VIII: Mile Down Tragedy Lane
Original Chapter Name: Fitness Gram Pacer Test- 1 Mile
Lola
Even after two rounds of the Bully Trials, my friends and I are already hugging each other. I expected my friends to die in the later rounds, especially Heather, Maddie, and I. Jacelyn, Laura, and Destiny on the other hand, will die very soon. Heather was taken from us too quick. When we tried to find a hiding spot when chaos rose, she tripped, and the clown detected her. My mind is already trying to block the memories, yet everything is somehow unredacted.
Maddie glanced around, this was a few moments before the clowns were revealed to be monsters. She was unsure. There were not enough hiding places; we could've hidden in the launch room of the rides or in one of the larger tents, but all tents were sealed shut. We would never know we had walked into a death trap until too late. The rides could attract the enemy in the round, which we later found out the clowns didn't go near the rides since the guests were primarily focused on getting rides, not some weird red robot clown.
"I don't know where to go," Maddie whispered in defeat, still trying to look around as if a magical hiding place would appear. "We can't be hangin' out in the open like this."
"It's either hanging by the rides or tents, Maddie," I replied, maybe a little aggressively, "pick it or leave it."
"There are not enough hiding spots like they had in the slaughterhouse," Heather mentioned, unnerved. She looked paler than usual. I mean, we all went through players getting skinned alive for their meats in a deranged industry. We just escaped that madness, and we hopped in another.
"Better than the idiots behind us," I said while pointing behind me. Jacelyn, Destiny, and Laura were staying behind with that Russian b.
Then, the scenario when a clown snatched a meh-looking player off the fairgrounds and into one of their tents. Her screams alerted everyone. I winced back at Maddie, gesturing that she must decide now or else we're fucked. She didn't think too long because a robotic clown gaped toward us with that same smile. All three of us backed away from him, and he kept approaching and approaching. I was so concentrated on getting away from the clown that my left foot was still out, and Heather's foot collided with me. She yelped and tripped. By the time she fell, the clown grabbed her hand.
"Congratulations child, you were awarded with a free makeover!" He beamed with delight, unable to believe that what he was doing was totally wrong.
"Heather!" Maddie and I shrieked in unison.
Heather got up and tried to pull away. She was crying in fear. I grabbed her other hand, and so did Maddie. We pulled and pulled, hoping that we would rip the clown's arm off. He was a deranged AI that his strength outmatched ours. I heard Jacelyn and Laura crying, but they didn't fucking try to run and join us.
The clown paused, turned to Heather, and said, "Don't be afraid. The makeovers are fun! You'll love it!" He pulled with more strength, so much so that I plummeted to the ground. My sudden dip in Heather's hand caused Maddie to fall down. Her face planted into the dirt. Her hand jerked away from Heather's hand out of subconscious action trying to lift her face off the ground. Heather shrieked louder than a child screaming for their parents for help. To avoid my face dragged into the tent, I let go. I may have let go of my friend, but I didn't want to die. Her screams kicked up higher before she went into the tent. I could hear her sounds of distress for a short while until she fell silent.
She was one of the few victims that the makeover killed her. They didn't use normal makeup; they used bodily mutilation. Heather stumbled her way out of the tent without the clown leaving. Her face was stained red by a boiling red glaze that bleached her face redder an impish devil. I can see this hot paint still boiling on her skin like lava with trapped air bubbles. Blood oozed from her throat as I saw wires going upwards to light the golden stars attached to her face. The clown must've thought wires couldn't be shown, so he shoved it inside her by cutting her throat. Did he shove the stars up her throat to make them, cut her face open to hang them up, then clean them off to hide the damage he had done to her? What the absolute fuck? What timeline was this– a timeline obsessed with wires over everything, including inside a person's body?! In my time, these stars could be lit up by a button or a press while sticking to the skin. The wires came out of her neck and hid more by her black flannel. To add darkness to this colorful makeover, the clown was insane enough to purge her eyes and replace them with stars. The darkened sockets make the stars glow brighter than the ones on her. I didn't even want to know what he would use to paint her face black or something.
"Heather, we are still here," I say to her in a clear voice. She still had her ears intact. She looked at me, following her ears to guide her to see. Her breathing was labored. She shuffled her way slowly. Her throat gargled. Her voice was so faint that I could barely hear her say, "Help me." I reached out to her, hoping my hand could touch her one last time. She whispered something incoherent before folding, crumbling from her injuries. I jumped back, along with Maddie. Her breathing and the rising of her back slowed, coming to a stop. Blood seeped out of her mouth as she was finally lying on the side, letting those liquids come up.
It hurts me to see Maddie cry. Never in my life have I seen Maddie cry. The lack of tears from Heather, Maddie, and I are compensated by Jacelyn, Laura, and Destiny. Destiny cried once over a joke she was laughing at until she decided to be offended by it. Jacelyn cries verbally– bitching. Laura cries all the time.
A rising part of my body smirks, whispering to me that Heather is one down, many to go. I am a step closer to winning and surviving. I still have quite a few friends nearby. They will only be temporary now– for life, not forever. By the end of the trials, all of them will change or be too damaged to continue. I will be mentally fucked up, but that is the cost of winning a game that is similar (or worse) to the Hunger Games.
"Alright, everyone. Stop talking and hugging," the guy says while walking to the cliff. He just really had to emphasize hugging while he moving. His voice is so loud that it echoes the room like he is carrying a tiny microphone. He claps his hand in a feigned impression. "You all haven't been running around as much, so you need a workout."
Asshole, the clowns you sent us to were motionally and voice-activated. Of course, we didn't move.
Dreantula walks up to the edge of her partner. Jaymie stands back like she has been doing most of the time for the past two rounds, only saying a few lines and remaining quiet. Was she possessed by Ash's spirit or something? Is she relying on this couple to get revenge? Great revenge plan, girly, but you're just as shit. "Kids these days need more outside time... on their phones way too much" she implies.
We are not full-on kids here, ma'am. My friends are closer to an adult than an actual kid. None of the players are kids. Some adults and old people are in the cave, so what was your point there? Are you trying to demean us as little kids or you're one of the older generations that craps on the younger generation? Every generation does that. Previous generations had issues too. Our generation is hyped for Musical.ly, expressing identity, opinion, and convenience. Sometimes too much and desire for clout chasing. Judging by your clothing, your time still supports slavery, whites' superiority, and human trading. I bet you were astonished about the Salem Witch Trials occurring in the 1600s that you turned to actual witchcraft to punish your targets– get hanged, bitch.
Once again, her damn lover waves his hand, and our surroundings warp into a green glistening forest. A giant blue moon in the sky gives us a light to see. The birds are chirping, the insects cricketing, and the wind rustling the trees, raining down white pollen. This round is a lot more of a paradise than the last rounds beforehand where everything looks too creepy for the edgy mind can't handle. The only odd noise that blares throughout the entire forest is this heavy, thick, tick-tock like a timer counting down. Laura is right beside me, looking as insecure as ever. I was hoping for Maddie, but somehow she is behind me with Jacelyn, Destiny, and Marina.
"Do you hear that?" I whisper to Maddie from behind me, referring to the clock.
She nods, just as confused as I am. Marina shakes her head and jogs past us. I never remove my sight of her. "Hey, wait up!" I hear Jacelyn shout as she speeds past me to catch up with her. "Why are you running?" Why is she attached to her? Destiny and Laura start running too, leaving Maddie and me no choice but to sprint to them.
"Why are you running?" Jacelyn repeats while she reaches right next to Marina. "Is it because of the ticking sound?"
"Yes," she replies, "it's a countdown. You don't want it to reach zero."
"I wished it announced the numbers too."
"Where should we run?"
"Straight. Hopefully, there will be a sign that we reach the destination."
Marina's words register in our minds pretty quickly. We start to pick up the pace. Since Laura does outdoor track while Maddie does cross country, they easily take the second and third-place spots. Marina takes first place, running faster than other teenagers. Does training to become bounty hunters in Russia require one to bolt faster than an athletic human to run? It reminds me of the synchronized swimming in the Olympics. Damn, those Russian women are so good that they are a beast at that sport. It also makes me wonder if they undergoing very strict treatment to perfect everything that damages their mental state. Marina could've been trained in that regard, being able to run fast as something non-human.
As much as I strain my lungs from running at the speed I can reach, I resist slowing down. I can hear the clock ticking become heavier and lower as every minute passes. It started as high as angelic sound effects, but now it is a death toll bell. I feel that there is not enough time left. Do we have enough? What will happen when the countdown reaches zero? I am not fast; however, I am not last. Destiny is panting heavily, hacking a bit, and jogging slower. I am looking ahead of me like the rest of us. I can't waste my energy by encouraging Destiny to keep it up. I will wreck them and guarantee survival if there is a gymnastics round. Marina, Maddie, and Laura are the strongest in this round. They don't seem fazed by the amount of running. I think we are definitely over a lap now.
The forest comes to a small clearing with a small pond that reflects the moonlight. Marina puts her feet in the water. Maddie and Laura stop right by her, getting their breaths. Jacelyn slides into the water. "I wish this was safe water to drink," she says breathlessly while she flips onto her back, staring at the moonlight. I just put my feet in the water and bend over, putting my hands on my knees, regaining as much as possible. I cough heavily. Something tells me that we will have to run again. When Destiny steps into the small pond, she does the same thing as me, just more dramatically. She is the only one who doesn't do sports and is not in great shape. She's not a fat girl, just slightly chubby.
"How do you know that this the place?" Maddie glances at Marina.
"Listen with your ears," Marina orders. This order goes to all of us.
I tune my friends out just to listen to the sound. I hear the water swaying when my friends move, the wind, the birds, and the crickets. There is no bell. No bell of dread- we have made it! Pure silence.
"Where are the others?" Maddie asks while looking around.
"They will figure it out eventually," I say with a shrug. It gives us more time to be ourselves and goof off until the players stop being clueless and head to the pond.
"I don't see any monsters," Laura implies. True– there haven't been any monsters before this round, but this may be the calm before hell releases its gates.
"For now, at least," Marina replies. "I bet 100 rubles that we will have to at least run back."
Laura takes a deep inhale. "OVER HERE! RUN OVER HERE! HURRY!" Her shouts echo back three times. Jacelyn blushes red; Laura did this last round too.
I glare at her. "Will you shut up?" I threaten. "The more people you save, the slower we will make it out of this shithole." More deaths mean less time to suffer. The death count has been so low the last few rounds; we must pick up the bloody pace a bit.
Jacelyn glares at me and argues, "She saved you last time with that yell. If you be a jackass, she might not say anything next time– then, you're gonna whine– probably not because you will be dead."
"Shut your piehole, Jacelyn," I spat. "I just want to go home."
"All of us do!" Destiny joins the yelling mix.
Marina chuckles at our own little argument. "Ironically, your yelling is attracting the others." Laura and Jacelyn smirk. I give both of them the finger.
She is not wrong; I hear footsteps all around us. Players run to the pond. Some of them crash into the water like it's a summer day. There are others who take their sweatshirts off. The same guy that met Jacelyn's friends washes the oil off his body. Thanks, dude, you're ruining the pond. I see the oil spread around the pond, polluting it into a darker shade of gray.
Then, the clock has returned– slow, loud, and low like a heartbeat being reverb and slowed ten times over. "Time is running out," one of the guy players mumble. "Cole might be screwed."
A few of them walk to the edge of the pond while yelling things to get the slow contestants to run:
"Yo, pick up the pace! You're gonna die, bro!"
"Move your fatass!"
"A nice big Mac is waiting for you at the pond!" I laugh quietly to myself, so my friends and other players don't scold me. Physical physique correlates with the trials as well. Maybe if no one dies if they lose, they will be inspired to lose weight, so they can run faster.
"Hurry the hell up!"
Two contestants, out of breath and panting come out to opposite segments of the forest, approaching the pond. One is a frail older woman, who might be a grandparent. What the hell did she do to get trapped in the trials with us? Dreantula, take notes of your little players while talking. She is slowly jogging, clutching her chest, close enough that she might have a heart attack. On the opposite side of the pond is another woman with her hair dyed orange, more fatter than Destiny. Her hands are shaking, and she is pale. I can see on her face that she looks panicked and sick simultaneously. Someone yells at her, "Come on, fatso!" She doesn't move faster.
When they reach the pond, both of them are blocked by an invisible shield. Their bodies tremor as electricity seers their skin so violently that their veins turn black. The old lady doesn't scream while the other girl screams like she is getting the electric chair without any anesthesia. We hear more yells in the forest around us, suggesting other players dilly-dilly around or much slower than the two. Yep, they are being killed off too. Sounds like more death than the last few rounds. Good.
The heavy ticking pauses for a moment. It resumes at the normal pace of a clock. Marina is the first to sprint out of the pond and enter the same path we just came from. Jacelyn, Maddie, and Laura leap out of the water simultaneously, leaving me with Destiny again. Also again, I am not last.
"How long is this track?" Destiny fusses while running behind me.
"Half a mile," Maddie answers quickly, trying to store her breath. Laura is in front of her.
"That's bullcrap," Destiny whispers to herself, almost sounding like she wants to cry.
We always have to do a mile run test during gym at least once yearly, along with a half-mile run. Half a mile is two laps around the track, while a full mile is double. It takes approximately five minutes to complete a half-mile on the track, but with so many branches and leaves in my, it takes more than that. It took me seven minutes to get to the pond, so the time back be the same unless some obstacle emerges and slows us down that way.
"Might as well cover some ground before they start. I feel the challenge starting in the air," Marina explains while going full throttle, hopping above branches like some easy-level parkour.
"What does that mean?" Destiny asks, unease.
I don't know what that means and don't want to find out.
A minute goes by, and the moonlit forest darkens with thunderous clouds. The atmosphere feels static, muggy, and warm. Even if it feels still, the winds corrupt into a growl going in all directions. "It's a thunderstorm," Destiny groans.
"Keep running," Maddie says without looking back.
"We are almost halfway done," Laura informs.
Lightning fills the darkness with brief light, hitting the trees nearby, and making some of us jump when they get too close. The air is no longer silent; a continuous thunderous roar rumbles louder and louder as if it is getting closer and closer. The winds become stronger, and the rain turns into small tidal wave droplets. It is not just up to my ankles that are wet; my entire being is soaked. My lips clatter as I shiver. I am going to get sick because of it.
The ground turns into a cold muddy sludge from all the rain, making it harder to pull my shoes. This doesn't help that I am wearing sandals for my date for Aaron. The trial leaders didn't give us contestant clothing and suitable shoes. An airy is heard behind me. I just keep on running, not giving a damn if Destiny is left behind. In fact, I don't hear Destiny's footsteps behind me. Curious, I turn to look and see what is staring at Destiny. A massive whirling dark cloud picks up mud, trees, and leaves. It is at least 750 yards wide and moving slowly in our 'lane' toward us.
"Tornado!" Destiny screams outloud before I turn back to run again.
"Should we get in a lower level like a ditch or something?" She asks.
"We don't have enough time!" Jacelyn screams back. "And there are no ditches here!"
"Looks like what Ash sees in her nightmares," Destiny comments before I hear the faintest footsteps sprinting behind me. Hm?
I can hear the constant tornadic roar getting closer and closer as the tornado is either gradually picking up speed or toying with us with its acceleration and deceleration. One second, I feel like I will get sucked up within a moment, and another, it slows down, keeping me on my toes. The wind pulls against us, trying to pull us towards the tornado. I hunch forward to fight against the wind, slowing me down. It is slowing the whole group.
Laura slips in the mud ahead of me and falls with a thud. She screams like a little girl. I pass her, looking at her. Her whole front is now drenched in mud. "Someone, please help me," she begs, almost getting ready to cry." I ignore her. We need to lose the screaming girl sooner or later. Besides jabbing at their slowness and weight, no other players helped the slower ones get to the lake.
"I got you, Laura," Destiny whispers from behind me. She is probably pulling out the mud too. I hear running footsteps. "Hurry, the tornado is coming."
"I know," Laura replies.
Then, Laura bolts, not caring about going past me. It doesn't last long– a lightning bolt strikes a tree nearby, she yells. While burning and singed, the trees begin to timber right in front of the path. She ducks her head as she continues running. I look at its falling rate and try to move past it.
But boy, how wrong I am...
Like Laura, I slip and fall. I try to push myself up, only for the tree to land on my feet. Heavy and painful pressure blocks me from moving. I scream like hell. My friends stop in front of me and look at me. Marina does too. I see Jacelyn whisper into Marina's ear. Laura and Maddie rush to help while Destiny leaps over the branch. All three of them try to use their strength to push up the tree. It doesn't move.
I squint my eyes while looking down, biting through the pain. At least, the tree didn't land in the upper portion of my body; otherwise, I would be dead, and I don't want that. "It's not moving," Maddie says while grunting during lifting. She exhales heavily as she lets go, feeling the tree press down harder.
"Just push it off me," I say quickly, my eyes closed. I open them and order, "Get Jacelyn."
"Tornado, please don't hit us," Laura utters.
"Bruh, it's still coming closer slowly," Maddie replies, "it obviously didn't listen."
Destiny finally turns behind her and screams, "Jacelyn!"
Meanwhile, Laura and Maddie are having different combination. Laura states, "If that tornado starts talking back, I will be more freaked out than relieved."
"Same here..."
At last, Jacelyn shows up and comes in running. "Help us push the tree," Maddie says while Jacelyn puts her hands beneath her tree to lift it up, along with the others. Leaves, tree branches, and dirt rain down. Maddie and Laura duck while a large portion of a ripped-up tree hurls passed them and crashes close to them.
"It looks like an EF2 or 3," Maddie says while looking at the tornado behind me.
"That's reassuring," I pale.
Destiny and Maddie keep on lifting. "Come on, Jace, help us!" Laura begs. Jacelyn looks directly into the tornado with a deep focus, almost as if she is trying to do mind control to make the tornado rope out or go away and target another player in a different path. The other players should face some kind of adversity; otherwise, this will be bullshit and shows leader hates us because Jaymie is pissy.
"Jace!" Maddie calls out to her. Jacelyn doesn't break her focus. Her breathing is sturdy, and she is not panicked.
"Jace, please," Destiny begs, almost to tears. "We are going to lose Lola."
Jacelyn doesn't answer. She doesn't even look back at Marina to get reassurance as if she is relying on herself after almost two rounds. Getting annoyed by a lack of Jacelyn's response, I go, "Stop staring at a tornado as it makes you look more of a midget than you do now. Use your small-body power and get me out of here."
She snaps out of the trance, and her face presses into a thin line. Maddie, Laura, and Destiny look at me with the face What the heck did you just say? That's horrible. "Why would you say that?" Laura hurtfully scolds even though the comment is not towards her.
"Lola, there is never a time to say that," Maddie says disappointedly. "She's not going to help us now."
My eyes widen. Oh great, I will not leave this alive for saying this. I was only trying to make her snap out of it from looking at the tornado. Jacelyn turns and walks away. "Jacelyn, I'm sorry!" I yell out to her. "Please, come back! Help me!"
She ignores me and heads back to Marina. Marina is not so far away; she is just chilling near a tree without any fear of the lightning and claps of thunder. She is so used to it now. She begins talking to her. Why aren't they running to safety?
"The tornado is getting too close," Laura says warily, "we might have to run..."
"You said you were about helping people," I point out angrily, "now, you want to leave them behind."
"I'm trying!"
"Don't start crying on me, Laura," I respond annoyed with an eye roll.
"Laura, Destiny, stop pushing for a moment." Maddie drops the tree and grabs my hands. "Get on my side, Des."
Destiny runs to the other side of Maddie, making her the middle. "No lifting, push it to the tornado. It might help us. It's not a large tree; the branches on one side make it a pain." Destiny and Laura nod, fearing for their lives. I'm glad I don't have to look at the tornado because I would be scared to death. Props to those three for having to see it every second while helping.
Laura and Destiny start pushing with any strength left. They are groaning and grunting. I close my eyes as my arms get pulled in another direction, and the tree finally moves a bit. I can feel alleviating pressure. I try to pull myself away as my friends push it towards the tornado. The tree does a roll before fully being lifted. My feet lost feeling a minute ago. Laura and Maddie help me, letting me be carried, yet I can't control my feet to help them move forward.
"Get on the ground!" Marina yells while Jacelyn and Marina get low to the ground and cover their heads. We can see the gusts whipping at us, picking up more trees. "It can still suck us up."
The wind gets too great; all four of us plummet to the ground. "Just crawl," Maddie urgently suggests. Maddie and Laura both have their knees and elbows functioning to move while I move at a snail's pace. It is getting hard to move as my fingers slip in the muck. I stop moving, unable to fight the wind. Maddie, Destiny, and Laura stop too. They collapse in the mud, putting their hands against their heads to protect themselves from the tornado. I just turn around, sitting up. I can finally get a look at this thing. The tornado is much larger than it was so long ago, very close to us. It sounds loud as my ears pop from the pressure. I can't move, and the only option is to hold on and accept fate. If I die, there is a good chance my friends will die too. I just wanted to live and win the trials and go home. I feel like a midwesterner during stormy weather but can't take shelter. If Jacelyn had just helped me, we would've been out of this situation a little earlier, having more time to escape. My hair whips out ferociously to the gusts, spanking the sides of my face.
Gradually, the tornado starts thinning as it approaches us, just yards away. It starts looping in motion and in size, turning into a thin loopy string. The wind dies down, leaving us with wind and thunder. My red hair settles down along with it.
"Thank God!' Destiny says in a sigh of relief. I watch my friends get back up. "I thought that would never end."
"Yeah," I nervously chuckle, letting out all my nerves.
I go back into the cave, along with my friends. The only peaceful moment in this trial is when the round finally ends. Maddie and Laura stand up and help me up. My feet are starting to tingle and buzz. Ugh, bad moment, but at least, I can move them again very soon. I hate it when my feet are asleep!
Jacelyn walks to us, not looking at me, more at Destiny and Laura. "So glad you girls are safe."
"Thanks, you too-"
I cut Destiny off, whacking Jacelyn on the side of her face. The people around us are saying 'oooo' sounds. It sounds like they are watching other students witnessing a fight in a hallway. "How could you leave me there to die?! Why didn't you help your best friend out of danger?!"
Jacelyn puts her hand on her red cheek, shocked and baffled. She stutters while trying to find the right words while being upset, hurt, and angry. "You called me a derogatory name, Lola," she argues.
"You shouldn't stop helping us just because of that," I fire back. "I used that so you will stop looking at the damn tornado!"
"You got a tornado?" A woman covered in bruises and scars. She is in loose and heavy clothing like a sweatshirt. "We had ravines opening up in our path."
I glare and snap, "You're not in this convo."
The woman sighs and walks away. My head steers back at Jacelyn. "In this matter of survival, you should still help even if hurt! You made me almost lose my life."
Jacelyn crosses her arms as her face presses again. "I didn't focus on the tornado."
"You were staring at it like you were trying to seduce it!"
"I didn't hear the ticking of the clock," she admits. "Even though the tornado was expanding in size, it was slowing down. The tornado winds still impacted after we passed the half-mile area. I assumed that there was no shield for the tornado because we would know–"
"The storm was too damn loud for me to hear any ticking, so you back turned on me to test your theory?" I query, still offended.
Jacelyn rocks her hand back and forth. "Eh, so and so. I already knew we were safe."
"That doesn't excuse why you didn't help me out! What would've happened if the tornado didn't rope out, and you weren't in the safe zone? We would be dead, and you couldn't rely on Marina because she would die later too. Congratulations, you killed your friends."
Marina hears me as she slowly turns to look at me, wondering what is going on. I can see that Jaymie bitch smiling again. She must love that I am losing connection with my friends and getting into fights with them too. Something that she doesn't have to worry about because her friend is dead. If I live, I will beat her to the ground at school.
"Maddie, Destiny, and Laura helped you out of the tree, Lola," Jacelyn observes somberly. She is not looking at me. "I would've stayed and helped you if you didn't say that."
...Wow. Letting words get to you? Are you letting Laura's mindset change you? Are you letting Ash's character change you? Well, Ash is explainable from what she did to you, yet weeks prior, she was an emotional damage punching bag. Eh, she deserved it for being a creep. They are just words for crying out loud, not actions.... Ugh... Fine... I drop my angry face. "Again, I apologize."
"Forgiven, but next time, I won't," she warns. She still looks grumpy. By that time, Marina walks over to us. I somehow wished Jacelyn was right by me instead of Heather during the Red Star Circus round because Heather never annoyed me. I probably won't regret tripping her to the clown's death; however, with Heather, it made me feel like dog crap. I shouldn't have probably started killing my friends off one by one or ridding the useful ones first. Like Jacelyn relying on Marina, I need friends to get me far into this game. I guess she is smart, but when Marina and all her friends die, it will just be us. She better not get close to me because I will clench the victory from her long-awaited death.
Skeletons in Our Closet
1. No pictures for your imagination to go as free. Ace adds them for creativity.
2. Ace loved Jamie's chapter description of Heather's demise, so she did it on her end.
3. Ace is sick, so mind the errors. She will fix them back later. She did her best.
4. Every time Ace is writing Lola's POV, she wants to punch her in the face. There are reasons why she doesn't like her.
5.