𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 || 𝐫. 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞

HADLEY ALDEN WAS SITTING WITH HER LEGS CROSSED in her graduation cap and gown next to her best friend. She finally made it through the hell that some people call high school. It was not as awful of an experience as she thought it would be, and she was surprised that she was kind of sad that it was over.

Everyone in the room was staring at two giant pictures, framed and displayed on the stage. Everyone knew who they were — Jimmy Cortez and Abby Clark. They were seniors the year before, and they passed away the summer after they graduated. If someone that was not from Carp, Texas walked into that graduation, they would assume that they were mourning the students. However, the students knew that the pictures served as a reminder to all of the students of what happens when they participated in the game that all of the seniors were eligible to play that summer.

Panic.

Every teenager in town knew about the game. It pretty much established how much of a failure you were in life. The winner got to take home the grand prize, but it always came with a price. And that price was fear. Jimmy and Abby died playing the game the previous year. It was the first time anyone had died playing, and it definitely was not going to stop the game from continuing that year. There was a solid amount of seniors that would do anything for that money. Hadley never thought she would be one of them.

"And now, what you've been waiting for..." the president of the school announced once they were done honoring Jimmy and Abby. She smiled proudly at the group of people in matching caps and gowns. "The graduates."

Hadley was the first person to be called because of her last name, and Kyle, her best friend, clapped the loudest as she stood up to receive her diploma. She was followed by Natalie Williams, Bishop Moore, Heather Nill, and Kyle. She rolled her eyes when her cousin, Tyler Young, and his friends' names were called, remembering him telling her that they were taking the boat out instead of going to the ceremony.

After all the names were called and the final remarks were given, the teenagers made their way outside for pictures. Hadley's father had always talked about how excited he was for her graduation, even though it meant his baby girl going off to college. He had not exaggerated how pumped he would be. He was very eager for her to hand over her camera to take a ton of pictures.