When I arrived at school on Monday, the outside of the main entrance was crowded with custodians. A few were on ladders while others kneeled on the pavement, some of them laughing as they worked to remove the hundreds of pictures of a fallen Principal Herrings from the bricks of Rutherford. The photo was plastered all over the face of the building, and while I felt bad for the principal, who was pictured with his mouth gaping and eyes wide mid-fall, I couldn't help but be grateful that it wasn't a picture of me.

The downside of this prank was that it had been done by The Five Capers, and they'd completed it quickly-- we were back to our original gap of only a few points. If we slipped up and did the next assignment late, they'd surpass us for sure.

The week passed without anything new, but I'd grown used to the occasional silence from The Seven. By this point, most of our competitors had been eliminated. There were only five teams left on the scoreboard, and most of them didn't have points anywhere near ours. Overall, things had begun to die down now that most of the student body was watching the competition instead of partaking in it.

It was weird to think of how far the competition had come, especially as I held Roy's hand, the two of us strolling together through the park. It was our first date since homecoming-- my parents wouldn't let me go out on Monday like we planned, since it was a school night. So we waited until Saturday, and I spent the week with fuzzy insides, too distracted with daydreams of Roy to pay attention in any of my classes.

Saturday finally came and there we were, walking by the lake after getting lunch, our hands intertwined and a permanent smile on my face. It was crazy to think that if it weren't for The Seven, I would've probably been at home by myself like any other weekend. I hated to admit it, but I knew the two of us never would have interacted without the competition.

I knew how cruel The Seven could be, and how they fueled so much drama and paranoia at Rutherford. Still, I couldn't help feeling like I owed them. They'd given me real excitement for the first time in my life. The competition had been more fun than I'd ever experienced, and I felt different because of it-- I was braver, wilder.

Colorful leaves crunched under my feet and fell from the branches above my head, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I was a little nervous about whatever was to come-- it felt like we were in the home stretch now, and I knew the challenges would most likely only get harder-- but it was hard to worry in such a perfect moment. I was with Roy, his warm hand in mine, thumb rubbing lazily back and forth against my index finger.

"So, do you think your dad totally hates me?" Roy asked, drawing me from my thoughts.

I laughed, caught off guard by the question. "He definitely doesn't."

"He didn't seem to happy to see me again," he said, tone playful. "I mean, can you blame him? I brought you home late on Saturday, and then I tried to take you out on a school night--"

"Five minutes after ten is not late," I teased. "And we're lucky we weren't later after driving all of Matt's friends home."

"I think he's confused how I convinced his amazing, beautiful daughter to go out with me."

I laughed, bumping into him on purpose. "There was no convincing needed."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that-- about us. Are you- are we-" he paused, seeming to mull over his choice of words for a minute. "I'm trying to ask you to be my girlfriend-- I'm just really terrible at it."

My eyes widened and I grinned, stopping in my tracks to look at him. He turned to meet my stare, cheeks dusted with red, eyebrows raised in expectation.

"I would love to," I said, almost laughing at how his expression dissolved into a smile. "You didn't honestly think I was going to say no, did you?"

He shrugged as we continued to walk, my heart fluttering in my chest. "I was worried I might be moving fast-- it's only our second date."

"But I've had a crush on you for the past month," I admitted, although I wasn't sure if it was really a secret. He grinned as I continued, "So to me, it doesn't seem too fast at all."

My phone chimed in the background of our conversation. I ignored it, until I heard a similar ding from Roy's pocket. We shared a glance of curiosity, reaching for our phones and moving to the side of the path before looking at the screens.

Sure enough, my newest notification was from The Seven. My thumb pressed it without hesitation, the app loading within a few seconds to display the full message.

I swallowed, rereading it, my stomach somersaulting. "It's the last challenge already?"

Roy's eyes searched the screen in front of him. "I can't believe they would just remove the other teams like that."

"I can't believe we've almost won," I said, already getting a new message from Madeline in the group chat.

Roy let out a short laugh of disbelief, running a hand through his hair. "One more challenge."

♧

I curled my legs onto the navy couch in Madeline's living room, glancing at the clock on her cable box again. 1:50. The numbers bored into my eyes, still the same as the last time I'd looked.

"It feels like time isn't even passing," I complained, trying to distract myself with something else. My eyes raked over the room, attempting to find interest in the grey carpet or the abstract paintings on the wall.

Ian hunched over in his seat next to Roy, elbows resting on his knees and head plopping into his hands. "Don't watch the clock," he advised. "It just makes it go even slower."

Maddie shifted in the tan recliner across from us, her fingers tapping against the leather. Knowing what I knew, it was hard to tell if there was tension between them or if I was just imagining it.

I kept wondering if Daniel would show up. The lack of him was making me a little nervous, since the way The Seven worded it, it sounded like we would need to have all our group members. Still, with everything going on between him and Madeline, I couldn't blame him if he didn't come.

I was having a hard time convincing myself this was really the last challenge, and I almost couldn't imagine not having another one to anticipate. Even if we did win, I had a suspicion that I might feel like something was missing for a while, and whether it would be a relief or a loss was a question I was still trying to find the answer to.

A knock on the door had Maddie jumping from her chair, racing out of the room to answer it. I heard her sigh a relieved "thank you," before she came back, Daniel following her stiffly.

The room seemed to dampen and once again I had to wonder if I was imagining the way the air tuned awkward, a heavy silence falling over our group with his arrival. Roy's arm fell from the back of the couch to rest on my shoulders, prompting me to sink further into his side. We shared a glance of mutual discomfort, and I wondered for a second if he knew about Maddie and Ian-- maybe Ian had confided in him the same way Madeline had confessed to me.

Just as I was considering pulling out my phone to send him a discreet text about the unpleasant mood change, all five of ours went off, filling the room with buzzes and dings. Roy began reading the message aloud, his phone already in his hand as the rest of us reached for ours.

The message ended there, giving no further explanation.

No one spoke after Roy finished reading, the five of us sharing nervous looks until he broke the silence. "So... Anyone else wanna volunteer for this one?"

Ian laughed shortly and Maddie smiled, but Daniel just rolled his eyes at the joke. "Not particularly."

"Well, no surprise there," Ian remarked, barely sounding like he was joking. I tensed at the words, watching Daniel squint in his direction.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Ian started, any trace of kidding leaving his voice, "that you haven't been willing to do anything this whole competition. I doubt anyone expected you to start now."

Daniel scoffed. "Yeah, because that's your issue with me."

"I can have more than one."

"I'm the one who should be insulting you," Daniel snapped. "Any other guy would kick your ass for what you did-"

"Daniel, stop," Madeline interrupted, her tone stern. She opened her mouth to continue but closed it when he stood from his chair.

"I am stopping-- I'm stopping any involvement I had in this absurd nightmare of a competition. I'm out," he said, putting his arms up and backing out of the living room. "Split the money between the four of you, I don't care. I'm done."

He turned, storming around the corner. I heard the door open and watched as Maddie hurried to follow him.

Jade's love life is going great! Maddie and Daniel... can't relate skskskks