The stage had red curtains that were pulled back to reveal the audience. I was an ant being observed under a magnifying glass. I usually loved the attention during a fight. These people were looking for my faults and deciding if I was worthy.
Dottie tried to tell me to smile, wave, and be appealing. All of her coaching faded away as I stared into the spotlights. I did nothing, I just stood there. Bowtie grabbed my hand and escorted me off the stage.
Shit, had it been three minutes already?
Like everyone else that went before me, I went over to the screen. My number popped up, and I gasped. There had to be a mistake.
Entrant Number: 99
Bid Amount: $1,000,000
Purchaser Number: 1
Ahh!Someone bought me for one million dollars. That was the highest bid so far. I hadn’t done anything but stand there. Wow, my family would be fine. This was all worth it. I turned to have a seat and waited for my purchaser to collect me.
Some purchasers came right away, others waited until they purchased two people. It didn’t matter to me. I would wait all night for my purchaser. It was worth it to know my family had money.What’s five years?
Bowtie came and yanked me out of my chair. Had I not seen him, I would have crashed into him when he pulled me up.What the heck?He pulled me toward the screen and pointed. I knew a million dollars was a lot, but geez.
“Did your sister find a way to hack our system?” He rattled me.
“Huh…no,” my voice trembled.
“How?” Judy shouted.
“Ask the purchaser if they bid a million. It’s easy to confirm.” I blinked away tears.
“Which one?” He shook me again.
I looked at the screen. My entrant number flashed.
Entrant Number: 99
Bid Amount: $1,000,000
Purchaser Number: 72
I blinked, and it flashed again.
Entrant Number: 99
Bid Amount: $1,000,000
Purchaser Number: 63
“Three!” Judy shouted. “How did she get bought by three?”
My head spun. Was it real? The screen flashed between the three purchasers. It had to be a mistake. They couldn’t expect me to be shared. Bowtie said that never happened.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, due to this um…this glitch, I need a moment.” Bowtie bowed. “I shall return. Ninety-nine stay here.”
I didn’t move as the screen flickered between the three bids. My stomach turned. This sucked so much. I would rather give up make-up for five years than be shared.
Judy snickered in the back. “They will discover her sister did this. You all read the rules. They will kill her for this.”
Murmurs spread across the room. Some agreed, others said they would ban me. Was Judy right? Would they kill me? Dottie didn’t do this. She would never risk getting me in trouble.
This was so bad. Take all my lipsticks and nail polish. I would rather give up the color pink. No, makeup ever again. No wigs. No, nothing. This was the worst decision of my life. They were gonna terminate me for this, and I didn’t do anything.