GAME OF HORRORS: Level Up Fear

Kai pov

There are few things I love but not more than playing basketball with my friends at school. We were at the basketball court, the sun was shining madly and the air was filled with the sound of sneakers squeaking on the pavement.

Huang tae was being his usual flashy and showy self dribbling like some fucking NBA star while mark was busy trash talking everyone.

"Kai , you're going down" Mark said with a grin as I lined to the basket.

"Save the smack talk for when you actually going to win mark" I shot back sending the ball swishing through the hoop. "That's another point for me..." I winked.

Tae threw his hands dramatically. "Okay Kai we get it, you're good at basketball you don't have to rub it in our face, we already know"!

" Atleast you admit that I'm much better than you" I said tossing the ball to him.

As we continue playing, I felt my phone buzzing with notifications on my pants pockets. I ignore it at first but it kept buzzing and buzzing and keep ruining my game.

" Popular guy" Mark said raising his one eyebrow "did you get a girlfriend? Who is busy blowing up your phone?"

"Probably one of his many chicks" tae chimed in with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled on assumptions and pulled out my phone. The screen showed a hundred of notifications from my different apps but one caught my eyes. It was a notification from an app I didn't install in my phone. That damn smiley face icon again"game of horrors" I frowned, this was the same app from last night!

Don't get me started on how it ended up in my phone without me installing it. Last  night after showering I found this creepy app from my phone but I didn't pay no mind to it. It could be a creepy game that other students at school might sent me a link and I clicked without knowing..

Curiosity got the best of me and I was tempted to open the game and I did!, Don't judge me !the screen flashed a message.

            

        >Good morning Kai! ready to start your day with some fun?"

         Task 1: steal Tae's headband and wears it like a bandana.you have 2 minutes.

       [Time starts now : 01:59]

I nearly laughed out loud but I come to realization, how the hell did they know mine and Tae's name?!!. Then I thought it might be some students who made this game. But what the hell is it's purpose?

" What so funny pretty boy?" Rubin asked

" Don't call me that Rubin" I always hated it when he called me pretty boy. "It's nothing" I said trying to keep a straight face. This game was way too good to pass up. I darted over to tae and snatched his red headband right off his head.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tae yelped reaching for it.you can't see tae bareheaded without his headband.

"Just trying a new look Tae" I said quickly tying it around my head like bandana.i strike a pose puffing out my chest and giving him a cheesy grin.

"You look like an idiot" Mark laughed out hard "but you also look like you belong in some old school kung- fu movie".

"More like a reject from a boy band" Tae retorted snickering, reaching for his headband again. I run around him dodging his grabs reaching for his headband again.

The phone buzzed again, and I fished it out of my pocket and peeked at the screen.

       >Task completed! Well done Kai!. let's keep the fun going"

Next up: convince Mark that Tae is secretly in love with his younger sister. You've 3 minutes

[Time starts: 2:59]

I snorted,this app was ridiculous and the person who made this.... Was an A level mad!  like who the hell spend their time making this kind of a game. But hey.. a task is a task. I grinned,then turned to Mark with the most serious expression I could master.

" Hey Mark,I don't know how to tell you this but ummm.. Tae... He's got a thing for your sister"

Tae's eyes went wide with horror" wait a damn minute...what??"

Mark expression turned from amused to horrified in seconds. " Tae ,is this true? Bro what? She's like....14".

Tae threw his hands up" what? No!bro kai's making stuff up"Tae threw me a glare that could freeze me.

I laughed very hard, everything seems better today than any other day. For sure this app was crazy but it was giving the best laughs I'd in ages.

" Relax guys, I'm just messing with you" I said clapping them on their shoulders" you should have seen your faces".

Mark shot me a look" you're such a jerk Kai I almost had an heart attack!".

Tae shook his head then threw me a basketball straight at my gut and I luckily caught it not wanting to get hurt." Alright, alright my bad! Sorry!".

Before I could get back to the game my phone dinged again.

          >Great job Kai!ready for the next task?

             Task 3: dump a water bottle over your own head in the middle of cafeteria.

             [Timer: 5 minutes]

I groaned but I wanted to do it again. This app was like a prankster paradise. I could practically hear the smiley face snickering. I glanced at the cafeteria doors which were just a short walk from the court. Perfect!! Might as well as go for it!.

"Where are you going?" Tae called me as I jogged off to the cafeteria.

"Just gotta do something real quick!" I shouted at him. Among all my friends I came to realize that Tae knows more about me than others and he's very attentive.

The cafeteria was packed as usual. I took a bottle of water from the table and took a deep breath. Without hesitation,I stood on a chair hold the bottle above my head and let the water pour down. The freezing liquid soaked my head and dripped down my face, instantly the noise in cafeteria died down.it was hella quite!

"Is he having a mental breakdown?" Someone whispered. Great!! Maybe I took this game seriously and now people were mistaking me for some mental patient.

"That's Kai Parker for you" another voice snickered. i could tell they were enjoying this!.

I hopped off the  chair dripping wet and probably grinning like a maniac. The notification on my phone went off again.

           >You are on fire, Kai! Level 1 complete.

              Ready for next level?"<

Before I could check what the next level was about the bell rang. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and made my way back to the court. My hair was still wet and clinging to my forehead.

Tae reached out to me eyeing me suspiciously" what did you do this time?"

" Let's say I don't wanna stay dehydrated" I said winking at him and wiping my face with my shirt.

Rubin shook his head laughing" you're so weird Man!"

The rest of the day passed in a blur of classes and jokes, the weirdness of the app slowly disappearing from the my mind. I thought it was some sort of prank game developed by some students or it was just a one time thing. Until a gym class.

After we finished our laps and took a break. My phone buzzed again, okay this was too much now. I pulled it out expecting another funny dare but the screen now was different. The background was dark almost shadowy with smiley face now twisted into a wicked grins. Ooh! This isn't the same as the one before.

       >Level 2: The real game begins now"

        Task 1: trip the next person who run past you"

       [Timer 1 minute ]

I frowned,trip someone?? That wasn't exactly funny.it was just mean. I hesitated looking at the countdown. I'm never doing that! What the hell?

"What's up?" Tae asked Scooting closer to me "you look like you saw a ghost".

"It's this stupid app" I muttered showing him the screen. " It's giving me these weird tasks"

Tae raised an eyebrow"what kind of tasks?"

"Like.... Tripping people?!" I said quitely

Tae laughed"Man! That's kinda of messed up. But it's probably just a prank app, Don't take it seriously!"

"Yeah!" I said but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I took a deep breath and decided to ignore it. No ways I'm going to hurt someone for a stupid game!.

The timer hits zero and my phone vibrated violently almost falling out of my hand. A new message popped out.

         >"You've failed the task Kai! Don't let it happen again or else...."

"Or else what?" I muttered feeling a chill creep up my spine. The smiley face staring at me.

This game was far from joke.