Game Of Survival

Chapter 3

JAMES

"I want the both of us to qualify, but then again things like this... People like us are only lucky if we qualify," he responded and I nodded.

"Let's just hope for the best," I said.

He was right though. We probably weren't going to qualify for a reality TV show seeing as we were literally nobodies.

****

My eyes jolted open due to the morning rays that were illuminating my room and the sound of my blaring alarm. I had morning shifts today but my body was surprisingly weak and I groaned as I turned to the side of the bed before turning the annoying alarm off. I then grabbed my pillow tighter and shut my eyes again.

"James! James!!" Daniel yelled, excitement evident in his voice as he barged into the room.

"What now?"

"I've been accepted!" He screamed and my eyes snapped open immediately to see him standing next to my bed. "I've been accepted!" He repeated, showing me his phone which was displaying a congratulatory message. "You should check your mail too!"

He dashed to the side drawer, stretching my phone out to me while I quickly sat up and with trembling hands, I collected it from him. My heart began thumping like it was going to burst out of my chest as I unlocked my phone.

"It's everywhere James, news about the show is trending!" he announced as he sat next to me and I swallowed nervously while taking deep breaths. As I clicked my mail, my eyes caught a glimpse of the message.

"Oh. My. God..." I gasped and my racing heart began to beat even faster. My anxiety peaked on another note entirely as I dropped my phone in shock.

"What happened?" He asked, briskly picking my phone and his eyes widened in surprise too before a huge smile appeared on his face. "You got in too!!" He screamed and instantly hugged me, almost squeezing the life out of me. "We got in together James! We got in!" He kept yelling and I simply smiled. Luck decided to favour us for once.

"We have to celebrate this! We have to!" he announced but I shook my head sideways, trying to remain as calm as possible even though my insides were bursting with excitement.

"We only passed the first stage. The next one is the interview. We can't celebrate just yet," I stated and he calmed himself to an extent.

"You're right but I believe everything is going to turn out in our favor. The fact that we qualified is already a good sign," he replied.

"Yeah it is… So when is your interview?"

"Well I was so excited that I barely read the message clearly," he said while checking his phone.

The same went for me too, I was so consumed by anxiety that I barely remembered the content of the message. I collected my phone from him and unlocked it again before reading the message carefully.

"Tomorrow by nine at Omega hall, Solace street," Daniel muttered.

"Mine too," I replied.

"Great! At least with you by my side gives me more confidence. Now the thing is... what are we gonna wear. We have to dress to impress!"

I laughed and ran my hand over my face. "Well I'm just going to pick a t-shirt and a pair of jeans," I answered and he looked at me like I had just committed a taboo. "What? There's nothing we could probably wear that would impress them. The interview is what matters."

"All the more reason why you need to dress well!" He scolded me. "Thank God you have me in your life James." He slightly shook his head sideways and I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, I'll pick your outfit for you. I don't want your weird preferences to ruin our chances."

I laughed again but deep down, another fear had sprouted. We might have been lucky to pass the first stage but I had a feeling the second stage might not be friendly.

****

The day had finally come.

Daniel and I stood before the mighty building, gazing at it like idiots that were starstruck.

"We can do this, Daniel." I glanced at him with a tiny smile and he smiled back as he stared at me.

"Let's give it our best!" We fist bumped each other before making our way into the building and we were immediately welcomed by a serene atmosphere. The reception room was ridiculously large with just a stunning young lady standing behind the reception counter.

"Good morning." I greeted as we approached the counter and she flashed us a smile.

"Good morning," she replied in a soft voice and as I expected, my brother was immediately charmed. "How may I help you?"

My brother stepped forward, clearing his throat before speaking. "We're here for the interview,” he said in what he probably thought was a cool voice and she bobbed her head as she typed something on the computer in front of her.

"Okay, your pass numbers please?" She asked.

"A299," Daniel answered.

"A300," I added and she nodded.

"Mr. Daniel and James Hendrix. I'll need you both to drop your phones and any other accessories you have on you," she said and I frowned. Daniel on the other hand didn't hesitate.

"Why?" I queried and she smiled.

"Company policy. I assure you your phones are in safe hands. Once you're done, it will immediately be returned," she answered. "If you find this inconvenient, your interview is already over."

"Drop it now..." Daniel growled, giving me a harsh look. I still felt uneasy about it but for the sake of a hundred million dollars, I dropped it.

"Thank you very much. Your interview is on the fifteenth floor, the elevator is this way." She pointed to the elevator at her right.

“Alright. Thank you very much!" My brother muttered and I simply followed behind him. As we sauntered into the elevator, he immediately frowned at me.

"What?" I asked and his mouth set in a hard line.

"Just follow the instructions. Simple! You want to get us disqualified before we even start?"

"I just find it weird. Isn't it just an Interview?"

"This is a reality TV show, James. Things will certainly be different, you dummy."

I exhaled loudly and we both maintained silence till we arrived at the fifteenth floor. The doors pinged open only to reveal a large room filled with several participants. Their gazes fell on us immediately and by my rough estimation, we were definitely close to hundred.

Daniel and I quickly took the back seats. He looked excited but I on the other hand was shuddering from anxiety.

And after thirty minutes passed, the elevator pinged open again. And we all glanced to the back only to see a stunning young man dressed in black suit. He beheld a bright countenance as he walked past us as if he wasn't intimidated by our gazes.

"Good morning everyone," he muttered as he got to the front, his eyes gazing at no one in particular.

"I believe all our applicants are here..." he paused as he glanced around. "In that case, I'll start. First of all, I would like to say congratulations to you all on passing the first stage. I'm sure some of you here have questions why we held your phones and accessories. Well that is due to the company's policy. For the sake of privacy, we don't want details of our interview or any other beautiful experience leaking out. So I hope you all can bear with us," he said and nobody raised a word in disagreement.

"Let me say this beforehand," he raised his voice. "This is the company's first reality TV show and you being here means you're the first to enjoy the intriguing experience we'll provide. I hope you all will enjoy yourselves to the fullest." He paused and I smiled.

"Now then, shall we begin?" He asked and we immediately chorused yes at the same time.

He smiled. "Good. For you to pass this interview, just one question will be asked. Your answers will determine if you get to stay or not." He paused while I exchanged glances with my brother. There were also murmurs around. Truth be told, I expected more. Something more grilling and intense but from the looks of it, This Interview looked almost too easy.

"Mr...?" A lady pitched.

"Call me Mr. O." The man replied and I frowned.

"What a weird name." I mumbled in oblivion but Daniel chuckled.

"Mr. O, so does this mean we're all going to be interviewed together?" She asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Okay, this is crazy. I mean how can just one question determine our fate here?" I muttered but Daniel rewarded me with a disappointed look.

"This is not your everyday interview. They're trying to be unique and I think it's pretty cool."

"Cool huh, we're talking about a question here. Certainly it's not going to be a piece of cake." I chattered back but he shrugged.

"Whatever dumb question they bring up, I'm certainly not going to fail for anything." He avowed. He was right, unlike me who was overthinking things. I have to pass not for anyone but my sister.

"I believe we are all ready." He quoted and once again we chorused in agreement.

"Yes Mr. O!"

He slipped out a small black remote from his pocket and as he clicked on a button, the right side of my armchair vibrated. A small potion of it opened up for two buttons to pop out. They were circular, one was green and the other red. On the green one, there was a mark symbol and on the other, there was an X symbol. I frowned and then immediately looked around. It was apparent I wasn't the only one experiencing this. I was still busy ravelling in this, when a projector suddenly lowered from the center of the ceilings. It projected an image displaying zero under both buttons.

"Woah...this is cool!" Daniel muttered, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he stared at his buttons. Indeed it was but I was still bothered about the question. From this, It was apparent it was going to be a yes or no question. And questions like this could be very tricky sometimes.

"I'm sure you've all seen the two buttons appearing by the right side of your armchair. You're only allowed to click a button once. If you click it twice, you're disqualified. If you click another button after clicking one, you'll also be disqualified. Once I state the question, the buttons will remain there for thirty minutes. If you still haven't clicked a button till the time elapses, then you're also disqualified." He explained and I gulped down my saliva.

"Now, I will only say the question once so please listen carefully."

My heart began to thump and my anxiety was gradually building up. I only prayed this question won't be a puzzling one.

"The question is…" he paused again while his eyes toured around. "Do you want to sign up for this reality TV show?"

"Eh?" I gasped, giving the man a puzzled look. I glanced at my brother who also had the same expression. The others were no different either. Here I was thinking it was going to be an extremely puzzling question.

"Well yeah." Daniel chirped.

"Wait!" I held him back from pressing his button.

"What?" He frowned.

"What if this question packs much more than it appears?" I asked and his frown went even deeper.

"James, what are you implying now? We should be pressing the button without hesitation. Stop this." He toned and tried to hit his button but I held him back.

"I know but why would they give us thirty minutes to ask such an easy question?" I queried but he didn't want to buy my opinion.