Ding!
The challenge started.
All the phones in the room pinged. An email was sent to all of them. Everyone instinctively checked the email to see what it was. It was their image.
"What image did you get?" Delilah asked, leaning over to look at Malakai's screen.
"A palm tree", Malakai replied, tilting his phone to show her. "What about you?"
"A mouse", Delilah said, showing her picture.
"So what do I do? Find another person with a palm tree picture?" Malakai asked, a little confused about what to do next. It didn't feel like this was a challenge.
"Yeah, it looks like everyone has already started", Delilah replied, looking up.
Malakai also looked up and saw a mess. Everyone was standing up and crowding around each other, and it was significantly louder. Before, it was like a library. Now, it was a playground.
"I already hate this challenge", Malakai mumbled, slumping back in his chair.
"Hey, what did you two get?" William asked with Benjamin beside him. Malakai couldn't be bothered to reply; he just showed them his phone.
"I've got a mouse", Delilah answered, also showing her phone.
"A palm tree and a mouse. No good. I've got a bed, and Ben's got a flame", William said, showing his phone for proof.
"Let's go see what everyone else has got", Benjamin said, getting up from his chair.
Malakai tiredly put his head down on the table, "I can't be arsed".
"Come on dude", William said, dragging his arm.
"You never know, one of them might have your picture. That'll complete your challenge", Delilah added to motivate him.
Malakai lifted his head and got up from his seat, "Don't bring my hopes up".
"I've got a picture of a laptop", David said.
"I've got a picture of a pair of gloves", Lucas said.
"I've got a picture of a nail", Ray said.
"I've got a picture of a wine glass", Tanisha said.
"I've got a picture of the sky", Maria said.
None of them had the same picture.
"Really? None of us match?!" William said with a disappointed look.
"The chances of us matching were highly unlikely", David replied. "They wouldn't make this challenge that easy".
"Emily doesn't have any of those images either", Ray said, adding his input.
"Who's Emily?" Malakai asked.
"She sits next to me", Ray replied.
Malakai still had no clue. He looked over at Benjamin, and he had no idea either; he shrugged his shoulders.
"I asked Sarena what she had, and she had a picture of an apple", Maria added.
It was looking like everyone in the class had different images.
"We need to check with everyone in class first", Benjamin said, breaking the silence. "If no one has our pictures, we'll have to find the other classes".
After that suggestion, they all went around the class and asked everyone about their images. You can guess the outcome.
The nine of them gathered again.
"We've got 45 minutes until our pictures change", William said, looking anxiously at the clock.
"We need to ask other classes", Tanisha said.
"I'll text Alejandro and ask where his class are", Maria said, opening up her messages.
"I texted Akari earlier. She said her class was in the science labs", Delilah replied, finding the message to see if Akari had said anything else.
"Can anyone else text someone from another class?" David asked.
“I’ll call Nada”, Malakai said.
"Call? You can just text her", Delilah said.
"Callings faster".
"I'll text Frank and see what image he has ", Benjamin added.
They had contact with 1-A, 1-B and 1-E but not with 1-D.
"Does anyone know someone from 1-D?" David asked, looking around.
"Mally, don't you have Jason's number?" William said, remembering they were on a team.
"Nah, I didn't have the chance to get it. He didn't sit with us on the bus in the second challenge", Malakai replied, scrolling his contacts to call Nada.
"The heck?" William turned to Lucas, "Lucas, surely you know a girl from 1-D?".
Malakai and Delilah side-eyed each other; they knew Lucas knew someone.
"I might know someone", Lucas quietly replied, scrolling through his phone.
Malakai and Delilah smirked at each other, knowing who he was talking about. Malakai's phone stopped ringing,
"Hello?"
Malakai put the phone next to his ear, "Yo Nada", he replied. "Where's your class?"
“In the gymnasium”, Nada said.
"Gymnasium?"
"Yeah, the classrooms next to it", Nada clarified. "What about you?"
"We're on the other side of campus, near the old buildings", Malakai replied.
"Are you going to come to the gymnasium?" Nada asked.
"That's a fifteen minute walk", Malakai replied, not wanting to walk there. "Does your class want to meet up?"
"Uhm, let me ask them". Nada muted the call for a second. "Yeah, everyone wants to meet up".
"Calm, where should we meet?" Malakai asked.
"The courtyard", Nada quickly answered.
"Which one?"
"The big one, I think other classes are meeting there too", Nada said.
"Aryt, we'll be there", Malakai replied, he was about to end the call but remembered something. "Wait, what image do you have?"
"A slice of pizza".
"Tch. You don't match with anyone", Malakai said, not bothering to tell her his image. "Aryt, forget it. I'll see you in a bit. Safe".
"Bye".
Malakai ended the call. "They wanna meet at the big courtyard", he told the group.
"Alexandro said his class were going to the big courtyard, too", Maria said, looking up from her phone.
"What image did he have?" Tanisha asked.
"He had a clock", Maria dissappointedly replied.
"I texted Frank, and he said the same thing. Every class is going to the big courtyard", Benjamin said. "He also had a different image to everyone".
"Guess we're going to the courtyard", Ray said, putting his phone in his pocket.
"Should we tell everyone?" William asked.
"If you wanna", Malakai replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Everyone! All the classes are meeting in the courtyard!" David announced to the class.
"Someone's the class leader", Malakai jokingly whispered to Benjamin.
"I know, right?" Benjamin replied.
"Some people have already left", someone said.
The class had fewer people than before; some students already got a move on and left. They weren't waiting for anyone.
"It doesn't matter. If they can't find their partner, it's on them", David replied. With that, everyone rushed out of the classroom. Speed walking, jogging, even running.
"Why's everyone that desperate for points?" Malakai said, watching the rush.
All of his friends looked at him straight-faced. He knew what he was doing when he said that. He was winding them up.
"Let's go", Maria excitedly said, grabbing Tanisha's hand. The two of them walked to the door hand in hand.
"This is not going to be fun", Benjamin unenthusiastically said, walking away with David and Lucas.
"Bye Ms", Malakai said, walking to the door with his hands in his pockets.
"Byyee. Make sure all you boys complete the challenge", Ms Green replied. "And don't cause any trouble".
"You know I'm still here, Ms", Delilah said, walking beside Ray.
"At this point, you're one of them", Ms Green replied as she watched them walk out of the door.
The seven of them were briskly walking to the courtyard. Maria and Tanisha were slightly ahead of them.
"We've got 40 minutes. It's a 10-minute walk to the courtyard, so only 30 minutes", Lucas calculated, worrying about the timings.
"Even less than that because we have to walk to the main office to complete the challenge", David replied, adding to his stress.
"The first hour is a waste, let's be real", Malakai said. "All we have to do for this hour is find everyone else, so the next hour is easier". He was the calmest out of all of them.
"It's going to be so crowded. One hundred and fifty people in one place. It will be hard to find our partner in that crowd", Ray said.
"I think the strategy for this is to wait. Wait for people to partner up, that leaves less people to check", Benjamin replied.
"If that's the plan, should we go and get food, I'm starving", William said, putting a hand on his stomach.
"No, we still have to go to the courtyard", David replied, rejecting his idea.
"The faster we complete the challenge, the faster we can go home", Lucas added, further shutting down his idea. "You can eat after".
Malakai put a hand on William's shoulder, "I thought that was a good joke", he said, consoling him.
"Thanks, dude, but I was being serious", William said, feeling dejected. No one was taking him seriously.
Malakai smirked and put an arm around William, "We'll go to a restaurant after. All of us haven't eaten together for a while".
"It's been a week", Lucas said.
"A week too long", Malakai replied, looking back at him.
"In that case, let's hurry. Who knows, we might get lucky and find our partner straight away", David said, jogging ahead.
"Do we really have to jog?" Malakai asked, not wanting to.
"If you want to be left behind", Ray said, feeling motivated seeing David ahead. Malakai looked at the rest of his friends.
"I want to get food, sooo", William moved Malakai's arm off him and left them.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"I'm not jogging", Lucas said, not feeling their motivation.
"Same", Benjamin said, not feeling their motivation.
"We've got two hours. I'll be fine", Delilah said, not feeling their motivation.
"Heh, people with common sense".
Malakai, Delilah, Benjamin, and Lucas continued to walk while David, Ray, and William jogged further ahead to the courtyard. During the walk, they talked about their classes and some of the material they covered in class. All of them were on top of things, and none of them were behind on any of the subjects. Academically, they were all doing well; no one was struggling, which was a good thing. Their conversation was going smoothly, but while they were talking,
"OII!!"
The four of them turned around to see who was shouting at them.
"Tch", Malakai kissed his teeth, realising who they were.
"Who's that?" Lucas asked, squinting his eyes to see who the guy was.
"Yo, Delilah, go. If they recognise you, it will be bad for you", Malakai told her. He remembered that guy talking to Delilah at her door. "They can't see you right now".
Delilah was standing in front of Malakai, Lucas and Benjamin, so she wasn't visible from behind as the guys blocked her. "What about you guys?" she asked, trying to stay out of sight.
"It's fine. I've got Ben and Lu with me", Malakai calmly replied, still looking at the guys approaching. "Trust me, go. If you see the other guys, tell them to come here".
Delilah listened and secretly walked away; she looked back and saw Malakai, Benjamin and Lucas blocking the view so she could escape. She didn't run, but walked hastily away to avoid looking suspicious if they could see her. She wanted to see what happened next, but Malakai was right. If that guy saw her again with Malakai, it would be bad news for her.
"Mally, who are they?" Benjamin asked, staring at the guys approaching them. Not intimidated.
"They're the guys that I pissed off at the party. They chased me a few weeks ago", Malakai replied, still with his hands in his pockets. Not intimated.
"You're not going to run again?" Lucas asked.
"Why would I? It's a 3v3 right now", Malakai replied with a big smile.
His smile was contagious because Benjamin and Lucas also smiled after seeing it. They were on board with his idea. All the previous encounters ended in flight, but this time, it was a fight.
"YOU'RE NOT RUNNING THIS TIME?" the guy shouted, coming closer with two other guys on either side.
"I wanna talk this time", Malakai replied, smiling.
"What? Do you think you're tough now because you have your friends with you?" the guy asked, now face to face with Malakai. He wasn't in Malakai's face, but he was close enough to look down at him.
"Kinda", Malakai cheekily replied, seeing the annoyance in his eyes. "What do you want?"
"What do I want? I want to break your face", the guy aggressively replied, getting closer to Malakai.
"Whoa, calm down", Benjamin grinned, standing next to Malakai and looking down at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm a second year", he fiercely replied.
"That doesn't answer the question. What's your name?" Lucas was also looking down at him, standing on the other side of Malakai. The guy was 5'10, and Lucas and Benjamin were 6 feet and over.
"Anthony".
"Okay, that's cool. Can you piss off now! We're completing a challenge right now", Lucas said, edging closer to Anthony. This caused Anthony's friends to come closer.
"No!" Anthony replied with a disgusted look. "Do you know what your friend did? I want payback!" he said, staring down Malakai, looking like he wanted to kill him.
"I didn't even do anything. It was a party, parties are about having fun", Malakai said, grinning the whole time. He was having fun.
"YOU had fun, you ruined ours", Anthony replied, pointing his finger at Malakai. "You either pay back how much you owe us, or we beat the shit out of you".
"All of this over some drugs", he mumbled. Malakai stared into Anthony's eyes and smiled with all his teeth showing,
"I ain't paying you shit".
Anthony furrowed his eyebrows, gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.
"Wait, are we really doing this here?" One of Anthony's friends asked, seeing Anthony aggravated and realising they were out in the middle of campus with other people walking around.
"He's right here. why would I leave him now?" Anthony replied, not backing down.
"It's perfect. It's a 3v3", Benjamin instigated, cracking his knuckles.
"Hah, 3v3? That midget isn't even a person. It's a 3v2", Anthony said.
"It's a 6v3. Can't you count?"
Malakai, Benjamin and Lucas looked behind them. David, William and Ray were there. Both of Anthony's friends were backing off, but Anthony stood his ground. He was so focused on Malakai that he didn't notice three other people coming closer.
"What's going on here?" David asked, towering over everyone.
"You had to call your friends. You can't do anything by yourself?" Anthony asked Malakai, trying to insult him.
"I single-handedly pissed you and your friends off, so that answers that question", Malakai replied. "And they didn't come here to help me, they came here to watch".
Anthony smirked, "Like you'll do anything".
"You lot, don't swing at them. Let them swing at you first, then you can do whatever you want", Malakai told his friends.
"You sure you don't want us to help?" Benjamin asked.
"Nah, I'll be fine", Malakai grinned.
Anthony looked behind him and saw his friends standing further back. "Why are you backing away? Let's fight them", he told his friends.
His friends weren't too keen on fighting, and it was apparent. Anthony had to set the example; he walked closer to Malakai with his fists balled.
Malakai smiled and waited for his first move. His friends stepped further away from Malakai to make space for him to move. Anthony stepped forward with both hands in front of him and started with a swinging right hook. Malakai saw it from a mile off; Anthony made it obvious. Malakai dodged the hook easily by moving left. Anthony was quick on his feet; he readjusted his body and swung another right hook at Malakai. Malakai moved back and dodged again. Two swings, two misses.
"Can you only swing with your right?" Malakai giggled, taunting him.
Anthony was pissed; he pulled back his left fist. Malakai noticed and moved to his right in preparation to dodge. A left swing didn't come. It was a fake. A right hook was coming towards Malakai's face. He didn't have time to dodge this one. He had to block it. Malakai lifted his left arm to block his face. His forearm blocked the punch. He tensed his arm to absorb the impact, he did that so he could counter. Malakai leaned forward and quickly swung at Anthony's face. He caught Anthony on the left cheek. The first hit in this fight landed. It wasn't the strongest punch as Malakai didn't pull his arm back a lot, but it was a hit.
At the same time, one of Anthony's friends was facing off with one of Malakai's friends. Anthony's taller friend tried to grab David and put him in a headlock. But it was useless. David pushed him away with ease, jabbed him straight on the nose with his left hand, and swung his right hand straight at his chin. The guy slumped to the floor. A one-two combo, and the fight was over. One fight was already won. Anthony's other friend was fighting Lucas. Unlike his friends, he wasn't swinging recklessly. He had a southpaw stance, so he had boxing experience. Lucas had no boxing experience, so he took a stance he thought was right. He did have a height advantage, and with that advantage, he kept the guy at bay with jabs.
Back to Anthony and Malakai. After that hit, Anthony became desperate. He was shaken. Any strategy he had before was gone. Now, he wanted a hit back badly. He charged at Malakai without thought, just trying to land a hit. Swinging recklessly with both hands. Malakai kept evading by moving back and side to side. Malakai was smiling the whole time, taunting him. Malakai knew he had to do something, he couldn't dodge forever. Someone had to drop or forfeit. He stood still for a moment and waited for Anthony to swing. Anthony threw a rash left hook after seeing Malakai stationary. Instead of moving back, Malakai slipped the punch to get close. Malakai was in close proximity to Anthony; he was in punching range. Malakai kicked the side of Anthony's left knee, causing Anthony to stumble and lower to one side. While stumbling, Malakai pulled his right arm back and got a good right hook on Anthony's face. Slightly higher than his last hit. Malakai's knuckles felt Anthony's cheekbone in that hit. It was a good connection. A really good connection.
"Hehehehehehe. That's two hits, if you don't want me to make it three, then get lost", Malakai giggled.
Anthony was still on his feet after that hit, but his face was stinging. He was lost for a moment but caught himself when his vision cleared. His legs almost went. They were weaker. Struggling to keep him up. One more hit like that, and he might be dropped. Not might be he will be dropped. Anthony sorted himself out and collected his thoughts. He had a goal now. Beat him senseless.
By.
Any.
Means.
Necessary.
He wasn't going out like this. Getting beaten by a first-year? No way. He took a deep breath and charged again.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"