"Oh. My. God." I blurted out. 

Students screamed in fright, and a girl even passed out. Paramedics squeezed through the crowd and lifted the boy away on a stretcher. 

"Kids, there's nothing to see here, go back to your classes, now!" the headmistress, Ms Addison, yelled at us. 

Everyone dashed back to their classrooms immediately at the sight of the fierce headmistress. However, most of us were still chattering away about what we had just seen.

I had not expected things to take place this fast. After all, the game had just begun and someone has already been killed. A young, innocent boy who just wanted who live a happy life, lost his life to such a game. Man, imagine how the parents would feel. 

After all, what's done cannot be undone. I can only hope that neither me or my friends get picked for the game. 

~

The school bell rang, signaling the end of school. Like many others, I made my way home by myself. My elder sister, Sophia, was busy with her 'study group'. Well, it's not like she is studying, she's most probably busy making TikTok videos with her friends. As usual. 

Ding! Ding! That familiar ringtone sounded in my head. I took out my phone from my pocket, and there I saw a notification from an unknown number. I clicked on it, and a short message was found. 

Now, you know this game ain't some joke. It is a deathly game, where people get killed if they do not obey the rules. Take this seriously. You don't want to be the next to die. Next player, coming up! Watch out. 

Yeah, right. 

I deleted the message from my phone at the sight of it. I had enough of this game. Why did this person have to keep killing innocent people? I mean, at least aim for the older kids like us, and not the younger students. They didn't even do anything wrong. They were innocent. 

As I walked, I kept thinking about the game. I had to find out who was behind all of this nonsense. This trash. 

When I got to my doorstep, a man in a blue sweater was standing outside. He seemed pretty tall, and he had his hoodie on. There was a bag in his hand. As I got closer, I realised that it was Dylan Cooper, the popular guy. He was funny and friendly. The thing was, he had a crush on my sister. Dylan came almost every week just to visit my sister. 

I walked up to him with my schoolbag, not knowing what to expect. 

"Sophia isn't home. She's in school with her friends." I muttered. 

"Oh, I see." Dylan replied. "Can you pass this bag to her, then? I got this for her when I was overseas during summer break and forgot to give it to her." 

"Alright, then. You wanna come in?" I asked, taking the bag from Dylan. 

Dylan shook his head. "No thanks. I have an errand to run. See ya!" 

He dashed off further down the street. I took off my shoes and went into the house. Mum was cooking lunch in the kitchen. The familiar aroma of spaghetti seemed delicious. 

"Hello Sophie, welcome home! I cooked spaghetti with meatballs and broccoli. Go wash your hands and come eat." Mum greeted me in her cheerful and energetic voice. 

I placed my bag outside my room and went to wash my hands. I then headed to the dining table and ate my spaghetti hungrily. 

"How's school, sweetie?" Mum asked, sitting in front of me. 

"It's fine. Just the usual." I said, forcing a smile.

I did not want Mum to know about the chaos at school. She would worry too much and complain to the school about this. I did not want her to worry. 

I picked up a meatball with my fork and took a few bites. 

"Any homework today?" Mum started off again.

"I've got a literature project on Capybaras. Other than that, it's just a couple of Math sums." I replied. "Anyways, Sis says she will be home for dinner at six. So...you can prepare her share." 

"Alright, thanks. After you're done with lunch, just leave the utensils in the sink and go take a bath. I gotta meet someone." Mum instructed. 

"Who? A friend?"

"Your dad." 

"Why are you meeting him? He...he left us for a rich woman, Mum!" 

"Sophie, get a hold of yourself. I just want to have a chat with him. It's the adults' business, you don't have to worry so much. I'll call you when I'm done." 

Mum picked up her black handbag and left. I sighed and grumbled. Dad left us years ago for another lady. He did it just because the lady was from a rich family, and the lady's father offered him a lump sum of money. Mum was furious, but they still divorced. Because of this, Mum worked two jobs for three whole years to support the family. I was mad at Dad and never picked up phone calls from him. We severed our ties then, and we went on separate ways. 

Well, I didn't care about Dad a single bit.

I only cared about the reason why Mum kept seeing Dad these days.