Let Them Dare

The next second, a large hand reached over and snatched my phone away. I looked up and found myself staring straight into Elias Chapman's guarded eyes.

"Forget about running to the teacher. Jasmine means well. Until the game is over, I'm holding on to your phone."

Before I could say a word, Jasmine Carter peeked out from behind Elias. Her eyes were red, as if she were about to cry.

"Larissa, you're our class president. I know you don't like me, and I know the teachers always take your side. But this is the last time we'll all be together. I just want all of us to have something to look back on. Even if I get expelled for this, I'll accept it."

The moment she said that, I became the enemy of the entire class. The classmates who had still been hesitating a moment ago then began taking Jasmine's side.

"She just loves running to the teachers and tattling. Does she seriously think she's the principal?"

"Forget her. There's no way the school is going to stop our whole class from taking the finals just because of something this small."

"Dude, this is our last crazy adventure before graduation! If we vlog this, we could totally go viral!"

"I can't wait! Jasmine, come on, start already! If anything goes wrong, we'll all take the blame together. We're not a bunch of snitches!"

[Wow, no wonder everyone dotes on our girl. She has the male lead protecting her, and now, the whole class is on her side too.]

[Our poor girl was about to cry. My heart hurts for her! When is that annoying girl finally going to disappear?]

[This is it! That annoying girl is going to realize nobody is listening to her, and she's about to completely lose it.]

As I watched the comments continue scrolling across my vision, I let out a mocking laugh.

"Who said I was going to tell the teacher? This time, I'm playing with you."

The comments stopped instantly. Even Elias froze.

"You mean it? You're not trying to pull something again, are you?"

The suspicion in his eyes made me finally believe what the comments had been saying. He was no longer the Elias who had promised to meet me at St. Aldwyn University.

I gave a bitter little smile, snatched my phone back, and hurled it out the window.

"Do you believe me now?"

Elias stared at me in disbelief. A flash of panic crossed his face.

Jasmine froze too. Clearly, she had not expected me to do something like that.

"Well, look who finally came around." Ryan Grisling, who was in charge of class activities, glanced at Jasmine. When he saw that she was not objecting, he immediately called out, "Then how about we go all the way? Everyone shut off their phones. Nobody will be able to reach us!"

He held up his phone and waved it around for the whole class to see before pressing down hard on the power button with his thumb.

"Watch this!" he shouted. He switched off his phone, and the screen instantly went black. "Anyone who doesn't turn theirs off is a coward."

The whole class erupted. Some students pulled out their phones, some hesitated, and others looked to Jasmine.

Jasmine quickly recovered and smiled as she shut off her own phone.

"Larissa already agreed, so let's do it. At least nobody will bother us. We can have some real fun."

Elias reached out as if to stop them. "Is this going too far? What if we miss the exam...?"

Ryan shot me a sideways glance, then grinned at Jasmine. "Then I guess we'll see who gets unlucky."

Jasmine blinked. "Exactly. It's a game. There has to be a winner and a loser."

The moment she finished speaking, the entire class switched off their phones almost in perfect unison.

Elias pressed his lips together, then turned off his phone too.

[Wait, why is the other girl not stopping everyone this time?]

[Yeah. What if there is an emergency while everyone's phones are off?]

[Who cares? With the other girl here, there will always be someone to take the blame.]

I stared at the comments and sneered.

They were right.

This was Jasmine's crazy adventure. If I refused to play, they would call me a killjoy and accuse me of ruining everyone's fun.

If I played along, I would be the one who lost.

Other people would get a simple punishment, like having to bark like a dog in front of everyone. My punishment, however, would be much worse.

My most embarrassing photos would be turned into the entire class's profile pictures, my private messages with Elias would be posted all over the school forum, and the whole school would mock me for being a simp.

In the end, I would even be forced to give up my spot in the academic competition.

Elias had once been the person who always stood up for me. Later, he would come to see me as rigid and boring, someone who knew nothing about having fun. He even chose to stand with them and help them destroy my shot at the finals.

What they did not know was that this time, I was the one in control.