Chapter 11：Peacocking (1/2)

16 days to live.

It was time to meet Beluga and Antonio again. Ben sat on a bench in Central Park as he waited for them to arrive. It was a beautiful afternoon with lots of people walking, exercising, or sitting on the grass. There were many women alone or in groups.

Beluga came from the direction opposite to where Ben was sitting so Ben didn't see him when he came close, showing surprise when he arrived.

Beluga was just as surprised to see Ben, but for a different reason. Ben had become much thinner! Beluga almost didn't recognize him. Beluga looked down at his big belly and then at Ben's. However, his reaction was the opposite of the normal person. He felt bad for Ben!

In Beluga's head, big was beautiful! If Beluga lost that weight, maybe people wouldn't call him Beluga anymore. Maybe they would call him shrimp. He couldn't take that risk.

Ben lost his natural advantage, but Beluga wouldn't rub salt in his wounds. ”Sup?” Beluga greeted as he sat down next to Ben.

Ben observed Beluga's Unique style. He still wore his signature purple pimp hat and sunglasses, but exchanged the robe for a purple jogging suit with white stripes. 'Is he Barney the dinosaur? Why does he only wear purple?' Ben wondered.

”Hey. I've been meaning to ask you. I've noticed your clothes are a bit…unorthodox. What's with that?” Ben asked.

Beluga turned to Ben. With his mouth hanging open, he slid his fingers along the brim of his hat and tipped it. ”This righteous gear?”

'Don't feed the troll,' Ben reminded himself as he stayed silent.

”This is peacocking,” Beluga said.

”Peacocking?”

”Yea, you've heard of the bird peacock? With the beautiful feathers? Those birds attract mates with their fancy feathers. The ones with the flashiest feathers get the most females. In pick up, we have a similar concept. Flashy clothes can attract attention from females. Many people will look at you which is good for your image. Females may even open you. At the very least, you'll have an extra conversation topic when they ask you about the clothes.”

Ben thought about it. 'That's interesting. Maybe I should try that.' Then he saw Antonio approaching from down the street. He was peacocking too.

Antonio wore giant green feather shoulder pads that were bigger than his head. They extended out to his elbows from his blue polka dot jacket. This was peacocking to a whole new literal level.

Ben gulped. 'I better stick with classic styles. You can't go wrong with those…'

When Antonio arrived, Beluga looked at his outfit and nodded. People all around the park stared at them as the two showed looks of pride. This was the attention they were after.

It didn't matter to them that most of those looks were of disgust.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Ben tried to keep a poker face watching all this.

Antonio wasn't too surprised to see Ben's improved body because Ben had warned him ahead of time. After some appetizing small talk, it was time to get to the main course.