“What a game!” Levi yelled after the buzzer sounded. “Nice job making it interesting in the end! The final score is 92-94 in favor of ‘Team Miles’!”

  Sabrina fell to her knees and slammed her fists on the floor, while the rest of us put our heads down. All that work we put in, and we ended up losing after all.

  “Jesus. That was a hell of a game,” Miles said. “Here. Let me help you up.” He took Sabrina’s hand and pulled her up from the ground.

  Sabrina had a look of anguish on her face. I can’t say I really blame her though given the situation. Missing the winning shot in a game that could end up resulting in one of our deaths must be a tough pill to swallow. She probably blames herself. I went over to her and put my arm around her shoulder. Miles decided to give us some space and walked back to his team.

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. Sabrina just looked at me with tears in her eyes before leaning down and nuzzling into my shoulder.

  The other members of the team joined us. Carmen and Marin rested their hands on Sabrina’s back and let her have her rare moment of weakness. The other team looked awkward while watching us all. We all promised that we’d stay friends no matter what happened in the game, but it still hurt knowing that this loss might mean the loss of a friend if we can’t get out of here.

  “Now that the first tournament game is over, we will tally up all your individual stats and give you all your first round of money that you may use in the shop right after dinner!” Levi said. “Good work to everyone! That was a great example of what I wanted to see in this tournament. Also, remember that the first practice day for soccer will take place tomorrow. We will take our leave now.”

  They then left us on the court while we tried to take in the implications of what just took place. I couldn’t help panicking a bit internally knowing that we now had to win the next two games if we wanted to keep everyone on our team alive. Everything was so much simpler when we were just practicing.

  “We’re going to let you guys have a moment,” Miles said.

  “Please remember that we will escape before the end of the tournament. This loss should not weigh on you all,” Keon said.

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Cyrus said. “Escaping is not possible here.”

  “I promise that we will find a way…somehow,” Keon said.

  “Let’s just give them some time,” Emma said. She shot me a worried glance while following the other members of her team out the door.

  “I thought I’d be able to hold it together better than this,” Carmen said. “That really did sting.”

  “Guys. Tell me honestly. Do you all really believe that we can escape this place?” Cyrus asked. Everyone was silent for a second.

  “I-I’d like to hope so,” Marin said.

  “Yes, so would I. But do you truly believe it?” Cyrus asked. Marin looked at her feet. We all did the same. “We need to stop believing that this is a puzzle that we can solve somehow. Some problems don’t have a way out of them, and with the sheer number of resources that this place clearly has, we need to stop trying to fight against the environment. It’s only going to get more people killed.”

  “Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!” Carmen barked. “If we don’t hold on to that hope, then we’ll all break down!”

  “The only thing we can do is what I’ve been saying from the start,” Cyrus said. “We need to play by their rules and use them to survive. They’re not trying to kill us all, but they will kill those that don’t play by their rules.”

  “What is it you are trying to say?” Atticus asked.

  “We need to win the tournament,” Cyrus said. “Screw trying to escape. It’s not possible, and it could result in the deaths of all of us. If we play by their rules, sure some will die, but that’s the best chance we’ve got-”

  “DON’T SAY THAT!” Marin screamed. Cyrus jumped back. “We can’t let anyone else die! We can’t just save some of us! We need to save everyone!”

  “Yeah and look how that’s worked out so far!” Cyrus yelled. “Three people have already died! And those deaths weren’t quick or painless!”

  “STOP FIGHTING!” Sabrina yelled. Everyone was quiet. “This pointless bickering isn’t going to help anything. Nothing has changed for us. I already planned everything off of the idea that we were going to lose this game. The soccer game will be ours, and the baseball game will be an automatic win for us. There’s no sense in worrying about the future.”

  “Can you really honestly say that we’re going to win the soccer game?” Atticus asked.

  “I never doubted it,” Sabrina said. “I’m sorry for showing so much weakness. Missing that shot hurt, but the fact that we almost won in a game that they were the best at just shows that we’re the stronger team. So, stop worrying about the future and just worry about what you’re going to spend your money on.”

  “Yeah, that’s only if Keon gives us his bullshit blessing to purchase it,” Cyrus said.

  “As long as you’re not buying an axe, then I’m sure he can be convinced,” Carmen said.

  “Levi said that we will get our first round of money after dinner, so why don’t we go hit the showers, and then meet up in the shop and do some window shopping? We all had good stats in the game, so let’s improve our morale,” Sabrina said. Everyone seemed content with the idea, so we split up to take our showers.

  “Ryder. You coming to the locker room with us?” Cyrus asked.

  “Oh, I just feel more comfortable in my own shower,” I said.

  “Nonsense!” Robbie said, putting his arm around my shoulder. “Teams that fight together, shower together!”

  “I really don’t thin-” Atticus and Cyrus then grabbed me, took me into the corner and started whispering to me.

  “Dude, if Robbie is finally going to get in the shower, then you need to do your part and join us,” Cyrus said.

  “Yeah, if you give him any reason to not get in there…I won’t ever forgive you,” Atticus said. “Let’s just go while we’ve got the chance. We’ll be heroes for managing to get that man into that shower.”

  There was no way I could say “no” now. I had never showered with anyone before, but I guess it would be better to do it with other men rather than when Sabrina tried to get me to shower with her. I gritted my teeth and fulfilled their request. Upon entering, we saw that we weren’t the only ones taking part in the team-bonding ritual. Miles, Keon, and Conrad all turned towards us as we walked in. They first turned their attention towards Robbie, who I’m sure was the last person they thought they’d see entering a shower.

  “Hey guys! Looks like we all had the same ide-” Miles stopped talking as his eyes were locked on Robbie’s lower half.

  Robbie had started undressing before we even made our way past the entrance regardless of our protests. Keon and Conrad both saw Miles’s gaze and followed it with a similar expression when they reached the same sight.

  “Th-that’s certainly impressive,” Keon said quietly. Miles and Conrad nodded and looked away quickly.

  I don’t really know the etiquette of men showering together, but if it revolves around staring at each other’s junk, then I’m not really sure I like it. I’m comfortable with my sexuality, but I’m still not going to go out of my way to stare at everyone’s dicks, and I’m definitely going to try and cover my own. We all started showering in our respective areas with nothing but a short wall separating us. Because of the short height of these dividers, it was easy to see who was next to you just by looking over. To my left, Miles was there running his hands through his medium length purple hair. I started imaging the other men having the same purple hair, and came to the conclusion that Miles truly was the only person who could pull it off. To my right was Conrad who had one incredibly muscular arm propped against the wall as he was letting the shower run through his short brown hair. Even though I’m not into men, it was easy to see that they were objectively the most attractive men here. It definitely hurt my pride being sandwiched between them. While I was thinking, I heard giggling from the other side of the wall. Miles, and Conrad picked up on it too. Miles was the first to push his ear up against the wall with a self-satisfied look on his face. When we first checked the locker rooms, it was established that these walls were paper thin, so it made sense that we could hear them pretty easily from the wall that divided the two rooms.

  “Yo, Ryder. What do you think they’re giggling about?” Miles whispered.

  “I-I couldn’t say.”

  “H-hey! Don’t touch me there!” We heard a woman say from the other side of the wall.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  My face turned red, but I couldn’t stop my urges to join Miles in sticking my own ear against the wall.

  “Dude! Dude! Did you hear that?!” Miles said in a loud whisper. I nodded.

  “Y-you two need to show some restraint,” Conrad said, turning towards us. He had a nosebleed.

  “You should practice what you preach,” Miles said with a big smile. He then put his ear back up against the wall.

  “Stop grabbing my boobs!” A voice said.

  “But they’re sooooo big!” Another voice said.

  “Oh man! Oh man! This is the best day of my life!” Miles said while continuing to scream-whisper. My own face was turning bright red, and I couldn’t keep myself from listening harder. Looking over at Conrad, his own ear was now pressed up against the wall just like us.

  “W-wow…you really know how to use those fingers…” A voice said.

  “Am I still a succubus, Marin?”

  “I don’t care what you are, just don’t stop…”

  Miles looked over at me with his eyes bugging out of his head. I definitely had the same look on my face.

  “This is too much…!” Miles said. “Now that we’ve got some names, my mind is running wild! I would do literally anything for a peephole right now.”

  Looking over at Conrad he was redder than a tomato, but he didn’t budge from the wall. I too didn’t move my ear an inch, but then I heard a loud knock on the other side of the wall that felt like a gunshot to my eardrum. I reeled back, as did Miles and Conrad. We then had our pervy dreams shattered.

  “Hope you boys enjoyed the show!” A voice said.

  “Boys are so simple and easy to toy with,” Another voice said. “This paper-thin wall goes both ways, dumbasses.” We then heard loud laughing from several girls.

  All three of us hung our heads in shame, knowing now that our increased blood flow was all the result of a ruse.

  “Man…” Miles whispered. “They got us good…” Conrad and I both nodded. “I really don’t want to look them in the eye. Let’s just sleep here tonight.”

  The other boys had left a while ago, but Miles, Conrad, and I decided to stay a little longer to avoid the girls who tricked us. We then decided it was time and started to creep out of the locker room as quietly as we could. Miles poked his head out first, scanned the hallway, and assured me and Conrad that it was safe. We went into the hallway and were immediately frozen by a familiar female voice coming from behind us.

  “I’ve found the perverts,” Carmen said. “You know we couldn’t exactly tell which of you were the ones listening to our little performance but staying in the locker room later than the rest sure did make you three look culpable.”

  We all turned red, and saw all the women minus Emma and Maya, standing behind us.

  “Ryder started it!” Miles said immediately.

  “WHAT?!” I yelled.

  “Well, from that, I now know that Miles is definitely the mastermind,” Carmen said.

  “Definitely,” Amber said, folding her arms.

  “Sorry, for teasing you Ryder…” Sabrina said. “It was mostly Carmen and Marin’s idea.”

  “Yeah, well the rest of you were certainly enjoying the show too,” Carmen said. “With how hard you were laughing I was afraid you all were going to give us up.”

  “I only laughed so hard because of Maya running out of the room naked thinking it was real,” Amber said, trying to hold in her laughter.

  “My sister was never good with situations like that,” Mia said. “She’s a lot more innocent than she tries to appear.”

  “She literally turned as red as a tomato,” Carmen said. “It was almost funnier than the thought of the perv trio drooling all over the shower floor like a bunch of bulldogs.”

  “Fine, have your laughs!” Miles said. “I just didn’t expect something like this from Marin. I thought you were a sweet girl!”

  “Just shows how little you know her,” Carmen said. “She’s got a very dirty mind.”

  “N-no I don’t!” Marin protested. “I just like playing jokes! Ask Ryder!”

  “Yeah, but some of them… ‘fall flat’,” I said.

  “Stop bringing that up!” Marin yelled as she playfully hit my shoulder. “You’re the one who’s supposed to be on trial here!”

  “I won’t ask,” Carmen said. “Now, c'mon, Ryder. We’ve got plans, remember? The others are waiting.” I nodded and left towards the shop with Sabrina, Marin, and Carmen.

  The shop was part of the same strip mall-like building as the locker rooms and supply closet, so the walk was very short. I didn’t see Cyrus, Atticus, or Robbie, outside the shop door, so they most likely already made their way inside. Upon entering the shop, I saw Atticus perusing the electronics aisle which was also the first place I wanted to look at. Atticus was looking through the PS4 games.

  “Find anything good?” I asked.

  “Yeah, there are definitely some good ones in here. Are you an avid gamer as well?”

  “I am.”

  “Glad to hear it. Video games are the ultimate form of art after all. The most underappreciated entertainment medium.”

  “Yeah, the fact that video games contain art, music, writing, and are interactive, definitely makes them pretty impressive when compared to different art forms.”

  “Precisely. Have you ever played this one?” Atticus handed me a copy of Skyrim: Special Edition.

  “Oh yeah, definitely! I love Skyrim!”

  “Good man. I’d love to say that I want to get out of here so I can experience the next entry in the series, but who knows if I’d live long enough to see that even if we did make it out. I’m sure there will be at least ten more editions of Skyrim during that time though.”

  “That you can definitely count on.”

  “Wow they even have some more niche visual novels in stock here,” Atticus said, holding a copy of Danganronpa 1-2 Reload. “It’s kinda funny how our situation is kind of like the premise of this game.”

  “Yeah, that is kinda weird…” I said, looking at a nonexistent camera. “It gives me similar vibes to Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor and Squid Game too.”

  “I didn’t take you as the type to be a fan of Eastern media,” Atticus said.

  “I definitely am. I was always kinda shy, so staying indoors and experiencing all types of media was a hobby of mine.”

  “I can definitely relate to that,” Atticus said. “I’m an orphan, so I never really had anyone to tell me to touch some grass. I always just thought that making my living off of game shows would be my ticket to comfort, and that I could fall back on my degree from FFU if that somehow fell through. Also, the university would give me somewhere to live for the next four years.”

  “Where did you live before?”

  “I lived in an orphanage, so when I turned 18, I was kicked to the curb. I was homeless before coming here.”

  “I had no idea…”

  “Yeah, real life sucks. It was just me, my Nintendo 3DS, and my books against the world for the past couple months. I had to sell that 3DS to a local game store to keep myself fed though. I really did think that the invitation to FFU was going to change everything. Having somewhere to sleep and study so I could attend these game shows was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. Turned out to be quite the ‘bait and switch' though.” I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Let’s change the topic though. I’m not trying to gain anyone’s pity. I’m not the type to give up easily.”

  “When we get out of here, I’m sure my parents will let you stay with us until you win that first game show,” I said. “No pressure.”

  Atticus smiled. “I’ll give it some thought, thanks.”

  I then saw Marin walking over to us from the other side of the aisle.

  “Hey! Video games! Do they have Animal Crossing?” she asked while leafing through the Nintendo games shelved above the WiiU. “Ooh! They’ve got Mario Kart 8! Ryder, you should play with me!”

  “Yeah! I love Mario Kart!”

  “You guys should let me join too,” Carmen said as she appeared looking over Marin’s shoulder. “I used to play online all the time, so I’m quite good.”

  “We should invite everyone then!” Marin said. “Wouldn’t that be some good team bonding? Who doesn’t love Mario Kart?”

  “That does sound fun,” Atticus said. “Video games are great at bringing people together.”

  “That settles it then! Once we get our money after dinner, Ryder and I will host a video game party at our dorm!” Marin said.

  “W-we’re volunteering our dorm for this?” I asked.

  “Of course! We’ll split the cost of the game, TV, and WiiU. Sound good?”

  “I can’t say ‘no’ to you.”

  “You got that right!” Marin laughed. “I’m sure even after the party we’ll probably stay up playing video games a lot now, so having a TV and WiiU are going to be important!”

  “It’s crazy how well you two get along,” Cyrus said, joining us. “Sabrina and I just ignore each other the whole time we’re in the dorm together.”

  “Our personalities just mesh kinda well,” Marin said. “We got lucky.”

  “I feel like Marin could get along with any roommate,” Carmen said. “She’s got that type of personality.”

  “Well, we’ll never know because I’m not giving up Ryder as my roommate,” Marin said playfully.

  “Looks like we’ve got two Yandere now,” Cyrus said. Sabrina then walked up to our group. “Speak of the devil…”

  “Huh?” Sabrina said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Cyrus said. “We’re going to have a Mario Kart party, you in?”

  “Uh…who’s coming?” Sabrina asked.

  “All of us hopefully, so that means Ryder too if that’s what you were wondering,” Carmen said.

  “I-I’m not that clingy anymore!” Sabrina’s face was turning red. “But sure. I’ll go.”

  “Where’s Robbie?” Carmen asked. “Now that he’s finally clean, we can invite him as well.”

  “He was scrounging around in the Little Debbie snacks last time I saw him,” Sabrina said.

  “I’ll go tell him the news,” Cyrus said. He then left for the other side of the store.

  “This is gonna be great!” Marin said. “We’ve already got to get back to work starting tomorrow, so taking it easy and having fun tonight is something we totally deserve.”

  “Agreed,” Carmen said. “Distractions are essential to survival when put in a situation like this.”

  We then took our time looking over more of the wares in the shop. I had already dived deep into it when I went here last night, so I mostly stuck around Marin as she picked out what felt like a hundred things that she wanted to buy with her money. This made me worry about how much money we were actually going to receive. Hopefully we actually have enough to get what we need for the party. Not to mention the necessities that some people need for our extended stay here. There was no use worrying about that now though, so I plastered a smile on my face while we messed around in the shop.