[ CHANCE sits comfortably in a pink cushioned chair in Elise’s dorm room. ELISE sits on her bed, scrolling through the Cyncpad, wearing some very stylish casual wear, with some totally cute slippers. There’s a small tray of finger foods sitting on her bed, which she is very careful not to spill. She offers some to the analog athlete. ]
[ELISE]: Thanks for coming over, Chance. I really needed someone on my side after that disaster they called a match.
[CHANCE]: Hey, no sweat. You know you can ring me for anything.
[ELISE]: I mean, changing it up halfway through? What are they even trying to pull with something like that?
[ CHANCE nods, eating some celery. ]
[CHANCE]: Yeah, the way the competition’s being run is a bit bogus, but, I’ve been managing. I’m sure you just need some sort of strategy to really run with the thing.
[ ELISE sighs. ]
[ELISE]: Yeah, I know. But it’s SO AGGRAVATING that I’ve been working so hard on this ONE tournament, that when I get sent to THIS one, I can’t even use any of that training? Because maybe the Computer Girl will trip and now it’s a stupid square dance challenge, or… whatever.
[CHANCE]: I mean, you could always try and… challenge them to a fight outright.
[ He gestures with the celery stick. ]
[ELISE]: That’s what I tried to do, getting that puppet creep all riled up so he could strike first and then have a real fight, but as soon as he was going to, they just… switched it to a trial halfway through!
[CHANCE]: Not direct enough, I mean actually asking. That’s what happened with that duo, we just agreed on a challenge and stuck to it. I know you could think up some clever way to get someone to agree and do a challenge they’re bad at. Or just another combat thing, whatever floats your boat.
[ELISE]: …Would it really be that simple? Ugh. I feel like that takes out, so much of the drama though?
[ CHANCE stands and stretches. ]
[CHANCE]: Just a theory, and we don't have much to really go on. But I'd suggest at least getting some verbal confirmation for a fight...
[ELISE]: That’s not a bad idea, actually… even if it's a bit annoying.
[CHANCE]: Anyway, do you have that one game pulled up you wanted to show me?
[ELISE]: Oh, right. You are going to totally love this one. It's great for cardio.
[ The Cyncpad begins to play 'Just Groove', a dancing game filled with pop songs from many eras. CHANCE did, in fact, totally love that one. ELISE was just happy to have someone on the ship she could hang with, considering her besties were notably not available. ]