Friday rolled around, and it was the perfect distraction for me. It wasn't silly, since I needed the prize, but it wasn't serious, since all I had to do was survive longer than fifty to sixty other people.

No problem.

Ha.

Ha.

The odds weren't exactly in my favor, but if there was one thing I knew how to do, it was how to kick the odds' ass until they cried for mercy.

I sat and scribbled down a list of my many ways to give myself an advantage.

Part A: Drench myself in water so I either die from hypothermia or the darts can't stick to me.

Part B: Hire a sniper to take people out from the roofs of buildings or some shit.

Part C: Get some tea. I probably deserve it.

Part D: Never let my guard down. People suck, and they probably want to win too. Anyone suspicious needs to be terminated immediately.

Part E: Don't let Viktor get shot. I want to be the one that shoots him, when we're the final two. We're not having some Katniss-Peeta nightlock shit.

Blaine always laughed at my list-making tendencies, but for some reason, having everything laid out before me made life a lot easier. Plus, it just felt productive having something written down.

I smiled. I was thankful I was working with Viktor rather than Blaine. He'd probably try to take me out, and not in the date type of way.

A knock came from the other side of the door, and I immediately held up my gun. "What is it?"

"Don't worry Candy Cane, it's just me. I won't hurt you."

Viktor.

I let out a breath, then put my gun down. "Come on in."

"Is Jackie here?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Nope. I think she tried to avoid doing this whole thing by shooting herself." I smiled. "She's not one for violence, I guess."

"Hm. I was hoping we could get her on our team."

"There's no way I'd ever let that happen. It's just you and me. I don't trust anyone else here, and I refuse to get backstabbed by one of these Judases."

Viktor frowned. "Not even Diego?"

"Hell no. I don't think he has one trustworthy quality."

"Oh." Viktor looked down at the ground.

"Oh? Please don't tell me you asked him to work with us, because if that's the case, I need to assassinate him before he can get to me."

"It's not his fault. I'm sorry. I just felt like it'd be easier if we had a decent alliance."

"Was that your strategy last time? To align yourself with everyone else?" I laughed. "You can't do that."

"It got me pretty far. Just don't go making enemies. It puts a target on your back."

"I'm not gonna go hunting people down. I'm going to let the stupid alpha males do that. Then, when they take each other out, that still leaves a lot of us left, but then I can start playing my real game."

Viktor rose his eyebrows. "You put a lot of thought into this."

I nodded. "But that's assuming the alpha males don't put their egos aside and team up. If they do that, then we're going to have to get some blood on our hands before they get us."

"And the alpha females?"

"They're dangerous too. They're going to put a little more thought into their plans, as you can see right here." I smiled and pointed to myself. "They certainly will team up, but soon, they'll implode and turn on each other. We don't know when that will be, though, so we have to be careful."

Viktor laughed. "You don't know this. These are all just guesses."

"Just wait. You'll see how right I am." I brushed my hair out of my face. "I'm one of them, but I'm just a little more calculated. They're sociopaths, and I'm a psychopath."

If there was one thing Lukas said that stuck with me, it was that I was a psychopath. Of course, I wasn't a cold-blooded killer without a conscience, but I was a cold-blooded achiever with just enough of a conscience to keep myself from getting arrested.

"That's a little terrifying," Viktor said.

I shrugged. "Figured you'd be used to it by now."

He smiled. "Okay, and what about the other personalities?"

"The snowflakes like you? Easy. We pick them off one by one, until they're all gone."

"And by 'we,' you mean 'just you,' right? I don't want to ruin anyone's chance of winning."

I laughed. Of course. "Sure. I'll be the executioner of the two of us. You'll be the sweet, endearing one. And now that we have that established," I picked up a bucket of water that I filled up earlier, "I need you to dump this on me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm too weak to lift it any higher than this, and the bullets can't stick to me if I'm soaking wet."

Viktor frowned. "It's November. You'll freeze."

"At least I'll die a winner."

"You'll get the floor wet."

"Because water never dries."

"Amanda, you're being ridiculous."

"I am not."

"Here, why don't we take a different strategy? Sit down on your bed."

I sat down, but I glared at him. He knew better than to change my all-star plan.

"Now, you're going to relax and stop thinking about the competition for one second."

"What? Dude, I can't not think about it. It's my main priority right now."

"Close your eyes, and let your mind take you back to la playa."

"This is why I wanted to murder you for, like, four months."

Viktor smiled. "But somehow, you didn't. I'm proud of you."

"Look, smartass, I'm already on edge, and I'm going to be living in constant fear for the next few days. I don't need your sass."

He laughed. "Sorry, sorry. I just feel like you need to calm down and relieve some stress." His eyes lit up. "You want to come work out with me?"

"Fuck no."

"It'll be fun. It's really good for your health."

I laughed. "Do I look like someone who actively cares about my health?"

"You should, because I want you to live long and happily," Viktor said with a smile.

"How sweet, but exercise has never been my thing."

"All little kids run around."

"Not this one. She liked to do math for fun and hate on humanity."

Viktor laughed. "Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"I just assumed that you at least played hockey when you were little because you know so much about it," he said.

"I learned it all through observation. I wasn't allowed to play hockey, so I got to do fun things like Girl Scouts instead."

"That sounds," he hesitated, "exciting."

"It was absolutely riveting. So if you want to know which side of the plate the fork goes on, I got you."

He wrinkled his brow, clearly not focusing on what I was saying, then he spoke. "Then why could Matt play hockey?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I never really bothered to care. Watching him was enough for me, I guess."

"That just seems unfair."

"I think it was just a practical thing, you know? Like, Mom and Dad knew that Matt was talented, so they put their energy into that I guess." I sighed. "Too bad it didn't work out like that."

Viktor thought for a moment. "That makes sense. It's still unfair to you, though."

"Well, I try not to go around looking for reasons to get pissed off. They find me on their own well enough."

He smiled. "You know that's not true."

A knock came from our door.

"Hey allies," Diego said, then opened the door. "Huh. Didn't think it'd be open. You know, you really should lock that. That's how you get rats and rapists."

"Looks like a rat wandered in just now," I said. "You're not my ally"

Diego put his hand to his heart, clearly devastated. "That's not what Viktor told me."

"Viktor's a pathological liar. I wouldn't trust him if I were you."

"Fair enough." Diego shrugged, then held his gun up and pointed it at Viktor.

"Put that down, or I'll shoot you," I said, pointing it at Diego.

"Wow, this is such a solid alliance." Viktor put his hand on my shoulder.

"Reminds me of the pre-World War II German-Soviet nonaggression pact," I said.

"I don't know what that is, but I'm gonna guess Hitler fucked something up," Diego said.

I smiled. "Not nearly as dumb as you look, Diego."

"See? Look at this. What a lovely bonding experience. Now, Hitler and Stalin, let's put the guns down and not kill our alliance, okay?" Viktor said, nudging my gun with his hand.

Diego looked at me, and I nodded. We both put our Nerf guns down.

Viktor smiled at the two of us. "No shooting each other. That's not how alliances work. I know you have class soon, Candy Cane, but afterward, we can have a team bonding experience and go shoot other people, like those alpha males you were telling me about."

"That wasn't in my five years plan, but I'm down," I replied.

"How come you get to be Stalin?" Diego asked.

Viktor held up his hands. "Neither one is a good option."

"I don't wanna be Hitler. That dude was a fucking loser. He couldn't even get into art school."

"True. Amanda, you can't draw, so you're Hitler," Viktor said.

"What the fuck? Why is this even a discussion?" I asked. "Neither one of us is Hitler or Stalin. End of story."

"You were the one that started it," Diego said.

"Nope, we're done. Get out of here."

Diego shook his head as he headed for the door. "That's not what a true ally would say."

"Get out of here before I fucking end you," I spat, then smiled.

"You've made yourself pretty damn clear, Jayne." He shut the door behind him, and I didn't lock it like he recommended.

Viktor looked over at me, waiting for a reaction.

I smiled. "Damn, this is gonna be fun."

Viktor smiled back at me. "I was worried you were going to blow up for a minute."

"I like Diego, but I don't trust him one bit, if that makes sense."

"Why would you like someone you can't trust?"

"Because it just makes life a little more chaotic, don't you think?"

"Like your life isn't crazy enough." He let out a chuckle.

Fair enough, Viktor.

But that was the way I wanted it.

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A shorter chapter, but we need something light-hearted I think.

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