We've been playing UNO since we've got here, and the sun is finally starting to set. We've only been eating snacks so far, but we'll probably have dinner in a few minutes.
"Guys." We all turn to look at Cole. "Let's play a different game."
I sigh, looking back down at my cards.
Only two left.
A red four and a blue plus two. Right when I was about to win.
I let out a sigh.
"Alright." Sven sighs revealing his last three cards.
Two greens of two and a blue four.
"What should we play, then?" Yamma asks.
We all think for a second until Cole speaks. "Truth or dare?"
"I don't know," I say.
"Yeah. Aren't we too old for that now?" Oceane notes.
"One game," Yamma adds.
"Fine." I shrug. Everyone else mutters they're agreement.
"Who starts?" Kyle asks, re-adjusting his position next to Oceane.
"I'll start," Cole says, leaning forward. "Sven, truth or dare?"
"Dare." Sven says, finally setting his phone down by his side.
Cole smiles. "I dare you… to not go on your phone for the rest of the night. Unless it's necessary."
Sven's eyes widen in shock.
"Noooo…can't you choose anything else" Sven whines as Yamma snatches his phone from the blanket.
"Sorry, buddy, but you need a break from screens," Yamma says.
"Alright." Sven looks around the circle, looking for his next target. "Yamma. Truth or dare?"
She doesn't hesitate before responding. "Truth."
"Are you talking to anyone?" Sven's lips widen as he asks her the juicy question.
Yamma lights up in surprise. "Yes."
We all looked at her in stock.
"Who?!" Oceane immediately blurts out.
"You asked if I was talking to someone. Not who I was talking to," Yamma notes, smiling.
"Kyle. Truth or Dare?" Yamma asks, looking past me toward the end of the blanket where he sits next to Oceane.
"Truth," he informs us, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him.
"What do you like about Oceane?"
Oceane turns face him, waiting as he thinks.
"I like how she's humorous and energetic," Kyle says finally, looking over at Oceane.
"And how she's clumsy but confident." He reaches out, brushing his fingers through her hair.
Socute.
I smile, genuinely glad they have each other.
"Oceane. Truth or dare?" He asks her, his fingers still tangled in her hair.
"Dare."
"I dare you to run up to that tree and back," he points to a massive oak tree about thirty meters away.
"Okay." Oceane stands up and gets ready to run.
"Be back in a sec-" she says, running off.
We all watch her sprint into the distance.
"She's nearly back," I comment a few moments later.
"She's fast," Callob points out.
"Truth or dare, Callob?" Oceane asks finally arriving back at the blanket, while catching her breath.
"Truth," Callob responds smoothly. "I've got nothing to hide."
"Okay. Is it true that you don't have magic powers?" Oceane asks, sitting back down between Kyle and Yamma.
I spot a surprised look on Callob's face for a split second, but as always, it's gone within a blink. His face turns tense.
"What do you mean by magic powers?" He asks.
"Because how else do you get top marks on every exam?" she exclaims.
You can see his face lighten a bit.
"You even got a top score in Biology. Which no one except for Ember normally gets," she remarks.
Callob places his attention on me. "Is that so?"
I lower my head, ignoring the looks and stuffing my face with French fries.
"Ember, truth or dare?" He asks in a low, strong, yet calming tone.
"Truth." I look up, locking eyes with him.
He leans in. "Is it true that I got one mark higher than you on our last biology test?"
Is he trying to annoy me? Well, it worked.
"I don't remember," I lie.
"Really?" he asks, studying my every move.
"Oh, I remember!" Yamma interrupts. "It was-"
I snap my eyes to Yamma, glaring at her as a warning to not say anything.
She seems to get the gist.
"Ah… actually, I don't know." She quickly corrects herself.
We move on to Cole.
"Cole. Truth or dare?" I ask. He places a hand under his chin, pretending to think deeply.
"Dare."
What should I dare him to do? Run around the park? No.
Go up to a stranger, ask for directions, and then walk the opposite way? Nah.
There is something Cole does that Yamma always complains about, and I want to see if he'll admit to it.
Lost in my thoughts, the wrong question comes out of my mouth before I can stop it from sliding off my tongue.
"Do you check yourself out in the mirror for more than two hours?" I stutter, laughing at my own mistake. It's a completely ridiculous question. Something I'd never ask. And definitely not a dare.
Everyone stares at him, suffocating their laughs while waiting for his answer.
"Umm... Yes." Cole mutters.
"Told you," Yamma comments, taking a sip of her apple juice.
Everyone else is dead silent in shock.
"What? It's not like you guys don't do that," Cole defends himself.
"yeah, but for less than thirty minutes." Oceane adds.
"Seriously? Knowone else?" Cole asks, looking around.
I shake my head.
"You're just--" Yamma begins.
"Hey!" He voices back, cutting her off.
"Hey, Callob. You're new in town right?" Ocean asks smoothly changing the conversation.
"Yeah"
"I was wondering if you'd like a tour?"
"Saturday, maybe?" She asks him.
"Oceane. We can't Saturday," Kyle reminds her, tapping her shoulder.
"Oh, right..." She pauses, thinking fast before speaking again. "Embers free, though."
Yeah, right. I'm free. I still have a whole season of The BIG BANGTheory to finish, and then I need to start another series that's been sitting on my watchlist.
But wait…how does she even know I have nothing on?
"You don't mind if Ember just shows you around, right?" She asks him.
I mean, I do usually tell her my schedule for the weekend, and she hers.
But you can't go telling people I'm free without consulting me first. Or anyone, for that matter.
"No, that's alright," Callob says looking my way. "I want to talk to her either way."
Yeah. Talk… about how he's going to threaten me more.
The next day, Yamma and I are collecting our books for the next class from our lockers.
"What do you think we're going to do in biology?" I ask.
"Not sure. Mr. Stan will probably give another lecture about the digestive system," she replies with a heavy sigh.
Unexpectedly, I feel a hand drop across my shoulder.
"Boo!" Oceane says abruptly, scaring us from behind us.
"Ahh! You scared me!" I snap back, spinning around to face her.
"Pfft, you always get scared," Oceane laughs, while I just shake my head and smile.
"What's up?" Yamma asks Oceane, who is still giggling over the fact that I get scared over the tiniest of things.
"Well, you two are getting dressed up this friday," she tells us.
"Huh? I don't remember having anything on this friday," I mention slowly.
"Well, now you do."
Yamma and I look at one another, completely confused.
"Hang on, don't tell me you've set us up on another triple date," Yamma guesses.
"Yep" Oceane answers confidently.
"ugh," I whine.
"Who is it this time?" Yamma questions for us both.
"Two of Kyle's friends from his old school," She tells us.
Okay…no rando's this time. That's better, right?
"What are they like?" I ask.
"I heard that they're both really nice. One is really funny, and the other one is said to be not so sociable," she finishes waiting for a complaint.
"Names?" Yamma asks, leaning back against the lockers.
"Henry and Fin," she answers.
"Their our age, right?" I asked worriedly.
"yes."
Thank goodness.
"Wait, don't tell me..." I close my locker shut with a sudden wave of realisation, then look her dead in the eyes. "You set me up with the quiet guy, didn't you?"
She quickly darts her eyes to Yamma for assistants. "Umm, well--"
"Oceane!" I yelp in frustration.
"That's my cue to leave! See you guys after class," she says, backing away.
"Oh, and I'll text you guys the details!" She adds before spinning around and running off down the hallway.
"hey! I'm not done!" I call out after her.
I let out a heavy sigh. As I do, I feel someone hovering directly behind me.
"Not done with what?" Callob asks.
"Oh, just a triple date Oceane set up for me and Yamma," I explain casually—regretting it instantly.
Definitely not something you should say to your enemy.
"A date?" he repeats.
"Yeah, Oceane keeps setting us up because she wants to go on a double date eventually, but she doesn't know any other couples," Yamma explains in more detail.
"But it's not that bad," I add reluctantly.
"not that bad!" Yamma exclaims.
"The people she finds are totally weirdos—no offense to them," Yamma says, totally disagreeing with me.
"True," I agree. "But this time, it's not random dudes she picked off the street." I jokingly mention.
"Right. This time it's Klye's friends from his old school." Yamma states.
"Well, hope this one goes better," Callob says, warmly wishes us luck. Weirdly.
"I hope so too!" Yamma responds in a joyful tone.
"I'm mostly hoping it goes better for Ember, since she was set up with the non-sociable person," She adds, looking me in the eye, and trying not to laugh.
"I hope so too, but oh well. I can't do anything about it," I shrug.
Callob moves into the space between Yamma and me, looking down at me with a questionable expression. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to say no to Oceane, and maybe I'll be able to gain something out of it."
"Gain what, exactly?" he asks.
"I don't know," I reply uncertainly.
He lets out a short breath. "So you say you might be able to gain something from it, but you don't even know what?"
"Yes, is that a problem?" I reply, my voice growing agaitated.
"Guys, we have one minute to get to class. I suggest we hurry." Yamma exclaims, holding her wrist to show us her twenty-four hour watch.