6:28 PM.

Malakai entered his dorm slumped. William was sitting on the couch playing on the PlayStation, which was unusual as he rarely played on it.

"Look who's back! The hyena!" William cheered as he saw Malakai walk in.

Malakai walked into the main area. "What, no welcome-back party? No celebration for me?" he questioned, looking around the messy room.

"The celebrations already happened when you won. Everyone's gone back to their dorms", William replied, pausing his game to talk.

"Everyone? Who came?" Malakai asked, standing with his hands in his pockets.

"All of us with Delilah, Maria and Tanisha", William listed using his fingers.

"You actually had a party without me," Malakai said, covering his yawn with his hand. He looked around the room, and it was evident that people had come over. It wasn't bad, but the place needed to be cleaned up a bit. Sweet wrappers were on the floor, some snacks were on the kitchen table, and the sink was filled with cups and plates.

"You have to tell me what happened. The cameras only showed the driving", William said, resuming his game.

"I'll tell you after I shower", Malakai said, pulling out his phone to check the time. "Who's got the challenge tomorrow?" he asked before walking away.

William thought for a moment, "Only Maria".

Malakai thought for a second. "Aryt", he said, walking towards his room to get some fresh clothes before his shower.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The door opened.

"Yo".

"Hi... Malakai", Maria said slowly. Maria's mind froze for a moment. Malakai was in front of her. Why? She quickly looked him up and down; he wasn't wearing a typical outfit. He wore white slippers with black socks and plain grey night clothes. She recognised this outfit; this was the outfit she would see when they were on the balcony for their talks. She also noticed his hair was damp. Did he just get out of the shower? Did he not use a hairdryer? Seeing his hair like this added a new charm, though. It looked like he was getting ready for bed, but instead, he was standing in front of her. Her outfit wasn't any better; she had a fluffy red robe and white joggers. She didn't expect visitors; when she heard the door knock, she thought it would be Tanisha as she went out to get something from the convenience store. Being seen like this was embarrassing. Why was he here?

"Do you have the challenge tomorrow?" Malakai asked, looking at her and her outfit.

"Y-yeah", Maria replied, nervous about what he thought of what she was wearing; she couldn't keep eye contact for long.

"Do you wanna know what to expect?" He asked.

"Yes, please," she shyly replied flustered. "Come in," she continued, fully opening the door. She welcomed Malakai in and closed the door. "Congratulations on getting first place".

"Thanks", Malakai replied, slowly walking in.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Maria timidly offered.

"Uuh, what do you have?" Malakai asked, taking off his slippers by the door and looking around the dorm.

"I was making hot chocolate", Maria replied.

"You got hot chocolate! Yeah, I'll have one", he excitedly said like a child. "Please", he nearly forgot his manners.

Maria giggled at that reaction, "Okay." She walked to the kitchen area.

"Should I help?" Malakai offered.

"It's fine. It's only hot chocolate", she happily replied, picking up a cup from the cupboard.

Malakai took a seat on the coach, "Are you using milk or water?" he asked.

"Milk. Do you want me to use water?" Maria worriedly replied, having already poured the milk into his cup.

"Na na. Milk is the only way to make hot chocolate", Malakai said, clearly showing his preference. Maria quietly laughed at his response, glad she didn't mess up. This whole experience was still surreal for her. She felt like Malakai's wife right now.

"Maria, are those your slippers by the door?" Tanisha asked from the corridor. "I got the cake you want—" She stopped talking as soon as she saw Malakai sitting on her couch.

"Heeeyyyy", Malakai waved and greeted in a jokey voice.

"Why are you here?" Tanisha bluntly asked.

"I'm telling Maria what the challenges were", he honestly answered.

"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked, eyeing him up and down. It did look like he came over for a sleepover.

"Why not?" He answered with a question.

Tanisha sighed. She knew she wasn't going to win; this was Malakai she was talking to. "Whatever. Congratulations on getting first place", she said, placing the bag she was holding on the kitchen table.

"Thanks. Don't you wanna stay and hear the challenges?" He asked.

"Mine is on Friday; Maria can tell me all about it tomorrow", she replied, walking to her room. "Oh yeah. I hate you by the way. You made me lose 200 credits".

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"How?" Malakai asked, confused.

"I made a bet with Lucas and William that you wouldn't get first place", Tanisha replied.

Malakai scoffed, "That's your fault for doubting me".

Tanisha rolled her eyes. "You're not as good as you think", Tanisha concluded before walking to her room.

Malakai wasn't sure where he stood with Tanisha. Are they friends? Does she not like him? Did he do something to piss her off?

It doesn't matter because,

"Here you go". He got some hot chocolate.

"Thank you", he replied, taking the cup from her and holding it with both hands to absorb the warmth. Maria sat on the left side of the coach, not too close to Malakai but not too far. A friendly distance.

"How was the challenge?"

Malakai told her about the challenges, what his team had to do, the riddles, where they found the key, what they had to climb, and what the key opened. He tried his best to describe it in detail to help her as much as possible, using what his teammates told him. It would've helped her more if he had been involved in the challenges and not been stuck in the car.

"Yeah, that's it", Malakai said, sipping his drink.

"That sounds tough", Maria replied, holding her empty cup.

Malakai finished his hot chocolate and said, "You'll be fine as long as you don't have bad teammates".

Maria could feel the conversation ending, and she knew they had both finished their drinks. "I have a question".

"Yeah?"

"Why did you do something so dangerous?"

It felt like Malakai had been electrocuted. A shock went through his whole body. He didn't expect to be asked that. "Why is she asking that? Does she think there's something wrong with me? Fuck, what should I say?" Malakai thought.

"Uhhhh", was the only noise that came out of Malakai's mouth. He struggled to think of the right words to say. If this were anyone else, he would've said it how it is: 'Why not' or 'The games the game'. Saying those things here could make it awkward and make him look bad. Even though Malakai mostly spoke his intrusive thoughts, if he really wanted to, he could control it.

"If you want me to be honest, I thought it would be the best thing to do," Malakai carefully worded. He then made eye contact with Maria, "I was high on adrenaline the whole time. The whole experience was an adrenaline rush. Looking back on it, it was stupid." Malakai said, knowing full well that if he were in that situation again, he would do it again. He was thinking clearly at that moment and was not influenced by adrenaline at all. The adrenaline rush came after.

"I'm glad no one got hurt, but you should be careful. There were people in your car as well; they could've got hurt too, not only you", Maria replied, with her eyes fixed on him. "And you got into a fight".

"It wasn't really a fight, and I can defend myself", Malakai replied.

"But Malakai, you understand why he was angry. It doesn't matter if he could've beaten you in a fight or not. He was angry because he thought he would've got seriously hurt along with everyone in his car", Maria said, trying to make him understand. Maria's perspective of this was that Malakai didn't understand how dangerous he was being, but the truth is Malakai knew. But Malakai can't tell her the truth because then she wouldn't understand.

Malakai looked away; it was like he was getting a lecture from his mom. He could feel her eyes on him. He looked into his empty cup, "Yeah, next time, I might think before I do something", he said. He looked at the clock, "Damn, it's already past 8; I should let you go sleep", he said, switching his gaze back to her but not focusing on her eyes. He stood up, walked to the kitchen, and quickly washed his cup.

"You didn't have to wash it", Maria said, walking to the kitchen with her empty cup.

"I can't do that. I'd feel bad if I left it for you," Malakai replied, walking past her.

There was a short silence. "No, he's leaving. Did my question make him uncomfortable? I lectured him by accident; maybe he already got lectured by his friends", Maria thought. She didn't want him to leave yet.

"Will you watch the live stream tomorrow?" Maria quietly asked him, with her back to him.

"It starts at 12. I should be awake by then; I'll probably watch it in bed", Malakai replied, turning to her.

Maria quietly giggled, knowing he had a lazy side. With the cup still in her hands, she turned around to face Malakai, "I'll try to get first place", she smiled at him, now standing in front of him.

Malakai reciprocated the little smile, "Yeah, good luck for tomorrow", he said, putting a hand on her head. Maria looked up, and Malakai was smiling with a hand on her head. She was happy. The contact she saw Nada get, she was getting right now. Couldn't this last longer? Was there a way to make him stay?

"Aryt, imma go then", he said, taking his hand off her head and walking away. Maria didn't follow she watched as he walked away to the door. She couldn't convince him to stay; the only thing she could muster up to say was,

"Bye".

October 24th. Tuesday, 10:20 AM.

On the bus.

Maria was sitting next to a familiar face, someone she knew before coming to this academy. Luckily, they were on the same team.

"You should've been in that movie with me. I could've put in a good word for you".

"No, I don't think I could've. My acting isn't as good as yours, Alejandro", Maria replied.

Alejandro was the son of a famous actor like Maria. His and Maria's backgrounds were similar; they are both Latino, have famous parents and saw each other quite often when they were growing up. Kind of like childhood friends, but they weren't that close. Alejandro was in class 1-A. He was tall and built, had smooth skin, light brown eyes, and healthy wavy black hair with some brown dyed in. Alejandro was a model, blessed with his parent's genes, and he could even act; his talents seemed endless. He modelled in the past with Maria; he used to be on shoots with her, and they were even in a commercial when they were younger. They attended the same high school but never really talked during school, as other people mostly surrounded them. Most of their conversations happened at work.

"Come to think of it, you didn't take that much work before we came to this academy. Why is that?" Alejandro asked, looking at her. During her last year of high school, Maria stopped going to shoots and took no offers that were given to her.

"To be honest, I wasn't finding it fun anymore," Maria said, looking out the window. "At the start, when we used to go to shoots, I loved it. It was different. I loved it for so many reasons, but the main one was because I wanted to be like my mama," she continued.

"What changed?" Alejandro asked; he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"I'm not sure. That feeling I used to have was gone. It felt like work", Maria replied. "I know it IS work, but at 16, I didn't want to grow up that fast. It's childish, I know", Maria said, not wanting to look at him while saying that.

Alejandro put his hand on her shoulder. "No, it's fine. If you didn't enjoy it, who's to tell you you're wrong? Your reason makes complete sense. What 16-year-old, what's to work?" Alejandro comforted.

"You still did shoots back then", Maria replied, turning to face him.

"I enjoyed it, so it didn't feel like work. I've taken fewer jobs now because of this academy, but if I have time, I'll take those jobs", Alejandro said. "What do your parents think about it?" he curiously asked.

"My parents don't mind. They were happy I was doing all of this in the first place, but they saw it as extra. All they want is for me to be happy. When I told them my reason, they were fine with it. They were happy I wasn't forcing myself", Maria replied, fidgeting with her hands.

"That's good", Alejandro replied. "Anyway, forget about that. How have you been at this academy?" He shifted the conversation as he felt it was getting awkward.

"Amazing, it's been so much fun", Maria replied with a smile; her mood changed, and she stopped fidgeting. Changing the topic was the right call.

"I've seen Tanisha with you a few times; I need to talk to her", Alejandro said.

"Oh yeah, you two were friends", Maria remembered seeing Alejandro and Tanisha walking together a few times.

"I liked to think so. We talked a little because we had one class together," Alejandro replied. "You're both in class 1-C; some interesting people are there", Alejandro recalled; the guy at number one was in her class. "Have you made more friends?" Alejandro asked, checking if she wasn't lonely.

"Yeah, a few," Maria happily replied, looking down.

Alejandro noticed, "Cool, you should introduce me to them some time".

Maria smiled and looked at him,

"Yeah, I think you'll get along".