Chapter 1. The bet

The room was cloaked in an unsettling silence, interrupted only by the relentless thumping of my heart, which hammered so loudly I was sure Sarah could hear it reverberating throughout the space. Her grin was a playful crescent moon, indicating she was fully aware of the chaos turning my stomach into a tangled mess of anxiety.

“You’ve lost, Anna. The score is 5 to 1,” she announced with a triumphant tone.

Sarah leaned nonchalantly against her desk, her arms crossed confidently, while her dark eyes twinkled with teasing amusement. Behind her, her friends—Mia, Jess, and Lauren—burst into laughter, their joy so infectious and loud that it seemed to make the very walls shake with delight.I swallowed hard, desperately clinging to the edge of the bed as if it were an anchor in a stormy sea. Regret gnawed at me; I should never have agreed to this foolish bet. What had begun as a simple card game with a few reckless impulses had spiraled into this daunting predicament.

“You promised,” Sarah reminded me, her voice a soft, taunting melody as she twirled a stray strand of hair around her finger, her tone leaving no room for refusal.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, a fiery blush creeping up my face.

“I know, I know,” I mumbled, my fingers nervously fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.

Refusing would only exacerbate the situation exponentially. I could already envision her spreading tales across the campus, labeling me as a coward who did not honor her word.

Her smile broadened into a Cheshire grin full of triumph. “Then you are aware of what awaits you. Tomorrow morning, you will walk from the dormitory to the center of campus wearing just a towel—nothing more. And you will complete our five tasks.”

My eyes implored her for leniency. “What if someone sees me?”

Jess snorted, suppressing her laughter. “It will be enjoyable,” she remarked, her voice filled with amusement. Lauren leaned forward, her eyes shining with mischief, and added, “Think of it as ... self-confidence training.” Her words depicted this ordeal as the ultimate, albeit unwelcome, test of my self-assurance.

My mind was in complete disarray. I frantically tried to figure out how to get out of the situation. I latched onto their words: “But the score is 5:1, right? I have so many tasks to complete, correct? So, you have one task to complete too!”

“Well, well, well. Are you trying to skip out?”

“Not at all! From the dorm to the center of the campus in just a towel. But! There should be five knots on the towel,” I said mockingly.

“It’s impossible! How can we tie five knots on a towel? What nonsense!” Lauren exclaimed.

Sarah frowned and pondered. Her gaze fell on the table, and a smile appeared on her face. “We’ll use paper clamps. Any objections?”

Darn! I lost again. Still clutching my shirt in my hands, I frantically tried to think of something else, but they were already up and heading for the door.

Sarah came over and patted me on the shoulder. “You can handle it. Besides,” she joked, “who knows? Maybe you’ll enjoy these thrills.”