Manipulate

Chapter Four

As Alia leads me back to the dorms, my head is buzzing with new information. I couldn't believe any of it, honestly. When Alia and I get back to the dorms, I could hear laughter and people throwing things around. Someone threw a paper ball at someone's face where it hit them straight in the forehead. I smile. I like being here at TID. I really do. It's better than living with Donatella, Linda and Lillie. I just miss Dad and Aj.

"Hey everyone, Abhaya is going to join us! Who wants to explain the rules to her?" Alia shouts over the chaos. A hand shoots up in the air.

"Go ahead, Trey," Alia says, nodding.

"Abhaya, the rules are simple. You get asked truth or dare and you pick one of those. If you get a dare you have to do it or you can chicken out. Same thing with truth. But here's the catch you only have three chickens, so use them wisely," Trey explains.

"Okay, since now that you know how the game is played let's get started!" Alia says.

Everyone scrambles to get on the floor. Some people stand up, while others sit on the bunks.

"Abhaya, truth or dare?" Trey asks me.

"Dare," I say.

"Abhaya, I dare you to go and run down to the nearest hallway and start yelling. And when someone asks what you're doing say that you were singing and slap them. Then run off," Trey explains to me.

"Done. Who wants to be my witnesses?" I ask. I end up with Theo, Abi, Trey and Alia as my witnesses.

The four of us walk outside of the dorms to the nearest hall. I start yelling. Max comes down to see what I'm yelling about.

"What are you doing, Abhaya?" Max asks over my yelling.

"I'm singing," I say, repeating what Trey told me to do. I run up to him and slap him on the face. Max turns around looking back over his shoulder double checking that I'm not going to start yelling again.

We return to the dorms laughing.

"What happened?" Someone shouts.

I have to catch my breath for a moment.

"We saw Max. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind. He asked me why I was yelling, and I told him that I was singing. When he left, he looked back at me because he thought that I was crazy," I explain to the whole dorm. Most people end up laughing. The others are thinking of other dares for me. I bet that they are some are more stupid than others.

"Theo, truth or dare?" I ask Theo.

"Dare," he says.

I tap my chin. I got an idea. "Theo, I dare you to take a piece of paper and make it look like a ring and propose to the first person you see in the hallway," I say.

"Oh Yeah! Let's do it! Who wants to be my witness?" Theo asks. In the end it's Alia, Kayla, me, and Abi.

Theo waits at the end of the hall. Max is coming down the hall. Theo smirks, all the girls giggle.

"This is going to be good," Abi says, giggling. We all laugh.

Theo runs toward Max and gets on a knee. "Will you marry me?" Theo asks. Theo slips the fake paper ring onto Max's finger.

Theo gets up in a flash and pecks Max on the lips. Max looks stunned and confused at the same time. Then Max's face starts to turn into a scowl.

We run back to the dorms before Max can figure out what we're up to. Theo, Abi, Alia, Kayla and me come stumbling back into the dorms laughing.

"How'd it go?" Trey asks.

"It was hilarious. Max's reaction was priceless!" Alia says. We're all laughing now.