t have all day.” Emma said sighing almost bored which illicited a few quiet giggles from Brielle’s friends. Brielle took a deep breath and pulled out what she determined would be her last one.
“Compassion.” She said disappointedly. This was a stark contrast to Emma who left out a soft moan, as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She felt as though a great weight had been taken off her shoulders.
Brielle looked up from her brick, looking smaller somehow. “I don’t want to do this anymore.” She said getting up from the table and turning towards her friends. “Come on let’s get out of here.”
Emma’s eyes snapped open, now lacking any warmth they previously had. “Not so fast. Girls?” She purred and Brielle’s friends stepped in Brielle’s way. Emma snapped her fingers and the girls grabbed Brielle by the arms, forcing her back into the chair.
“What… what are you doing?!”
Emma picked up a brick, turning it so Brielle could read it. Brielle’s mouth fell open.
“Friends.”
“I pulled it while you were busy trying to leave.” Emma purred. “They’re my friends now, isn’t that right girls?”
“Of course babes.” One replied with a smirk while the others nodded in agreement. Lithe cheerleaders with perfect makeup who once laughed at Emma, now followed her lead.
Brielle now started to look worried. “No you can’t-”
“I just did bitch, and I’m not done taking what you have left.” Emma sneered. “Now pick one.”
“No! Emma don’t do this! You’re a good person! I just wanted your brains to pass my finals, I’m sorry I ever started this.” Brielle said starting to well up.
Emma stood and walked over to Brielle who seemed to shrink even smaller. Emma leaned in, brushing a long painted nail under Brielle’s trembling chin.
“I used to be a compassionate, empathetic person. But that was before you freed me of those weaknesses.” She said with cold disdain. She looked to one of her new friends and nodded. The girl grabbed Brielle’s arm and twisted it as Emma sat back down.
“Pick one loser and I won’t have your arm broken. Don’t worry we’ll let you go… eventually.” Emma smirked and the girls giggled.
For the next half an hour, the two girls pulled brick after brick with Emma always seemingly to take the good stuff. Before long she had bigger breasts, plumper lips, silky smooth hair and a cheerleaders physique to die for. Not to mention Brielle’s ruthlessness, her cunning and even her style which manifested itself in Emma’s clothes becoming tight and revealing, her sensible flats turning into expensive heels.
Brielle meanwhile continuously pulled the weaker aspects of her opponent. She now wore Emma’s thick glasses and sported her paler, blotchier skin. She was riddled with self doubt, had an urge volunteer, had a rising interest in sci-fi books, even her voice seemed to drop several levels of volume.
“Can we please stop? You’ve taken everything from me.” Brielle said barely above a whisper.
Emma was checking herself out in the nearby mirror, her eyes drinking in her new and improved form. Her mind raced with the wickedness she could accomplish and she couldn’t wait to start.
Rolling her eyes she sat back down in her chair. “Ugh fine if you’re going to be such a whiny bitch about it. Because I’m generous why don’t you pull your last one and then we can quit.” Emma said smirking like a Cheshire Cat.
Brielle looked at the very unsteady tower in front of her, she was almost certain one more would topple it. “At least whatever happens it will be over.” She thought to herself as she started to tug slowly at a brick.
As she nudged it out she managed to make out some of the lettering on the brick, “intelli” was all she could see but it gave her hope that she would finally get a win in this game.
However across the table Emma could sense the meagre joy in Brielle. Knowing that her enemy was finally happy with a brick, Emma knew it couldn’t mean anything good for herself. Lazily she kicked the leg of the table she was closest to. The tower began to wobble and Brielle let go of her brick to try and steady it but it was no good, all the pieces fell and spread out on the table.
Emma sighed and stood up. “What a fucking klutz, right girls?” Emma said and her new friends all giggled loyally. “I gave you one chance to come out of this with something positive and you even managed to scare that up. I’m doing you a favour taking all your best bits, at least now they’ll be put to good use.”
The girls swarmed around Emma like a moth to the flame, their new queen exuding power that they wanted to be close to. “Come on girls, let’s leave this loser to her little game.”
Emma turned on her heel and strode towards the door, grabbing a pair of black bunny ears that were strewn on the vanity, one of Brielle’s discarded options. Brielle had always presented to the world a vision of herself that was more pure than she seemed, wearing white to lure victims of her sharp tongue into a false sense of security.
Emma on the other hand wanted nothing more than to have people fear her, to have them see her coming and cower. She wanted people to know she was an evil bitch and black seemed like the best way to convey that. She opened the door that led back into the sorority party that was in full swing. It was her sorority now, her world, her people. Brielle was done and Emma was just getting started.
