Archer Woods was going to die.
Archer Woods was going to die a very slow, painful death at my hands, which were itching to throttle him right now, but I just couldn't. Because of a stupid, stupid game.
"Vivian, you don't do it like that! Headmaster clearly said the notices will be put up on the board of the first floor hall, not second floor. Let me do it, here."
I grit my teeth in an attempt to calm myself down. This was going to be harder than I imagined.
"Archer," I smiled, as fakely as I could, "Mr Richards told us to put up the notices in the second floor, alright. But if you feel you're right, then go ahead, by all means. Meanwhile I'll just head over to the Headmaster's office to see who's right."
I could see he was trying his best not to glare at me but at the last minute he grinned. "Okay then, Vivian, whatever you say. If you say second floor, then second floor it is."
I grew a bit suspicious of his sudden concession. Despite our bet I would never have imagined he would give in so quickly, unless...unless he had something up his sleeve.
I couldn't shout at him. I would just have to watch out.
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Bloomwood was an elite school, in every sense of the word. Almost all the students here were incredibly wealthy, except a handful who were on a scholarship (but they had enough brains to make up for it). Beth was the only friend I had who was a scholarship student. She was remarkable at mathematics and music, both, which is how she got in.
The rest of us were all quite intelligent, if I may say so myself, but I knew it wasn't only our intelligence which had got us a place at Bloomwood. Angie's parents owned a chain of restaurants in England, Kate's parents were both entrepreneurs and mine? Well, my mum was a fashion designer based in London and my dad was a businessman.
We all came from wealthy families and had always lived in comfort, but we were all taught not to have any airs about it. All three of us were brought up in such a way that we would be able to adjust to any condition, however different it may be from our usual one. Maybe that's why all three of us became such close friends: we could relate to each other in many ways.
Archer's parents, on the other hand, were sportspeople. His mum used to be a professional tennis player and had recently retired and his dad was an ex footballer who was now on the board of directors at Arsenal. Maybe that's why he was so good at both the sports. But don't tell him I said it, of course.
Moving on, Bloomwood was a school where you could learn anything and everything, from the sciences to the arts to tennis, football, rugby and horseriding. The teaching staff was excellent and the facilities were top notch, and it had a rich history of producing brilliant alumni. Which is why it had gained such a reputation for itself in all these years.
I had been here since first form, and to say I loved this school would be an understatement. I would do anything to uphold its honour and make it proud.
These are the exact words I was writing in my Head Girl's report for the Christmas issue of the school journal, when Archer strolled into the study.
I looked up from my laptop. "You're late."
"To what?"
"To come to the study."
"God, Vivian, can't I stay five minutes without listening to you grumble about nothing?"
I smirked. "Well, Archer, looks like you just lost your cool. I won this round, now you'll do as I say for a week."
His glare shot daggers at me. "You bloody--"
"Shh, boy, I'm trying to write a report."
I could still feel his glare burning holes in the back of my head, but I was too busy reveling in my victory to give a shite.
I'd thing about what I'd make him do tomorrow. Hah, I could almost hear my own evil laughter in the background.
The next morning, as Angie and I were walking down the steps to the first floor to attend our first lesson of the day, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Headmaster Richards was standing in the hall, motioning for me to go to him.
I walked up swiftly. "Yes, sir?"
Mr Richards looked a bit disappointed. "Ms Wentworth, I thought I specifically told you to pin up all notices on the second floor board, not the first floor."
What?  "But sir, I did pin them up on the second floor."
He pointed at the board in the hall. "Then how would you explain that?"
I glanced over that the board, only to find yesterday's notices put up there. That bastard...
Mr Richards continued. "I ran into Mr Woods only moments ago and he told me you'd insisted on pinning the notices on this floor. You know I'd told you that these announcements aren't meant for the students who usually frequent this floor. They're for the science students whose classes are all upstairs. Really, Vivian, you might want to pay a bit more attention to my words next time."
I knew that even if I tried to say the truth, Mr Richards would have a hard time believing it. So I conceded.
"I'm sorry, Headmaster. It won't happen again."
After the encounter, and after my first few lessons were over, it was time for lunch. I strode over to the dining hall with Angie and Kate by my side, determined for a confrontation.
I spotted Archer putting a meatloaf on his plate at the buffet table, laughing at something Jack, his friend was saying.
I walked up to him. "Archer, a word?"
Jack's eyes widened. "Hey Viv, what's up? Haven't seen you in a long time."
Jack was a pretty decent guy, and one of the few people in Archer's crowd who mixed with everyone in school.
I smiled at him, "Hiya, Jack, everything's good, how about you?"
"Same, same. We miss you, you know."
I flushed at those words. I did not want to go into that topic again. Even Archer stiffened beside me.
"Alright, mate, Vivian was going to talk to me about something. Got to go."
He pulled me by the arm into a corner of the hall. "What now?"
I tugged my arm out of his grip and glared at him. "Look, Archer, I know you hate me, but next time could you please express that feeling in a way other than sabotaging all my efforts and hard work?"
He smirked. "So you had a nice little chat with Mr Richards, I see."
"Now he's disappointed in me, just because of you! I didn't even do anything! I put up the notices in the right place and you just had to take them down and put them in the first floor! You're such a piece of shite, you know that?"
His smirk, instead of falling, only grew. "Oh I know. But do you know that you're bickering with me now and thus you've lost too? So I win the second round."
"So this was your plan all along? To make me react?" I hissed.
He merely shrugged.
I stared at him for a long, hard moment and then sighed. "You know what? We should change the rules of our game a little. If you and I constantly win and lose turn by turn, each of us will have to obey the other turn by turn and I think that's going to become very tedious. Why don't we just see who's won a greater number of times at the end of the term?"
He gave me a look. "How will we keep count?"
"Oh trust me, if it's you I bloody sure will keep count."
He remained silent for a long time. "Okay, but then at the end of the year, whoever wins overall will ask something from the other person which they can't refuse."
"Okay, deal."
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a/n: now the terms are changed! how do you feel about the entire ongoing bet between viv and archer? and the change?
make sure to vote and comment :)