After leaving Emma in the library, I realized that I was alone for the first time in a while. I had no idea how to spend my time. I could go back to the dorm, but then I feel like I’d start thinking too much again, and with the basketball game tomorrow, I don’t want to compromise my mental state if everyone is going to be counting on me. I don’t really want to just find someone to hang out with either because I feel like that would be a little awkward. After thinking through all the options in my head, I decided to just take a walk around the second floor.

  While I was making my way up the steps, I didn’t see anyone else. There was only about an hour until the nightly headcount, so they were probably all on the first floor. That thought made me feel a little bit better about being alone. Being alone is always a lot better when no one’s around to see you be alone. After arriving on the second floor, I wasn’t really sure where I was going to spend my time, but then I had an idea; I’ll go check out the shop. The hours of the shop were from 1-5pm and then 8-10pm, so it was still open. I realized though that if I was to enter the small shop with it just being Alex and I, it would be a little awkward. Having to carry out small talk with a man who works with the people who kidnapped you is not the greatest social situation. I only ever skimmed the shop before though and I was curious of what all they had, so I gritted my teeth and entered. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only kidnappee there. At the counter, talking to Alex, I saw Miles. When I entered, the ring of a bell that was common in U.S. convenience stores went off which made them both immediately aware of my presence.

  “Oh, Ryder. Didn’t expect to see you here,” Miles said. “Especially without your harem behind you.”

  “Oh, haha,” I laughed awkwardly.

  “What brings you here?” he asked me. “Need some advice with the ladies?”

  “No, it’s not that. I just had some time to kill, and I never really got a good look at this place.”

  “Yeah, when our group scoped this place out, we didn’t really do it justice. There really is a lot of shit here, man.”

  “You find anything noteworthy?”

  “Pretty much everything here has one use or another. The crazy part is that they even sell stuff that knowingly break the rules that they already set.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  “Check this out-” Miles threw a small box in my hands.

  “C-condoms?!”

  “Yeah! I know right! They specifically said we aren’t allowed to get freaky with others, but they have something like this here, so what’s the point?”

  “That is strange…”

  “Not that any of these girls would me the time of day anyway,” Miles said. “I’m pretty much on everyone’s bad side now.”

  “It definitely looks like that,” I said. “I really have been wondering though…why are you pushing everyone’s buttons?”

  “Being athletic is all I have, man. Realizing that is kinda of a tough pill to swallow,” Miles said with a weak smile.

  “We all have weaknesses. That’s why we lean on each other. We’re all here for you.”

  “I feel like I’ve done too much damage to my reputation at this point,” he said. “Everyone sees me as a narcissistic horndog, and the worst part is…I know they’re right. That’s why winning this tournament is so important. I’d definitely get voted to die if we lose, man.”

  “This really is a shitty situation.” I wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was.

  “Spending this much time with my teammates just makes me realize how much I like all these people,” Miles said. “I don’t want anyone to die, even if they wish differently of me.”

  “No one wants you dead! I promise you that.”

  “Well, someone’s gonna have to kick the bucket when this is over. I came here looking to see what we missed and if there was something, anything, we could use to get out of here, but Keon was right. There really isn’t anything in this shop that would work, even with this place being just jam-packed full of shit.”

  “I’m sure someone will think of something. We’ve still got a lot of time to work something out. The only thing you should worry about is changing your reputation. You gave us that speech about wanting to work with us all after we finished Louis’s trial, so what happened to that?”

  “I don’t know, man,” he said. “Like I said, I’m not brave, and I’m not strong-willed. I can’t stop myself from being a douche when times get tough.”

  “Well, now’s the time to learn how. You’re a personal trainer, right? You’re supposed to make everyone into the best version of themselves. You said that was your favorite part about the job when we first met, so use those same tactics on yourself instead.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I hear ya. I really do ask a lot of the people I train, but here I am acting like a baby when given the same treatment. I’m a big hypocrite. I’m already toned as hell too, so I don’t even have to do the physical part, just the mental part. Damn, dude. I didn’t ever see you as the type to be cheering me up.”

  “I just hope I could help a little,” I said. “I know the others will forgive you if you show them that you want to change. I guarantee it.”

  “Alright. You win. You can’t be the one to just give me advice and walk away though. I don’t play like that. So…I’m gonna give you some lady advice! Free of charge.”

  “I thought you just said no girl would even give you the time of day?”

  “Th-that doesn’t mean I can’t give good advice! I’ve been with hundreds of men and women over the years, man! I’m the love guru!”

  “Bro, you’re 18.”

  “I was an early bloomer!” Miles protested. “Anyway, I’ve been watching you and you’ve been leading some girls on since you’ve been here, man.”

  “I have not!”

  “Hey now, let me finish,” Miles continued. “I can say for certain that Marin and Sabrina obviously have the hots for you, my man, but you can’t just be playing around with them both at once. Love has made people kill before, and it will again, so do all of us a favor and prevent another trial by picking one. It doesn't have to be now, but sooner rather than later, you get me?”

  “Sabrina has been saying that she loves me all the time, and I still don’t why, so I can’t really do anything about that, but Marin is just a friend! There’s nothing romantic going on there!”

  “You must not have a lot of experience, dude. Trust the love guru. I’m only trying to give you a warning because I guarantee there will come a time where you will have to choose, so you need to be ready. I’ll just leave it at that. Also, thanks for cheering me up. I didn’t think anyone liked me enough to care anymore, so it means a lot. I’ll stop taking up your time and let you do your thing. I’ll see you on the court tomorrow.”

  “I’ll see you then, Miles.” He nodded and left the store.

  Miles really gave me a lot to think about. He really has been making himself a target since we’ve been here, but I see now that he’s not doing it on purpose. Self-esteem issues are something I have experience with, so I understand the pessimism and self-hate the poor guy must be struggling with. I hope he can get the help he needs when we get out of here. I really do think he’s a good guy. That nonsense he spouted about Marin having feelings for me is definitely misguided though, so I’m just going to ignore it. Being stuck in a Kafkaesque hellhole like this isn’t exactly where feelings are going to bloom and flourish. Putting that all in the back of my mind, I started looking through the shop.

  Looking over at Alex, he had his nose in a cookbook behind the counter, so it looks like I won’t have to make small talk after all. Going through the first aisle, I saw that it was the electronics section, and I actually got a little bit excited when I saw what was in stock. There were phone chargers, aux cords, and other common technological items, but what got me excited was the fact that they had small flatscreen TV’s as well as game consoles for sale. I played a shit ton of video games back home, so seeing something like this made my morale go way up. I now finally had something that I really wanted from here. Looking at the prices, the TV was 200 LD, and each game console was 300 LD. They didn’t have the newest generation consoles, but they did have WiiU’s, PS4’s, and Xbox One’s in stock. On a rack next to them, there were video games for each of the respective consoles at a price of 20 LD each. None of the games were heavily online based which makes perfect sense because there’s no chance they’d let us get on the internet in this place. Logging the games I wanted in my head; I moved on to the next aisle. The next aisle was filled with snacks, mostly junk food. Usually in convenience stores, they have stuff like sandwiches, and hot food that is prepared by the workers, but I guess Alex didn’t have time to do it because all the food was either frozen or junk that would probably survive a nuclear blast with all the preservatives they had in them. Nothing really stood out to me in this aisle especially when we have food and snacks of much better quality in the cafeteria. Knowing now that if I ever crave a Twinkie I know where to go, I decided to move on to the next aisle.

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  The third aisle was full of health and personal care related items. I saw tampons and pads, ibuprofen, antacids and other common medicines, the condoms and lubricant that Miles was talking about earlier, body spray, deodorant, lotion, the list goes on. They seemed to have all of the basic care items that I’m sure a lot of us were missing back home. I imagine this aisle will be quite popular once the first round of funds is distributed to us after the game tomorrow. Logging all the information, I moved on to the final aisle.

  The last aisle seemed to be filled with all the miscellaneous stuff that didn’t fit into the previous categories. I saw basic sets of socks, underwear, t-shirts, and shorts, bed sheets, blankets, essential oils, diffusers, brooms, mops, bleach, vinegar, ammonia, card games, board games, tools, etc. My mind was immediately drawn to the tools that could all be easily fashioned into weapons. I imagine that once we earn some money and Keon creates a system for how we’re allowed to use it, the tools are going to be off the table. The last couple areas were the freezers and fridges in the back that held frozen meals and cold drinks respectively, and the front counter where I saw the infamous escape tickets inside a glass cube reminiscent of what you’d see in an art gallery. The point still stands that one person could absolutely buy a ticket and escape without harming the rest of us, but everyone agreed that it’s off limits. I just hope no one goes behind our backs because if both are purchased, then the rest of us all die. I started to get a pit in my stomach, so I looked away from the tickets and turned my attention to the bins under the counter which contained what you’d expect in a store like this, gum, mints, and other candies. As I was looking around the counter, Alex finally looked up from his cookbook and spoke to me.

  “Alright, boy, it’s time to go,” he said. “It’s almost 10 o’clock so I’m closing down.” He quickly ushered me out, locked the door to the shop, then went out ahead towards the staircase.

  He was most likely going to lock the cafeteria door. Seeing that the nightly headcount was seconds away, I quickly made my way towards the first floor. Once I arrived, I saw everyone crowding around something, murmuring. Marin spotted me from the edge of the crowd and beckoned me towards her. I went over and squeezed in next to her, where I saw the subject of the crowd's orbit. It was Miles.

  “Good! Everyone’s here!” he said. “Now I can say what I wanted to say.”

  “Here we go…” Conrad said.

  “Here to gloat some more?” Carmen asked.

  “It’s nothing like that, I promise,” he said. “What I really want to do…is just say that I’m sorry.” Everyone was quiet. “I’ve been a dick on and off the entire time we’ve been here, and I just wanted to tell you all that I’m sorry, and that I’m going to work on fixing it. I’m still gonna work my ass off trying to win the tournament, but I know that you’ve all been working just as hard, so I won’t disrespect you anymore. I’m gonna change for the better, and even if y'all don’t believe me, you’ll just have to sit back and watch.”

  “He’s even arrogant when he’s apologizing,” Carmen said lightheartedly. Miles smiled. “I, for one, accept your apology. I just hope you mean it this time.”

  “I do, I promise.”

  “It’s about time you started talking some sense, man,” Conrad said. “I’ll forgive you too, but please don’t make me regret it.”

  “I won’t. That is all I wanted to say…Oh! And a shout out to Ryder for giving me the courage to make myself a better man! I know how much he loves being the center of attention.” Miles shot me a knowing grin.

  “I should have known you had something to do with it,” Sabrina said to me. “You gave me the courage to change too after all.”

  “He leveled up from the ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’ to now the ‘Ultimate Therapist’,” Cyrus said. “Must have had a major XP gain.”

  “I’m glad to see you’re repenting, Miles,” Keon said. “I knew you were stronger than the others were giving you credit for.”

  “Even if he’s going to turn into a nice pervert, he’s still going to be a pervert nonetheless,” Maya said, folding her arms.

  “It’s a hard thing to kick,” Miles said. “Being a pervert is in my blood!”

  “And he accepts it blindly…” Carmen said.

  “His degeneracy knows no bounds,” Atticus said.

  “I know you’re just like me deep down, Atticus!” Miles said jokingly. “When we get out of here, you should let me be your personal trainer! Free of charge of course. You’re already tall and have good features, so I could absolutely mold you into your best self, and then we can go pick up chicks together!”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Atticus said.

  We then started the body searches in better spirits than ever before. Not even hearing Levi’s voice over the nightly announcement could dampen our moods. Now that Sabrina and Miles were both agreeing to change their antagonistic ways, we felt like the bond we all had would never break, even as we got ready to face each other on opposite sides of the court tomorrow. We all split up for the night. Marin and I went to our own dorm to try and get some rest for the big day ahead of us. We received our pajamas from Rayna and went to sleep with a mutual understanding not to keep each other up. We both knew that we would probably stay up talking for hours if given the chance.

  It felt like I slept well for the first time since I’ve been here. I got out of bed and saw that there was still about fifteen minutes before the 7am morning announcement was supposed to go off. I also heard the shower running so it looks like Marin got up before I did. Hopefully, she got enough sleep. While I waited for my turn, I decided it would be a good time to get some stretches in so I can loosen up before we hit the court. While stretching, I thought about the likelihood of us winning the basketball game. It is true that we are more united and more skilled than we ever have been, but I can’t help but get nervous when I think about having to somehow overpower Miles, Conrad, and Keon on the court. They’re all big guys, and while I feel like my dribbling and shooting skills are comparable to theirs, if they were to guard me, it would be difficult to get past them since they have such a height advantage. We’ll have to rely on Sabrina and Atticus a lot in this game to score within the three-point line or else I won’t even get a chance to shoot the ball. As I was mulling it over, the bathroom door opened and out came Marin with her long blonde hair coiled up into a towel on top of her head.

  “Doing some stretches?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Just tryna stay loose.”

  “I see. I see. I think I’ll join you!”

  “Go right ahead,” I said, gesturing to an empty spot on the floor next to me.

  Marin took the towel off of her head and her wet hair fell down her shoulders. She put herself next to me and started doing the tree pose that I was currently in.

  “Breath in…breath out,” she said.

  We then did stretches for a couple minutes together in silence. There was still about eight minutes until the morning announcement was supposed to go off, so I excused myself to go take my own shower. Heading into the restroom, I looked into the mirror but couldn’t see my own face because it was still fogged up. She wasn’t lying about preferring it to feel like she was “burning in hell” because I could still feel the intense heat emanating from the walk-in shower even after several minutes had passed since she left. I still wasn’t quite used to sharing my shower with a beautiful girl, but I’ve managed to keep my mind out of the gutter so far and I will continue doing so out of respect for her. While I was finishing up, I heard the morning announcement even though it was partially muffled by the sound of the shower. Leaving the room, I saw that Marin was in a strange human-pretzel-esque position.

  “You need help?” I asked. “You look like you’re all tangled up.”

  “Nah… *grunt* I’m good,” she said while un-pretzeling herself. “I’ve always been really flexible. It’s a hidden talent of mine.”

  “You don’t say…”

  “I do say. Here, check this out-”

  Marin then fell backwards and put her hands on the floor with her legs still touching the ground and started walking backwards on all fours.

  “I can even grab my legs while doing it. Oh! And check it out, I can do this too…and this-”

  I was feeling scared for her bones with the moves she was pulling off. I couldn’t even comprehend the fact that someone could be so flexible. I felt some small comfort knowing that if we ever ended up behind bars together, she could probably squeeze through them and break us out.

  “You should’ve been the ‘Ultimate Gymnast’,” I said. “What a waste of talent.”

  “Gymnastics were never for me, but you’re definitely not the first person to say that,” she said. “Baking is and will always be my passion! I only show off my flexibility when I need to entertain kids, or I really need to crack my back.”

  “Well, if baking somehow doesn’t work out, you could totally join the circus,” I said.

  Marin laughed. “That thought never even crossed my mind. I guess it’s always nice to have a backup plan. Well, we’ve still got about forty-ish minutes until breakfast starts, so want me to teach you some intermediate level stretches?”

  “I’m not sure my body would be able to handle whatever you consider ‘intermediate’ but I’ll give it a shot.”

  “That’s the spirit!”

  We then spent the next thirty minutes stretching together. Marin was trying to teach me some of the moves she showed me, but they made me feel I was going to split in half. I’m not sure how any human could be capable of such movements. As it got closer to the time when breakfast was going to be served, we decided to set out to the cafeteria knowing that the most important basketball game of our lives was about to be upon us.