A game

The next morning, Opal woke up nearly at the time of breakfast. She slept late last night so her brain compensated her body with some hours from the morning.

She fluttered her eyelashes before picking her mobile to check the time. She was shocked to see that it was already a quarter to eight. She sprung on her feet and went to the bathroom hurriedly.

When she came from the bathroom, she saw that Layla and Lani both were awake but were lying lazily without any intention of moving an inch.

"You don't want to have breakfast?" She wasn't sure whether had any other plan or was simply planning to skip the morning meal.

"Relax *yawn*"

"On Sundays, the warden acts a little lenient." Lani yawned before continuing, "She let the dining room open for some more time."

"Yeah, usually for forty-five minutes more." Hearing this, Opal's mouth was wide open. She couldn't believe that the dining room would be open for an hour and forty-five minutes.

Layla stood up and patted her shoulder. "So, we won't be late."

…

After breakfast, all three girls went back to their busy mode for some time before Layla and Lani dragged Opal with them. They wanted to introduce her to others and had plans of playing a game.

Thus, they went to the garden where some 4-5 girls were waiting already. They had spread a bed sheet on the ground. A dice and two bowls were placed in the middle of it, showing the weird combination of the game they would be playing.

Like an oblivious stranger, Opal was just hearing their chatter before they started to introduce themselves to her.

"… Hi, my name is Natasha Jones. You can call me Nat." A girl with her brown hair arranged in two pigtails introduced herself. Her face had some freckles, but she was pretty and lively. She could make strangers comfortable around her in a matter of minutes and Opal already liked her. In just a few minutes, she came to know that Nat and Layla have known each other for a long time, but she was curious as to why they didn't decide to live in the same room.

"Shall we begin? I've checked the weather forecast and there are no signs of rain…" Layla looked up "…just clouds covering the sun like this." Good thing, the ground wasn't damp.

They all nodded and sat in a circle around the arrangement in the middle. They all sat in a cross-legged position except Opal. She was sitting with her legs folded in one direction, with a straight back and her hands resting in her lap giving an impression of the etiquette education she had received.

After that, they explained the rules of the game. They were playing truth or dare but, with a twist. The dice were to tell whether they'll have to tell the truth or perform a dare: even for the truth and odd for the dare. There was no bottle because they decided to give everyone at least a chance.

Layla was munching chips which she was putting in her mouth with the help of chopsticks. A few had brought some soft drinks with them.

The game started.

As usual, Natasha was the first who picked the dice and rolled it. It was an odd number. Then, she picked a small folded paper from one bowl and unfolded it. She read: "Take a screenshot of your search history and post it for at least six hours."

She had no issue with the task. She opened her search history and showed them. It was a little suspicious that given her corrupted mind how could this be so clean. She was smiling inwardly but before she could take a screenshot Layla snatched her phone and started typing something. With some small tricks, Layla exposed her search history that she had deleted.

"Do it now," Layla said, munching on her chips.

Seeing this, Natasha gulped. She did not want to post it for an hour let alone six hours. "I'll take the punishment."

"Send this screenshot to the top three people in your chat." Layla suggested mischievously. Others also agreed with her suggestion. They all had a smug smile, ready to see her suffer.

"th-three"

"You want more?"

She shook her head in denial. Well, in reality, her punishment was already lenient as those top three were not her family members.

The game proceeded further.

Lani rolled the dice and got an odd number on the top surface. She picked a folded paper and read its contents: "Announce an advice on the mic of the hostel."

'Are you trying to get me caught and killed?' Nevertheless, she went to make an announcement while dragging a random girl from the group to keep an eye on the surrounding.

They all waited for something to echo from the speakers. Then, a sound came, "YOU SHOULD REFRAIN FROM SINGING IN THE SHOWER."

They all looked at Layla and laughed loudly. Even though Lani didn't mention a name but without a doubt, they knew to whom she was saying… *cough* announcing so. Natasha was the one who laughed the loudest.

'Lani you are so dead' she secretly gritted her teeth.

Lani came running as if someone was chasing her. *huff* *huff*

Without wasting the time, Layla stood up and started to tickle her. "Hey… haha… why punishment…I… haha… compl-completed… "

After Layla was done venting, the game was resumed and Opal picked the dice. She rolled and got an even number. She then picked a paper and unfolded it. "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

After seeing the question, some girls blushed and Opal was not the exception. Though her expressions were calm but, her red cheeks were expressing the reality.

"No" She and Caleb haven't reached that stage yet. At most, they have hold hands and hugged each other.

Her eyes convinced everyone that she wasn't lying at all. Thus, they didn't make any fuss.

This time Layla rolled the dice, an odd number came into their view. She picked a chit hoping for something easier. She opened it and read: "Text 'I love you' to the first guy in your chat history."

'It's not that har—' It suddenly struck her that the first boy in her chat history was not her brother but Zou Haoran. There was no way she would text him those embarrassing words.

"What's the punishment?" she asked with a stubborn look.

"Post the message 'I am in the relationship' for 24 hours." With a smug smile, Natasha suggested. She further added, "And, you are not allowed to explain before the time limit."

Layla was gritting her teeth secretly 'She's taking the revenge.'

"I'll send the text." She said with a deep breath. Causing misunderstanding with a single person is better than causing it with everyone, right…?

She opened the XXX app and started scrolling. The girls were practically staring at her screen like a hawk. They saw the first guy in her history was "Mr. Secretory". They knew who he was as the news about him was spread like a wildfire. A few were secretly unhappy that she was going to send those magical words to him while a few were suggesting her enthusiastically to send some cute emoticons along with the text. But Layla didn't budge and send a plain text with her jaw clenched and a mental note to explain him as soon as the game finishes.