Just five minutes of waiting after they have completed the task that took away all the purity that was left in them, the graduates heard the static echo from the speakers again.
"Bored?"
No one responded. Although most of them have already stopped crying, everyone is still feeling down. No one dared to even move for fear that they will suddenly drop dead on the floor.
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me such a simple task already got you all down," the deep voice said with a laugh. "You're all making me happy."
Ally frowned and turned to the speaker.
"Why?" Noah asked. The young lady just shook her head.
"But don't be so blue. You guys are smart, right?"
Even Kingsley frowned when he heard that question again from the deep voice. He turned to the screen on the stage, along with everyone else, when it suddenly lit up.
"Let's test those wits!" the voice announced cheerfully. "For every correct answer, I will open the door and you can walk out safely! Sounds fair?"
"What the hell is fair in this situation? Tsk," Arkin asked, annoyed.
"The first question will appear in a couple of minutes. Good luck, my dear engineers."
"There's no time limit again," Noah said then turned to his companions. "We just have to answer the questions."
"There is no paper or keypad to put the answer," Jerome pointed out. "Do we just say it?"
"Whoever can answer will be the first to come out?" Hailey asked too. "Or is it really necessary to go out one by one?"
"The door will open for every correct answer," Kingsley reminded them of what the deep voice said from the speakers. "That might imply that every correct answer equates to one safe exit. Don't think of any loophole or way for us to identify whoever is behind this. You saw what happened earlier."
"Then, if we can't answer, we're going to die?"
"Nothing was clearly said about that either," Ally said. "But let's test those wits that could mean that we can work on this together. Maybe someone else can come out even if you got the answer."
Kingsley nodded. "I'm thinking the same thing."
"Then that's it," Arkin said with a sly smile. "The idiots will go first and the smart ones will be left behind so that everyone can get out for sure."
"What if the questions get harder and harder?" Hailey asked with an eyebrow raised.
Arkin laughed lightly. "You'll be the first to go out, won't you?"
"Are you saying that I'm an idiot?!"
Arkin just shrugged his shoulders, making Hailey squeal even more in annoyance.
"Stop it," Noah calmly scolded his cousin. Hailey, on the other hand, just looked away after getting a warning look from Kingsley.
"We need to gather the smartest people here," the former leader of the Student Council announced to his colleagues.
"Who will volunteer," Ally added. "We can't force anyone to remain inside the hall if they don't want to. This is a life and death situation."
Kingsley thought for a moment because for a natural leader like him, it's a normal reaction to leave if that's what's necessary and good for everyone. "Alright. First, we need the only Summa Cum Laude from our batch. Where's our class valedictorian?"
The group turned around until they saw Vince on one side of Louie's Hall, still with his partner Lia.
"He hasn't left his partner since they got out of the cubicle earlier," Hailey said with narrowed eyes. "She didn't even cry."
Arkin grinned. "Einstein's in love."
"We need him," Kingsley said seriously. He looked at his companions and seemed to assess them one by one. He stopped when his eyes darted at Ally. "You're the only person he acknowledges in this group. Can you go and convince him?"
The young lady nodded without hesitation. "I'll try."
"We're from different courses and we know who in our own departments performed well in terms of academics," Kingsley said to the others. "You know what to do."
The group all left their position to look for those who could volunteer to stay behind. Ally looked at Ella for a moment and when she saw her sitting quietly next to Terrence, she also walked toward Vince.
"That's the plan, huh?" the class valedictorian said after Ally explained the plan. "That's fine with me."
"I can stay too."
Ally moved her gaze to the person next to Vince who was volunteering. "Thank you."
"I see you're not that affected by what happened earlier," Lia said, smiling. She was slightly taken aback by the response she got from Ally.
"That's not important right now."
"We can deal with the trauma later," Vince said. "We need to get out of here first."
While walking back to their group's place, Ally couldn't help but ask Lia a question.
"Why did you seem surprised by what I said? You don't seem to be affected by what happened either."
Lia smiled again. "I thought we shared the same thoughts about what happened. You see, it already sank into my system. I'm fully aware of what happened and what people might think about it once I get out of this university."
It was Ally's turn to be taken aback. Her mind hadn't reached that point yet, so she quickly felt scared when she realized that other people could talk about her. That may affect her name and that of her family. A lot can happen.
"But I don't really care." Lia stopped walking and looked directly at Ally, the smile still not disappearing from her lips. "My virginity doesn't define who I am. It has nothing to do with my value."
Ally's lips parted slightly. At that moment, the young lady smiling in front of her seemed like a shining angel in her eyes. She smiled as well. "You're an amazing woman."
"Thanks!" Lia said cheerfully then continued walking. "You're amazeballs too! Just how did you answer that code so fast? The Vince Pascual recognizes your intelligence."
Ally just smiled, uncomfortable with the praise she was getting. They have also approached the others who were not able to get any volunteers.
"Thanks for volunteering," Kingsley said to Vince and Lia.
"The voice from the speaker had always referred to us as dear engineers, so most of the questions might be from our subjects," Vince replied.
"Math?!" Jerome asked with a frown. "I no longer have brain cells that can understand Calculus."
"That's why I have no choice but to volunteer," Vince remarked.
Lia laughed a little. "You're the only person I know who doesn't want to but volunteered."
Everyone blinked and fell silent, unable to believe that someone had played a joke on the Vince Pascual.
"So... it's just us," Hailey said with her arms crossed.
"Sure, you won't go out first?" Arkin asked teasingly.
"Would you shut up—" Hailey's scream was cut off when they heard what sounded like a doorbell. At the same time, the first question flashed on the screen.
Silence prevailed. Not only the leading group, everyone did not expect the question.
HOW MANY LETTERS ARE IN THE ALPHABET?
Some of the graduates shouted, "twenty-six!" and the screen suddenly turned red.
WRONG
"'What…" From sitting behind the big man whom he knocked down, Arkin stood up. "… the fuck?"
"What alphabet is it talking about?" Jerome asked which made everyone frown.
Hailey just dropped her shoulders. "Oh, gosh, we're so gonna die."
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