Chapter 8: Confession
Part 3
~Leo's POV~
I shattered her… Mercilessly.
After leaving the room, I head straight downstairs to meet a cute girl—or should I call her my rebound girl?
I went towards the front of her door and casually knocked.
"It's me, Leo."
She slightly slid the door open and peek her head into the slit, looking up at me.
"L-Leo?" she said, a bit confused by my sudden appearance. "I wasn't expecting to- ahh!"
I suddenly slipped my finger into the slit of the door, then decisively open it to its full extent.
I boldly went in and strode closer to her.
She shuffled back, freaking out of my immediate outburst.
I snatched both of her hands and eagerly grasped it to our front.
"Ann, I have an important favor to ask of you." I said, faking an earnest voice.
At first, Ann has her head shifted aback. However, my unbearable remarks captured her easily.
Her raised eyebrows lowered down as she softly held back my hands.
"Whatever it is, Leo, I'll try my best to help you." she said with compassionate eyes.
"I want to help Jillian. So, I need extra support from you."
"Uhm… I'm not sure." She hesitated. "Jillian is the Rat, so I don't know."
"Frankly, I can save Jillian by myself since it only takes a single vote to support the King. However, I still feel the need of your support 'cause you're important to me, Ann."
"Am I really… important?" she asked in a cute but skeptical tone.
"I want to win this game with you, so I implore you to grant my request?"
"I wish I could help you, but if I do, then Ella will lose instead."
"I can't argue with that, but still, you have to pick a side, Ann—me, or your best friends." I tightened my grip on her palm.
Our hands intertwined sends emotional distress to her goodwill, which will then engulf her internally.
Ann looked away and reflect for a second.
~She's uncertain and unsure, this is my chance.
I let go of her sweaty hands, and then pulled back my arms.
"You're the only one I could ask, Ann. But if you can't find the soft spot in your heart to help me, then forget the number I gave you… And forget me as well."
As I was about to turn around to exit her room, she grabbed me by my arms.
"Wait."
I paused and fixed my gaze at her timid face. Her eyes were nearly in tears.
~That small amount of tears in the corner of her eyes and her sparkling cornea that represents uncertainty are the primary signs that I win her over. This expression on her face indicates that she's now prepared to betray her friends for my sake. Those glints of tears I could barely see were the reaction of her guilt.
"I've made up my mind." she said, finally committing herself to me.
I'm aware that Ann was romantically attracted towards me, so I used that to my advantage.
We then discussed further on our topic. I told her to vote on the King's side, and thus, Jillian will be saved.
~~~~~
2pm. Final meeting.
All students were all back to their allocated seats as the voting session commenced.
We're all staring at the device which seems like a smartphone that we will be using to vote. Voting isn't complicated since there's only two buttons on the screen.
Everyone's vote will matter on this occasion. The class-A student who got injured by Lyn earlier was also back. She seemed to be in a good condition, there's only a bandage strapped around her forehead with a bump of cotton by her temple.
~That's the least damage she could receive from that injury. She's actually lucky Lyn didn't hit any vital spot, hence she's still breathing at this moment.
I kept secretly roaming my eyes to observe all of their behaviour. All of them seemed relaxed and calm, even Jillian was calm, except for Ann.
Ann was fidgeting on her seat and she's borderline nervous.
Jillian on the other hand looks unusually gloomy. Despite all the hurtful words I said to her, she still has the courage to show up.
~I'm just glad my tool didn't go to waste.
Even so, her countenance was devoid of any emotion, it's rare to see Jillian not acting bashful.
Going forward, everyone has probably gained a more comprehensive understanding on the mechanics of voting.
So basically, there are two buttons; the blue one means giving the King the power to eject someone out—we'll call the blue button "Option 1".
On the other hand, the red button, or what we called the "Option 2", means to subdue the King, and thus, getting him ejected.
Going further with the rules, every student have 10 minutes to vote. Once a student had voted, they can neither change nor withdraw their vote. Everyone can vote any time along the 10-minute-mark. Additionally, the screens on our devices are connected to our visions with the help of modern technology, in short, you can only see your own device. So no matter how close you look on someone else's device, you'll see nothing but a dark, blank screen.
"Let's get this over with already." Daniella said wryly. "I still can't believe that someone among us is trying to protect the Rat."
Daniella is the one from class-A who's friend got hurt by Lyn. I suppose she refuse to move on from that.
"Are you insinuating to me?" Lyn asked, disgruntled.
"Just so you know, I will never forget what you've done to me… And I won't let it slide." Hanna, the girl who has bandaged forehead, said, holding a grudge against Lyn.
"Why am I at fault now?! It's not like I'm aware that Jillian was the Rat." Lyn replied.
"Yet you called Jillian your friend." Daniella scoffed. "And on top of that, you also protected her. I suggest you cut ties with that deceitful bitch, Lyn. Jillian is a liar, no one wants that kind of friend."
Daniella spoke brazenly despite the fact that Jillian being present. That's an inconsiderate act of Daniella, calling Jillian a liar and a bitch without worrying that Jillian can hear her.
Even so, Jillian seemed unbothered and her nonchalant countenance didn't change.
"Let's not fight fire with fire." Stephanie cut their enraging quarrel. "Let's just stick to the plan and leave everything bad that happened on this plane behind. We shouldn't hold a grudge against each other."
Stephanie is keeping up with her good-girl act.
~I wonder how long she will be able to last until I force her to snap.
"We already wasted 5 minutes of the voting session, we have less than 5 minutes left." Ella reminded everyone. "Jillian, you go vote first. The King's device is different from the rest of us; the rules stated that unlike ours, your device have the list of our names. We already discussed this, Jillian, so choose my name just as I instructed… And don't dare disobeying me, you said you'd given up already, right?
"Right… Sure." Jillian said in a mundane tone.
Ella is quite sharp and meticulous for this approach. She ordered Jillian to vote first so Jillian won't have the power of taking back her vote—and that gives Ella full control.
Jillian reached out for her device and pressed a part of the screen.
"There, I voted you just as planned." Jillian said to Ella.
"Great!" Stephanie exclaimed.
For the mechanics of the voting, we're all aware that when Jillian voted for someone and all the pawns chose option 2, then the king would be ejected.
However, if at least one of the pawns chose option 1, then Ella will be ejected instead. This means anyone has the power to betray Ella.
However, Ella is the one to solve this test, so I suppose no one will betray her.
~But I will.
Jillian already voted for Ella, and all that is left is for everyone to click the red button, or what we called the option 2.
At any rate, no one knows if Jillian actually voted for Ella. Nevertheless, Jillian promised she'll not retaliate, so perhaps she really voted for Ella.
At this rate, I can just wait for everyone to vote, then choose option 1 at the last second to save Jillian.
But to my surprise, Stephanie suddenly attacked me internally, "You go next, Leo."
"I'll vote later. You guys can go first."
"Why delay your vote? You're still going to choose option 2, so why don't you do it now?" Stephanie asked with a smile.
"Why are you so insistent, Stephanie? Are you suspecting me of switching sides?"
"I'm not saying that you're going to side with Jillian. It's just unreasonable for you to refuse to vote next. If you're not really planning on switching sides, then go vote right now."
I got into a dangerous situation. Stephanie is truly a perceptive one.
I suppose I have to vote now to avoid further suspicions.
"Fine, I'll vote now." I reached for my device and contemplated at the two buttons.
"In case you forgot, you're supposed to click the red one." Stephanie grinned kindly.
"I know."
I went onto pressing the blue button and said, "Done. I pressed the red one."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Now then, it's our turn to vote. But before that, I have an urgent announcement."
"An announcement?" Daniella asked.
"Yes, there will be some change of plans since someone here is a fraud. We'll abandon choosing option 2 and change it to option 1."
"Huh? But why?" Daniella asked, perplexed.
"Do you think I wouldn't know what you're plotting, Leo." Stephanie said in calm and confident voice.
~She got me all figured out. But how did she know?
I kept silent.
"If you don't know, choosing option 1 can indeed save the King. However, when all pawns chose option 1 and the King voted for anyone other than himself, then the King will lose." Stephanie explained.
"I-I'm sorry, Leo." Ann suddenly remarked.
I turned my gaze to Ann and she's looking down the table.
I was taken aback… and speechless.
Ann must've fed Stephanie information. She betrayed me.
"Sorry, Leo." Stephanie said with an enigmatic smile. "But I'll take the victory for now." She added.
Although it might look like that my plan is going downhill, it's actually unfolding exactly as I anticipated.
~~~~~
Earlier, after the second meeting, I came to consult the real Rat and have a chat with her.
When I stepped foot in her room, she was calmly gazing out the porthole as she was having her coffee.
She offered to take a seat, and I sat next to her.
"Before we have a talk, can you please disarm yourself first?" she kindly asked.
I then reached for the inside of my blazer and took out the obsidian blade Marco gave to me before.
I carefully laid it down the table.
"There's no reason for hiding your intentions, I'm already aware of what you are after." I said.
"It's such a shame to be discovered by someone who's below my level. I never expected that a single Clubs student would decipher my actions."
"It's actually pretty simple. My suspicions started when the first meeting was over; you were talking with Lyn that time and she asked you to hang out in her room, and you declined. However, later that day, I found you two hanging out in my room. Your words contradict with your actions, and that's when I started to keep an eye out for you."
"So you're aware that I'm the one who left the PE uniform in your room right off the bat?"
"Correct. But I didn't jump into conclusions since there's still different factors to consider. So, I stay silent and watch from a distance. Then, as this ongoing test unfolds, I finally found the key that ascertained my suspicions. I discovered your goal, and ultimately, what you're after. You want pandemonium; you're not only after me, but rather, you're after all of us. You want all of us to get ejected."
"You really learned that much? Call me impress, 'cause you're precisely correct with that."
"Though I was correct, it still doesn't make sense—on the second meeting after I got back from the lavatory, you suggested having an open forum about the secrets displayed on the hologram. You and Lyn are friends so you know that Lyn's the one who's 18 years-old, and yet, you tried to expose Lyn's age. It's shocking that you're willing to dump your friend just to win this test."
"Well, you know what, Leo… It's not about winning, it's about crushing their spirits."
"That's a very psychopathic thing to say."
"If you're trying to reveal my true identity to everyone, I'm afraid to say that it's too late. No one will believe you since Jillian is already pronounced the Rat at this moment."
"That's correct, but the pandemonium you are wishing for failed in the end. Jillian is the only one who'll lose and the rest of us survive."
"I'm good with that. A win is a win nonetheless."
"But you didn't win yet. I can expose your identity and alter the outcome."
"You're incapable of doing that. No one will believe you, Leo."
"You think so?" I slipped my fingers inside my patch pocket and took out a recording device that is a size of an earpiece.
She looked at me with her eyes gaping in disbelief.
"I've been recording our conversation the entire time. Do you still think I'm incapable of divulging your identity?" I said.
Knowing that she made a mistake, she just smiled it off, looked down, and wistfully said, "You got me there."
Her tone sounds regretful.
She's actually doing well on this test, however, her carelessness to her actions just led her to crumble.
But then, I leaned forward to the table and outstretched my arms atop her cup of coffee.
I deliberately dropped my recording device in the boiling hot coffee with a plop.
"I'm not interested in any of these." I said as she looked at me utterly perplexed and surprised.
"What?... Why?" she murmured.
"Let's have a truce instead." I proposed. "I'll help you achieve the pandemonium you desired that slipped away your hands."
"You've shown how potent you are and I can distinctly tell that you are indeed competent enough to crush them all. However, you wouldn't make an alliance without meaning business. So tell me, what do you want in return?"
"It's good that you're following. At any rate, you are a Heart student, which means you have informations that I don't."
"That's correct. Actually there is a way to beat this test without any casualties."
"Okay. Pass me all the information in your head, and then I'll help you."
With that, she shared all the significant information that will drastically raise my advantage in future events.
~I always think ahead, and that's what caused me to be indisputable.
After extracting all the knowledge I was ultimately after, our conversation continued smoothly.
"I heard that you're from class-F, Leo. I never expect that someone as brilliant as you only is placed in the lowest section," she said.
"Don't perceive me as a genius. I'm in class-F because that's my caliber. It is what it is."
She giggled. "That's hilarious. I'm currently a Heart student in class-B, and yet, I think you surpassed my expectations."
"..."
"So, Leo…" she hesitated. "...what if I told you I meant what I said back in the bar." she shyly murmured, but her voice didn't reach my ears.
"Pardon?"
"I said… What would you do when someone confesses her feelings for you?"
"I'd definitely said 'The feeling isn't mutual'. I can't reciprocate any form of romantic affection."
"Well… it's a relief that I didn't fall for your toxic affection."
"And I'm glad you don't."
~~~~~
~Jillian's POV~
Leo is a very toxic person.
He's a liar and I loathe, despise, and hate him for that.
However, there is a silver lining in getting to know a toxic person—and that is it taught me to become selfish in some instances.
After getting mad at Leo, I felt like I was enlightened.
And with my 10% anger driving my mood, I choose violence. I chose to vote myself and lied about voting for Ella. So when all of them clicked option 2, then all of them would lose.
I'm not doing this because I'm mad with him, the truth is I'm doing this because I'm mad at his mouth.
I wanna slap his mouth for defiling me. But still, there's a part of me that admires those lips.
Although I made up my mind that I'm super angry, I'm still confused and I can't settle my feelings.
Leo said that he's good friends with Steph, so why did they look like they're fighting?
My head is dizzy and I'm confuse.
"Ann told me everything. I've got you all figured out, Leo." Steph said with a blissful smile.
"I did not do anything." Leo replied calmly.
"Well, Ann said it herself. She told me that you went to her room and talked about saving Jillian. It's really sweet of you to save Jillian, but, you don't even consider us, Leo. You're willing to betray us for the sake of a single person."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Stephanie. I'm on the second floor at that time, so it's physically impossible that I could have a chat with Ann."
"Hmm... But that can't be true. Planes doesn't have 2nd floors"
"Well actually… There is a second floor and you could even see it from the layout of the plane's map." Audrey informed Steph.
Audrey handed a layout to Steph. After Steph scrutinized the paper, she confirmed that there's indeed a second floor.
"I was there the entire time. Maybe Ann just got delirious. After all, Ann shows signs of affection towards me, so perhaps she just imagined that story." Leo said.
"It's true that I might be infatuated with Leo…" Ann confessed. "...but I'm not delusional and I'm certain that Leo came to my room and chatted with me."
"I know Ann, and I can guarantee that she doesn't have any mental complications." Steph said.
"But that's literally impossible. I was in a room on the second floor at that time." Leo reasoned.
"Leo is lying. He's gas lighting us." Ann said.
"I'm not gas lighting anyone. I swear I clicked option 2." Leo said.
"Guys, we're down to 2 minutes. We have to vote now." Audrey reminded everyone about the timer.
"Okay. Leo definitely pressed option 1." Steph surmised. "If all of us voted the same, then the King would lose, and since Leo voted for option 1, let's all vote option 1."
"But what if Leo actually chose option 2? Then it will mean Ella will get ejected." Pauline said.
"Yes, but…" Steph said, unsure about her decision.
But then, Ella bravely offered herself to take the risk. "It's fine. Let's go with option 1, after all, I'm pretty sure Leo chooses option 1."
"But I'm telling the truth." Leo said.
"Don't listen to him, just click option 1." Ella said.
And with that, they all pressed option 1.
When the timer hits zero, we all wait as the system tallied the result of the votes, until finally, the result were announced.
They thought Leo chose option 1 and they were correct. But little did they know, my vote also matters.
It's stated in the rules that when everyone has similar votes on either option, then all of those who vote will lose when the King voted for himself.
~And I did vote for myself.
How does this happen? It's as if it was all carefully laid out and Leo planned this stagnant scheme.
An AI-generated voice announced the result.
"The special test has reached its conclusion and I will first announce the students who passed."
Stephanie was under the assumption that they passed, so she had a sweet grin on her face.
But that expression on her face was wiped out after the results was announce.
"The students that passed are; Jillian, and Audrey."
Everyone began mumbling, confused why I passed.
But the confusion on their head got severe when the announcement continues.
"And the students who failed are; Ella, Stephanie, Lyn, Leo..." and all the other remaining students.
The moment they heard their name on the list of students who failed, their saucer eyes were in disbelief and they looked like their souls just disintegrated.
It was displaying a "Fail" word and below it was the names of the students who lost the test.
Indicated below it was the list of names; Leo, Stephanie, Ella, Lyn, Ann, and all of the students.
They all gazed at their own names while having a look as if their souls disintegrated.
I'm happy that I passed the test. However, I somehow felt sad and guilty.
"Lastly, the Rat is none other than... Audrey."