Let Them Dare

The school beauty was obsessed with dares. Over the course of high school, she had made people bark like dogs on the sports field and even made someone confess their love to one of the cafeteria ladies. On the day of our final exam, she was feeling mischievous again. While we were riding to the exam venue on a school bus, she secretly hid everyone's admission tickets. She called it our 'last big adventure'. "Come on, everyone! Start looking! If you find yours, we'll all walk into the exam room together. If you don't..." She grinned. "I guess I'll see you all next year!" I frowned and was just about to stop her when rows of comments suddenly appeared before my eyes. [Our girl is so cool! It's the final exam, but she still has the guts to take things this far.] [Ugh, that other girl is so annoying. Here she goes again, trying to lecture our girl.] [Let her keep pushing her luck. If she dares call the police and ruin our girl's finals, the male lead will retaliate by changing her college application to St. Aldwyn University. Then, he'll deliberately make things difficult for her. It won't be long before he drives her into depression and suicide. [Meanwhile, with the male lead supporting our girl every step of the way, she'll become the youngest Doctor of Medicine in the country.] I froze. Then, without a word, I closed the emergency call screen. Instead, I opened my offer from Cromwell University and clicked 'Accept'. Chapter 1 The next second, a large hand reached over and snatched my phone away. I looked up and found myself staring straight into Elias Chapman's guarded eyes. "Forget about running to the teacher. Jasmine means well. Until the game is over, I'm holding on to your phone." Before I could say a word, Jasmine Carter peeked out from behind Elias. Her eyes were red, as if she were about to cry. "Larissa, you're our class president. I know you don't like me, and I know the teachers always take your side. But this is the last time we'll all be together. I just want all of us to have something to look back on. Even if I get expelled for this, I'll accept it." The moment she said that, I became the enemy of the entire class. The classmates who had still been hesitating a moment ago then began taking Jasmine's side. "She just loves running to the teachers and tattling. Does she seriously think she's the principal?" "Forget her. There's no way the school is going to stop our whole class from taking the finals just because of something this small." "Dude, this is our last crazy adventure before graduation! If we vlog this, we could totally go viral!" "I can't wait! Jasmine, come on, start already! If anything goes wrong, we'll all take the blame together. We're not a bunch of snitches!" [Wow, no wonder everyone dotes on our girl. She has the male lead protecting her, and now, the whole class is on her side too.] [Our poor girl was about to cry. My heart hurts for her! When is that annoying girl finally going to disappear?] [This is it! That annoying girl is going to realize nobody is listening to her, and she's about to completely lose it.] As I watched the comments continue scrolling across my vision, I let out a mocking laugh. "Who said I was going to tell the teacher? This time, I'm playing with you." The comments stopped instantly. Even Elias froze. "You mean it? You're not trying to pull something again, are you?" The suspicion in his eyes made me finally believe what the comments had been saying. He was no longer the Elias who had promised to meet me at St. Aldwyn University. I gave a bitter little smile, snatched my phone back, and hurled it out the window. "Do you believe me now?" Elias stared at me in disbelief. A flash of panic crossed his face. Jasmine froze too. Clearly, she had not expected me to do something like that. "Well, look who finally came around." Ryan Grisling, who was in charge of class activities, glanced at Jasmine. When he saw that she was not objecting, he immediately called out, "Then how about we go all the way? Everyone shut off their phones. Nobody will be able to reach us!" He held up his phone and waved it around for the whole class to see before pressing down hard on the power button with his thumb. "Watch this!" he shouted. He switched off his phone, and the screen instantly went black. "Anyone who doesn't turn theirs off is a coward." The whole class erupted. Some students pulled out their phones, some hesitated, and others looked to Jasmine. Jasmine quickly recovered and smiled as she shut off her own phone. "Larissa already agreed, so let's do it. At least nobody will bother us. We can have some real fun." Elias reached out as if to stop them. "Is this going too far? What if we miss the exam...?" Ryan shot me a sideways glance, then grinned at Jasmine. "Then I guess we'll see who gets unlucky." Jasmine blinked. "Exactly. It's a game. There has to be a winner and a loser." The moment she finished speaking, the entire class switched off their phones almost in perfect unison. Elias pressed his lips together, then turned off his phone too. [Wait, why is the other girl not stopping everyone this time?] [Yeah. What if there is an emergency while everyone's phones are off?] [Who cares? With the other girl here, there will always be someone to take the blame.] I stared at the comments and sneered. They were right. This was Jasmine's crazy adventure. If I refused to play, they would call me a killjoy and accuse me of ruining everyone's fun. If I played along, I would be the one who lost. Other people would get a simple punishment, like having to bark like a dog in front of everyone. My punishment, however, would be much worse. My most embarrassing photos would be turned into the entire class's profile pictures, my private messages with Elias would be posted all over the school forum, and the whole school would mock me for being a simp. In the end, I would even be forced to give up my spot in the academic competition. Elias had once been the person who always stood up for me. Later, he would come to see me as rigid and boring, someone who knew nothing about having fun. He even chose to stand with them and help them destroy my shot at the finals. What they did not know was that this time, I was the one in control. Chapter 2 Seeing how eager everyone was, I smiled faintly. What a bunch of idiots. They thought they were playing some immersive game? They would be lucky if they even figured out what killed them in the end. I could not help feeling secretly pleased. Jasmine clapped her hands and laughed, shooting me a challenging look. "Then let the game begin." Somehow, she produced an envelope. She announced, "The first clue is right beneath your feet." The bus erupted into chaos. Ryan was the first to hit the floor. He flattened himself against it and reached beneath a seat, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Damn. It's blank." "That's just a decoy." Jasmine's eyes curved with amusement. "The real exam admission slips are hidden somewhere much harder to find." Someone kicked a seat, and someone else slammed into a handrail. Backpacks were turned upside down, spilling papers all over the floor. The aisle filled with students crouching, crawling, and stretching on tiptoe to search the overhead racks. The air grew thick with sweat and all kinds of other smells. Ryan rushed to the luggage racks and started rummaging through the bags one by one. He was making enough noise to sound like he was taking the bus apart. "Maybe they're hidden behind the seat covers?" An entire row of students started pulling at the fabric covers, running their fingers along every seam. "Nothing." "Ew, gross... I just touched chewing gum." Some students cursed, while others laughed. A few had already grown tired of searching, slumping back against their seats and breathing heavily as they gave up. Another student, Wayne Stony, stood off to the side with his camera, recording everything while providing commentary. As Jasmine's most loyal sidekick, he could not resist flattering her. "Jasmine, you really know how to have fun. This is way better than what some people do, which is to run straight to the teachers." Jasmine clapped her hands, cheering everyone on. "This is our last chance to do something crazy together. Of course, I want to make it memorable! Come on, everyone!" Minute after minute passed, but nobody found a single exam admission slip. Even the comments streaming across my vision began to change. At first, they had been blindly cheering Jasmine on. Now, some people were starting to question her. [The female lead hid the exam admission slips in her bra. How is anyone supposed to find them?] [Hmm... I'm starting to think she actually wants to drag everyone down with her.] [The person above must be a hater. Our girl has the male lead. Why would she care about the finals?] [Um... Won't the other students care? Like Sheila Benson, who worked her way here from some tiny town.] My gaze sharpened as I watched Jasmine happily move around the bus. No wonder she was wearing that oversized hoodie, and no wonder she was just handing out clues without joining the search. The exam admission slips were hidden beneath her hoodie. She had the entire bus running in circles while everyone wasted their time searching for something that was right under their noses. However, this was no ordinary classroom for her to toy with. It was the school's top honors class, the one the teachers and administration took the greatest pride in. It was also the class that our teacher, Andrew Rogers, had pushed himself to exhaustion for, collapsing beside the podium more than once. Even after he ended up in the hospital, he still worried about us and continued going over problems with us from his hospital bed. I clenched my fists. In the end, I still could not stand by and do nothing. While everyone was complaining, I fixed my eyes on Jasmine. "Are the exam admission slips really somewhere on this bus?" The smile on Jasmine's face faltered. "Larissa, what exactly are you trying to say?" I glanced around the chaotic bus. "Forty minutes, 45 people. And not one person has found a single ticket. That doesn't make sense." Elias frowned and stepped in front of Jasmine, shielding her from me. "That just means Jasmine hid them well. If you have enough time to pick a fight, maybe you should spend it searching through the trash." "Exactly. We're having fun. Even if we miss the finals, we're fine with that." "I bet she's already regretting it and wants to quit. Too bad. She isn't getting out of it that easily." Voices came at me from every direction. Jasmine stood in the middle of the crowd, looking smug as she shrugged at me. I pointed at her and opened my mouth. Before I could say a word, Ryan suddenly shouted from the other side of the bus, "I found one!" He pulled a crumpled exam admission slip from a hidden compartment inside a trash can and held it over his head. "Whose is it? Whose?" Everyone surged forward. Ryan straightened the paper and looked at the photo, then he grinned at me. "Larissa Foster." He held out the ticket. "Larissa, this one's yours." I had barely taken it from him when I heard a sharp rip. The exam admission slip bearing my photo was torn clean in two. Half landed in my hand. Ryan held the other half between his fingers and waved it around. "No need to thank me. You accused Jasmine for no reason, so I think you owe her an apology." He clapped his hands. "I think this is a pretty good way to make that happen." The entire class burst into laughter. "Nice one, Ryan." "That is what she gets. Jasmine was just trying to help us blow off some steam. Why has Larissa been trying to stop her every step of the way?" "Isn't that a little too far? How is Larissa supposed to get into the exam room now?" Elias walked over and pushed his way through the crowd. "All right, enough. Guys, keep looking. We have 15 minutes left." His eyes fell on the half of the exam admission slip in my hand. His voice softened with helpless resignation. "After we get off the bus, I'll go with you to print another one. We still have time." I stared down at the half of the slip clutched in my fingers. My voice came out tight. "No. Don't bother." Chapter 3 Elias froze for a second, his expression darkening. "Fine. Do whatever you want." Jasmine clenched her fingers, her eyes turning red. "Larissa, I never thought things would end up like this. I..." "It has nothing to do with you." Elias slipped an arm around Jasmine's shoulders. "She's just jealous of you. This has nothing to do with you. Come on." Jasmine followed Elias off the bus, but not before turning back to give me a mocking look. [Okay, I actually feel a little sorry for the other girl now.] [It's her own fault! She was trying to expose our girl!] [Exactly! Our girl was only trying to set up a comeback. Why did she have to stick her nose into it? No wonder the male lead goes after her later. She ruins our girl's plans and humiliates her in front of everyone. You think the male lead is just going to let that slide?] [Am I the only one who thinks the other girl has been miserable from the very beginning? [Back in middle school, her stepfather almost sexually abused her. The male lead rescued her, so she thought he was her savior. Instead, he became the trap that eventually cost her her life. Instead, he became the trap that eventually cost her her life.] [Are you kidding me? The male lead saved some pathetic girl on a whim and entertained himself for a while. So what? Did she really expect him to take responsibility for her for the rest of his life? If she could not understand her place and got crushed because of it, she had it coming.] The comments flew past my eyes. I took my half of the exam admission slip and returned to my seat, but my hands would not stop shaking. That was when I finally sobered up. The comments were right. I had already had a hard enough life. Why should I keep worrying about everyone else? For the first time, all I felt was relief. Thank goodness, I had seen the comments. Thank goodness, I had received my acceptance from Cromwell University. As for them? They were no longer my problem. "Seriously, where are they?" "Did anyone find one?" "No. I checked under the seats, the overhead compartments, and the trash cans again. Nothing." "Jasmine, give us another clue! We're almost out of time." Jasmine stomped her foot. "They're right under your feet! Come on, keep looking! You found Larissa's in the trash, didn't you?" Elias glanced at his watch. "What's everyone freaking out about? They'll give us a 15-minute grace period even if we're late. We just have to make it there before the cutoff. Take your time." That was what he said, but nobody could sit still anymore. The bus fell quiet, with the only sound being the soft rustling of everyone searching for their admission slips. Five minutes before the exam was scheduled to begin, Mr. Rogers finally arrived at the bus. "The exam is about to start! What are all of you still doing here?" He was sweating and breathing hard as he stood by the bus door. "Mr. Rogers, we're playing a game. We're looking for our exam admission slips." Jasmine blinked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Are you all out of your mind?" Andrew's voice shot up. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Whoever hid them, hand them over right now." Jasmine flinched and took a small step back. Elias immediately moved in front of her. "Mr. Rogers, why are you yelling? We all agreed to play. You're scaring Jasmine." "Exactly." Ryan looked annoyed. "We know what we're doing. You don't need to come in here and scare us." "Come on. Stop wasting our time." Mr. Rogers pointed at them, too angry to speak for a moment. Then, he turned to me. "Larissa, what happened? Why didn't you stop them? I couldn't even reach you on your phone." I said nothing. I simply stared at the exam admission slip in my hand. Mr. Rogers followed my gaze. When he saw the torn half of the paper, he froze. "This... Who did this?" Only then did I slowly look up. "Mr. Rogers, please don't ask." He crouched down and stared at the torn slip. Then he looked around at the entire class. Nobody answered. "We'll deal with the slip after the exam. Right now, everyone goes into the exam room." Nobody moved. "Mr. Rogers, she chose to play the game herself," Ryan said. "Exactly. Now she's acting like the victim." "You always take her side." Mr. Rogers took a deep breath. His voice came out hoarse. "Enough. Just take the exam first, okay?" Nobody said a word. Mr. Rogers took my arm and helped me off the bus. "Come on. We'll get you a replacement exam slip first." Chapter 4 The moment I stepped off the bus, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The students began filing into the exam rooms, with only a few stragglers still running toward the building. Mr. Rogers took a couple of steps before stopping. "Go get your replacement slip. I'll go check on the others." I nodded without saying anything. By the time I came back out with my replacement exam slip, a commotion had broken out at the school entrance. "What do you mean you forgot? My mom is going to kill me if she finds out I missed the finals!" "You hid them! How could you forget?" "There was a whole stack of them. Where could you have hidden them? Keep looking!" Jasmine stood surrounded by the others, sobbing so hard that she could barely catch her breath. "It's all Larissa's fault! She kept pressuring me and asking where the slips were. I got so scared that I completely forgot where I put them." However, no one was buying her excuses anymore. Elias looked grim as he searched through Jasmine's bag again and again. At the entrance to the exam venue, Mr. Rogers stood with his phone pressed to his ear, his brow tightly furrowed. "Yes, the honors class... There was a problem with their exam admission slips..." He hung up and immediately made another call. Halfway through, he hung up again. When he looked up, his eyes were slightly red. "I'll think of something." His voice had lost all confidence. A crowd of parents surrounded Jasmine, their voices growing sharper by the second. "Find them! My child is going to miss the final because of you. I won't let this go!" "A game? You thought this was a good idea? You're old enough to know better than to pull stunts like this!" Jasmine stood there with red eyes, staring at the ground. Someone was already panicking. "Wait, what if I take my kid to get another slip printed?" "How? The exam has already started. Even if you get another one, they won't let them in!" "Then what are we supposed to do? Just accept this?" "My kid has already repeated an entire year!" The voices grew more frantic. Some parents started crying. Others began making phone calls. One even rushed over to the security guard. "Please, just make an exception! My child is right here, and the teacher is here too. Just let them in and take the exam!" No one answered. The security guard turned his face away. The proctor glanced down at his watch. Everyone stared at the entrance as the doors slowly swung shut. Then came a quiet click. The doors locked. Jasmine spotted me, and her eyes suddenly lit up. "Larissa has an early acceptance to one of the top universities in the country. She can talk to the school and ask them to give us another chance to take the finals." The moment she finished speaking, every eye turned toward me. Ryan was the first to react. "Yeah! Larissa can talk to the administration and get us a chance to retake the finals!" "Exactly! The school can't just let the entire honors class lose their chance at college because of this, can they?" someone immediately chimed in. "Larissa, please help us. For you, it's just one conversation with the school." Another wave of noise surged toward me. Only this time, nobody was yelling at me. They were all begging me for help. [No wonder everyone dotes on our girl. It only took her a few words to dump all the trouble onto that other girl.] [You're actually praising her for this? She just dumped her own mess on someone else. That's seriously messed up.] [Still, why does that other girl look so calm? Does she have another trick up her sleeve?] I ignored the comments scrolling endlessly before my eyes and simply watched the whole ridiculous scene unfold. How ironic. Twenty minutes ago, they had been tearing my slip in half. Now, they were looking to my college admission to save them. Elias walked over too. He looked at me and parted his lips slightly, but in the end, he said nothing. He did not ask me to help. However, he did not stop anyone else from begging me either. "An early acceptance to one of the top universities in the country?" Everyone fell silent, waiting for me to say more. I looked at them calmly. "Sorry, that won't help you. An hour ago, I already accepted my offer from Cromwell University."