Despite her excitement about the idea she and Jackie had hashed out at the restaurant Debbie had still been forced to wait an almost agonising two days before she could actually pitch it to her boss. While she and Gemma have been friends for years, almost to the point where Gemma has come to consider Debbie the somewhat wayward and impulsive daughter she never had, Debbie knows all too well the line she draws between work and family time. A divide made all the harder to follow since she had actually spent the weekend crashing at her place, enjoying the glorious summer weather and getting to spend a little quality with her two surrogate nephews; the pair of boisterous newly crowned teens freed from the constraints of school and loving it. To say nothing of loving the new water pistols they had gotten for their birthday, water-pistols that had gotten a good breaking in pretty much the second Debbie had arrived, the pair of brothers challenging her to a battle as soon as she walked through the door. Debbie, never being one to back down from a challenge and perhaps woefully ignorant of the firepower arrayed against her, agreed in an instant. While she gave as good as she got, that wasn't enough to protect her from looking like an entrant in a wet tshirt contest for a few hours while her pale pink blouse dried out, the already sheer material before it got soaked doing little to hide the swell of her curves or the lacy bra that contained them.

Still..eventually and with a rising excitement that few people could claim to feel, Monday morning rolled around and Debbie now found herself stood before Gemma's office, the echoes of her firm knock a faded memory in her ears.

'Come in.'

'Morning boss.' Debbie said, amazed and not for the first time how glamorous her boss could look first thing despite having dragged to lazy teens out of bed at the crack of dawn. Even at 30 years her senior, Gemma still cut a stunning figure with her rusty blonde hair, yoga toned body and boobs that didn't so much sag with age as soften deliciously. While Debbie always joked her boss could be the one woman to make her switch teams, there was no joking that she hoped she managed to look half as good at her age.

'Morning Debbie. I'm sorry again the boys got carried away.'

'Boys will be boys.' Gemma shrugged. 'Anyway, have you got a minute? I want to pitch an idea your way.'

'If it's something different from celebrity dating shows or another cooking contest or god forbid some stupid hidden camera show, I'm all ears.' Gemma said with a sigh as she flicked the folder before her closed, her bright blue eyes raised to meet those of her employer. 'Hit me with it.'

'It's certainly not that.' Debbie sensed her opening and pressed on it. 'It's definitely a human interest project. Remember those kids gameshows about 20 years ago? Well it's just like that but with a twist. Real people with real rivalries, willing to go head to head for the glory of the prize and against the foe of utter humiliation.'

'Like the one where kids could chuck their parents into a vat of sludge?' Gemma asked, one eyebrow raised cautiously. It was a subtle gesture but it made Debbie's heart soar. She knew that look, she was intrigued. Now she just had to reel her in.

'Gunge.' Debbie nodded. 'That's the stuff. Except it's going to be way more messy than that. People will go crazy for it. Trust me.'

'Well..the executives have been looking for something to shake up the schedule around here.' Gemma said slowly. 'And this could be just the thing..if it's done right.'

'Oh..it will be done totally tastefully.' Debbie said quickly. 'Don't you worry ab...'

'Tastefully?' Gemma said with a short chuckle. 'I'm not looking for tasteful. I want something bold, daring, racy even. Certainly racy enough to show a little skin..maybe a lot of skin. You remember that documentary we did about that personal trainer who made her clients exercise by struggling barely clothed in mud and quicksand..that had some of our highest ratings. That's what the people want to see. Don't you agree?'

'Oh yes. Definitely.' Debbie kept her poker face perfectly in place. Despite the squirm in her stomach as she recalled her promise to Jackie, one that grew as she realised just what she would have to protect her friend's friends from.

'Excellent. I'll call the staff together and you can pitch the full idea then. Shall we say 2pm?'

'Works for me.'

Her sudden burst of nerves aside, Debbie had a spring in her step as she walked out Gemma's office, one that didn't abate even as she pulled out her phone. 'Hey, Jackie babe. It's done.'

-----------------

'I still can't believe you got her to agree to this.' Jackie shook her head as she sipped the slightly too bitter coffee from the vending machine in the lobby of Debbie's workplace, Debbie's own cup untouched before her on the smooth grey topped table.

'I can't believe you doubted me.' Debbie said with a grin. 'It's not a done deal exactly yet. I still need to get both you and that bitch on the show together. But I've got my pitch for that. Gemma will just eat it up. Trust me.'

'I hope so. I...'

'Loitering down here are we?' That sarcastic question cut across Jackie mid-word, her eyes suddenly flicked towards the brunette barely two feet away from the table. 'You know Gemma has called a meeting of all the production team. Surely you don't want to miss it.'

'Since I know why she called it Bobbi, no, I don't.' Debbie stood leaving her cup untouched. 'See you around Jackie. Gotta run. And don't worry, this is in the bag.'

'Me too.' Jackie abandoned her cup with no great regret, hastily kissing Debbie on the cheek. 'I won't. Laters.'

With that, both girls went their separate ways, leaving Bobbi watching them both curiously as she lingered for a second. 'You are up to something, aren't you? Well..we will have to see about that.'

--------------

With her curiosity still piqued and bubbling albeit locked away behind a expression of indifference, Bobbi joined Gemma, Debbie and the other creative executives in the board room assigned to this meeting. Normally Bobbi didn't have an ear or any focus for anyone other than Gemma in these meetings, the other interns, which is what they are despite the grandiose name her boss had given them, really beneath her notice. After all, it wasn't them she needed to impress or suck up too. Today though was going to be an exception. As much as it almost went against her principles Bobbi was intrigued to hear exactly what Debbie had in mind, the tantalising nuggets of conversation she had overheard surely pointing to an idea she could either sabotage or co-opt for her own devices.

While Bobbi wasn't above cultivating a friendship or two if it served her aims, she lived by the mantra that anyone else was simply an aid to another rung up the ladder. Driven didn't even begin to describe it really, neither did determined even if she was determined to rise herself up above the dregs, wastrels and millennials that were her reluctant peers. And if she had to leave them face down in the mud, either figuratively or literally then so be it.

'...that all sounds good. Excellent work. I do like the little promotional drive you have planned. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of that.'

Bobbi was jolted out her silent reflections by Gemma's sudden recap of..whatever proposal she had been updated on. Most likely Greg's hyped up whirlwind tour of one popsicle stand venue to another that was supposed to showcase the fresh-faced vapid pop duo he had been lumbered with. She really wasn't interested in that. But the next words spoken immediately grabbed her attention.

'Debbie, I think you had an idea you wanted to suggest?'

'I do. One I think will fit perfectly for the 9 o clock time-slot we are trying to fill. It's kind of a modern twist on an idea from twenty years ago but bear with me. I'm sure we've all watched a tv Gameshow at one point or another. Heck, some of us might even have been on one when we were kids. That's what I want to bring back. That kind of game but instead of kids playing why not through it open to adults instead?

'Wait..' Greg asked slowly. 'You mean like those shows where kids got drenched in slimy stuff playing ridiculously madcap games? Who would agree to go on something like that?'

Bobbi had, despite her ambivalence to the whole thing, been wondering that herself. Downstairs it had sounded like her she was expecting her friend to enter this Gameshow she had planned. Why would she do that if she knew the risk she would be running just by competing. Unless..it wasn't a risk. Which means she was planning something to help her avoid that. Yes, she must have some scheme up her sleeve. And if Bobbi could unravel that scheme, surely that would only work in her favour too.

'As it happens, I've got two teams lined up and ready to go for a Pilot slot.' Debbie said with a confidence that made Bobbi's control almost falter and a sneer cross her lips. 'Now we just need a venue, a location. And if I remember right, the company just brought the full ownership rights to Playtime Pictures who produced and aired Payback Time during its run. If I know Gemma she will have obtained full intellectual property rights from them as well, so we effectively own the show. Using that name and the publicity that comes with it, we should have venues queuing up to let us use their premises for the pilot. I'm sure we could go to airtime in a month easily.'

'So am I.' Gemma said with a casual nod that almost made Bobbi do a double take. Somehow she seemed to be considering this ridiculous idea, considering it with such passion that it was going to make it impossibly for Bobbi to shine while it ran. And Bobbi couldn't stand that. Or stand to be upstaged. After all, here was a girl possessed of such a vain and self-possessed disposition that she had conducted a smear campaign against her rivals for junior prom queen. One that had left all three starlets of her school too ashamed to even show their faces for months afterwards. So tearing this idea down would be all too easy. Made all the easier by the next words that Gemma spoke.

'I'll need a volunteer to help Debbie with this though.'

'I'll do it.' Bobbi raised her hand lazily, fixing Debbie with a warm smile that perfectly masked the simmering resentment beneath. Resentment that slipped them both by as Gemma continued oblivious.

'Good. Now..let's talk about the plans for the race day expo and unveiling.'

---------------------------



'Why do we have to be here so early?' Dolly muttered, her words filled with an early morning sluggishness shared by the other members of the Glee Club who had managed to drag themselves into the practice hall at this ungodly hour. Well..almost all of the club members. While Jackie and Savannah seemed somehow blessed with an energetic peppiness that shouldn't have been possible this early in the morning; Dolly, Emily and Peter were all caught up in various stages of post sleep drowsiness, hair of black and brown equally sleep tousled and as un-styled as Peter's Sandy and deep brown fur, all three having barely been conscious enough when Jackie had called to drag themselves into the clothes they had hastily discarded yesterday. Which left Peter wearing a crumpled t-shirt and jogging bottoms over mismatched socks that he had snagged hastily from the floor. Dolly seemed to have taken a similar track of something easy to wear in the form of leggings and a t-shirt in vibrant blue, an ease of dress that hadn't stopped her from wearing the shirt inside out, the label slightly tickling Peter's cheek as he rested his still sleep gripped head upon her shoulder. Only Emily seemed to have made any attempt to dress up, her choice of delicately pleated silk skirt and smooth cotton shirt elegantly closed with pert silver buttons wouldn't have stood out in any fashionable night clubs, if one overlooked the fact she had forgotten her bra, the tightness of the shirt revealing her pert nipples if she moved in the wrong direction.
Happily the only people who might have noticed that were Jackie, elegantly dressed in jeans and white tank top and Savannah who matched her elegance in a thick jumper of deep yellow over faded black chinos almost bordering on grey and loose red button down top. And they both had other things on their mind.

While Savannah was also intrigued by the message she had received from Jackie, most of her attention was focused on the way Peter half dozed against Dolly's equally sleepy form. Try as she might, she couldn't help a sudden pang of..well..jealousy. She knew she had no logical reason to be jealous of course, since she was fairly sure neither of them knew what they were doing. But there that feeling sat.


Jackie for her part was too focused on the news she had to deliver as she answered Dolly's question without a glance at her clothing faux pas. 'Because I've got some great news. I've signed us up to take part in a special revival episode of Payback Time. Pretty cool huh?'

Jackie let that statement hang in the air as her eyes swept over the assembled others, her initial excitement faded just a little as Peter was the only one who responded, his head jerking away from Dolly's shoulder. In fact he went one step further, hastily shifting away from her as if he had just realised with mortification what he had been doing, something that brought a relieved smile to Savannah's face.

'You're joking. They cancelled that years ago.' That was true, much to Peter's disappointment. He had grown up watching that show and its awesome Gungy games which had fuelled a lot of his hormone driven fantasies throughout his puberty. And still did. Often had he secretly fantasied about Savannah ending up in some of them and the thought that maybe he would see that happen had his head spinning.

'They did. But a friend of mine works for a company that is bringing it back. And I sort of pulled a few strings to get us on the first episode.'

'And..we would want to do this..why?' Emily asked slowly, the news clearly having raised her from her half slumber. And with good reason. While she wasn't exactly the nostalgic fan Peter seemed to be, she did have a few vague recollections of the show; mostly of her and friends shrieking with youthfully exaggerated horror as some poor hapless girl or guy was drenched in something disgustingly sloppy and slimy. Which might have been why her question was suddenly edged by a tone she adopts to measure her response so as not to offend with what might otherwise be blunt.

'Because I've arranged it so that Katy and her bitch brigade will be the other team.' Jackie said with a grin. 'It's a perfect way to bring them down a few notches.'

'How? By beating them at a few games on a Gameshow?' Dolly asked with obvious if not harsh scepticism. 'I think even their egos are tougher than that.'

'Am I the only one who watched this show when we were kids?' Peter had already pulled out his phone as he shook his head in mock despair at his teammates. 'It's not about the games. It's about what happens after. Here, have a look at this.'

Almost as one Dolly, Emily and Savannah crowded round to stare at the blank screen before them. And as one they all recoiled in varying states of shock and horror from the shrieking blonde teen relentlessly being doused in yellow slop Peter knew full well to be banana milkshake, her hair already ruined by streaks and rivulets running down towards her shoulders and chest. To Dolly and Savannah this came as a total shock, but even to Emily the cruelly huge gunging shook her a little, somehow seeming more..volumous than her recollections.

'Wait...you want us..your friends..to take part in these games that could see that kinda thing happen to us?' Emily asked with her voice thick with incredulity. 'I know they did the same kinda thing to Savannah a while back. And as much as I'd love revenge for that, I'm not going to risk my neck to have the same thing happen to me. No offence Savannah babe.'

'None taken.' Savannah patted her hand softly. 'I'm.not exactly queuing up for that to happen to me again either.' That wasn't exactly true, recent events having made Savannah more..conflicted on her feelings about that. Especially if it was a cute fur doing the sliming. But now wasn't the time to explore that.

'I'm with Emily and Savannah on this.' Dolly said, her voice raised in a firmness and almost determined anger that was fully out of character. 'There is no way in hell I'd agree to anything like that. No fuc...'

'Easy, girl.' Jackie said in what she hoped was a tone that would soothe her friends sudden vehement reaction. 'Like I said, I've got an in. An old friend of mine. She's already fixed it so we won't get messy. Trust me, nothing can go wrong. And don't you all want to see our rivals brought down a peg or two?'

'Well..I'm in.' Peter said firmly, his tail wagging with obvious eagerness that flowed up to his eyes. An eagerness he hoped the others would put down to wanting to see Olive and her gang get their just deserts, maybe in more ways than one, instead of his excitement of maybe seeing his sexy and cute teammates ultimately gunged. 'We are a team aren't we? And if Jackie wants to do this, I'm with her. Who's with me?'

That last statement was the truth. He really did want to help Jackie out with this, despite other benefits it might present. And it seemed his agreement helped swing the others to it as well,, even if only guided by his loyalty which they couldn't help but match.

'Fine. We are in.' Emily said for them all. 'Don't make us regret this.'

-----------------------------

'I need a favour Jason dear.' Bobbi purred in that sweet sensual voice that ever failed to find its mark; one that she slipped into easily despite her haste. And she was in need of haste, after all her lie that she was slipping away from the meeting to check a few details with the gaffer wouldn't buy her much time so she had to be direct.

'Another one?'

Oh, come on Jason.' Bobbi pouted, with a coy bat of her eyelids that she knew he would love. With his neatly parted black hair, plain white shirt and black trousers, Jason was the kind of guy to not really stand out in a crowd. And certainly not the guy who usually caught a ladies eye. True, he was kinda cute with his blue eyes and freckled face but wasn't really what you might describe as a hunk. Which meant he was a bit of a sucker for a pretty face. And a little praise. 'You know I'm no good with techie stuff. And you are so good with it. My number one go to guy.'

That was always her way in. While Bobbi might not know much about computers, she knew a lot about people. While one to keep her emotions close to her chest, Bobbi had quickly mastered the art of getting people to open up to her and learning which buttons to press to get them to do exactly what she wanted. It was a gift that had served Bobbi well during high school, never seeming short of a small army of 'friends' willing to help her out with anything from after school projects to homework or studying for tests. A gift that had pushed her to be at the top of her class, riding a wave of opportunity she had been determined not to squander. One that had landed her the job she held today, carrying her away from the small town life she had left and leaving a trail of devastated hearts and discarded acquaintances in her wake. One of those being her own. As much as she had been driven to succeed, more than once usually in the early hours of the morning when sleep eluded her, Bobbi had been struck by a pang that maybe she was missing something. Perhaps for that reason as much as any did Bobbi enjoy dropping by Jason's little zone of nerd-dom. Friendship it seems is a scent that goes both ways and Jason is very much the kind of friend Bobbi would love to have really made back in high school. And maybe she would be able to make here, if she could only let her armour down a little. For now though, Bobbi stayed in the safe zone that was all business.

'I do know that.' Jason smiled, oblivious to the warm tingle that simple action raised in Bobbi's chest. 'So..what can I do for you?'

'Nothing too hard.' Bobbi slipped into the office, draping and arm around Jason's shoulders, close enough for her breath to tickle his ear. And feel the soft shiver that ran through him. 'You know Debbie right? The one I'm working on the new Gameshow project with?'

Bobbi kept her voice absent any of the sarcasm she felt. Yet somehow she was sure that Jason would have missed it anyway, given the way his head perked up a little in obvious excitement.

'You mean Payback Time? Sure I do. I can't wait to see it. I loved that program when I was younger.' Jason said, almost on the verge of mentioning that he still did before thinking better of it. He wouldn't want to give Bobbi any reason to become curious about the collection of clips and stories on his laptop. So letting that slide he continued. 'She's popped in her a few times, wanted some help with the titles. She's not much good with computers either.'

Bobbi had to keep from smiling, he had just given her the perfect opening for her plan without her even having to build up to it. He really was a dear sometimes. 'Don't I know it.' Bobbi said, punctuating that with a playful punch on his shoulder. 'Can you believe she got locked out of her email account. You can, right? Anyway, she's so run off her feet that I said I'd sort it for her. So..if you could just let me know her last password then I can log in for her and get the emails she needs. You can do that for me, can't ya Jason?'

'Sure can.' Jason retreated back to his computer and Bobbi was momentarily forgotten as his hands danced over the keyboard. 'There. Done. Her password is Blondie5678. She really should make that stronger.'

'Yeah.' Bobbi chuckled, placing a soft kiss on his cheek that wasn't just something to keep him thinking about her. 'Gotta run sweetie. Thanks a bundle.'

Run she might have had too but not far, Bobbi slipping into the first deserted office she found and quickly bringing up Debbie's emails. Luckily it was only a few minutes to work to find what she needed, her eyes drawn to the one rather brazenly called Olive's Payback Time. It had been a lucky guess one that she didn't realise how lucky until she skimmed the contents, her eyes gleaming with each word she read. 'So..that's your plan hmm? Well..we will have to do something about that, won't we.'


--------

'Well..this has been fun. But I think we are done.'

'Wait..what?' Those words had barely penetrated the head of the nude teen Katy had been guiding backwards with her firm grip on his waist, his eyes quickly snapping open to see he wasn't standing in the doorway to her bedroom as he thought but horrifyingly right out in the main corridor of the dorm, utterly in the buff and with nothing to hide his still erect maleness behind besides his hands. Hands that quickly clapped over his package the second he realised a group of girls apart from the one who had so humiliated him were watching and giggling. Before he could even move Katy blew him a kiss which caused his cheeks to flare pink and all the way up to the top of his head under his brown hair as she slammed the door in his face a bare second after she tossed his bundled clothes towards him, leaving him no choice but to run away as fast as he could with the growing laughter building in his ears.

'Well...I'm bored now.' Katy dropped down to the bed with a huff, her long black hair flowing as it settled around her shoulders. To anyone watching it was obvious she was in a bad mood, a mood somehow at odds by the pink bra and panties that formed her early morning attire, matching the state of dress..or undress..of the other two girls who, in their own skimpy nightwear aped her relaxed pose on the room's other small bed.

'Well...maybe because you drove him off.' Olive said pointedly, her freshly dyed blue hair still dripping wet from the shower she had recently stepped out of wrapped in only a very small towel that closely hugged her delicate chest. 'Seriously Katy, we could have had some fun with him but no, you had to humiliate him and push him out of the door.'

'Actually..I humiliated him by pushing him out of the door.' Katy said with a smile, unable to stop herself from wondering if he was still running or had found a safe place to put some of his clothes on. 'And seriously, he would have been more boring than him not being here. Do you really think he would have known what to do with three gorgeous girls.'

That was answered by the third member of the trio, as Freya idly raising her head from the magazine she had pretended to be engrossed in. 'How do we know? I was looking forward to see how he could use that cock of his. But no..you just had to go and freak him out by grabbing the whipped cream from the fridge. Shame really. You don't often see a young guy hung like that.'

'You slut.' Katy teased coolly. 'Don't tell me you wouldn't have liked it. I'm sure given half a chance you'd have had him eating out of the palm of your hand. Or somewhere else.'

'Please..I'm not that es..eeekkk.' Freya jolted upright, her bleached blonde hair flung about just like the handful of cream Katy had slapped on her bare stomach, throwing little white specks up to her black bra and as far down as her matching boy shorts.

'Sure you are.' Katy teased again, feeling Olive's eyes on her as she leaned a little closer to the cream splattered skin before her. 'You'd have loved him licking this cream off your tummy before you went to get some of his cream. Right?'

'Wh..whatever.' Freya retorted with as much dignity as she could. 'So..what are we going to do now that our fun has been scared off?'

'Ahh..let's just stay here.' Katy mused, her humiliation of Freya forgotten as she pulled out her phone to do a social media sweep. 'Damn, look at all this junk. Drunk celebs...pop stars in desperate need of a little slut shaming..movie stars and actors getting pies in the face...it's all so contrived. Can't they think of anything more original?'

Freya couldn't help thinking that was a bit rich coming from Katy given how she herself wasn't exactly a stranger to dishing out some messy humiliation. But she wisely held her tongue and just nodded distractedly. She knew Katy well enough to know that she wasn't really expecting a response. Which didn't stop her throwing one out there as Katy sat bolt upright, her face quickly switching from apathetic to surprised to a delighted grin.

'What's up?'

'Oh..nothing.' Katy said with a tone that clearly meant it wasn't nothing. 'We've just been invited to appear on a national television show.'

'Really?' Freya asked. 'You're serious?'

'Yup.' Katy said, her grin only growing wider. 'I've never heard of it..I mean..Payback Time...that's kinda a weird name..but it's apparently some kind of Gameshow.'

'It is.' Olive replied, her phone already open on TwittBook onto which she had quickly entered a rapid search, her eyes flicking over the blurb at the top. Had she continued down to check out the uploaded pictures, her next words might have been less of a ringing endorsement but she didn't so they weren't. 'Says here contestants can expect intellectual and physical games in a contest to best their rivals.'

'Sounds perfect.' Katy nodded, mostly to herself. 'And not just because we could be good at it. Think of the publicity we could get. A little national attention couldn't hurt.'

'Aren't we already getting national attention?' Olive countered.

'A few thousand views on our dancing and routine channel on PlayBox and a few thousand followers on TwittBook isn't exactly national.' Katy replied. 'If we play this right, we could become the most talked about thing in town. Publicity Dates, radio air time, maybe even some livestream chats on the Gameshow web community. I'm sure the nerds who like these shows will have dug out there own little corner of the Internet.'

That was Katy all over really. Never one to miss and opportunity and grab it with both hands. Or at least lunge in its general direction.

'So..we are going for it?' Freya asked, already knowing the answer anyway.

'We are.' Katy said, her fingers dancing over the keyboard as she typed away. 'Just you watch, we are going to become the stars of this thing.'

---------------------------------------------

Part 2 is up and we are one step closer to getting to the Gameshow proper. I'm going to do multiple uploads of the remaining chapters tonight so hopefully we will be caught up with the existing chapters. Which will complete this rather far reaching Patreon mini project - one that I'll admit got a little away from me in some ways. Excitement and enthusiastic drive overrode my usual planning. Still..no idea is wasted in my book.

If you guys want to see more like this, then I will be putting up new posts for fresh ideas both here and my Patreon. New stories will be published here as well, yet there are additional perks on my Patreon for those who Pledge. Interactive Polls for future stories. Your Character Here pieces. Poll driven art and comics. I hope you guys will check it out.

www.patreon.com/white66