3 strikes you're out

Chapter 1: Strike

I actually finished this chapter early. I hope you enjoy.

6th September 2023:

Anya's POV

I barely went out of the house this summer. Not because I didn't want to just because my friend, Chris, went to Spain for 3 weeks and my other friend, Bria, spent most of the summer at her aunt's house in Birmingham.

That just left me with my family. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I love my family, but my brother (Noah) is so annoying. He's 17. At that age you would expect that he would be mature, sensible and worrying about his university applications or something. But you would be wrong. He doesn't care about school or life itself.

I always wonder about what goes on in that brain of his; not much. If I'm being honest, he probably has 2 brain cells max.

I get up and turn the lamp on that illuminates my depressingly dark room, then proceed to stare at the blank wall with a picture of me and my friends. I'm still half asleep. I didn't even try to fix my sleep schedule this time because every summer ends the same way I started it. Earliest I slept this holiday: 1am. Latest: 6:30am.

After a few seconds, maybe minutes, I got dressed into a loose grey hoodie and a pair of baggy jeans. I stared blankly at the mirror with an exhausted version of myself staring back at me, thinking about what I'm going to do with my frizzy hair. It hard to tame since it's curly. Or wavy because some people get irritated if someone says their hair is curly and it's not in perfect ringlets.

Argon oil spurted onto my palms when I gently squeezed the clear tube. I run my hands through my light brown hair to evenly spread the oil, my fingers getting caught on tangled strands.

"Annie!" My mum yells from the kitchen. "You're going to be late. Come down for breakfast!"

"I'm coming!" I yelled back, slightly exasperated. This is my third year in secondary school, so obviously I know when I should be leaving the house. I'm 14, I know these things now.

Now that I've hydrated my usually dry hair, I grabbed by black Nike bag from the metal hanger on the back of my door and hurry down the stairs, so fast that I almost toppled down on the last step.
I drop my bag by the front door and entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Annie." My mum said, smiling.

"Hey, mum." I responded, flashing her a quick smile and sitting down on a chair at the wooden table.

"Do you want Nutella on your pancakes?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. What else have you seen me eat them with?" I answered curtly, staring at a chip on the edge of the table.

Okay, I admit I'm being a little rude, but she always says dense things.

She discreetly spread the Nutella evenly on the pancake with a silver butter knife and rolled it up gently. She handed it to me on a white plate. I ate it rather swiftly as I barely had 10 minutes to eat it.

"Mum, where is dad? I need to ask him something important." Noah asked, rapidly running down the stairs, skipping every other step.

"He's out, he should be here before you two leave." She said.

"Alright." My brother responded and sat down on the table opposite me.

A few moments passed when I felt a harsh pain on my shin.

"Ow!" I screamed. "Noah, I swear to god if you do that again I'll..."

"You'll what?" He said giggling, kicking me under the table again for good measure.

"Ow! I'll... I don't know, okay? Just stop." I said frustrated.

"Anya, Noah, both of you stop, please. I just woke up and I don't want to be hearing you both argue this early in the morning." My mum said with two fingers on both of her temples, rubbing them softly.

This is what I mean when I say he's annoying. He doesn't even care about the consequences of his actions. He just acts before thinking.

I picked up my plate and I avoided eye contact with my brother. I can see him smirk at me from my peripheral vision. He is clearly finding this amusing. I turned a blind eye and put my sink in the dish and made my way to the front door. A shadow lurked through the distorted door window.

I picked up my bag and the door opened before I even touched the handle, revealing my dad.

"Annie." My dad engulfed me into a warm hug. He rested his chin on my head as he rubbed my back fondly.

"Hey, dad." I smiled, returning the gesture.

Ring ring

I turned away from my dad and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

It's Chris.

"Hey, Chris."

"Hey, Anya. I'm on the bus and we're getting to your stop in a minute. Will you make it?" He asked.

"Yeah, I will. I'm coming out in a seconds."

"Okay. Great. I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

"Bye, Chris"

When I take a few steps out of the house my dad calls after me.

"Anya! Say 'hi' to Chris for me." He said.

"Yeah, I will."

My dad loves Chris. Out of my two friends - Bria and Chris - Chris is his favourite. I can see why: they seem to have a strong connection in some way. They have similar interests and Chris is a funny guy. Anyone would like him.

I reached the bus stop just in time as I see the bus coming to a halt. I take out my zip card and let the old lady get on first. I make my way down the bus and I assume Chris is upstairs since I can't see him or Bria at the back.

The bus has started moving and it is rather a hassle getting up the stairs you get thrown in every direction every time the bus jerks forwards. I can see Chris sitting at the back, beckoning me to come sit next to him and Bria.

"Hey, guys!" I said, taking a seat next to Bria.

"Hey!" They said in unison.

"Oh my God! I cant believe that someone is going to get chosen for the game." Bria said, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and jumping up and down in her seat.

"I know, right? I kind of want to get chosen." Chris responded.

"Wait, what game?" I asked confused.

"Strike. You know the Instagram account that everyone follows? They posted for the first time in 2 years. Do you not check Instagram?" Bria responded.

"Oh yeah! But I swear you die if you lose. Why would you want to play Chris?"

"I'm not like the rest. I'm actually smart enough to complete the tasks, that's what makes me different." He answered, pleased with his self.

"Chris. You put sugar on your chips because you thought it was salt. Are you sure you're smart?" Bria said, grinning like a little girl.

"That was so long ago. I've gotten smarter since then. I can easily complete the tasks, whoever controls the game, gives."

"Well, its better to not participate than die." I said.
"Who says you die?" He asks. "No one actually knows what happens because they disappear without a trace. That doesn't mean you die. The 3 people in the past are probably still out there somewhere."

As soon as Chris said that, the whole bus went quiet, making me fidget with my bracelet nervously, noticing all eyes were on us.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Bria asks.

"I don't know" I responded.

I pick up my phone to distract myself as everyone begins whispering. I glance at my phone and I see a post notification from Strike. I quickly open the app and see a picture of my friends and I with the caption: Chris, Bria and Anya, are you ready to play?.

I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be uploaded around Sunday. Maybe earlier or later.