Meet The Men
On a floor directly below the females, eleven male bachelors stood in a similar-sized empty room. Off to one side stood a group of three. Erick was the tallest in the room, towering over the other men in the room, being only a few inches from seven foot. Nothing about this man was short or small, nothing except his mini afro with a temple fade and he had a miniature goatee. Dressed in his best black suit with his Resting-Stern-face, he listened to Connor and Walker.
“Okay. Now that we have introduced ourselves, Walker and…” Connor looked at the tall man who hadn’t even spoken a word to them yet. “…What’s-his-name here. Have you ever fantasised about changing your first name, and to what?” Connor wasn’t dressed like most men here, he was wearing mostly leather including a matching flat cap. This outfit consisted of the finest button up jacket that he also used when hunting, which was over top of a clean white shirt and purple bow tie. Not to forget polished leather boots to go with it.
“Maybe just a name that isn’t a verb or a zombie from The Walking Dead,” Walker laughed. “I always thought I’d make a good Wade, or even suit a Lance.” He was also wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt, though his was a little snug on him. His dirty blonde hair stood on end on his ivory head in a modern pompadour style, as well as a patch of stubble at the end of his chin.
Connor laughed. “You know both of those names are verbs too?”
“I guess I can’t escape having a verb for a name then.” He kept laughing along with Connor.
They both then looked up to the tall male beside them, waiting expectantly for his answer. Seconds passed until he looked at each of them and only shook his head.
A few feet away, was a rather peculiar pair. One was a tall and lean Korean bloke, while the other was an almost as tall, rugged man of Mediterranean descent. The taller one was in a beautiful blue designer suit that wrapped tightly around the muscles of an infrequent gym-goer. While the rugged one looked like he frequented the gym more often in his tight navy Versace pants and blazer with a plain tee underneath.
“Saying you left completed homework at home, only to use that same homework 10 minutes later to pass notes, tops mistaking a cold for being pregnant, don’t you think?”, the rugged Sebastian suggested.
The tall Yong-Rae thought before conceding. “Yes, okay okay. But how about getting a plastic toy soldier jammed in your nose?”
“Being silly with kids, it’s bound to happen. Though more likely it’d be the child.”
“If she had children, yes, but this 47-year-old woman lived alone. She hadn’t any nieces or nephews either.”
“God-children?”
“None were mentioned.”
“Yeah, cool, you win with that story.”
“Thank you.” Yong-Rae beamed.
In the opposite corner to the first group, near the lifts, stood another trio of men. The first, Jace, wore a tight denim shirt with white pants. He brushed his light brown flopsy hair out of his glistening eyes and patted his flat stomach. “You are what you eat, right?”
Sloan, a man with the same hair but more tanned skin, chuckled. He lifted his tropical-yellow Hawaiian-style shirt to reveal a chest that looked like solid corrugated iron. “All the carbs and alcohol doesn’t seem to have done that to me. What about you, Becks?”
The third fellow, Beckham, was of similar colouring to Sloan. Though his hair was a darker brown and his thick curls held much tighter and a bit shorter to his scalp. In a salmon shirt tucked into belted beige dress pants, sleeves rolled up to his elbow, he wore a pleasant expression that held disgruntled feelings. He voiced those feelings calmly. “I’m not a British soccer player, please call me Beckham.”
Holding up his hands defensively, Sloan apologised. “Lo siento, I don’t want to offend.”
“Sorry?”
“Sí.”
Beckham had a look of confusion. Jace smiled and helped him out, remembering a basic amount of Spanish from school. ““Lo siento means sorry in Spanish.” Beckham mouthed ‘Oh’ to show he understood.
“You know Spanish, Jace?”, Sloan asked, grinning, clearly impressed.
“Not too much,” Jace answered. “There’s a little I remember from my high school Spanish class. I only took it for a year.”
Losing a little interest in the conversation, Sloan dropped his shirt, which remained half undone over his trousers. “Maravilloso. Do you know where we can get a drink while we wait?”
In the middle of the room, another group of three stood around and chatted. Ezra, who was made from the deepest shade of brown, was dressed in a red brick button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black dress pants. Next to him, Danny seemed to resemble a piece of chalk, he looked so pale he was almost sickly. Wearing casual clothes in the hopes of giving off a friendly impression, he had on a simple off-brand white button-up shirt with his favourite black leather jacket. His trousers are brownish-grey to make sure the jacket shines. Then there was Sacha, a once French man with rich dark skin, dark high-top twists with a temple fade, and beard to match that. He was dressed in a sleek black suit with golden accents and a white shirt.
“The best way to explore human nature is through biology,” Ezra stated. “How our bodies react to getting out there and testing ourselves to physical extremities. Our bodies learn to adapt in the elements they’re put through.”
Danny listened, observing Ezra a moment longer after he finished speaking. “Yeah, standard, standard. I’m just thinking that philosophy is the best way. Learning to control your mind and think logically.”
“I don’t think so.” Ezra shook his head. “Your physical capabilities can be increased or decreased depending upon what lifestyle you have.”
“Hearing both of your arguments, I ‘ave to disagree,” Sacha chimed in. His French accent was a little thick and gave him a slightly more overbearing tone on the conversation. “The best way eez psychological, to explore ‘ow people react in different situations.”
“Yeah but just understand how their mind works in those different situations, not their facial expressions,” Danny interjected.
“No. No. That comes later, you first ‘ave to-”
Just five minutes after addressing the females, Johnny Doe stepped outside of the lift on the male floor. The males didn’t didn’t pay him any attention either until he started speaking. “Gents, welcome! We’ve had The Bachelorette and we’re had The Bachelor, but welcome to the first Bachelor…ette. Yes, that’s right, this season we’re going to have both, at the same time.”
“You’re probably wondering where your Bachelorette is. Well, she’s not here. In fact, first I have a task for you and then I take you to meet her,” he continued. “All the female contestants are all grouped on a floor above you and your task is to choose two to send home.” He paused for a few grunts and groans from the group, then pointed to their door next to the toilets. “You’ll go in there, read their names and select two to send home. Announce to the camera who they are you’re sending home and why, as well as introducing yourself. Are you ready to do this?”