The System In My Head

A day to live

It's time to meet Beluga and Antonio again. Ben sat on the bench in Central Park waiting for them to arrive. It was a beautiful afternoon with many people walking, exercising, or sitting on the grass. There are many women alone or in groups.

Beluga came from the opposite direction to where Ben was sitting so Ben did not see him when he approached, showing shock when he arrived.

Beluga was just as surprised to see Ben, but for a different reason. Ben became much thinner! Beluga barely recognized him. Beluga stared at his large belly and then at Ben's stomach. However, his reaction was the opposite of a normal person. She feels bad for Ben!

On the head of the Beluga, big is beautiful! If Beluga loses that weight, maybe people won't call him Beluga anymore. Maybe they'll call him a shrimp. He can't take that risk.

Ben loses his natural advantage, but Beluga does not want to rub his wound with salt. "Soup?" Beluga greeted as she sat down next to Ben.

Ben observes the unique style of Beluga. He still wore his trademark pimp cap and sunglasses, but replaced his robe with a purple jogging suit with white stripes. 'Is that Barney the dinosaur? Why is he only wearing purple?' Ben wonders.

"Hey. I've been wanting to ask you for a long time. I noticed your clothes are a bit unusual. What's up with that?" ask Ben.

Beluga looks at Ben. With his mouth agape, he slipped his fingers along the edge of his hat and tilted it. "This right equipment?"

"Don't feed that troll," Ben reminded himself while remaining silent.

"It's very surprising" Beluga said.

"Peac.ocking?"

“Yes, have you heard of peacocks? With beautiful fur? The birds attract mates with their luxurious feathers. The one with the most striking fur gets the most females. In pick up, we have the same concept. Striking clothes can attract women's attention. Many people will see you are good for your image. Women may even open you up. At the very least, you'll have an additional topic of conversation when they ask about the outfit."

Ben thinks. 'That's fascinating. Maybe I should try.' Then he saw Antonio approaching from the end of the road. He's also very pleasant.

Antonio wore a giant green fur shoulder pad that was larger than his head. They protrude to the elbows from his blue dot polka jacket. This is peac.ocking to a new literal level.

Ben gulps. 'I better stick with the classic style. You can't go wrong with that...'

When Antonio arrived, Beluga looked at his clothes and nodded. The people around the park stared at them as the two showed proud expressions. This is the attention they are looking for.

It didn't matter to them that most of the appearance was disgust.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Ben tried to keep a poker face watching all this.

Antonio is not too surprised to see Ben's improved body as Ben has warned him before. After some appetizing small talk, it was time to head over to the main course.

Ben's eyes widened. 'I think it makes sense to comment on their breasts is not the best opening sentence.'

Ben learns something new every day.

Beluga continued. "The greatest factor in opening is not what you say, but how you say it, also known as tone and body language. You need to be calm, confident, and abide by certain rules. Once you are good enough, you can use almost any opener as long as it is not offensive. A simple 'How are you' can work as well as anything fancy."

Ben listened attentively.

"We'll discuss the specifics later. For now, let's start with a simple example. Antonio, open set 2 to show your cousin how to do it" Beluga said.

"2-sets?" ask Ben.

"Set refers to a group. The number is how many people are in it" Antonio replied. His eyes lit up with anticipation. He looked around and saw two girls sitting on a towel on the grass. Without hesitation, he approached them. Ben watches Antonio open these two strangers. He used an opener that Ben couldn't hear, but it seemed to be going well.

At first, the faces of the girls showed shock. Then after a few exchanges, they loosened up and even asked Antonio questions. A minute later, he sat on their towel laughing with them.

"You seen him?" ask Beluga.

Ben's jaw hanging. Her cousin was always nerd like her before. He didn't know his cousin had this in him! That was Amazing! He walked over to two girls, a stranger, and now he's like part of their group! The girls were now patting Antonio's shoulder feathers, giggling about how soft the fur was. Everything is going well!

"That's how you do it, watch and learn" Beluga said, smiling confidently at Antonio.

Ben nodded. He could learn a lot from his cousin.

*Accommel!*

A loud bird sound was heard throughout the park. Ben, along with everyone nearby glanced in the direction of the voice.

Ben saw Antonio flapping his hands like an eagle, laughing. *Squawk!* he cries when he makes some kind of joke or impression. The two girls backed off with terrified expressions. They took their belongings and fled as quickly as possible.

Ben looked towards Beluga whose confident smile froze on his face. Ben could not see his eyes but he imagined his eyes emitting an aura of wanting to die...

After a long silence, Beluga said, "He still has a lot to work on after the opening..."

Antonio sighed but brushed it off and returned to Beluga and Ben. When he reached them, he showed a proud face to Ben and asked, "You see that?"

Ben looks at. 'I don't know what I saw ...'