That single phone beep was enough to rile me up. I clenched my phone tightly, anticipating my next mission, or should I say the next mission. Most of the kids all grabbed their phones too, and I don't need to be told why. "He is mine now, and if you think you can come here to gloat, then you are being childish." Zara said before Celine walked away frustrated. I looked at Zara and smiled. Maybe she was what I needed after all. But could I give her what she asked for? "Thanks." I said with a smile. "I have been wanting to do that for a long time." "And why didn't you?" Zara asked. "Don't tell me the lord of the campus is scared of a lady?" she asked, taunting me a little. "Not scared, I have a lot on my plate for now, and Celine is not my top priority." We kept walking without saying a word to each other. "Was that a new mission? I saw most of the kids staring at their phones the moment you took out yours." Zara asked. I knew I could not lie to her. She knows what she w

Seeing the look on her face and how far she had helped me, I knew Zara had what it takes to help me with my revenge against Celine, Olivia and anyone who wanted to cross my path. She has the fire that ignited within her and I felt I could use that to my advantage. Zara froze for a second. Her hand paused midway as she slid her sunglasses onto her face, her lips curling into a sly smirk. “You’re asking me to be your date?” she said slowly, turning to face me fully. I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “You said you were in, right? No turning back?” She took a step forward, her fingers tracing the lapel of my new jacket. “I like bold moves, Jason. And this one? I don't think I would like to sit it out." I exhaled, feeling a weight lift off my chest, though I wasn’t sure if it was relief or the beginning of something even more complicated. Being around Zara felt like playing with fire—thrilling, but always a breath away from burning. The system had given me the task but th

Don't you wish you could slow down the hands, minutes, and seconds of time? The money and the fame that came along with the system were good. I could see faces I had dreamt of speaking with on campus, but I couldn't due to my status. They were all staring at me. We were all in one room having fun and drinking except for the tense atmosphere with Derek, who still thinks he is the boss. My mind went back to humiliating Celine, and the thought of how I was going to do it was all I could think about. "Why don't you save your energy?" Another voice said again. We both looked back and saw another senior in front of us. He was wearing a smile that made everything seem easy. "Why do you both need to fight over power when the system is actually there to settle the score, and also we get to nominate the Lord Gang's next king?" he said, flaunting the new Rolex wristwatch he had on his wrist. "I can't believe you are not still over this, Derek." He said, walking away from us. "No

I stood there for a while, longer than I should have, even after the others started filing out of the chamber. The cold metal floor beneath my shoes felt like ice, but my palms were slick with sweat. I was scared. This was it. The thought of Derek winning gnawed at me. He was not only popular among the students, but they feared him, and I don't know why. Maybe the system should give us more missions of exposing each other's dark sides rather than making leaders within the campus. Two hours. Two damn hours. To me, it was a long wait, and I couldn't help but feel like Derek was tightening his hands around my neck. I would be dead if he wins. But if I did, I was going to become the Lord gang, and I would be feared within the campus, but does that mean I was going to have access to the system? I shrugged off the thought from my mind. I didn’t need two hours to know the truth—I wasn’t the most popular contender here. Not even close. And yet… I wasn’t out of the running

I fell to the ground, holding my face in my palms. I couldn't believe it. I had won yet again, and this time I got to choose yet again. [System voice: Congratulations, Jason. You have been selected as the leader and lord of the gang. The system will be granting you a wish. And do you want your contestants to be punished? You alone decide the kind of punishment they are to serve. Max looked at me, and I could see the look on Rae's face. She was scared. But Derek was even more scared. He had this look that showed he hated the fact that I won again. 'This is some bullshit! It is not fair." Derek yelled, looking around like he could see the system he was talking to. "Can you shut the fuck up!" Anthony said with anger. "You need to accept the fact that you lost to him and stop blaming the damn system." [System voice] The ball is in your court, Jason. What is it going to be? This was all a game. A game of life and death. I remembered that Zara wanted in the system. "Can I ma