Chapter 6

Wicked Tom clapped his hands together, his eyes gleaming with sinister excitement. "Alright, folks, it's time to begin Round 2!" he announced, his voice dripping with theatrical menace. "Joe, are you ready to test your memory and possibly change the course of dear Jessica's life? Remember, you only have two seconds to study the board!"

As the tiles were revealed, Joe's eyes darted frantically across the grid, desperately trying to find a matching pair of negative numbers. Jessica watched from the sidelines, her heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread. The audience leaned forward in anticipation, eager to see what would unfold.

With a sharp snap, Wicked Tom flipped the board back, concealing the tiles once more. "Alright, Joe, it's time to make your first move!" he declared, a wicked grin plastered across his face.

From Jessica's perspective, time seemed to slow as Joe hesitantly approached the grid. He reached out, his hand trembling, and flipped the first tile, revealing a negative number: -15. Jessica's heart leapt with a surge of hope, but it was quickly dashed as Joe flipped the next tile, which displayed a positive number: +25. Wicked Tom chuckled darkly. "Oh, so close, Joe! But you never know, you might find a matching pair yet!"

Joe, his face a mask of fear, continued to flip tiles. The next two he revealed were both positive, and alarmingly large: +60 and +75. Jessica's heart sank even further, the horror of her situation intensified by the proximity of such large numbers. But then, Joe flipped another negative tile: -20. Jessica's hope flickered back to life.

As Joe moved to flip yet another tile, Jessica held her breath, her eyes glued to the board. He hesitated for a moment before flipping it over, revealing a matching -20. The audience gasped, and Jessica felt a rush of relief.

Wicked Tom, his grin still present but slightly forced, announced the result. "Well, it seems that Joe has found a matching pair of negative numbers! Jessica, you will now lose 20 pounds! Let's see what that looks like, shall we?" He snapped his fingers, and the transformation began.

Jessica felt the weight begin to disappear from her body. It wasn't as dramatic as the earlier gains, but the sensation was still strange and unnerving. As the pounds melted away, she felt a small sense of relief, knowing that at least some of the horror had been temporarily alleviated.

Joe, too, felt a surge of relief. He studied Jessica's newly slimmed-down figure, still far from his ideal, but at least there was hope now. He silently vowed to do better in the next round, desperate to return his girlfriend to her original, slender state.

Wicked Tom, ever the showman, announced Jessica's new weight: "Congratulations, Jessica! You now weigh 190 pounds. Quite an improvement, wouldn't you say? But we're not done yet! Time for another round of the Upscale Memory Game!" He revealed the newly randomized board for a brief two seconds, the audience's excitement building once more.

As Joe prepared himself for the next round, Jessica could only watch and hope that her fate would take a turn for the better.