Prank War

Prank War [3]

    "As you all know, it's time for the annual prank war, as you kids like to call it," the elderly lady, who I assumed was Mrs. Moore; the principal, said.

    A roar of cheering and whooping erupted through the whole room. Mrs. Moore waited a few seconds for everyone to settle down before continuing.

    "The rules are the same as last year. No pranks that could hurt people; physically and emotionally. If you get pranked, then you're out. This year, we've made sure that no one could find a loop hole through this rule."

    She held out what looked like a metal bracelet, "Everyone will wear one of these. There's one designed for each specific student, and it monitors your every move."

    Creepy.

    "If the red light goes out, that means you're out of the war. And as you remember, if you're out, you can't be involved in anyway."

    Where do they even get the money for that? I was about to ask Mackenzie but Mrs. Moore kept on going.

    "But this year, we have an amazing prize for the winner," she said, "Miss Johnson's father has gratefully donated one million dollars towards this event. Miss Johnson, why don't you come on up to the stage?"

    Kristen stood up as everyone clapped and cheered. Random 'Yeah Kristen!'s came from different places of the auditorium.

    I knew she was rich. One million dollars? Her dad must be either filthy rich, or really stupid to donate that much money to a 'prank war'. Actually, even if he was filthy rich, he was kind of stupid to give away one million dollars.

    I couldn't believe the school even let a prank war happen. Not that I was complaining, of course.

    If I got that one million dollars, I could get out of here. Buy myself a car, even though I don't have my permit yet. And I could have ice cream everyday! That was a need, not a want.

    I realized I was on the edge of my seat, along with almost everyone else in the auditorium. I knew everyone was thinking of what they could do with a million dollars.

    Sorry kiddos, it's mine.

    Yeah, I called you kiddos even though some of you are older than me. Yeah. Take that.

    God, I was stupid. It's not like they could hear me.

    Kristen stood up on the stage as everyone cheered for her again. Was it really necessary? I guess I couldn't complain, since it was her family's money.

    "And a round of applause for our last year's champion, Max Townsend."

    My eyes widened and I held my breath. It had to be a different Max Townsend. It had to be.

    The dirty blonde haired guy Mackenzie motioned to me early got up on the stage next to Kristen as everyone cheered for him. Now I could see his face more clearly, and felt my heart sink.

    Dammit. It was Max Townsend. The guy I had a major crush on in fifth grade. The guy that totally humiliated me in front of the whole school. My mind was about to have a flashback of the moment, but I quickly blocked it.

    I felt my fists clench as he smiled towards the audience.

    Mackenzie had said to avoid him if I wanted to stay in the war. I was definitely going to avoid him alright.

    "Remember, there's a specific bracelet for every one of you, so if you think you can get away with it by not wearing it, think again."

    Man, that was a lot of thinking.

    Max whispered something in Kristen's ear and she nodded. They went back to their seats, as Mrs. Moore said, "Stay seated. We will pass your bracelets to you."

    About twenty minutes later, everyone had their metal bracelets on. I strapped mine on, and stared at the red light.

    Don't go away, I told it telepathically. I was pretty sure it didn't hear me.

    Then Mrs. Moore dismissed us.

    Almost everyone stood up. I was about to, but Mackenzie stopped me.

    "Wait," she said as she moved a strand of her brown hair out of her face. She had her eyes on Max, who was still in his seat with his friends. I looked and saw that Kristen's group were also still sitting down.

    "What?" I asked, just as someone opened the doors of the auditorium to get out. Suddenly, water splashed down on them, and the girls (I was pretty sure it wasn't the guys. If it was .... Awwwkward.) screamed. Groans followed immediately as they saw their red light go out. I watched as some tried to take their bracelet off, but couldn't.

    "That was fast," I said to no one particularly.

    "Max, of course," Mackenzie answered.

    "Oh did I forget to mention?" Mrs. Moore said into the microphone, "Be careful. And trust no one. Have fun!"

    Oh, now you tell us.

    Everyone who were already out of the war gave groans of complaints, saying that it wasn't fair. I didn't move from my seat, and looked around, making sure there weren't any more tricks hidden.

    "Is it safe now?" I asked Mackenzie. She glanced at Max and saw him and his group get up.

    "Yup," she replied, getting up as well.

    "How did you know it was going to be there?" I asked, referring to the water prank.

    "The key to this war is to observe," she told me, "I can't believe some people were dumb enough to be fooled by that prank. It's the most common one."

    I didn't say anything as I glanced around again, spotting Caden. He was just getting out of his seat, and looked up. Our eyes met for a brief second, and he quickly looked away.

    We stepped out of the auditorium cautiously. Once we were exposed in the hallway, we quickly looked around.

    "This is when everyone gets really paranoid," Mackenzie told me, "You have no idea if your next step is a trap."

    "Seems stressful," I commented, eyeing my steps carefully. Left foot, right foot, left foot ...

    "True," she agreed, "I can't believe Mr. Johnson would donate one million dollars for this! Kristen must have something up her sleeve."

    I didn't reply. Did she? But what did her father donating one million dollars to this prank war have anything to do with anything else?

    Oh great. I was over thinking again. I'm surprised my head hasn't exploded yet.

    "So how am I supposed to know who to trust?" I murmured to myself. That was a question that had been bothering me since Mrs. Moore started telling us about the prank war. It was true; now that there's a million dollars at stake, no one could be trusted. Anyone could backstab you any minute.

    I guess I'll just have to be on my own.

    I silently promised myself that I wouldn't be fooled by anyone. No matter what.