Crazy

"Tomorrow's your turn".

"Yeah, what're you thinking?".

"I don't know. You're all on different teams innit".

"You think he's going to win?"

"No clue. I hope not; I can't lie".

"I'll try to make sure I win. Don't worry".

"You? You mean your team".

"Pfft, you know what I meant".

There was silence for a few moments.

"I know one thing, though. Tomorrow's gonna be crazy".

October 26th. Thursday, 12:20 PM. 

All the teams were in their cars waiting for the challenge to start, but Mr Miller stood in the middle of the road.

"Before you all start, given what happened yesterday and even back on Monday, there will be a speed limit of 80 mph. Anyone that goes over this limit will be punished", Mr Miller announced through the megaphone. 

"Well, that's fun", Ryan said, unimpressed, sitting in the passenger seat with his arms folded.

"We want to ensure every student's safety, so please be cautious when driving," Mr Miller said. "Tailgating and brake checks will also be punished".

"The driver can't help then; it's all on us", Benjamin said. 

"I think I prefer it this way", Frank replied. "One of the main reasons Alexander won yesterday was because of his driver".

"Doesn't that make it good? The driver is also part of the team; driving fast contributes to the team", Benjamin said, feeling less confident now.

"Hmm, you've got a point", Frank replied, understanding his point. "I guess they're scared a student will get hurt. Two out of the three days nearly had crashes".

Benjamin kissed his teeth. "Thanks David, Thanks Lucas, Thanks Malakai", he mumbled.

The teams were competitive. Ryan, Benjamin, William, and Ray were all on different teams. Benjamin and Ryan's teams were the two big teams, William and Ray's not so much. They weren't bad or anything; it was just that the other two were the standouts. This set-up was planned for something crazy to happen.

"The location most important is B. The team that finds the key the fastest will have the advantage", Mark told his team. "So, don't panic at the other locations".

"We just have to turn the house upside down and break everything", William replied. Mark and William were on a team, not for the first time. They had been together in the dodgeball match, so having someone they were familiar with on their team was nice.

"We'll be fine for the riddles. Just leave them to me", Mark confidently said. 

Ray was also in a similar situation.

"Page, are you sure you want to drive?" Ray asked. Ray had Page, a girl from 1-E, on his team. They met at the club, and Ray remembered her, but Page had no clue who he was. Ray had to remind her, but she still didn't know him. 

"I'll drive if you want", Daniel volunteered, who was sitting in the back seat.

"Guys, it's fine. I can drive", Page replied, thinking they were doubting her ability.

"You haven't drunk anything, have you?" Ray asked to make sure, as he remembered Page when she was drunk. He didn't know how she was sober.

"No", Page replied, looking at Ray with an eyebrow raised. "Ray, I'm not an alcoholic", she giggled at Ray's question.

"I'm just making sure", Ray replied, slightly embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head, realising it was a stupid question.

"I don't want to jinx anything, but our team looks the strongest. We should win", Ryan said. "What do you think, Adam?" he asked, looking in the mirror to see Adam. He wanted to get Adam involved in the conversation. Adam looked at him but didn't say anything, he only gave him his usual blank stare. Ryan smirked, "Yeah, I agree with you". He said, even though Adam didn't say anything.

Each team had noticeable names. But Ryan and Adam were on a team, and Benjamin and Frank were on a team. You could see why these two teams were favourites. They weren't the favourites for the regular students who were oblivious, but this matchup was intriguing for those who knew who they were. Many students knew Ryan, some knew Frank from the leaderboards, a few knew Benjamin as Malakai's friend, and no one knew Adam. Only a few people were particularly excited for today, and if you recognised these names, you would understand why. It was also the first time seeing different dynamics work together. It was hard to tell which team would win. Which one would come out on top? No one had an answer. All they could do was watch what happens.

"IS EVERYONE READY?" Mr Miller shouted into his megaphone. 

"TEN, NINE". The countdown started.

"We're going to win".

"Easy, no pressure".

"Good luck, everyone".

"Let's do our best".

"ONE!"

BBEEEEEEPPP!!!!

The challenge began. All the cars drove off. The road was wide, so there was a lot of space between the vehicles. A crash would only happen if a driver intentionally steered close to another car. The cars all went about the same speed, which was 80 mph or a little under. One or two cars were hanging back and not getting too close. It was clear that the main thing that would separate everyone would be location B. How quickly the teams found the key would determine the outcome. The riddles at location A were easy enough to get 5/5. However, some teams in the previous days got 4/5 or even 3/5, and you could guess what position they got. The race part wasn't nearly as exciting as the other days due to the speed limit. No one wanted to break the rules, so they stayed under 80 mph. No one knew what the punishment was, but no one wanted to find out. Some drivers even let other cars overtake them; it wasn't worth the hassle. The driving part was uneventful, leaving a dull showing for the viewers. 

"Do you think we got off lucky?" Malakai asked his friends.

"Yeah, at least the driver could help the team in a way. The main reason your team won was because of your driving. Your team took forever to find the key; they took like 20 minutes", Lucas replied, scrolling through his phone.

"True, having people drive how they wanted did make it more competitive, but I nearly died yesterday because of it, so I don't know", David said as a joke. 

Malakai smirked at David, saying he had almost died. "Would you lot rather had a speed limit?" he asked both of them.

"It's hard to say, but I think it was better without the speed limit. We would've come second even if there had been a speed limit. Alexander's team were too quick at the different locations," David answered. 

"Me too. The whole reason my team came second was because there was no speed limit", Lucas replied, still feeling a little guilty.

"Fair enough".

"It's a shame they don't show the challenges at the different locations", Lucas said.

"Yeah, we're missing the good bits". 

All of the teams arrived at Location A and were inside their tent. 

Mark was standing slightly ahead of his team, showing he was taking charge in answering the riddles.

"How many months has 28 days?"

"All of them".

"Correct. What goes up and down but doesn't move?"

Mark hesitated for a second, "Errm. A staircase".

"Correct. "What can you break without touching?"

"A promise", William quickly answered. He remembered Ray telling him that one yesterday when they were preparing.

"Correct. What goes away as soon as you talk about it?"

Everyone was quiet, even Mark. This was a tricky one. No one wanted to say anything in case it was the wrong answer. They were all stumped and had no clue until,

"Silence!" Mark announced.

"Correct".

The team quietly celebrated with silent cheers of "yess" and bawling of fists.

The last riddle, "If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't kept me. What am I?"

"Milk".

"Incorrect".

"Huh. Who answered that?" The voice came from behind. The team turned around and saw a dark-skinned boy with braids tied back and two hanging out the front. He was around 5'10 and had a mischievous smile across his face. William's eyebrows furrowed; he knew this boy. This boy was in his class.

"Leroy?!?!"

At that call of his name, Leroy quickly swivelled on his feet and bolted out of the tent.

"Hey!" William shouted. He was about to chase him until Mark grabbed his wrist.

"Wait!" Mark told him. Then he turned to the masked man and asked, "What was the riddle again?"

"I'm sorry you answered incorrectly. You got 4/5 riddles correct", the masked man replied.

"No, no, no, that guy wasn't on our team. The answer he gave wasn't the answer our team would have said", Mark explained with a tinge of panic in his voice. His eyes wide with desperation hoping they would get a second chance.

"As I said at the start, you have one attempt at each riddle. I heard an answer, and I took that as your attempt".

"But he wasn't on our team! He's a stranger! You saw him run out of the tent!" Mark replied using a harsher tone.

The masked man turned around, picked up an envelope labelled 4, and held it out to Mark.

"Don't open this envelope until you reach your car. What's inside may not make sense when you first look at it, but it will make sense when you reach the next location", he told them.

"You can't be serious. How is that fair?!" Mark replied narrow-eyed, with his arms out. The masked man didn't reply, so he held the envelope silently, waiting for Mark to take it. "No ... No, I'm not taking that. We didn't get it wrong!" Mark said in denial.

"We need to go!" Eris said, letting her team know they were wasting time. Mark refused to take it; he didn't want to, and he couldn't accept it.

William stepped forward and went ahead of Mark. He grabbed the letter from the man. "Thank you", he said to the masked man. He turned around and forced the envelope into Mark's hands. Mark looked at him bewildered, but William didn't care. He turned Mark's shoulders around and pushed him towards the exit. "Let's go. We're wasting time", he said. Mark looked down at the envelope in his hands. He couldn't believe it; they got sabotaged. The next second, he looked up, and his whole team left the tent, leaving him behind; he had no choice but to follow. This was really happening. When Mark left the tent, he looked around to see if Leroy and his team were still there, but it looked like they already left. His team reached the car and got in the back, leaving the front seat for him. Mark couldn't wait. He opened the envelope to see what the clue was. 6 houses were highlighted red. His team had to search a whole street. 4 four people had to search 6 houses for the key. Mark tightly scrunched his fist, punched the air in rage and shouted,

"FUUUUCCCKKKKK!!!!".