Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Look John, just take it in. Can you believe our luck?"

"Oh yeah. It's pretty shitty," Murphy muttered, head tipped back against the hard metal seat. The only reason he had agreed to ride this Ferris Wheel was to get Jaha away from the Pig Races. Now they were stuck at the top, overlooking all of Ark and the city fairgrounds.

Correction, they were lucky to be stuck up here. Murphy snorted out loud at that.

"John, we are being given the gift of wonder and awe. We are removed and above the fray. Perspective, it's all about perspective," Jaha lectured, gesturing grandly as Murphy thought back on the poor choices that landed him here.

It was his own fault for forgetting about volunteer sign-ups. It turns out the Ark Parks and Recreation Department was where the leftover seniors ended up. The ones who still wanted to graduate, but had managed to forget the volunteer requirement. Jasper and Monty because they were serving after school detention the first month of the year. Bellamy because he was so busy with real-life responsibilities that he forgot. Murphy because he honestly couldn't be bothered.

So while everyone else was using their volunteering requirement to pad college applications and gain real world experience, Murphy was being mentored by the city loon. Technically Jaha was the Head of Cultural Enrichment. As far as Murphy could tell, it was a made-up position for the former mayor.

Jaha had spent his first year post-mayor founding a very annoying cult. According to city hall gossip, city leadership had decided it was better for everyone if he was given the illusion of influence and something to occupy his time.

Murphy was Jaha's new something. Jaha had quickly identified him as a protege, mistaking his apathy for a rare zen-like insight. Together, he decided, they were going to fix this city.

Most days this meant Murphy trailed behind Jaha, writing down the crazier quotes for his blog justcultleaderthings.tumblr.com.

"There is a reason we have been put in this position. We must use what we learn in this moment to enrich the people of Ark," determined Jaha. The cart swung slightly and Murphy willed it to detach and put him out of his misery.

"Now, let's take this time to find our light..."

"That's it," Murphy pulled his legs up from under the metal lap bar so he was crouched on the bench. "I can't do this anymore."

He stood and reached over for the nearest brace. They were maybe 200 feet up. If the fall didn't kill him, it would at least make it impossible for him to join anymore of Jaha's peace walks.

"Magnificent, John. Look at you. You're taking your fate in your hands. Remarkable."

Murphy rolled his eyes as he sidled farther along the brace, swinging down to the next lower rung.

"What the hell?" Came a deep voice from below as Murphy's feet landed hard on the metal brace.

"Relax,"he said, looking down at Bellamy and Clarke in the cart below him. "I'll be out of your way in just a second and you can get back to making out."

"We weren't--"

"What are you--"

Murphy ignored their sputtering. He was too busy using the back of their seat for leverage to get even further from Jaha.

He made it down two more rungs before it looked like he might be stuck.

Honestly, he didn't mind as long as he was further from Jaha then he had been all day--including bathroom breaks. He sat down on the brace below him and crossed his feet, considering his options.

"So how did you end up here?" asked a voice below, traced with mirth. Murphy looked down. There was a cart just off to his left and a girl about his age was turned to face him.

"Hey, Emori," Murphy licked his lips trying to find the words to explain his bizarre situation to probably the coolest girl in Ark. Well, coolest to him. "I could tell you the gory details, but I'd rather you didn't think I was crazy."

"Now I'm interested," she asked, her mouth quirked.

"Yeah? I'd like to keep it that way," he said, feeling his ears flush a bit.

"You think you can swing over here? I have room for one more," she said, scooting over slightly. "But only if you share the gory details."

He pretended to consider for a moment.

"Yeah, I think I can do that."

It wasn't the most graceful drop into a ferris wheel cart, but it seemed to do the trick. He was briefly pressed into Emori's side as he slid beneath the lap bar and she stayed close as he settled in beside her.

Just then, he heard a faint shout from above.

"It is your destiny, John! Your destiny!"

And in that one moment, he couldn't find it in himself to hate Jaha. Not completely.

Chapter Text

"John Murphy, come on down!" the disembodied voice bellows, filling the studio as Jaha jumps to his feet and pulls Murphy up with him. Their row is standing, cheering, and clapping Murphy on the back. Mbege is stunned, eyes wide with glee. Bastard.

Murphy sees the camera swivel and zero in on him from the rafters. It's almost as creepy as the situation is horrifying.

"You've been chosen!" Jaha shouts, his hands twisted in Murphy's matching white t-shirt. He looks positively thrilled. Then, with a wink, "What are the chances?"

Murphy rolls his eyes. For a statistics professor, Jaha is obsessed with chance and fate. Namely, Murphy's fate: winning the Showcase.

Murphy doesn't budge, he's looking for a way out when Jaha shoves him forward and the crowd carries him down the row. Suddenly he's standing alone at the top of the stairs overlooking the Price is Right studio.

He is going to end Mbege. Failing statistics would have been fine. Another semester of crippling debt? Just add it to the tab. This, to get a few points of extra credit? Yeah, he is going to end, Mbege, In a non-criminal way.

Taking his time down the stairs, Murphy hears the music end and start up for the second time. An uncomfortable air fills the room as the clapping goes on...and on. He ignores the high-fives from the other contestants as he trudges past to his podium at the far end of the row.

"Wow," says the host, Drew Carey, thrown by Murphy's lack of enthusiasm. "That was different. Okay, George. What's the prize?"
The disembodied voice coughs and introduces a, "Brand new Go-Pro Camera!"

"Alright, John. We'll start the bid with you."

Arms crossed, Murphy leans into the mic and says, "One dollar."

"Huh. You know, most people don't start with the one dollar bid," says Drew, "That's a strategy we don't usually see."

"Yeah," Murphy mutters, sniffing loudly and rubbing his nose.

He doesn't win the round. Or the next. He sticks with the one dollar bid which requires literally no thought. It also means Murphy gets to stay where he is and zone out. Debra from Orange County wins a wine cooler and Monty from Irvine wins a pressure cooker. Then the plan backfires. Everyone busts and Murphy accidentally wins a hammock swing.

"Joooooohn! Destiny strikes again, John!" Jaha's voice rings above the crowd's applause. As if there were any luck involved. Either way, Murphy is forced to leave the safety of his podium and walk on stage for awkward small talk with the show's host.

"Congratulations, John. I can feel how much you want to be here," says Drew, clasping his hand on Murphy's back. While Murphy respects Drew for acknowledging his disinterest, it's not enough to make him pretend he is happy with the situation.

"That's a, a very interesting shirt there," says Drew, squinting to get a better look. It's white with a shitty, iron-on infinity sign. Handmade by Jaha himself. Murphy can't wait to burn it.

"Oh, just a symbol of my infinite luck," says Murphy, sarcastic and pointedly ignoring Jaha gesturing to his own shirt in the crowd.
He seems to have fulfilled his quota of small talk and so the disembodied voice begins to explain the game. It's a generic grocery pricing game. Murphy stayed home "sick" enough times in middle school to know the rules without any explanation.

He needs to guess the prices of generic household items like toothpaste and bleach. Pretty boring stuff. In fact, he looks so bored while playing that it takes the audience a moment to realize he's good. Damn good. He wins the game, $3,000 and a truly hideous dining set he plans to burn alongside Jaha's shirt.

Drew looks positively befuddled and John toys with telling the truth: it's easy to know the price of household items when you were in charge of making the EBT last to the end of the month.

But he doesn't say anything, just shrugs. He sort of likes Drew. As much as you can like any daytime celebrity that's not outright annoying. The Drew Carey Show was another home "sick show" and It's not his fault Murphy is here.

Stupid Mbege.

Stupid Jaha. He knows that winning the pricing game is just going to add fuel to Jaha's conspiracy theory that Murphy is the student who is meant to win the Showcase, but he could really use the $3,000.

But this is as far as things go.

They cut to a commercial break and the stage lights dim. Jaha is waving his arms wildly in the stands, but Murphy decides the lack of lighting and lack of caring are both good enough reasons to ignore the professor that his college diploma depends on.

He's herded to the big wheel for the Showcase Showdown and a PA is explaining how the game will work when they return from the break.
It's simple and Murphy already plans to bust big, so he's not paying attention when suddenly his shoulder is jabbed with a pen.

"Hey, John. Just nod so I can claim you heard me," says the PA, a brown-haired girl holding a clipboard with a headset around her neck. Murphy notices she has a floral tattoo across her shoulder, it's wrapped around a large, dark birthmark, and she is wearing a faded HAIM t-shirt. She's also smiling at him.

It's bright and genuine and not the look of someone who is currently trying to wrangle the least enthusiastic contestant to ever appear on America's most peppy game show. He is very confused.

He must look it because she just rolls her eyes good-naturedly and says, "Good enough."

They're back from commercials and Murphy is up to spin.

"Is there anyone you would like to say hi to back home, John?" asks Drew, drawing out the time before John can spin and this whole thing is over.

"Not particularly," he replies. It's an answer that should surprise no one, but Drew seems to have taken a liking to Murphy.

"Really, what about that guy?" Drew says, pointing at Jaha in the stands, matching shirt and all. Thankfully Jaha has his eyes closed and appears to be meditating. "He was very enthusiastic during the pricing game."

"Never seen him in my life," mutters Murphy.

Next thing he knows, he is is spinning the wheel and landing on the $1 slot. He would almost feel bad for knocking out Monty, but he's more concerned that his afternoon in hell has just been extended to a late afternoon in hell. Jaha is going to be insufferable.

"What are the chances," shouts Drew over the roar of the excited audience. Murphy would really love to never hear that phrase again.

They cut to a final commercial break before the Showcase and the PA comes over to Murphy's podium, shaking her head with a smile.

"My, my John. Today seems to be your day," she says adjusting his microphone to the proper height. Her badge says Emori, Production Assistant.

"Don't you mean my lucky day?" he asks sourly.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I've never seen someone less happy to be here. It's kind of great. Although," she looks at him thoughtfully and it makes his stomach flip unexpectedly, "I suppose I should apologize."

Murphy isn't following. He shakes his head a little and she continues.

"That Jaha guy, he writes to us weekly about getting on the show. I don't mean being in the audience, he's been here like a hundred time, but, like, getting called on down," she says.

Then, a few weeks ago, the letters changed to 'my student's destiny is to win the Showcase ' and I figured letting you come on was a good compromise," she shrugs. "Hopefully this gets him off my back."

Murphy looks at her incredulously, "Destiny my ass."

Emori snorts at that.

"Don't tell me you believe in all that," she laughs.

He tilts his head and smiles at her, genuine for the first time all day.

"Oh, and here I thought you got me," he says

He can hear the producer through her headset. She's counting down to the return from commercial break.

"Good Luck, John," Emori says with a wink. Luck my ass.

As much as he dislikes people, Murphy really tries not to stereotype. He is an equal opportunity hater. But his competition for the Showcase is...something else.

Her name is Ontari and she's a type-A, affluent sorority girl from god knows where. She ignores Murphy, but loudly announces her boyfriend is watching at home while side-eyeing him. He rolls his eyes and reminds her this isn't a live show.

She's also a total bitch to the crew shouting that she needs a mirror, stat. Seconds before they go to air, she grabs Murphy and makes him switch podiums so she is closer to the camera.

All in all, Murphy thinks he might hate her more than he hates Jaha. Which throws a major wrench in his plan to not care about the Showcase.

Thankfully, Ontari makes it real easy for him. She is so thrilled by her showcase, a set of Kate Spade purses, a trip to Hawaii, and a boat, that she places a stupidly high bid. At $47,650 it's like a politician trying to guess the price of milk.

So when it's Murphy's turn, he barely pays attention to his showcase. There's a bunch of camping gear, a big TV, and a set of golf clubs he plans to add to his bonfire of stuff he does not want. It looks like his original plan will work just fine.

He leans into the mic.

"One dollar."

"Gee John, you really seem to like that strategy," says Drew, looking up from his index cards. Murphy senses he wants to say more, but Drew's a professional.

"Well, you certainly didn't go over," he continues, as Murphy's podium lights up with the difference between his bid and the actual price. Then it's Ontari's turn.

She's seems to be the only one surprised that she lost. While Murphy is shaking hands with Drew, Ontari is throwing a full on tantrum at her podium. Murphy hears the moment her mic is cut mid, "I DESERVE THIS. I WAS RAISED FOR THIS--."

Next thing Murphy knows he is in the air, being spun around by a tearful Jaha. Thankfully, Emori appears with something about papers that need to be signed in private. Murphy bites back a grin and just nods his head as he follows her backstage.

"The one dollar bid!" Jaha shouts at his retreating back. "I believe that is what they call having faith, John."

John just rolls his eyes. He did his part, that doesn't mean he's going to give Jaha the satisfaction.

"Faith?" he says, spinning to look at Jaha as he walks away. "Nah. Just had nothing better to do."