"I'd like to thank you for giving me a chance to turn the tables. The game isn't over yet.
I would wait until it is before you start celebrating", Alex said coolly, and then walked to the dartboard.
He knew that his only chance was to score 140 points in this next round. He focused on the double twenty, leaned forward, and aimed the dart. His aim was perfect and scored him forty points. Now he had to get one hundred with his last two throws.
"Look at that, he managed to hit it again", someone commented.
"Wow, he's lucky", said his friend.
The first man concluded, "There's no way he'll manage to score one hundred points with his last two darts."
While the spectators were still discussing his first throw, Alex's second dart hit the
bullseye, winning him fifty points.
They all still thought that Alex was dreaming. Then, as his second dart hit the bullseye, they were suddenly quiet, and their jaws dropped open.
Collectively, they agreed that Alex's skill had indeed improved rather suddenly.
Ten minutes ago, he could only score forty-one points with three darts, but now he seemed to be able to score whatever he wanted.
Alex ignored them, focusing solely on the darts. He had fifty points left and one dart. His
only option was to hit the bullseye. However, when he looked at the board, he realized that
the last dart was sitting at an angle taking up most of the area of the bullseye. Only about a
third of the circle was exposed for him to aim at. It was an incredibly difficult shot.
Darryl smiled to himself. He was an experienced darts player and knew that this was a shot that would even challenge professional darts players. He was confident that Alex couldn't do it.
Alex thought carefully, and then turned to the people behind him and said,
"Please let me through."
The spectators didn't know what he was doing, so they made way for him to pass and then watched him take four large steps backward. He now stood at twice the original distance from the board.
No one could understand what he was doing. How would he ever hit the board from that distance?
Myriam pointed at him and scolded, "Alex, what are you playing at? You know that you have to get a bullseye to win. Don't tell me that you think you can hit it from that distance.
I think you should admit defeat right now and stop making a fool of yourself. Everyone will laugh at you."
Phillipa looked at her and said, "Myriam, how Alex chooses to throw the darts is his business. You don't need to worry about it. Besides, do you really think it's appropriate to treat old classmates like this?"
"Why do you defend this loser? I think you feel guilty because he's about to be humiliated
And think it's all your fault. Or are you into him?" Myriam said with a sneer.
"Shut up," Phillipa said as she blushed.
She hadn't expected Myriam to be so mean. When she saw that everyone was staring at her and smiling, she was embarrassed. Anxiously, she said, "We used to go to school together. I just don't want anything bad to happen to him."
"You can pretend that I'm talking nonsense. But take a look at yourself in a mirror.
Your face has gone completely red."
Myriam joked, causing a burst of laughter.
Darryl gently put his hand on her shoulder, which really made her happy. Looking into her
eyes, he said sarcastically, "Since this boy has decided to make it even more difficult for himself, maybe he knows something that we don't. He seems so confident that I'm now
convinced that he will definitely hit the bullseye and win the match. What do you think?"
Other people heard Darryl's irony and laughed.
One man said, "Yes, he's sure to hit the bullseye."
Another agreed, "Fifty points to win the game."
Alex aimed his last dart at the board and tried to calm his nerves.
He had moved so far back from the board because this was the distance that he practiced throwing knives.
He had felt uncomfortable throwing the previous darts, and the last throw was the most difficult. To give himself the best chance, he, therefore, chose the distance that he was most familiar with.
He threw the dart. The room was silent as everyone held their breath and waited to see what his throw was like. To their surprise, the dart went in a perfectly straight line toward
the bullseye. It moved so fast that no one could keep their eyes on it.
They just heard a "ding" as it hit the board. When they looked over, they realized that the plastic flight on the end of the previous dart had been cut off and parts of it were lying on the ground.
Alex's third dart was sticking proudly in the bullseye next to the second. He had scored
forty points, fifty, and fifty making a total of 140 points. He had won the match.
No one could believe it. They kept staring at the darts on the board in amazement. Some
people rubbed their eyes to make sure that what they saw was real.
Alex walked over to Darryl and said with a smile, "Darryl, I'm sorry. It must have been a "What?" Darryl was still staring at the dartboard in disbelief.
He just couldn't understand how a loser like could have performed such a tricky shot. Finally, he turned to look at Alex, who was smiling at him. He wanted to shout and swear at him, but he restrained himself.
Then he remembered the bet that they had made.
"Darryl, can my friend sign up to volunteer now?" Alex asked innocently.
"Yes", he replied reluctantly.
Then he started walking toward the door,
Alex snorted and shouted after him, "Are you just going to leave?"
"What do you expect me to do? Do you really think you deserved to win? Get out of my way," he replied angrily.
Alex originally wanted Darryl to apologize to Phillipa, but he had stopped caring about that.
He couldn't believe that Darryl was still acting so arrogant even though he had lost. He
couldn't help but smile as he said, "Okay, you insist on acting like a spoiled child. You go. I
will tell everyone what just happened on social media. I'll make sure to tell everyone your
full name. And don't worry, I have a video of the whole match."
Alex took out his cell phone and held it up to Darryl. He hadn't recorded the match at all,
but he pretended he had to scare Darryl.
He knew that to deal with people like Darryl, you had to hit them where it hurt.
With Darryl, it was his pride. He had learned from Nelly how to deal with bullies.
Seeing Alex so angry, Darryl was worried.
He was really afraid that he would carry out his threat and post the video on the internet. That would have a detrimental effect on his family's business.
But how could he kiss Alex's feet in public?
He was from one of the best families in the city. The humiliation would be unbearable.
Alex knew from Darryl's face that he was flustered. He walked over to him and said,
"Darryl, come and kiss my feet. Everyone's waiting."
"You—", Darryl was furious.
How could Alex, a total loser, dare do this to someone as important as him?
But even with Alex egging him on, he didn't dare show his anger. He hesitated while trying to decide what to do. Finally, he decided that he had to protect his business and avoid Alex posting on social media. He slowly walked over to him and prepared to kneel down in front of him. The spectators couldn't believe that Darryl was going to kiss Alex's feet.
They were speechless.
"Woah, Darryl is really going to kiss his feet," said one guy.
"Poor Darryl. First, he was rejected by Leona, and today he's got to kiss this loser's feet. He won't be able to hold his head up in public after this", his friend said.
"He'll die of shame", the first guy agreed.
"Wait a minute," a voice said, and Darryl felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He looked up and saw that it was Myriam.
She stared at Alex and said, "Darryl, you're too good to kiss his feet. I'll do it for you."
Everyone was surprised by this.
"What?" Darryl asked.
It took a minute for him to understand what she was offering.
"Alex, Darryl made the bet with you, but no one said that the loser couldn't get someone
else to kiss the winner's feet for them. As Darryl's friend, I'm willing to do it for him.
You can't have any objection", Myriam said. "If I take care of this myself, you can't threaten Darryl anymore."
Alex was stunned. He hadn't expected that Myriam, who was arrogant and proud, would be willing to take Darryl's place.
"Darryl, step back. I'll kiss his feet for you", Myriam said.
"Okay, thank you. I'm eternally grateful", Darryl was overjoyed and stepped aside.
Myriam knelt down on the ground. Alex looked at her and felt awful. He stepped aside and
said, "Forget it. I don't need you to kiss my feet. Just leave it."
"No. I don't need your pity. I don't want to owe you anything. Stand still and let me kiss
your feet", Myriam replied angrily.
Alex felt sad. But since she wanted to do it for Darryl so much, he stepped back in front of her.
Myriam got down onto her hands and knees and kissed Alex's feet.
Then, Darryl helped her stand up and said, "Thank you. I'm very grateful to you. After you
graduate, you will come and work for my company. I will give you a great job and an
excellent salary."
Myriam replied with a smile, "Thank you, Darryl. It was an honor to be able to help you."
Then she glared at Alex and said viciously, "Alex, I will remember the humiliation that you caused me today. One day, I will pay you back double."
"Good for you, Myriam. But you've made me very happy today. Let's go. I'll treat you to an
expensive meal", Darryl told her as they left together.
Alex accompanied Phillipa as she registered to be a volunteer. Then they took a cab and
went back to the university, where they had lunch together in the canteen. Phillipa paid for both the cab and the meal, which embarrassed Alex, but she insisted. She had given him no choice.
"I do have some money. You don't have to pay for me", he said to her with a smile.
She sighed softly and replied, "I don't think you can earn much money working for Nelly.
Anyway, I can afford to buy you a cheap meal in the canteen. But you've chosen the cheapest dish. I hope it's okay."
He replied sincerely, "It's delicious. I like vegetables. Please don't worry about that." He
realized that he cared about Phillipa very much. He cared how she was feeling and what she thought of him. When he looked at her again, he saw that she was blushing. She quickly turned her face away.
He thought to himself, If I hadn't helped Phillipa at the Olympic stadium today, what would she think of me? What does she think about everything I did today? And what are my feelings toward her? Do I like her? No, I only have space in my heart for Debbie.
I can't have feelings for anyone else.