Ruby Fridays

Chapter 33: Skeptical Aftermath

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N O W P L A Y I N G

» [ Dark Aftermath - Pianopassion ] «

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───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────

║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 18 - 2027 ║

║ Monday║ Class Day║

"Look at the queen of weirdo's sitting alone. Such a show-off..."

I sit alone at my usual table in the school cafeteria, slowly picking at my food while hearing those murmurs in the grapevine. Yet, above all, I remained my calm and just situated myself from observing the sea of hands around me. I then see groups of friends laughing together, and students eating their foods or reading away, flipping pages through their book. 

But damned fight on me, I knew underneath their cheerful facade, a sinister secret of the midnight game lingers. 

That midnight game, a ritual that has been passed down for decades within these very walls. Students gather under the veil of darkness to play a dangerous game of chance and risk, where the line between fun and danger quickly blurs. 

And, players like us, must perform twisted tasks and challenges, many crossing moral boundaries that cannot be undone. 

And me alone, an outsider by choice, watching as the sinister secret of the midnight game corrupts others all around me brings me to the clear thought that their cheerful facades now cannot hide what lies beneath, no matter how hard they try. 

I remain vigilant, waiting for the day the truth for me finally comes to light, and the midnight game is forced back into the shadows where it belongs. 

But until then, now I just have to sit and observe, my eyes drift from table to table, looking at everyone's hands — in search for the one who's missing a pinkie finger. 

As I did, memories come flooding back. Last night was the third night of Truth or Dare, an weekly tradition where students push boundaries of decency for thrills. And as if the devil was playing tricks on me, I had chosen, "Dare," and was tasked with chopping off someone's pinkie finger as proof. 

For the record, I didn't want to do it, but I had to under the rules or I will lose mine, worse even my life since this school was sick of giving nightmare of punishment for those who astray to the norms. 

For a moment, I indeed considered fleeing, letting the weapon fall from my trembling hand. But then, I was reminded of the consequences of failure, of the punishment that would surely follow. 

The air of that night felt suffocating as I walked the empty halls, my footsteps echoing ominously. I can vividly remember how I tried so fucking hard to tune out the whispers in my mind telling me to turn back, that I didn't have to go through with that horror. But at that time, nothing was on my mind rather than the truth — comply or face the consequences.