Project HALO

Chapter 31

"Phantoms, please gather!" Frank says and drags himself off of the couch, leaving his book behind. It's 7 PM and we've spent the last three hours on the couch, watching movies and him reading parts of his book out-loud, but now he's restless. He places himself in the middle of the computer room, clasping his hands together in a loud clap. "Children, it is time to play."

"You could get arrested for saying stuff like that," Mikey mumbles, and Frank grimaces in return.

With Frank being the warm sun at the center of Phantom, all the other members round up around him. Some Phantoms turn off their computers, others come strolling out of the kitchen, and some run down from upstairs. Mikey and I are watching TV, but I turn it off, and we join the rest of the group. We wait for Frank to give us further instructions. Most of the Phantoms look excited. Maybe they've played this game before.

"As some of the guys from previous meet-ups will know, we always play Box 21. It's a Phantom tradition, and since this might be our last meet-up, we have to play. We have to! Think of it as an honorary round." He manages to keep a smile on his face, but his voice weakens at the end of the sentence. A few Phantoms nod their heads, and some of them return Frank's smile.

"The next hours is a time to have fun and not think about anything else for a while, okay? Great! Now let the game begin."

I have never played Box 21, but it seems simple enough. Frank explains it as some sort of hide-and-seek. The group is split into two teams: one that is supposed to find the other: The searchers and the hiders. The searching team has a box to defend, and the hiding team's goal is to steal it from them. People already whisper about tactics to find the box the quickest or where it's best to hide it. The searching team only has twenty-one seconds to hide it and the hiders have twenty-one seconds to hide themselves. Then, the searching team has to look for the hiding team and while the hiding team sneaks around to look for the box. That's where the hide-and-seek part comes in. The goal for the hiders is to steal the box before the searchers find everyone on the team.

I hope I'm placed on the hiding team. Games involving hiding and stealing are right up my alley. Especially stealing. Judging from the laughter and loud voices filling the room, the rest of Phantom is just as excited as I am.

Frank explains the rules one more time, but my attention drifts to the opposite side of the room. Maya and Curtis are the only ones who don't look enthusiastic. I can't hear them, but judging from Maya's frown and Curtis's flickering gaze, I imagine they are arguing.

"Are you listening?" Frank's impatient stare pops up to disturb my view of Maya and Curtis. I can't help but laugh at him. He stands on his tiptoes like a cute kid to be on the same eye-level as me.

"One team protects the box and the other team steals it... Blah, blah, big deal," I say and Frank presses his lips together.

"Shitkid," he coughs, then faces the rest of the group. "Ready? We'll split into two, then we'll take rounds on who's hiding and who's finding."

The group quiets down, but Maya and Curtis aren't done. For a second, they aren't paying attention what's happening around them.

"You're nothing but a fuckboy," Maya hisses at Curtis, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I hope she was worth it."

Curtis stares at the ceiling, his cheeks flushing a little. Maya's head jolts in the direction of the group, her intense glare stopping at a girl not far away from me. Then she walks out of the room with controlled but quick steps and a heaving chest. The group turns to watch the girl Maya stared at, and her fair skin turns pink. She has brown hair and an upturned nose. She's pretty, but not as pretty as Maya. I can't remember her name, but she must be more troublesome than she looks.