Chapter 2

Oliver wasn't focusing on Rose, like the rest of the table. He had pulled from the jar... a knife. He had a knife. He was the Knife role, the one everybody wanted dead. He had hidden his knife by strapping it to his leg with a strap Rose had given him, but now he felt the leather sheath etching into his skin. He couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

The room was in a state of bedlam, high-pitched and low-pitched voices mixing into a cant of cacophony, but it felt numb to Oliver's ears. He bit his lip, rubbing his fingers, feeling the distant warmth of them over his gloves.

A hand on his shoulder made him flinch out of his daze. Ar black-haired boy, around twelve or thirteen, looked at him with a cold stare. He wore a white collar shirt with a black suit over it, his gloves and distant eyes matching his suit. But, his skin was pale, almost more white and ghostly than Oliver's.

"Are you okay, White? You don't look so good," the boy said. Oliver nodded quickly, giving him a smile. Unfortunately, he bit his lip in the process, the blood trickling down his chin. He flinched when the boy wiped it off with his sleeve.

"Ah- what?" Oliver looked at the boy in confusion. The boy sighed.

"It's nothing. Blood would just look worse with your white shirt."

What...? What was this person thinking?

Suddenly, the cream-haired boy stood up, accidentally knocking down a vase of roses with his chair. The whole room fell to awkward silence.

"U-uhm... Hello!" The cream-haired boy said, seeming to adapt to the situation quickly. "Guys, I think we should stop arguing and calm down. Let's get a hold of the situation, alright?"

The blue-haired girl with pigtails frowned at him. "Oh yeah? Why do we have to do what you say?"

"Ah- no, I was just trying to calm everybody down. Uhm, let's start by introducing each other... or something, alright?"

The lavender-haired girl stood up as well, without pushing down a rose vase. "I agree with... Cream. Let's all calm down and get to know the situation and each other more. Err... I'll go first. My real name is Emelia, so you guys don't need to call me Lavender. I'm... fifteen." She was quiet tall for a fifteen-year-old, almost the same height as the cream-haired boy, with wavey light purple hair like a idol's that ran down one side of her shoulders. Her dress was laid with white silks, but the roses in her hair and her gloves were lavender.

The cream-haired boy went next. "Ahem. I'm Will, and I'm... also fifteen." His light blonde hair had a hint of pink and was parted to both sides, his eyes light pink and his suit fully white with a cream-colored rose in his shirt. He looked like the boy that all the girls would go screaming for.

The boy beside him, with pure blonde hair went next. "I'm Bai, and I'm fourteen." He smiled his eyes glittery blue. He looked more brittle than Will, more fragile, but more bubbly and happy. Oliver wondered if he would die first.

Next to Bai was the salmon boy. His hair was puffy and pink, partially hiding one eye, his eyes a dull red color. "My name's... Ryan. I dunno why I have to tell you this, but I'm fifteen."

The fourth boy was the one that didn't speak much, always glaring intensely at the group. He had straight dark red hair, and his suit, unlike the others, was fully black. He looked like he would be emo. "...Just call me by my fake name, Crimson. And I'm thirteen." He was quite young to Oliver, but he was the same height as Will.

Next to him was the boy that had talked to Oliver. "I'm Ren," he said. "I'm twelve." It made sense. Oliver was right.

Lastly, in the boy's row, there was Oliver. "I'm Oliver," he echoed Ren. "I'm twelve also."

There were three other girls, other than Emelia who had already introduced herself. Next to Emelia was the blue-haired girl with the buns. She wore a flower crown of dark blue roses, contrasting with her light blue eyes and hair. She smiled at everybody. "Hey there, I'm Joyce, and I'm fourteen." She seemed like her casual position would be on her phone.

The short girl with blue pigtails was next. She waved to everybody energeticly. "My name is Mari, with an i, okay? And, I'm also twelve. But, don't think I will die just because I'm really small."

Will sighed. "Mari, I don't think this killing game is real..."

The last person was a girl with light green hair that went down her back. She was fidgeting with it silently when everybody else was talking. "I... I'm Amy, and I'm just thirteen.." She was holding a doll in her arms.

"Anyway," Crimson said, suddenly taking over the conversation. "Let's talk about this game. There are five roles, right? The Stem, Knife, Leaf, Root, and Eye. So, this must mean that somebody here has... a knife, right?"

"And probably an eyeball," Joyce added.

"Let's keep things simple. Everybody should reveal who they are, so that nobody dies, understand?" Crimson continued.

"Wait... you guys believe what Rose said?" Will cut in, confused.

"Well, how about you tell us your role first, Will?" Emelia replied casually.

"O-Oh, uhm," Will seemed hesitant. "I..."

"Are you the Knife?" Ryan asked, frowning in suspicion.

"Or the Stem," Blake added. "I guess we wouldn't know who the Knife will be, since nobody will tell us.

"Or the Eye," Emelia said. "The Knife might kill the Eye, then go kill the Stem."

"What if the Knife is some innocent guy, like... Oliver?" Oliver tried not to flinch when Mari pointed to him. "Or me?"

"Or maybe they might be somebody completely unhinged, like Bai," Will responded. Bai gasped, an offended look on his face.

Beside him, Ren looked at Oliver. "Are you the Knife, Oliver?" Oliver shook his head quickly. "Then... what are you?" Oliver looked away.

"I... I didn't get anything from the pot..." he said quietly. Emelia frowned.

"See? That's the thing. The killer could fake not having their object since normal people can't prove they have nothing. We should-" Will was cut off by a loud alarm.

"DING DING DING THE FIRST EVENING ENDS TIME TO GO TO BED," the announcement said. "BE OUT OF YOUR ROOMS AND DIE." Oliver tried not to look relieved, but Ren's eyes were prying into him.

"Hey Oliver, wanna have a sleepover today?" Ren asked. Oliver was taken aback.

"Oh- s-sure? What about staying in your rooms?"

"Well, she never said we needed to be in our own rooms." Ren grabbed Oliver's hand and dragged him out of the dining hall, leaving first. When they were out, Ren asked Oliver, "Hey, can I tell you a secret?" Oliver nodded hesitantly, and Ren looked around, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an... eyeball. The veins were still attached, wrapping around his hand. The iris stared at him coldly. "I'm the Eye," he whispered into Oliver's ear.