"I did?".

Everyone's eyes landed on Malakai. The guy on someone's shoulders. The most unserious guy at the academy. One person got the secret exit, and it was him? Of course, it would be him. Who else would get it?

"I thought I escaped normally", Malakai said, clueless about what he did.

"The doors opened for you. I don't think that's normal", Ms Harper happily replied.

"What did he do?!".

"What's the secret exit?!".

"Tell us how he escaped!" Shouts of curiosity from the students.

"Mally, how did you escape?" Benjamin asked, looking up at him.

"I told you the doors opened for me", Malakai replied, feeling a little overwhelmed with the new information.

"We thought you were taking the piss", Benjamin said, confused.

Malakai didn't properly tell his friends how he escaped. All he told them was the doors opened for him. They all brushed it off as one of his jokes. Malakai was also too tired to explain properly, so his friends didn't pressure him to tell them his escape route.

"We've got the recording of Malakai's escape", Ms Harper said as the screen behind her changed to a black screen with a play button. "You don't mind us showing your recording, Malakai?"

"Naah, I don't mind", Malakai replied, curious himself about what he did. "Are your shoulders hurting? Should I get down?" he asked David, feeling bad about staying on him.

"Nope, you stay up there. Everyone's going to watch your recording. I can hold out till then", David replied, wanting everyone to see Malakai.

"What about the people behind us?" Malakai asked.

"There aren't that many people behind us. They can see don't worry", William said.

"Fuck sake", Malakai muttered while smiling. He was feeling a little embarrassed now, so he kinda wanted to get down.

The lights dimmed to better show the screen. A few seconds went by, and the recording started.

"Why the fuck is called Malakai funny moments?" Malakai smiled, pointing at the screen.

"The editors had a bit of fun making this", Ms Harper replied, excited because she knew what was coming.

Click!

The door opened.

Malakai entered the room and saw what was in front of him.

"This is going to be a long day".

Cool transition (transition in the recording to the next scene)

"Why's this basketball flat?" he said, holding the basketball. Malakai kicked the basketball against the wall. "There's definitely something in there".

He went over to the basketball and tried to open it.

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Lucas quietly asked Malakai.

"I don't know", Malakai shrugged, invested in the recording.

Cool transition.

"Oh shit, there's a mannequin", Malakai went over to the mannequin and picked it up. "It's a woman. What should I call you?". He stood there for a few moments thinking of a name. "I can't be arsed to think of a name. You can be bae or darling".

"Why do you chat so much shit?" David asked him, finding the recording amusing.

"I don't know. Why am I so weird?" Malakai was suddenly realising how abnormal he was.

Cool transition.

Malakai was on the computer. "Why's there so much shit to do?" he said, looking at the to-do list. "Why do I have to make cookies? Why is the fish called Gary? Such a stupid name", he complained. Malakai closed the to-do list and scrolled on the computer.

"Is there porn on here?".

Malakai's eyes widened. He forgot he said that. Head started turning to look at him. He got weird looks from everyone, and I mean everyone, not just his friends. His close friends laughed, but,

"Oh my god, Malakai", Delilah said, covering her smile.

"You're disgusting", Tanisha said, shaking her head and screwing her eyes at him.

Maria and Sarena didn't comment.

"IT WAS A JOKE! I WAS JOKING!" Malakai announced, waving his arms and looking around.

"There was no one in the room. Who were you joking to?" A complete stranger asked, looking up at him.

"I DON'T KNOW!" It was clear Malakai had no idea what he was doing half of the time. "Aye, David, let me down".

"Nope, you're staying up there", David smirked.

Cool transition

Malakai was on the computer completing the tasks. "Good afternoon, it has come to my attention that blah blah blah. Why the fuck are these emails so long? I don't have to respond to these professionally. I just have to respond with something". Malakai then went on to give the worst email responses ever.

"You actually completed that task by responding with a few words?" David asked.

"Yeah", Malakai replied.

"We wasted so much time responding to them properly", David said, annoyed. "We could've escaped quicker".

Cool transition.

"I've done everything on the computer. I might as well clean the room quickly".

Malakai cleaned the room in the messiest way.

"I found a phone", he said, turning it on, but he needed the password. "Bae, I need your face to unlock the phone".

That joke got a few laughs from the crowd.

"Why are you laughing at your own joke?" William asked, seeing him letting out a small laugh.

"I'm kinda funny", Malakai smiled.

Cool transition.

"I responded to my family". He gave the worst response.

"We need to take pictures", Malakai remembered.

He looked at the mannequin. "I need to dress her up". Malakai went to the wardrobe, picked an outfit and dressed the mannequin.

"Oouuuu, my bae looking fine", he said, admiring the mannequin. "This is fun, what other outfits are there?" He then went on to take three other pictures with three different outfits.

"Me and bae looking fly", he said, looking through the pictures. "I might make this my profile picture".

"Why are you treating her like your girlfriend?" Lucas asked, a little weirded out.

"I was by myself. What do you want me to do?" Malakai questioned back. His friends were questioning everything they were seeing, but they had a point. What Malakai was doing was weird.

Cool transition.

"What should I do now? Oh, I should exercise". Malakai went to the treadmill and switched it on. He put it on 10, which was the max speed.

Cool transition.

"Huuuh haaah huuuuh haaah huuuh haaah", Malakai was breathing heavily. He stumbled off the treadmill with his legs shaking. He could barely walk.

Ping!

The TV showed $50 (The max you could get).

"I feel sick", he said, holding his stomach.

He tried to make it to the kitchen sink, but his legs gave out, and he fell to the floor. He stayed on all fours for a few seconds, trying to control his breathing.

"Bluuurrrgghhhh".

"Eeeeeewwwwwww/ Euuuuhhhhh", shouts of disgust came from most students. Some students looked away, others' faces winced, and the rest looked at Malakai again with disgust.

Maria, Tanisha and Sarena all had their faces covered.

"You actually vomited?!" Delilah asked with a concerned look, feeling a little sick watching that.

"Bro, I ran at max speed for basically the whole thing", Malakai replied, trying to defend himself.

"Basically?" Ray questioned.

"I turned it down to 8 for about three minutes half way through. Then I got second wind and turned it back up to 10", Malakai said. He saw a lot of people still looking at him like he was trash. "Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't vomit anything out, it was only water".

"That explains why you were tired and slept for so long", David said. "You ran a 5K in just under 20 minutes".

"I need water", Malakai mumbled. He eventually got up and poured himself a glass of water. He downed the glass in a few seconds, but a few seconds later,

"Bluurrrghhhh".

He vomited again, but it was in the sink this time. After getting everything out of his system. He lay on the floor like a starfish to catch his breath. He stared at the ceiling for a good ten seconds, questioning life. After quickly daydreaming, he looked at the camera in the corner of the room and pointed towards it.

"Ladies you see that, I have a lot of stamina".

"How did he run at that speed for so long?" Luke asked, yawning.

"He goes to the gym", Reece replied. "I see him on the treadmill sometimes".

"He actually goes to the gym?" Ryan asked, sounding surprised. He didn't expect that, Malakai didn't look like he went to the gym.

"Yeah, he goes at night around eleven or twelve. He asked me to spot him once when he was benching 143 pounds (65 kg). For his height, he's pretty strong. He did it comfortably for three reps, so he could probably bench 154 pounds (70 kg) if he wanted to", Reece replied, speaking highly of Malakai. "I didn't see his body cuz he always wears a hoodie, but he's got a sleeper build for sure. The weights he uses for different machines are pretty good".

Malakai always wears clothes that hide his figure, even his uniform hides it. Looking at him you couldn't tell if he goes to the gym or not. A lot of people assume he doesn't by his height, so they think he's weak.

"So, your gym buddies?" Luke asked.

"You have to ask him", Reece replied, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't consider the two of them friends.

Ryan and Lorenzo glared at Malakai through the crowd. They didn't expect that from him. They knew he was quick, but he also had endurance and a bit of strength. This guy is more of a problem than they originally thought.

Cool transition.

Malakai came out of the restroom with a towel on his head, he had a shower. Also, before he went to take a shower, he cleaned his vomit off the floor.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"I've got $50. What should I buy?". He walked to the computer and went to the shop.

"Fish food $20. Why the fuck is it so expensive?" He bought the fish food.

"A mic for $20. We can record a song", he said, looking at the mannequin. Earlier, he found the song file and listened to it. He also saw the lyrics in the diary, so he put two and two together. There was also a recording app on the computer to make music.

"$10 left. What's left?". Malakai scrolled through the shop.

"A Polaroid camera. Yeah, lemme get that".

"You bought the most useless stuff. You could've got more money and escaped", William told him.

"Bro, I escaped anyway. It all worked out".

Cool transition.

"Shit I need to bake cookies". He printed out a recipe and ran to the kitchen. "Are there any aprons here?".

Maria and Delilah giggled.

"Why are you worried about wearing an apron?" Maria asked.

"I'm a professional chef. I always need an apron when I cook", Malakai joked.

"You were baking, not cooking", Delilah corrected him.

"It's the same thing".

Cool transition.

Malakai was baking the cookies with the mannequin standing next to him. He was stirring the cookie mix.

"This is long", he then looked at the mannequin. "You can try stirring it", he then put the whisk in the mannequin's hand and went behind the mannequin. He then proceeded to guide the mannequin to stir the cookie mix.

"You're not really good at this, are you?".

"You might actually have a mental problem. You're treating the mannequin like it's an actual girl", William said.

"She was my bae", Malakai replied, playing along with the joke.

A girl from a different class turned to Malakai and asked, "Is that how you treat your girlfriend?".

"I don't know. You wanna find out?" Malakai jokingly flirted.

Maria's heart jumped a beat.

Cool transition.

Malakai was playing the video game while the cookies were in the oven. "This game's shit. Do I have to complete it? It's so long".

While the cookies were baking, he speedran the game.

"Did you complete the game when the cookies were in the oven?" Ray asked.

"Naah, I did half the levels, then the cookies finished", Malakai replied.

Cool transition.

Malakai took the cookies out.

"The cookies are done. Should I eat them?".

He looked around the room and got an idea. He placed the mannequin on one side of the kitchen table and sat it down. He then went to the fridge to look for a drink.

"Champagne? I don't drink". Malakai picked it up anyway and got two cups. He poured champagne in one and water in the other. He put the cup with champagne next to the mannequin and the cup of water beside him. He placed the plate of cookies in the middle of the table and sat opposite the mannequin.

"Bon appétit".

"We lost to a guy who had a fucking dinner date with a mannequin", Dillon said, watching in disbelief.

"I knew he was stupid, but this is a different level", Jason replied, watching in disbelief.

Cool transition

"Yesss! Finally!" Malakai completed the game. "Now what? I've done everything. The assignment will be uploaded in a bit. I fed Gary, cleaned the room, and even fixed the clock. How do I escape?"

He looked around the room, "Oh shit, I need to make the song".

He went to the computer and finished setting up the mic he bought from the shop. He started earlier but didn't get to finish setting it up. Malakai flipped to the last page of the diary and played the music file in the background. The song had a piano instrumental with some guitar strings in it. The vocal singing was good, but the mixing of the song wasn't great. That was expected; it wasn't like this song was made in an expensive studio with a good-quality mic.

"She didn't record the chorus", Malakai noticed some of the lyrics weren't sung. "Only four lines. I should add another four bars". The mic came with some headphones, so he put them on.

"I want some autotune". He opened the app that helped make music and started messing around with the mic.

"Yo. Yo". He kept testing his voice to find the right level of autotune.

"How do you know how to do this shit?" Lucas asked, amazed he knew how.

"I had a friend that liked making music. I went to his house sometimes, and we messed about making music", Malakai replied, smiling while reminiscing.

"You have an accent that we just about understand, and now you're adding autotune to it", William joked.

"What do you mean just about? You can understand me fine".

"Aryt, everything should be good. Imma just freestyle the last four bars". Malakai pressed play and let the instrumental play. He got close to the mic and waited for his part.

"Lately I've been feeling alone, uh.

Late at night, there's no one else to call on.

Drunk in love, surprised how I'm still sober.

Maybe I'm just better off a loner.

Lately I've been sleeping on my own.

Late at night, there's nowhere else to goooo.

Paranoia, take the long way hoooome.

Look over my shoulderrr, wish this shit was overrr".

"I didn't know you could sing", Delilah said, pleasantly surprised by what she heard.

"Only a little, I can't properly sing. That's why I use autotune", Malakai replied. He was right, he could only sing a little and hit small notes. The autotune helps him a lot.

"Did you think of those last four lines on the spot?" Ray asked.

"You can tell he didn't steal those lyrics. The last two lines were too relatable to him at the moment", Delilah said, knowing his situation with the second-years.

Malakai smiled, knowing it was true. While he was freestyling, he was thinking about that night after the Halloween party.

"Let me hear it". Malakai said, taking off his headphones.

He played the recording. "Ayyeee, I'm too cold".

He was clearly happy with the result, so he continued to mix and put the song together.

"It's finished. Can I post it anywhere?" he rhetorically asked. He scrolled the computer to find somewhere to upload it, but there wasn't a clear place.

"Fuck it. Imma post it on all her social media".

After he posted it Malakai continued to have fun making music. He found instrumentals and started singing or rapping over them.

"L O V E, I don't want your love,

spend it with the people that I love.

I'm home aloooooonneee ooouuuuuuu with no lights oooonn.

I'm home aloooooneee ouu ouu with no lights oooonn".

"You had too much fun making songs", Benjamin said, feeling the song Malakai was making.

"Yeah, I did".

"What the point you don't have the songs?" Lucas said, thinking what he was doing was pointless.

"I do. I sent the files to my email", Malakai happily replied.

Cool transition

Malakai was dancing to the song he made with the mannequin. He didn't make full songs; he rapped or sang about eight lines on a bunch of different instrumentals.

"Let me play this one". He went to the computer and played a different file. He stood in front of the camera and,

"Hop out the whip, uh-huh.

I did what you did, I'm winning I'm lit, four bands on my fit, uh-huh.

Still watch for the feds, uh-huh.

Might fuck on your bitch, uh-huh.

She's sucking my dick, you're liking her pic, you're life is so shit, uh-huh".

"Are you capping (lying) in your lyrics now?" David asked, teasing him.

"Bro, it's lyrics. What do you want me to say?" Malakai replied. "You can't lie though, it's hard". Malakai was proud of that one.

Some people didn't like the lyrics. Cough cough, Tanisha. Maria also felt a bit uncomfortable about the lyrics.

Cool transition

Malakai was searching a cupboard in the kitchen area.

"You smoke?" He found a cigarette packet. He took the biggest one that was poking out from the rest and held it between his index and middle finger.

"It's not good to smoke. You know a pretty girl can drop in ratings if she smokes", Malakai looked at the cigarette,

"For me anyways".

"You don't like smokers?" Delilah asked, paying attention to what he said at the end.

"I don't hate them", Malakai replied. "But I wouldn't marry one".

Malakai put the cigarette in his mouth and started observing the packet. "This is what cigarette packets look like in America", he looked at it for a minute and was lost in thought. The taste of the cigarette in his mouth brought him back, he took the cigarette out of his mouth,

"Blegh". He went to the sink and spat in it. "I don't know how people can smoke this shit, it's disgusting", he said.

He looked closely at the cigarette in his hand. "This is some shit quality cigarette", he said, squishing it with his fingers and feeling the texture of the paper. Malakai started unrolling the cigarette. "This ain't even cigarette paper". He took apart the cigarette and found that there was something written on the piece of paper that was used. He looked towards the mannequin.

"Damn".

Cool transition.

Malakai was staring at the ceiling, lying on the floor next to the mannequin.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

"Bro, these notifications don't stop".

The notifications were coming from the computer and the phone. The song that Malakai posted was getting a lot of reactions and comments. These reactions and comments weren't real people, they were bots that emulated real people. Obviously, the social media account wasn't real either, it was simulated to replicate real life. After the first few, Malakai checked the responses, but he soon realised they were the same messages, so he left them alone. But the notifications didn't stop. He tried to turn the phone on silent but couldn't, and he didn't want to turn off the computer because he thought he needed it. So, he was stuck with,

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

"I don't know what to do".

Malakai had completed all the tasks, he was stuck. He didn't know what to do next. He couldn't buy his way out because he had no money. He was tired, he couldn't be bothered to do anything. So, he lay on the ground, listening to a repeating sound.

...

Silence for 30 seconds.

"It stopped?".

Click!

"Huh?" Malakai sat up and saw that both the doors were open. The one with the lock and the one with the keypad.

"How did that happen?". He looked around the room to see if this was a trick. Everything looked the same.

"I guess I've escaped", he said, standing up.

But before he left the room, he picked up the mannequin and sat it down at the desk. He went into his pocket and placed all the Polaroid images he had taken on the desk in front of the mannequin.

"Actually, I want to keep this one".

Malakai took one of the images, the one he liked the most. He also placed the note he found on the cigarette paper next to the Polaroid images. Malakai placed his hand on the mannequin's head.

"Aryt bae, I'm gonna have to love you and leave you. I have to go".

He walked away from the desk and to the exit, but before he left, he looked into the camera.

"I'm keeping this camera", he said, holding up the Polaroid.

"You kept the camera!?" All his friends asked in synchrony, looking at him.

"Yeah, it's in my pocket", Malakai replied, pulling it out of his hoodie pocket.

Malakai turned around to look at the room one last time. He smiled, silently turned around and left with his hands in his pockets. Leaving the mannequin sat at the desk with a bunch of Polaroid images and a note that said,

'I want to be happy'.