At first I totally regretted coming upstairs. It had been better downstairs where I could keep myself busy with the fine wine and the performance on stage. Here, I was just moping. My classmates were just playing games and making out. Vincent, who was sitting beside me on one of the desks that had been pushed to the walls to create space in the middle of the classroom, was busy watching cartoon on his phone.

I couldn't let him enjoy himself when he was the one that led me here. I pulled out one of his earbuds and he turned sharply to me with a questioning glare. It did not intimidate me one bit.

"I'm not enjoying this place. And you're busy watching cartoon."

"I'm not watching 'cartoon'". He took the accessory from me and placed back in his ear. I took it out again.

Vincent narrowed his eyes at me and was about to say something when a classmate interrupted.

"Hear ye, hear ye fabulous people. You all are invited to play a game truth or dare. Anything apart from intercourse is allowed," the boy announced with a cocky grin.

"Go and play a game," Vincent told me like he was telling Constance to go and meet her play mates.

I eyed the boy. I got down from my position on the desk to stand in front of his. He paused his action of pulling out his earbuds from their box and looked at me. "What?"

I folded my hands across my chest and I saw Vincent's gaze linger on my chest before looked at me in the eyes.

"You're not saying anything."

I stepped closer, arms still folded on my chest.

"The fu- why are you acting possessed?" He asked, eyes widening.

"How can you bring me to this place and be watching cartoon? Why exactly did you ask me to be your val if you wouldn't spend time with me?"

Somehow my last statement felt like it came out wrong. Jeez, I didn't want Vincent thinking that I wanted to spend time with him. Okay, maybe I wanted to spend a little time with him, get to know him and stuff like that but still yet, that statement sounded wrong. I wasn't desperate to spend time with him.

Of course not.

Vincent wanted to say something but I beat him to it.

"Let's join truth or dare."

Vincent looked confused. "How will that help me spend time with you?"

"You don't want to play?" I quizzed in response.

"Well, if that's your way of spending time then okay," Vincent shrugged. He got down from his desk and went ahead of me to where our mates were forming a big circle with chairs.

"Form a big circle people." The boy from earlier said clapping his hands.

"Like you mother's cooking pot!" Peter drawled from his position beside Amanda. That got my classmates laughing. Amanda hid her face in her hand. I chuckled too. That was what we usually chorused in my former school during sports, which rarely even happened, when we had to form a circle around the P.E teacher. In Regal high, the students arranged themselves in lines, boys and girls, and according to their classes while the sports master stood on a temporary podium on the football field.

I and Vincent joined the circle, sitting side by side. Not everyone had joined the game but then the circle was bigger now. It was after we sat I realised that we were sitting opposite Stephen and Jessica. Jessica wriggled her finger at me excitedly and I smiled at her. Stephen gave me a one-sided smile but I scoffed and looked away only to catch Vincent staring. He didn't even have the decency to look away.

"I'm the bottle spinner," the boy from earlier announced again. He placed an empty wine bottle in the middle of the circle. "In this game, you all don't get to ask for the truth or dare the dare."

There were low murmurs.

"Calm down people." He stepped out of the circle and returned with two bowls, he had definitely swiped from the cafeteria. "One bowl is for truths and others for dares. When I spin the bottle, whoever the corked head points to, decides either truth or dare. Then he or she picks a paper from either of the bowl."

"That's nice," a classmate said and some others agreed.

"And on a side note, after two truths. The next person must do a dare."

Few more whispers the game started. The bottle pointed to Jessica on its first spin.

"What?!" She huffed when my classmates snickered. "Truth." The boy went over to her with the bowl of truths.

When she picked a paper, she gave it to the boy to read it loud. "When last did you get laid?"

Jessica's eyes widened and her face turned red with embarrassment. "What's your business with that?!"

"Girl, just say something so that we can continue the game," a classmate said.

"Let's remove truth from the game. It's no fun and people can just lie too," another classmate suggested.

It led to murmurs. I sensed an argument brewing but the bottle boy was quick to intervene.

"We're playing truth or dare. If you don't want to play, you can leave quietly." He turned to Jessica from the centre of our circle. "Go on."

"I've not done it before," Jessica finally said in a very low voice.

"Baby girl don't be shy!" A classmate laughed. Some other idiots followed her.

"Inyang shut up," Stephen chided. He threw an arm over Jessica's shoulder and whispered things to her. Jessica smiled at those things and I got more angry at him. There was no way he didn't know Chijioke, his tight friend, liked the girl he was acting all lovey dovey with.

The way I was looking out for Chijioke surprised me but I liked it. I was being a friend to him, that was what mattered.

The game continued. My classmates more dare than truth. Most of them did their dares with their full chest. Well, what was expected when the defaulters fee was a whooping ten thousand naira. Those that chose truth even did worse than them. Some told embarrassing truths shamelessly. I figured most of them were tipsy and drunk. Peter for example, when asked one of the funniest but dangerous things he did as a kid went on to tell us in details how he almost cut of his manhood. Like that was not enough, when dared to twerk he made sure to over do it. He removed his blazer and was twirling it in the air. He even got out of the circle to go at dance with the wall. I saw Amanda cringe at his actions. She eventually stepped out of the circle saying that she didn't want to play again.

Spins and more spins, and the bottle hadn't pointed to Vincent. I wanted so badly for it to. Apart from the now friendlier version of Vincent I was beginning to see, I wanted to see Vincent do or say something crazy. But unsurprisingly, the universe didn't want to honor my wish.

Another spin and boom, the cork was pointing at me. I knew that there was a chance I would be pointed at but I didn't expect it. I wasn't even ready especially for what was about to come.

"Pretty girl on low cut. You hot by the way," the bottle boy said blowing me a kiss. "You can't pick a dare because your predecessors-" the guy chuckled. "My grammar sha. I'd make a good TV show host, don't y'all think?" Few hisses, chuckles and agreements replied him.

"Anyway you can't pick truth. Two people have chosen truth already," the boy continued. He passed me the bowl of dares and I picked. When he unfolded the rolled paper I had given him, I saw him look from me to Stephen as a mischievous smile crept upon his lips.

"You are to kiss the person opposite you for thirty seconds."

That was a literal bombshell he dropped.

I looked at who was opposite me. Was it Stephen or Jessica? Either ways, it was terrible. I couldn't kiss either of them. The previous girl that was dared to French kiss the person on her left, which turned out to be a girl, had to transfer the money on the spot to a certain 'charity foundation'.

When I came back to earth, I noticed that the bottle boy was already in front of Stephen. "You're lucky. Our hot star baller is the one directly opposite you," the boy was grinning.

Another freaking bombshell.

I looked at Vincent and he was staring ahead with an undisturbed look like he didn't just hear that his val was to kiss another boy. I wasn't his girlfriend after all. I lamely thought that he might want to pay for my fee because he wouldn't want me kissing his cousin. But Vincent didn't even look at me.

I looked at Jessica. She wasn't smiling anymore and she was looking straight at me, daring me with her eyes. .

I knew Jessica wouldn't enjoy the idea of me kissing her crush turned partial boyfriend in front of her and it would bring about another malice. But a sadistic part of me wanted her to feel what Chijioke must have felt on that Monday morning.

But I had to kiss Stephen to do that?

For a whole thirty seconds?

Was it worth it?

But then I couldn't give out ten thousand naira just like that.

To charity?

Hell, I was sadly a charity case.

But Jessica. . .

My mind was in disarray. I was in a dilemma. What do I do?

Maybe Stephen didn't want it either. Maybe he'll pay.

But the idiot was smiling. It wasn't visible but I saw it.

Even if I wanted to pay, I didn't have my phone to do instant transfer and I was not ready to embarrass my generation.

"How do we do it?" I asked. My stupid ass classmates cheered and hooted. Jessica stared at me with a look of unbelief. It was too intense.

"The center of the circle, my dear," the boy beamed. Stephen and I stood up at once and walked to the centre of the circle. I made sure to throw venom into the murderous glare I gave a Stephen. Luckily, his smile was gone.

"Please come closer. Let's make this quick," I told him with sass and anger. My very stupid classmates kept cheering. Jessica was just watching.

I only hoped she understood that this wasn't my fault.

Stephen stepped closer. He reeked faintly of alcohol. I wondered if the alcohol was what was messing up with his reasoning. He was supposed to be transferring money now not stalking towards me. He didn't even disagree to this for once? Even though he didn't look drunk, I concluded that it was definitely the alcohol.

"I hate you," I mouthed at him. I said it but it didn't sound true to me even. Maybe that was why Stephen didn't flinch but just stared at me with those honey brown eyes. Somehow they didn't reciprocate my words. They didn't say 'I hate you' like they've always been doing for so long now. Those honey brown eyes dropped to my neck. It followed the necklace till it got to the pendant. Or somewhere else.

"Bollywood drama," A classmate commented.

"Ahbi and Pragya."

They grumbled for us to hurry up.

"Are we doing this or not?" I asked daring to hope. Stephen cupped my face gently, too gently as the not-so-subtle smell of alcohol assaulted my nose. He was inching closer when someone shouted.

"I'll pay!"

I didn't even waste a second in pulling my face from Stephen's hold. Jessica was the one who volunteered to pay. I knew was in deep shit. She was typing hurriedly on her phone as bottle boy watched what she was doing. I and Stephen just stood awkwardly in the center of the circle.

"Done," Jessica announced waving her phone in the air. My classmates started grumbling and whispering and laughing and making theories.

I walked back to my previous position beside Vincent. The boy was busy on his phone.

"You were going to let him kiss your val?" I tried to sound like I was joking but even I knew I sounded offended.

Vincent shrugged without looking up from his phone and I rolled my eyes, half annoyed. I wondered if this was some sort of ploy to reconcile me and Stephen. Maybe me being Vincent's val was part of a twisted plan to help Stephen and I become friends again. I discarded the thought though.

I looked in Jessica's direction only to find her glaring at me.

Crap.

While another person performed his dare, I walked to Jessica. I bent to whisper in her ear but she shunned me.

"Guy just let me talk to you!" I whispered harshly. Jessica sighed and stood up. She announced that she wasn't playing again and beckoned on me to follow her.

"You can talk," she told me when we got outside. She was leaning on the wall and looking straight at me. It was uncomfortable honestly but I held her gaze.

"I didn't want to kiss Stephen–"

Jessica let out a sarcastic chuckle and shook her head. "Really?"

"I don't have my phone on me. I would have transferred something–" lie "–I expected Stephen to pay. You should be mad at him not me."

"Stephen is tipsy. He drank too much alcohol from the ping pong game we played against Peter and Mandy," Jessica said as a matter of factly.

I crossed my arms. "He didn't look that drunk."

"You should have asked me or Vincent to pay so that you would refund later," she threw an accusation back at me.

Sadly, I didn't have an excuse for that. But I hoped she was not expecting me to refund her money

"Just know that I didn't want to kiss him. I don't want to fight with you because of a boy."

"Me neither."

"So we are good?" I asked.

She nodded. Just then classmates started piling out of the class and making a hell lot of noise as they did.

"Chinny, where are you guys headed?" Jessica asked a girl.

"They said the best couple competition is starting."

"Oh."

Dabira and Alec came from an opposite direction. Alec's hair which had been neatly comb was disheveled and Dabira's wig was in a worse condition. She kept running her hand through it as they walked to us. There was a smudge of red lipstick on Alec's face confirming my suspicion.

"Did you two. . ." Jessica trailed scrunching her nose.

"You should wipe your face with something. Your girl left a stamp," I told him.

Dabira bit her bottom lip as she helped Alec wipe off the lipstick.

"Where's everyone going to?" Alec asked as Dabira wiped his face

"Best couples competition."

"Oh. Let's go!" Dabira threw the stained wipe in the nearest waste basket and came to take I and Jessica's hand.

"I'm waiting for Stephen."

"He'll meet us there. Let's go, Dabira replied her. "Xander!" She called.

I pulled my wrist from her iron grip. Dabira looked at me like I owed her some kind of explanation.

"I need to use the toilet."

She didn't say anything. She just turned to look at Alec who was already walking towards us. She curled her arm under his elbow when he reached and pulled him and Jessica towards the staircase. I didn't know if she was offended but if she was, I honestly didn't care.

When they had gone down the stairs, away from my line of sight, I went back into the class with one thing in mind; Give Stephen Olarewaju a piece of my mind.