What You Need to Concentrate On
Originally published on August 23rd, 2013 by Dimitri Bouniol. #FNADNST
Continuation of David's Dilemma, originally published on August 17th, 2013.
It was a while before anyone noticed that David did not come back.
Ting was probably the first to notice, but it was most likely due to the fact that she was also patiently waiting for everyone to share their spoils.
She didn't end up helping much that day other than her own investment in him, so it's not like she was eager to get it back, but something didn't feel right to her when she did it.
At the time though, it was the right thing to do, to place her trust in her teammate.
The only problem was that she was now worrying about that teammate while the rest of the group was just chatting away…
"Guys, Davis's been gone for a while now." she interrupted while silence quickly filled the room.
Sean was quick to speak up though, and offered to check on him.
Sean closed the door behind him, while the rest waited for him to return.
After a while though, they started hearing loud footsteps outside the room, almost as if someone was runnin…
The door slammed open, and Sean was standing there out of breath.
"Gu…guys…" he started to say something while trying to catch his breath. "Someone find Will or another teacher, something's happened to David."
"Who knew you were that eager to see me!" Will said from behind Sean as he walked by.
"Perfect timing!" Sean said, as he grabbed Will's arm and ran off practically dragging him.
Ting, possibly expecting this turn of events, ran off after the two immediately, while the rest needed an extra moment to register the situation.
She ran after them, hardly keeping up, turning left at the door, then right at the hallway, but she took a hard stop once she reached the room they entered which happened to be the men's room.
The others caught up with her quickly enough though, and they all entered regardless.
Ting figured that if even Jane, Mary, and Lucy went in, she might as well do so as well, but she didn't have the chance to do so.
Will came running out of the bathroom with a bloody David, and the scene froze Ting even more.
She was instantly reminded of a distant memory of when she was a child, how her older brother, victim of a hit and run accident, was being carried into a stretcher.
Perhaps it was too much for her though, as she lost her balance and fell to her knees while her face was stunned.
While the rest of them tried to help her up, she noticed that Akira was muttering to himself, fist clenched, in a barely audible voice: "I thought we were supposed to stick together…"
His face made a painful expression for that moment, but before long it returned to its usual composure.
Tied by obligation, they went over to the kitchen, trying to calm their minds, but the chef instantly turned them away.
Sean spoke up, yelling back with anger, but that chef managed to calm him down somehow, even after even other students caught on to what was happening.
Feeling bad for the lot, the chef gave them 60 points each, and told them to head back to their rooms until tomorrow morning.
Waiting for them there was Will.
It would seem he was just as upset and incapable as they were, while he sat there, his arms still bloody.
Once everyone got into the room and the door was shut, he started speaking:
"A broken arm, broken nose, and a concussion. Any normal person would have died from shock with just that…"
Sensing the atmosphere tense up, he continued: "Thankfully though, we brought him to the hospital just in time, so his condition is stable, though he is still out."
"He did say one thing before passing out though… 'they didn't get anything from me!' he said with a smile on his face…"
Those words reminded all of them that they were still part of this game, and it was because of it that David was forced into this situation.
"How is this allowed!" Ken yelled.
Ting thought that he was staying quiet for a while now, but he was clearly holding it in.
Getting up to continue, "Is this what you meant by other methods to gain points!? How sick!"
"Can't you do anything? Whoever did this should be expelled!"
"I understand your feelings," Will interrupted, "but we have no clue who did this."
Ken tried to interrupt, but Will raised his voice and took control of the conversation.
"Even if you have an idea, we have no proof. However, even you are able to use dirty tricks if you wanted to, especially now that you are all nearly 1000 short to pass this exam."
Will continued: "Luckily for David, he'll pass as long as you all pass. So save all that bent up anger and energy and disqualify those who you think did it."
Ken tried to speak up now that he was given the chance to, but Ting interrupted: "We don't want to steep to their levels though. Isn't there anything else we can do?"
Jane spoke in as well: "We won't be able to make it with just our part time help either now."
"Well, I'll tell you something good, since I like your motivation…" Will proposed.
As soon as all their eyes fixated on him instead of the floor, he continued: "This weekend, that is the final two days of the exam, there will be two special events taking place."
"The first, on Saturday, will be the only event that completely disallows cheating: The betting carnival."
"The betting carnival… you mean like a casino?" Mary said with twinkles in her eyes.
"Let's keep her away from this one then guys, Mary has a bit of a gambling problem…" Lucy followed up.
Mary pouted with a "no fair" look on her face.
"… essentially yes." Will continued.
"In any case, you'll be able to bet against other students at this event that lasts all day, though students that are caught cheating loose all their points."
"The best part is though that those points, along with the points from the 2 other teams who have been disqualified so far…"
"2 teams have been disqualified already?" Ken interrupted.
"Shoot, I guess you weren't supposed to know that yet…" Will corrected himself, suddenly looking away.
"Anyway, those points all go towards a jackpot of sorts that any one student might win, so you still have some luck"
Ting was wondering what kind of information Will was hiding, but it was futile since he didn't seem like he wanted to share anything more than what he did already.
"And to finish it off, on Sunday, you'll be able to challenge any other student to a game of your rules as long as a teacher is present, and your opponent won't be able to decline."
"Although the amount of points to be transferred at that point is at the teacher's discretion, I encourage you to start early, seeing as most students run off and hide at that point to protect what they have…"
"Anyways, that's all I have for you today. Get some sleep so you can all visit David tomorrow."
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