UNEXPECTED TURN
BELL'S POV
Are you at top of your school?
Maybe some of you will say yes, while others others will say no.
For those who said no, how will you get to the top? By working hard in whatever field you are in and becoming the best?
And for those who said yes, how will you maintain your position? By eliminating yourself rivals and working harder than before?
This is what we do in EVERCREST HIGH
But instead we play a game.
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Bell had already completed her first week at Evercrest High.
She found the place too perfect or perhaps too dark.
Bell was walking towards the entrance when someone approached her.
It was Trixi.
Bell and Trixi had been friends for a really long time now.
Do they like eachother as friends?
Yes
Do they trust eachother?
No
"Hey Bell!"
"Hi Trixi"
"How is your first week going?"
"It's okay, but do you know anything about the game? It's been on my mind all the time."
"No idea, but all I know is that this game decides your position, look over there."
Trixi pointed toward a large screen.
The screen showed the top five rankings of second and third year.
But under the first year section, there was only one message:
SELECTED SOON
"I mean these students are treated with absolute luxury" Trixi said
"I have noticed that too, Trixi"
"Hey, do you think you can succeed the game and make it to yhe top five?"
"No, I don't want to."
"Why...?"
"It's just too much of a hassle, you know, plus I don't want my face up in that screen."
"But I want to...."
Bell heard this but pretended that she didn't heard it.
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Soon, they reached there classroom.
Trixi turned towards Bell.
"Hey don't you find it interesting that the names of our sections are literally after the names of elements of nature? Fire, Water, Wind and Earth."
"I know right, it's like we have been sorted in the houses at Hogwarts."
Trixi chuckled.
Bell was in Wind section, while Trixi belonged to fire.
Bell entered her classroom quietly and sat down on her desk.
Her class....
No, every class at Evercrest had only twenty students in it.
Was it a coincidence?
Or
Something more than that?
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After some time there homeroom teacher arrived.
Everyone greeted him.
"Good morning students, sit down."
He opened his book.
"Okay everyone open your mathematics text at page forty five and start solving question six."
Then he looked at Bell.
"Bell, could you please open the window and clean the duster."
Bell got up, took the duster, opened the window and started to clean it.
That was then Bell noticed that some students were bullying someone near the water cooler.
Before Bell could react, the speakers turned on
(First year students come to the auditorium now)
The homeroom teacher closed his book.
"Okay students its time to go, close you books and go the auditorium in discipline."
-------------------------------------------------------‐-----------------------------------When the Wind section arrived other three sections were already there.
Bell sat on one of the chairs and soon spotted Trixi sitting a few rows ahead.
Shortly afterward, an elegant, middle-aged woman walked onto the stage.
She was followed by a student who somehow seemed familiar.
The woman walked toward the podium situated in the middle of the stage.
"Good morning, first-year students. I am Mrs. Brown, the headmaster of Evercrest High."
Everyone greeted her.
"I know you must all be wondering why you were summoned here while your classes were going on."
Many students nodded.
"Well, you have already spent your first week here, and I think everything seemed pretty normal."
For Bell, it had been quite the opposite.
"Well, now things will change."
Whispers echoed throughout the auditorium.
"Before I continue, I would like Sebastian, the number-one-ranked student among the second years, to say a few words."
Yes...That was why he seemed familiar.
Sebastian William.
The undefeatable ace.
"Good morning, everyone. As Mrs. Brown has already introduced me, I won't repeat my introduction, and I also won't take much of your time. All I want to say is that this school... it is like a race. If you don't run fast enough, you will lose. And if you try to help someone, you will face an even worse consequence."
He paused.
"You will be crushed."
He stepped away from the microphone.
"Thank you."
Whispers echoed through the auditorium once again.
What does he mean by that?
Is it advice?
Or a warning?
Bell's mind was filled with questions.
Suddenly–
"SILENCE!"
Sebastian's voice was so loud that everyone immediately went quiet.
Mrs. Brown took the microphone again.
"Thank you, Sebastian. Nix, who is ranked first among the third years, also wanted to come and give you some advice, but she has someone else to take care of."
So it really was advice...Or at least, that was what Mrs. Brown called it.
"Well, you all took an entrance examination before being admitted to this school. Would anyone like to share their thoughts about the paper?"
Nobody raised their hand.
"Okay, then. Let me choose someone."
Mrs. Brown looked around the auditorium.
"The girl with glasses sitting in the fifth row."
It was Bell.
Bell slowly stood up.
"So, what are your thoughts?"
"Ma'am, the entrance examination was certainly tough, but it was also strange."
Bell took a deep breath.
"It contained questions about current affairs, but it also had questions like, What will you do to gain the top position? Or, In the end, will you choose your friend or yourself? Those questions really caught me off guard."
The entire auditorium fell silent for a moment.
Then Mrs. Brown smiled.
"Well, I like that you're honest. You may sit down."
Bell sat down.
Mrs. Brown turned toward everyone.
"I know she isn't the only one who found those questions strange. Those questions were asked because of our game, called PEEK A BOO."
PEEK A BOO?"
You all know that we play a game to rank students, and that game is called Peek-a-Boo. In this game, you have to gain points by completing activities."
Good activities?
"The activities are crazy."
She continued.
"The more points you earn, the higher your rank will be."
A student raised his hand.
"What exactly do you mean by 'crazy activities'?"
Mrs. Brown looked at him.
"You are allowed to do anything you want."
She paused.
"Even illegal things are allowed."
The room fell silent.
"It means that you are allowed to commit any illegal activity because everything illegal is legal here."
The students stared at her in disbelief.
"And by that, I mean stalking, theft, bullying..."She paused again."...or even killing."
The auditorium erupted into shocked whispers.
"You will be given a batch, and it will keep track of your points. You have to score above fifty points in each game to avoid elimination."
She continued calmly.
"Peek-a-Boo is played every Monday, and the entire school participates. The points you score on Monday will be counted immediately, and you will be ranked accordingly."
Bell listened carefully.
"And killing a senior who is in the top five can instantly give you fifth position on the list."
The auditorium became even quieter.
"And remember, at the beginning of every week, your points reset to zero."
The entire auditorium erupted.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"IS THIS REALLY NORMAL?!"
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Bell gripped her chair tightly.
She had already felt that something was wrong with this school.
But this?
This was far worse than she had imagined.
"You may all return to your classrooms now. Your seniors will bring your batches to your classrooms."
Mrs. Brown paused.
"And since today is Monday, you will play your first game today itself."
The students stared at her.
"And since this is your first game, you only need to score twenty points or above to avoid elimination."
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Everyone was silent.
Shocked.
Scared.
Disbelieving.
"Is this really true, or is this some kind of prank?"
"Why would they prank us, though?"
Suddenly, a girl started crying.
"How are we supposed to kill someone? And how are we supposed to protect ourselves from others?"
Nobody answered.
Because they were all asking themselves the exact same questions.
Then Bell stood up.
"They said we have to do crazy stuff, which includes killing."
Steve looked at her.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I mean, killing isn't the only way to gain points. It's one of the ways. That means we can do other crazy things to gain points."
"What kind of crazy activities?" Marco asked.
"Maybe break the windows, tables, and blackboard. Or even rip each other's coats."
Everyone hesitated.
"This way, we can avoid killing while still preventing elimination."
Eventually, everyone agreed.
But Marco remained silent.
"Hahaha."
They heard someone laugh.
A girl was standing at the door.
"You all are so cute, you know that?"
Bell turned toward her.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jessica. Ranked fifth among the second-year students."
"And why do you find this funny?"
"You know, we also thought we could gain points without killing."
Jessica smiled.
"But it turns out we were wrong."
Bell frowned
."What do you mean?"
"Jessica, quit it."
Sebastian entered the classroom.
"Everyone, gather here to collect your batches."
Bell approached him.
"How are you so calm? Do you really think this system is good? Answer me.
"Sebastian remained silent.
"Do you really think killing someone is okay? Why didn't you all protest against it?"
"Miss, please step aside."
"Step aside? Oh, just admit that you're a coward."
Sebastian's expression changed.
"Shut up!"
Bell felt rage building inside her.
"Don't you dare do anything against the system. If you want to stay safe, then follow the system."
"Saved? My ass."
Bell walked toward the window and stood there.After some time, Steve approached her.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"No. What do you mean we have to play a game where we're supposed to do crazy stuff that includes killing?"
"I know you're devastated, but don't worry, Bell. Everything will be fine."
Steve handed her the batch.
"We'll stick to your plan."
Bell smiled.
"Thank you..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Night arrived.
It was now time for the game.
Suddenly the speakers turned on–
(Everyone, it's time to play PEEK A BOO. You all will be given three hours to earn as many points as you can. Good luck.)
A countdown began.
(Three...)
(Two..)
(One.)
(LET THE GAME BEGIN!)
Chaos erupted.
All the students rushed out of their classrooms.
The Wind section immediately locked the door to keep themselves safe.
Then they began breaking windows and tables.And surprisingly...It worked.
Within half an hour, most of the students had already scored ten points.Scoring twenty points would be a piece of cake.
"You actually saved us, Bell!" Freya said.
"No problem."
Bell was relieved too.She had already scored fifteen points.If they continued doing this every week, they could gain enough points to survive without hurting anyone.
Everything seemed fine.
Until suddenly—
The screen on Bell's batch glitched.
She looked at it in confusion.
And then...
0
All her points had disappeared.
Bell froze.
But she wasn't the only one.
Everyone's points had dropped to zero.
TO BE CONTINUED...
