"I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."
"That's an idea I can agree with."
The fourth round was underway, and after nearly two hours of constant movement, people were beginning to feel it. People were getting hungry. The excitement of the challenge was still there, but the exhaustion was kicking in. Running across trampolines, climbing obstacles, crawling through inflatables and moving from area to area had drained a lot of energy.
Fortunately, the arena had a small cafe and a little convenience store.
Destiny and Delilah were making their way there now, with Destiny taking charge, of course. During the break, Delilah heard Destiny's stomach rumble a few times, so she knew this was coming. Destiny also made it clear that she was hungry, soon to be hangry.
Delilah happily agreed with the idea. She wasn't as hungry, but the constant playing around had taken a toll on her. She had fun but needed more than a fifteen-minute break to recharge. Being dragged around by Destiny with no escape wasn't the easiest thing to handle.
This mini lunch break was perfect.
"What are you going to get?" Delilah asked as they walked.
"Whatever's there," Destiny replied, her eyes ahead, eager to eat something. "I didn't have breakfast. The only thing I've had is a chewing gum."
The two continued walking until they finally reached the section. The section had the cafe to the right and the convenience store to the left. Both buildings were about the same size.
The cafe appealed more to Destiny, so she chose right and went inside.
She pushed the door open, making the bell above it alert everyone inside to their entry.
Destiny raised a brow, her eyes floating around the place.
"Where's everyone at?"
It would've alerted people if anyone was inside. The cafe was empty, with only the barista behind the counter.
"Not everyone is hungry," Delilah told her, a little surprised herself at being the only two in the cafe.
"How?" Destiny asked, not believing it. "Do you know how many people I heard were coming here?"
"What people did you hear exactly?" Delilah asked, knowing she was lying, tilting her head.
"You weren't there," Destiny dismissively said, avoiding eye contact. "We had a group discussion about it."
Delilah lightly smiled, "I've been by your side the entire challenge," she muttered.
The two went to the counter, and Destiny instantly picked up a menu. Delilah didn't bother picking a menu up and leaned over to look with Destiny.
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
Neither of them was prepared for what was on the menu. The numbers they were seeing forced those reactions out of them.
"3000 credits?" Destiny said, almost disgusted, scanning every item on the page. "Every drink is 3000 credits."
She looked over at the other page. "5000 credits for a cake?!"
The menu was small. On the left page were the drinks, and on the right the cakes. Usually, there would be more items on the menu on other days, but the whole place was closed for the day so the academy could host this challenge. Therefore, the number of items on the menu decreased significantly.
Delilah glanced down at the dessert section beneath the counter, where all the cakes were displayed behind a glass case.
"Excuse me, how big are the cakes?" Delilah politely asked the barista.
The barista had an amused look on her face after seeing their reactions.
"These are the cakes," she gestured down towards the glass display.
Delilah looked down at the array of cakes again, "Are those the sizes we get when we order them?" she asked for confirmation.
"Yes."
Destiny slowly covered her mouth, "They're tiny," she said, her voice breaking, sounding like she was about to cry.
The cakes were a single cube that could be eaten in a single bite.
"5000 credits," Destiny whispered to herself, shaking her head. "Can I use money?" she asked with her hand still over her mouth, the shock not wearing off.
"We only take credits," the barista replied, a smile still present on her face.
"How will you use money?" Delilah asked Destiny. "You don't have your phone."
"They could take my name, and I'll pay them after the challenge," Destiny replied. She looked back at the barista, "Can't you do that?"
"Unfortunately, no," she replied. "We take your name, and we take credits away from your account."
Destiny grit her teeth and slowly nodded, running her eyes through all the cakes on display.
"Do you offer samples?" she asked, her eyes desperate like a puppy.
"Pfft," Delilah covered her mouth, stopping a big laugh from escaping.
The barista was also covering her mouth, giggling at the question. "No, we don't do samples. Usually these would be the samples, but not today," she gestured to the cakes.
Hearing that broke Destiny. She exhaled, closed her eyes and started massaging her forehead with two fingers.
"This academy is amazinggggg," she sarcastically sang as her stomach quietly rumbled.
Delilah started to feel sorry for her. "I can get you a cake if you want," she offered.
"Delilah, don't be stupid," Destiny replied, opening her eyes. "This is a scam. They want us to get rid of our credits. That cake is half of the credits you've got."
Hearing that did hit Delilah, despite it being obvious.
"You're not wrong," Delilah admitted. "But I don't want to see you starve."
Destiny scoffed. "I'd rather starve than spend my credits on these samples," she bluntly joked.
The barista couldn't help but laugh again.
"Girls, let me tell you a little secret," she said. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "The prices of everything will go down in the later rounds. For now, everything is expensive."
"How late?" Destiny asked, leaning forward.
"I don't know. We don't decide that."
Destiny deeply exhaled and gave herself a moment. She had one last trick. She put on her puppy eyes again and,
"Madam, can't you help a starving girly out?" she said, dramatically putting a hand on her stomach, trying to be a damsel in distress.
Delilah stood there, staring at this performance, confused at what she was seeing. She wasn't sure if this was even Destiny she was watching. She was lowkey disturbed.
The barista had been non-stop smiling since these two came through the door.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. There are cameras," the barista said, subtly glancing to the corners. "However, if you are really hungry, the little store over there has some snacks," she pointed outside. "They're expensive but cheaper than this."
"Snacks..." Destiny disappointedly said, not moved by that suggestion at all.
grrrrurrr!
Delilah and the barista both looked at Destiny's stomach.
"Delilah, let's go get some snacks," she flatly said, breaking the silence before her stomach could again and walking away.
The barista and Delilah shared a smile, "Thank you," Delilah said to her as she walked out.
The walk to the convenience store was short, as it was across from the cafe.
"The max I'm spending is 2k," Destiny said, standing in front of the automatic doors.
"Why are you telling me that?" Delilah asked, confused.
"I'm telling myself," Destiny replied.
The automatic doors slid open, revealing the store. The store looked exactly like a typical convenience store.
Shelves lined with snacks and drinks lined in the refrigerators.
Another good sign was that there were students in here. People were actually using this store. It was like a 7-Eleven.
A genuine smile finally returned to Destiny's face
"This is what I'm talking about."
"Actually trying in this challenge is shit."
Malakai was holed up in a little spot at the top of an inflatable tower. It was like a little tree house. To get there was very easy. It was just a slightly vertical climb up an inflatable floor.
He lay back against an inflatable wall with his legs spread out, staring out through a little window to his right.
"I can't be arsed man. There's no way I can try and win this," he thought.
Malakai tried his best. He did a few of the mini challenges to get a vaccine, but from the way his thoughts were, you can probably tell he wasn't successful.
Tanisha supervised him at the start of the round to make sure he actually tried to help the team. She left him when he was distracted to do her own thing. Malakai knew she left, but he still tried to get at least one vaccine before he started having fun again.
Malakai was lost in thought, staring out of the window. The place was lively. There will still be fun for everyone to have.
"Boo!"
Malakai didn't flinch.
"Yo."
Maria climbed into the small space. "Hey," she greeted with a smile, taking a seat across from him. "What are you doing up here?"
"Nothing," Malakai shrugged.
"Are you hiding?" she asked, making herself more comfortable.
"Nah, I ain't hiding," Malakai shook his head. "I'm just chilling innit. What are you doing here?" he asked back. "Did you follow me?"
"I did," Maria grinned, not afraid to deny it. "I saw you climbing up here and thought, what is he doing? So I came to check."
Malakai smirked and rested his head back, "You followed me for no reason cuz I'm doing nothing."
"I wouldn't say it was for no reason," Maria replied, doing the opposite of him and leaning her head forward. "I wanted to talk to you."
"You wanted to talk to me?" Malakai repeated, keeping the calm tone. "Are you a carrier?" he casually asked.
"No," Maria said, pulling a face and looking away, being blatantly suspicious.
Malakai took his head off the wall, "If you're gonna lie, at least try innit," he smirked.
Maria looked at his smirk and smiled.
"Okay, you got me. I'm a carrier. Don't tell anyone I told you," she said, putting a finger to her lips.
Malakai let out a small laugh through his nose, "Your mom didn't pass any of her acting genes to you," he said. "Are you actually Havana Rodriguez's daughter?"
Maria giggled. "Maybe I acted badly on purpose. Double bluff."
"Don't try these mind games on me," Malakai said, wagging his finger. "You ain't gonna win."
Maria giggled again. "There's no point in asking you. I know you're not the carrier."
"Pft. I wish I was," Malakai honestly said. "At the start I knew it wasn't good for me, but now my team are onto me to do something."
"Onto you to do something?" Maria asked, not understanding. His accent and slang slipped away from her.
"Sabrina told me to take this challenge more seriously," Malakai explained. "But I'm not a carrier or a doctor, so I don't know what they want me to do. They told me not to get infected and get vaccines, but I can't be arsed. I wanna mess about."
"You tried to get vaccines?" Maria asked, a little surprised. "I saw you singing and vibing to Shawn Mendes with some people."
"Oh yeah. I don't even listen to Shawn Mendes, but he's got some bangers. There's nothing holdin' me back," Malakai weakly sang, bopping his head.
Maria found that cute.
"I was tryna get a vaccine, and those guys were there. I couldn't get the vaccine, so I gave up on the vaccine and joined them. They were having their own party."
Maria chuckled a bit. She couldn't stop smiling and laughing. Being alone with him like this was making her giddy without her realising it.
"You've probably been infected."
"Nah, I made sure no one got close to my wrist," Malakai said, unsure if what he said was even true. "What about you? Have you got any vaccines?"
Maria dug her hand into her pocket, "Yep," she replied, pulling out a vaccine.
"You got one? Where?" Malakai asked, expecting her not to have one.
"At the rock climbing area."
"Didn't someone get all the vaccines from there?"
"They put a new vaccine at the top of a random wall every round."
Malakai kissed his teeth. "fuck sake," he mumbled, annoyed that it didn't cross his mind they could do that. Then he thought for a second. "You can rock climb?" he asked, raising a brow.
Maria tilted her head at him. "Seriously?" she asked, straightfaced. "We could go there right now, and I'll show you. We can race. I'm sure I'll beat you."
"Okay, let's relax," Malakai smirked, gesturing for her to calm down. "I've clocked (realised). You can actually do a lot of things."
Maria started nodding. A nod that was accompanied by a familiar feeling. "You thought I was just Havana Rodriguez's daughter," she said, her eyes shifting down with a light smile.
"Nah."
Maria's eyes quickly shifted back up.
"I just thought you were a pretty girl innit."
That sudden weak compliment attacked her heart. It made her face jolt ever so slightly. Malakai didn't even say it as a compliment. He casually said it like it was a fact.
"I don't even know your mom like that," he continued, not noticing Maria's expression. "I haven't watched any of the movies she's in yet. I've only seen clips."
Maria quickly recovered and composed herself externally. Internally, everything was still fuzzy and needed more time to calm down.
"I like that," Maria softly said. "I'd prefer it if you just saw me for me."
Malakai briefly analysed what she said.
"Do people actually only see you as your mom's daughter?"
"More than you'd think."
"I don't know if that's a good thing or not."
"Good thing? Wouldn't you want people to know your name?"
"I'm not gonna lie. I wouldn't want to be famous in the first place," Malakai said, moving his eyes to the window. "Seems long (annoying)."
"Makes sense. You hate celebrities after all," Maria smiled, looking out the window to see his view.
"I don't hate them. I just don't care about them," Malakai shrugged.
The conversation died down, with the two of them silently watching what was going on outside. It didn't last long though.
"Anyway, can I have your vaccine?" Malakai suddenly asked, turning to her.
Maria slowly turned her head to him. "…No," she replied, thinking he was joking.
"Come on. You're on Alexander's team," Malakai said, sitting up a bit. "You've probably got bare (a lot of) vaccines."
"You're... serious?" Maria slowly asked. "I thought you were joking."
"Imma be real. I need a vaccine," Malakai simply said. "I need to bring back something. Tanisha's gonna be pissed."
A mischievous grin grew on her face. "That gives me another reason not to give it to you."
"I thought we were friends," Malakai said with a grin not as mischievous.
"We are, but we're in a challenge."
"You're not gonna try help me out?" Malakai asked, trying again. "A friendly gesture innit. Like how I gave Nada a plastic ball in that challenge."
Maria stalled on it. She was set on keeping the vaccine. She knew he was capable of getting a vaccine himself, so giving it to him would be stupid. But the lover part of her wanted to give him the vaccine.
Malakai could see she was thinking about it.
"No."
Maria shook her head, hiding the vaccine back in her pocket. "That friendly gesture didn't help you win."
Malakai's eyebrows flashed up for a second. For some reason, he had a feeling he was getting that vaccine. He smirked at how good the response was
"Aryt. I see how it is."
He decided to stop trying. If it were any of his other friends, he would've tried wrestling and snatching it off them. He would've even tried snatching it off Delilah. But Malakai still didn't know the boundaries with Maria yet. He didn't want to say or try anything that would overstep that boundary.
Maria saw how easily Malakai gave up. She wasn't going to give him the vaccine, but she didn't want to see him give up like that. She was tempted to double back and give him the vaccine to keep the conversation going. She didn't want to give it to him just like that because she was competitive, but she didn't want this moment to slip away.
"Red team," she awkwardly said, looking at his wristband. "Is red your favourite colour?"
Maria was desperate to keep the conversation going, so she asked the most basic question of all time.
"Nah... My favourite colour's blue," Malakai said, slightly confused, flicking gazes between his wristband and her.
"Oh... that should've been obvious," Maria replied, avoiding his face. "The soccer team you support is blue."
"Football," Malakai corrected her in his mind.
"Yeah. Blue's a nice colour innit," Malakai said, filling the conversation, not really knowing what else to say. "Blue is the warmest colour."
"You've watched that movie?" Maria asked, taken aback, not expecting to hear that of all things.
"It's a movie?" Malakai asked, confused. "I thought it was a saying. I heard my boy say it once. It sounds like a good saying."
"No, it's a movie," Maria shook her head, giggling a little.
"Is it good?"
Maria tried remembering it, swaying her head left and right. "I liked it," she unconvincingly said, raising her shoulders.
"Would I like it?"
"I'm not sure," Maria said, touching her chin. "It has a lot of sex scenes."
A smirk couldn't help but grow on Malakai's face. He tried looking down to stop his smile.
"Now you're definitely watching it," Maria teased.
"Huh?" Malakai reacted, surprised, with an open smile. It took him a second to compute what she said. "I keep forgetting you've got jokes."
Maria was happy to get that reaction. She felt like she brought the vibe back. "It's a long movie," she said. "And it's in French."
Malakai let out a laugh through his nose, "It's fine, I'll only watch parts of it."
Maria laughed, this time clearly knowing he was joking.
"I'm joking," Malakai clarified anyway. "I'm not a movie guy. I'll watch a movie if everyone else is watching it, but I wouldn't put on a movie if I'm by myself."
"We should do a movie night," Maria suggested as soon as the idea came to her head. "Invite everyone to someone's dorm and put on a movie. Would you do that?"
"I don't mind that. That would be fun," Malakai said. "What about you? What's your favourite colour?" he asked, somehow curious about hers. "Is it yellow?" he nodded to her wristband.
"No. My favourite colour's green," Maria answered.
"Green?" Malakai said, surprised, furrowing his brows. "Is it because of your eyes?" he pointed to his own eyes.
"More or less," Maria replied. "Everyone complimented my eye colour so much when I was younger that it made me happy. Then I naturally became attracted to green things."
Maria glanced down at her wristband, "Why did you say yellow?"
"I don't know. Yellow suits you," Malakai shrugged. "Now that I think about it. Every colour would suit you."
Maria smiled at the simple compliment. She could handle that one.
"You probably hate yellow. I don't know any guy who likes yellow."
"Nah, I like yellow," Malakai replied, looking at her. "It's my mom's favourite colour. How can I hate it?"
The smile Maria saw on his face was not a casual one or the usual one he wears. A pure happy smile. She instantly felt the difference in vibe around him. It was like she'd seen this smile before but hadn't at the same time.
BEEP!
The speakers interrupted the moment and rang around the whole place.
"Dominic on the blue team has been eliminated! He shot a person who wasn't a carrier or a doctor. Therefore, he has been eliminated."