The Games of Fear
Story 2
By Alvin Atwater
I
Previously...
“That would be a good idea,” a voice said, “but only if you make it out of here alive.”
That voice was Erica.
Now…
Erica’s vicious glare pierced my ability to move. I should spell this out in simple terms: she’s extremely… extremely…EXTREMELY angry.
To recap what happened so far, I was trapped in one of my so-called genius friend, Justin’s, daily games, and after winning, I got cornered by one of his minions during non-game (or non-bet) hours. Without my consent whatsoever, this mad scientist forces me into bets that appear to be simple on the outside but in actuality is insane. I simply have to avoid a lip-kiss by any of his minions until five and I win. Every day. To make the challenge actually a challenge, he equip the girls with his crazy inventions. And they have two choices: steal a kiss or force me into submission by any means necessary…
When I say crazy inventions. We’re talking about things that you see in cartoons or movies: laser guns, glowing swords, jetpacks equipped with weaponry, you name it. My name is Robert (call me Rob) and I hate my life.
Speaking of laser guns, Erica has me at gunpoint with one of those at this moment.
“The bet is over,” I told her. “Just let me go.”
“Let you go?” Erica said with a short laugh. “Really, Rob. Really? After all of the crap you put me through today, do you honestly think I’m going to let you go.”
“How is this my fault?” I muttered. My stomach growled. I could really use a cheeseburger or maybe a slice of pizza. Justin did give me some cash for winning but I’m stuck here with Erica because I wanted to pick up Haley’s dropped sword. (Read story one if you’re curious about her).
“How is this not your fault?” Erica scolded. She fired the laser gun next to my foot. I flinched when I saw the small hole that it created. If that laser hit me, I die –no ifs ands or buts about it. This sucked. Erica’s parents probably neglected her as a child, which spawned a result of a potential murderer. (Now I’m in danger because of them!)
“Because it’s Justin’s fault,” I told her. “Whatever he fed to you were probably lies. He’s trying to make you into a murderer for his own enjoyment.” She fired another laser –this time, next to my other foot.
“He’s actually a really, really nice person,” Erica said. “I don’t like the way you’re trying to look down on him.” She aimed at my chest and fired… I probably would have sustained an injury if Erica were a good shot. The laser hit the glowing sword that I held and deflected back at the gun. Good news? Yes. That made Erica drop the weapon. What happened next, you ask? I bolted out of there. Too bad this was far from over but at least for the time being, I’m alive for the rest of the day. And sadly, the weapon took no damage from the shot.
I stopped at a crowded Wendy’s and ordered a bacon burger. There’s no way I’m going home on an empty stomach. (Luckily, for me, everyone thought the glowing sword I had was just a toy.) I think I munched the burger down in a matter of seconds. My cell phone rung. I glanced at the caller id. Dad. Should I answer it…should I answer I not?
“Well if I value my life, ignoring Dad’s call would be unwise.” I opened my flip phone. “He—”
“Get here now! I am not in the mood to explain how you clumsily broke your mom’s favorite plate and to add insult to injury; you left your cute guest.”
“But –”
“No buts. You’re probably at Wendy’s gorging yourself over a bacon burger neglecting the fact that dinner is being prepared here! You disappoint me, son.” Dad hung up. Cute guest, huh? Dad should have realized that Chelsea was my sisters’ guest, not mine. Crap! Speaking of Chelsea, I never gave her an answer. However, since the bet is over and Justin probably “rubbed salt on her wound,” there is no doubt she was probably angry. I only witnessed her cute and kind side before I pretended to go to Grandma’s house. Like Haley, Chelsea would probably snap too. I don’t… know what invention Justin gave her.
My phone suddenly beeped indicating that I received a text message. When I saw that it was from Dad, I didn’t bother reading it. I raced out the door and to the nearest bus stop. When I boarded the bus, I took a seat in the back and rested. Man, life would be nice if I brought my headphones. Tunes are a nice way to drown out one’s sorrows. I began to drift to sleep but a sudden stop prevented it. Guess who boarded the bus… Yes, Erica.
II
I ducked and closed my eyes. Please, PLEASE don’t let her find me. The bus began to move but I knew I still couldn’t relax. After all, this same situation fooled me with Haley’s appearance. Seconds passed and then eventually minutes. If Erica hadn’t sat by now then who knows. With her on the bus, I couldn’t stop at my house. I pulled the line in which halted the bus by a mall, a block from home. Holding the sword tightly, I darted off the bus. Did Erica follow? Who knows? I just kept running until I reached the entrance of the mall and then stopped and turned around. Nothing. Oh yeah, Erica isn’t homeless –so most likely she went home. I won’t doubt that she probably was slightly irritated with seeing me exiting the bus at a fleeing pace. Time to go home, I thought. Before I had the chance to move, I felt something push against my head.
“Come on, let’s get to the back of the mall,” said Erica. I started to walk. “You know, you would’ve gotten away had you not stopped at the entrance.”
When we were in the alley, she pinned me against the wall.
“Since we’re sort of in non-bet hours I really don’t see how this would benefit you,” I said.
“Remember what I’ve told you earlier, I’m trying to establish a world record but you must be my first.”
“Why me? You’re really pretty –any guy would –”
“Shut it. You’re so dense that it’s driving me nuts.” Erica put her laser gun into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. She sent off a text message. “Rob, let me ask you something. What would you do if Justin approved my actions during non-bet hours?”
“He’d never –”
Her phone beeped twice. “Oh you’re lucky,” Erica said and showed me the phone.
The text read: No, I cannot approve of that. I am fulfilling my friend’s dream of being chased by girls while being paid for it. Well, it is an unconfirmed dream but since he’s male, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind. Besides, with the results he’s giving for my research, I’ll be able to operate task X4 pretty soon.”
“What a jerk!” I snarled. “Why can’t he use someone as a guinea pig? I’m tired of this game.”
The micro camera pinned to my shirt –which automatically jumped to any shirt I wore – would’ve transferred my words over to Justin had he not set its operating times to just bet hours. The stupid thing is also waterproof, fireproof –whatever. I cannot get around Justin’s forced bets.
“Don’t badmouth Justin,” Erica said. “Anyway, I’ll proceed to starting this thing without Justin’s blessings.”
Her phone rung. When she opened it, get this: A freaking hologram of Justin popped out.
“Don’t defy me, Erica. If you want your attempt for fame to succeed, you must follow my guidelines. By failing to follow them, you’ll live the rest of your life in misery worse than Hell itself.”
Erica sighed. “Fine.”
“Good girl,” said the hologram.
“Justin, you –” it vanished before I even got the chance to get to the midpoint of my sentence. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“I’ll let you go today…but once the next bet becomes active, I’ll steal a kiss.”
She tried to walk away but I grabbed her arm. “Why are you obeying him?”
“It’s obvious,” she said. “He has something that I need and well… getting what I want isn’t exactly free.” Erica shook away her arm and walked off. Another crappy situation somewhat avoided and on top of that, I found out some new information regarding Justin. Just what is this task X4 and why is he using me for his research? I’ll somehow catch onto this mad scientist’s plan even if it kills me.
III
I climbed through my bedroom window (good thing I’m downstairs and left it unlock this morning) and flipped on the light switch. First thing’s first, hide the glowing sword and the bag of money. Underneath the bed? Nah, too cliché –let’s try the inside of my dresser drawers. After hiding the goods, I headed into the main room but stopped in the hall when I saw Mom talking with Dad. I waited until she went upstairs and then slipped into the kitchen. My sisters were eating dinner with Chelsea.
“Welcome back, Rob,” Rina said with a falsely innocent face. “How was Grandma’s?”
I opened the fridge without responding. “I’m guessing it wasn’t that fun of an experience. Justin called and said sent you an email.”
“Tch. What a nuisance,” I said as I grabbed a soda. I glanced at a nearby clock. 8:02 PM.
Before I had the chance to ask, Rina answered my question with, “Chelsea’s spending the night. Please be nice to her.” Everyone left but Chelsea.
“Have any plans for tomorrow after school? Should be a nice Friday.”
I sat in a nearby chair: thank goodness for non-bet hours. Otherwise, this conversation would be even more awkward than it is now.
“I might meet with a few friends,” I lied. Man, I hated lying but I knew she was hoping for my locations in order to take me down during tomorrow’s bet.
“Oh. I wanted to invite you to a movie,” she said. Not happening.
My cellphone beeped twice. I opened it and noticed a text: Please see email for details about tomorrow’s bet. Thanks. “Such a brat. How the heck does he create these things anyway?” I quickly realized Chelsea was still in the room and cancelled my following insult. She still had a weapon provided by Justin somewhere on her person. Offending her probably wasn’t the brightest idea.
“Well, I guess I’ll hit the showers,” I said as I stood.
“Awe leaving already? I was hoping we could chat some more.”
I think I accidently blushed. “Sure, after my shower. I don’t mind.” My “politeness” had its limits. Well to be honest, playing through my head at that moment was the scene where I rejected my dream girl and told her…never mind. (Just see story 1 to make sense out of any of this.) I took a half hour shower. To shake off a threatening or an annoying houseguest, attack their patience. Most likely, he or she will not wait for you thus ensuring a sweet victory. I changed in gym shorts and a white t-shirt and stepped outside. Chelsea and Aiki, the oldest of my three younger sisters (11th grader), were chatting in the living room. I pretended I didn’t notice them and walked toward my room. Who knows what kind of plan Aiki fed Chelsea while I was away.
I thought I would get at least a little close to my room but; “Hey Rob, I thought we were going to chat some more. How about joining us?”
“Actually, I’m going to head back up to my room,” said Aiki, winking at Chelsea. “Feel free to join me later when you’re done with him.”
Aiki (known as the lesser evil of my sisters) stopped beside and whispered, “Be a man.” She then continued up the stairs. I sighed. Just because she was less evil than my other sisters didn’t mean she was in the clear. If only Mom provided me with at least one brother –someone who would automatically be categorized on my side then I could live my days in relief.
“You should be grateful for having such nice sisters. We’ve been friends for three, no almost four years now?”
….Grateful? Sisters? What Chelsea didn’t understand was the main equation which is sisters + my involvement = pure evil. Well, maybe I could’ve devised a better equation. Sisters = annoying and pure evil. There.
“True,” I said softly. “Time flies fas –”
“ROBERT! GET HERE NOW!” that was Mom’s yell. Dad probably reminded her about the plate. Douche move.
“They’re so embarrassing,” I said softly. “Be right back.”
“Kay,” said Chelsea.
Let’s just skip to after Mom nearly made me deaf. When I trotted downstairs, Chelsea was reading a novel.
“Ah, The Destined,” I said. “That’s like one of my favorite novel series ever.”
“Oh, you’re back. I saw this lying around and couldn’t help myself. I’m a pretty big fan.” She placed the book back in its original spot. “If you’re free, I’d really like to see the movie. It comes out tomorrow.” She hit a critical point. I’m not just a regular fan of The Destined; I followed every book in the series and even reread them countless times. Now there’s a movie –shoot, because of Justin, I didn’t even know about this beforehand. This is definitely Aiki’s doing. She knew about my addiction to the series and opened Chelsea a path that I’d have a hard time rejecting. I couldn’t let her win….but The Destined movie….and…Justin’s bet. Debating with myself can be quite tiring. I decided to give her a vague answer.
“Maybe,” I said, “if I have any free time.”
“Okay.” She said. “The movie is covering only the first book, so there’s going to be sequels following. It’s going to be awesome.”
I clenched my teeth. You’re not going to make me submit. Suddenly, my phone beeped twice. The text message from Justin read: have you examined the details of the next bet?
Ah. I forgot about that email.
“Well, I’m going to call it a night,” I said. “I have to get up early.”
“Awe. Well, I guess I’ll talk with Aiki for a bit and then head to the guest room. Good night.”
“Night,” I replied as I went toward my bedroom. I opened up my laptop, leeched into my neighbor’s Wi-Fi, and then opened my email. The details of the email revealed the girls who were participating in this round and the time limit to survive. Tomorrow’s game begins as early as 8:30 AM and ends at 4:00 PM, just two hours after school. There were two new girls and two returning. You could guess the two returning girls –one’s in my house while the other one wants to set a ridiculous world record. On that list, a certain girl named Mio worried me. Mio actually transferred to another school approximately one year ago. Like Haley, she’s really pretty but also dangerous. Mio was once my science project partner during my freshman year –which is why I could never forget her aggressive attitude. If she wanted something, she’d take it. To give you a quick digest: Like Haley of earlier today, Mio will be toughest opponent tomorrow. If I wanted to win and avoid the gunpoint wheel of shame, I’d have to avoid all contact with her and if someone mentioned her name, run into the other direction. If Justin didn’t forbid leaving the city, I’d take a trip to my uncle’s every day.
IV
The next morning…
I left my house at 6:30 AM just to avoid Chelsea’s mind games. She’d buy enough time until bet hours and cause more problems for me. But that wasn’t the biggest problem with her –the major problem is the fact that she’s toying with me by not revealing her weapon. If this kept up, Mio wouldn’t be the only “boss” of this game.
Anyway, the only safe place was school until after 2:30 when everyone that is not a teacher is kicked out. I hated going to homeroom early, but there wasn’t a choice. At least Justin’s minions didn’t reside there. By the way, at this moment it is 7:30 AM. It normally takes about twenty minutes to get to my school from my house using the city bus. To buy that time, I decided to walk to another bus stop –a sacrifice that had to be made. I knew my homeroom teacher allowed students to come in early and sit. By the way, there’s a major detail that I’m going to reveal: Justin is this class. He walked in at the same time as the rest of the class minutes later.
“Hey Rob,” he said as he approached my desk. To avoid something as silly as a suspension, I bottled away my anger. Normally, I’m non-violent –but Justin’s attempts to kill me have created a hidden nature within me and boy did it want to come out. I quickly decided to attempt at getting the bets negated….for like the millionth time.
“Hello,” I said.
“Congratulations on winning yesterday. That was your second win ever. Did you enjoy spending the money?”
Before I move on, let me tell you I was forced into five bets so far. Lost three and won only two. A way out seemed impossible: If I didn’t read the emails, he sent, then yeah…
“Justin, let’s stop these bets,” I said. He smirked. “Dude, seriously.”
“No.”
I clenched my fists. “You’re causing a lot of trouble.”
“These bets are scientifically designed to help with you with strategizing, physical fitness, and the ability to think outside of your own thought patterns.”
“I don’t care,” I snarled. “I’m quitting. I need my life back. What kind of a friend are you forcing your childish pranks –”
“I decide when you quit,” Justin interrupted in an eerie tone. “I put a lot of money into this project that which includes your compensation. If you want an increase in pay, I could do that.”
“You spoiled brat –want I want is my life back!” I made sure to keep my voice down so that we didn’t attract any unnecessary attention.
“Then it’s settled, I’ll double your pay. Besides, you’re getting close to your final bet, and then I’ll terminate this project just as you wish. There’s a good reason why I can’t stop this now. I've been preparing the final bet for a while. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll take one worry off your shoulder and cover ALL of your college expenses including room and board. You can go wherever you want.”
…I honestly didn’t know how to reject such an offer. He hit a mark dead on and so hard that it wasn’t refutable. Justin was a spoiled, rich, and annoying genius who never lied (maybe to the girls…I think…?).
“Fine,” I said softly. “But after this is over, let’s just go back to the way things used to be –no more of this.”
“Agreed. Your cooperation is giving me a ton of notes but as I’ve said, you’re being paid for this –so no more complaining. I understand how you hate the wheel of shame but that’s also a part of the equation in which I’ve developed. Think psychology –negative reinforcement right?”
“It’s more like you’re just paying for a good laugh,” I said bitterly.
“Maybe you’re right. Good entertainment is quite expensive.” He walked over to his seat in the back of the classroom.
V
After school, my senses jolted from normal to “survivor” mode. By that, I mean some sort of fight or flight senses. Should I catch the bus to get home? My sisters are mostly likely going to invite Chelsea over. And since I don’t know what kind of weapon she had, angering her probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas. My friends lived too far off so hanging out with them until time passed over was out of the question. Since I had teachers that didn’t assign homework, excuses were nonexistent. In other words, I COULDN’T GET OUT OF THIS!
Anyway, I sat on a bench to wait for the bus. A group of students came out of the building and gathered around me. My guess was that they had some sort of afterschool meeting. I recognized a girl from that crowd, stood up, and walked toward a nearby convenient store. If I missed the bus, so be it. The wheel of shame was definitely not worth it! Do you think getting away from the hunters was that easy? No! The girl, Iala, slowly followed me.
Here’s the layout of the store: five isles, one exit (that isn’t an emergency exit), a giant mirror, and a stupid magazine-reading/headphones-wearing clerk that didn’t care about his job. I dashed into isle four and gazed at the mirror.
As if on cue, Iala walked in. “You’re kidding me,” she said. “Where’d you go, Rob? I wanted to ask you if I could borrow yesterday’s math notes.” She really did leave early, causing her to miss our math class. Nevertheless, I’m not stupid, that’s an obvious attempt to open a pathway to me. She walked from the front of isle one to the front of isle two. “Rob? I know you’re here.” I watched the mirror as if my life depended on it. She faced the clerk. “Excuse me, have you seen a –”
“Look, ‘dear’ customer, if you’re going to buy something or ask for directions then do so, if not, please allow me to finish my accounting.” The clerk’s interrupting voice was quite rude.
“Accounting my foot, you’re just sitting on your –”
The clerk interrupted again with a large yawn. YES! KEEP IT UP! Cheering the clerk was the only thing I could do. Iala mumbled something under her breath and then walked over to isle three. “Maybe he just went to the bathroom… G’oh, I bet he’s doing number two. I’m going home. I’ll get the notes later.”
I watched her reflection walk outside the door. The sound of the bus rustled the air and boom, home free! I carelessly walked outside and bumped into ERICA.
VI
Ok, seriously –where did she come from? Oh, this wasn’t the only problem –Iala was still here, walking from the bench. Did she miss the bus or used it as an illusion to pull off such a simple trick. The other students that were there earlier left…so my guess is that I allowed myself to fall for this and as a result, I get to pay double the price. Yippee! Erica immediately held her laser gun up to my head.
“You know, I had no idea you were here,” she said. “I just wanted to pick up a snack or something before catching the next bus. Am I lucky or what?”
“Hey, what are you doing!?” Iala snarled at Erica as she approached.
“I win,” Erica, declared, “So go away!” She fired an inch from her foot. Iala pulled out a mini remote from her pocket and pressed the button. Okay, picture this: a supersonic scream emitting from nowhere that’s so loud that windows are rattling and your body, on its own, forces your hands to cover your ears. That’s what happening at this moment. Iala seemed unaffected. She put on some weird blue gloves.
“This will allow me to carry four hundred times my own weight,” she said. “Even though Erica’s the only one around, I’m a bit embarrassed to kiss you in front of her.” With a single finger, she easily lifted me and hurried into a nearby dark alley or should I say between the convenient store and some unused building. The remote beeped twice and then the blue light on it vanished. The horrifying sound faded away too. “Tch –stupid thing is out of batteries.” Do I have to mention that once again, a girl had me pinned against the wall? In a normal situation and I mean NORMAL, this would be nice. But in this…. Well, let’s just say I’m not really having fun with the knowledge that the wheel of shame was soon to follow. “Anyway, I need to borrow your notes after the kiss.”
She moved in but just in time, a shot from Erica’s laser gun hit her. I thought it would drill a hole through her but instead it created a force, which sent her flying several feet. She painfully landed on her back. At least it looked quite painful because Iala didn’t get up. Oh, why did I leave the sword at home on a day like this? There wasn’t a rule against using Justin’s weapons. I glanced at Iala again. She slowly got up –OH WHAT AM I DOING –I hightailed it out of there. As long as she was okay, I didn’t have to worry. As expected, Erica ignored her and raced after me. More, green laser beams –six to be exact and don’t ask me why I counted them – surfed through the air. Luckily, I managed to dodge them all. Or Erica’s bad aim allowed me to get away.
After minutes of running, I eventually lost her. She most likely was exhausted. Same for me. I decided to sit on a bench in front of a Japanese restaurant. Fortunately, this was also a bus stop, which meant not only could I rest for a while but I could also make a clean getaway.
“Today is so annoying,” I said as I put my head down.
“I agree,” someone said and took a seat next to me. I glanced up and almost lost consciousness. Mio smiled and hugged me.
“Long time no see.”
VII
No. No.No. NOOOOO. I was too careless and now I had the worse price to pay. Mio had jet-black hair and sky-blue eyes. Her aggressiveness –as if I’d forget that. Not even five years of her absence could make me forget her time in my class and as my partner. She’s been away for a year, maybe I should pretend I know nothing of Justin.
“Mio? How have you been?” I added false excitement realistic enough to fool even a ninja.
“I was sort of worried with your non-responsiveness at first. I’d be sad if you forgot me.”
“As if I’d forget you,” I said as I released her. If this were a normal situation, I’d probably melt. One could almost say if Haley weren’t my dream girl, Mio would (without the aggressiveness) reside in her place. Just then Mio kissed me…Don’t fret. It was on the cheek. That was close! That kiss on the cheek was most likely a warning that Mio declared an all-out war against me, but didn’t want a victory that easily. Once again: carelessness on my defenses. What’s wrong with me today? The bus rumbled from a distance and eventually appeared in front of us.
“Hey, Robert, I’m coming over for dinner. I haven’t seen your family in so long.”
“I dunn –”
She boarded the bus before I even had the chance to finish my sentence. BIG MISTAKE! She boarded before me MUWAHAHWAHWA. Even I highly surprised myself when I waved at the bus driver and he drove off. I bet Mio didn’t expect that. HA! Take that Justin. I bet he enjoyed that move through his stupid micro camera. Mio may be aggressive but after going through all of the crap Justin forced me into, cunningness mixed with my nature. I am awesome!!!
I bolted toward another block. At least that’s what I wanted to do until I noticed Mio was suddenly standing in front of me.
“Whoa!” I jumped back, startled. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t being deceived. She touched my forehead and smirked. “It’s me in the flesh.” She flashed a blue plastic wristband. “Teleportation band prototype revision five. It disassembles my molecules and thrusts them at a super high speed through any object to the location that I imagine. It takes a bit of time to charge for each shot though, since it’s a prototype. Pretty cool, don’t you think? How’d you run across a genius friend like Justin?”
“I wish I hadn’t,” I said, nervous. Mio didn’t show any signs of being angry or not. Allow me to take the time to say this: REALLY? TELEPORTATION? HOW IS THAT FAIR? I wanted scream. This wasn’t the only unbeatable weapon Justin provided to certain girls. My previous lost was caused by a girl named Freya. Her weapon was a prototype, invisible-thread producing gloves. The gloves shot threads that were strong enough to carry eight million giant tanks across the Pacific Ocean. She fired them like yoyos and any touched object stuck on. The gloves also gave her extra strength that allowed her to pull me back with ease.
Anyway, it seemed I was in the face of one of Justin’s unbeatable weapons. Thank goodness, this one had a weakness. The other three unbeatable weapons didn’t have a weakness (or a girl as cocky as Mio accidentally giving away the weakness without realizing it).
“Now about that dinner.”
I glanced at the time. “Mom finishes dinner by 7:30. Just make sure to stop by then.”
Before I had the chance to do anything else, Mio kissed me once again on the cheek. “I can’t stop doing that. Your face looks so cute whenever I do that.” Number three –I knew the next one was for the win. I had to keep my distance due or welcome the wheel of shame.
“Mio, how long are you going to be in town?” I asked as we started for another bus stop.
“Just for today and tomorrow. Mom has business here and then we’re leaving Sunday.”
We continued to chat like old friends until we reached the next bus stop ten minutes later. A bus appeared a minute later and we boarded.
Mio sat beside me with a slight smirk on her cute face. There has to be a way to avoid her attacks. She seemed to use a certain pattern –I actually managed to catch onto her “three strikes and you’re out” taunt. I continued to think while remaining on alert. Then it came to me: it wouldn’t be long before Mio moved in for the kiss. I needed to dodge but that wasn’t the hard part. Mio only attacked after she forced me completely off my guard. She probably could’ve won this bet minutes ago if she wasn’t cocky. (Teleportation made escape impossible.) Now that I’ve caught onto her pattern, she can’t win. Just as I predicted, Mio brought up a really interesting conversation. I tuned it out and pretended to be off guard. As expected, she moved in for the kill kiss. I instantly dodged it, grabbed onto her teleportation band and pulled it off just as the bus hit a road bump.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I falsely apologized.
Mio didn’t show any signs of anger. “It’s okay. I didn’t think that stupid thing was very safe to use anyway.” I glanced at the time on my cellphone: 4:01. I’ve done it. I defeated Mio and avoided the wheel of shame! I’ve heard some claps and then there he was, sitting in the seat next to us.
“I’m sorry Justin, I got too arrogant.”
“No, Mio, this was a bit too easy for you. Unfortunately, at the end, Rob sort of caught onto your tactics and dodged your finishing attack. But since you were destined to win but only caused yourself to lose, I’ll give you my blessing anyway. Well, only part of it –sorry but your dreams of moving back here with those funds and getting closer to a certain someone will not be granted.”
Justin pressed the button for the bus to stop, tossed me a moneybag, and got off the bus with Mio.
“She won’t be there for dinner,” was his last words. In a way, I felt slightly bad for Mio because she looked sad as she stepped off the bus. I arrived to my house minutes later. No one appeared to be home so I grabbed a bagel and went straight for my room. My room was dark due to my curtains so I flipped on the light switch. There lying in my bed asleep was Chelsea. Did she even care about the bet or was she timing a way to beat me? Maybe she would turn out to be my greatest opponent. Chelsea awoke the second I took another step into my room.
“Oh my God, I am so sorry,” she said, “Aiki and I was talking and then she said she’d be right back and I feel asleep.”
“I guess it’s okay,” I said. Of course this is Aiki’s doing. My three evil sisters were always at work. I sat at my desk, opened my laptop, and immediately noticed an email notification. It was from Justin.
Dear Robert, it read, you’ve been doing very fine so far. However, soon you’ll taste true fear. Well, actually not fear, since you already have due to the wheel of shame. The final bet isn’t quite ready yet, but it’s about time for a “boss” round. You’ve actually earned enough wins, even against my teleporter equipped on Mio. Very impressive. Erica refuses to sit out and even Mio wants another try. So guess what, I decided if they work together, I‘d give them another shot at my blessing. Your goal is simple. Use that sword you won (as planned) from the other bet to destroy Erica and Mio’s weapons. And, yes, I provided Mio with another teleporter but this one’s not a prototype. In this round, you’ll get three lives. If you’re kissed three times, you lose and the wheel of shame will become your future. I may just include a special guest as well, but I’m not sure if she’d want to participate again.
Boss round starts at 2 P.M. Good luck and your winnings will include your usual pay and two tickets to go see The Destined movie.
I closed the email. “Why doesn’t he just give me a break on the weekends? And who is this special guest –is it you?”
“No. I told him I didn’t want to participate,” Chelsea said. (Yeah, not in this round, but in any other, I’d have to fear that weapon you have yet to reveal.)
“Ah,” I said. “Well he offered two tickets to see The Destined. Will you go with me let’s say around three?”
“Sure,” Chelsea happily answered. “It’s a date then.”
My cellphone beeped twice indicating that I’ve received a text message. Unfortunately, it was from Erica. She sent: You’ve humiliated me for the last time. Seriously, I give up on the record thing; I am going to beat you! I’ll do whatever it takes. To be honest, Justin’s game is kind of fun…
What a nuisance. My phone beeped again the second I put it back in my pocket. This time, the text message was from Mio: Don’t think you’re going to win tomorrow.
Okay, now for sure, I knew Mio was angry.
To be continued…
ns 15.158.61.6da2
