It was the start of another round. Round 3.
After two rounds of chaos, teams were beginning to take this challenge more seriously. Some were still enjoying the playground to the fullest, while others were being more strategic.
Here's a quick round-up of each of the team's statuses.
The red team took a few hits last round. Several members had been infected, including Malakai and Ash. Neither of them was particularly surprised when they found out. The two of them did the same thing as they did in the first round. Have fun. After their kissing booth segment, they threw themselves into crowds, bounced through different areas and played games with random groups of people. Getting infected was practically inevitable. Fortunately, their team managed to secure a few vaccines, so they got cured. And lucky for them, they've got a few vaccines spare. The red team were in a strong position. No infected people going into the third round.
The yellow team found themselves in a similar position. In fact, they were better off than the red team. They suffered their handful of infections but recovered with little difficulty. Their vaccine supply was comfortable thanks to one member in particular, so overall, they were good.
The blue team were the most dangerous team. They had the most prolific carrier. Lorezno was nonstop infecting people. He didn't stop where he left off in round one. In round two, he kept the same pace. People kept walking past him without suspicion, and he kept brushing past people without being suspicious. Somehow, nobody caught him. His teammates didn't ask him how it was going. They let him do his thing. In terms of infected members, they were fine. They had no infected members going into this round. Their vaccine count was low. They needed to get a few vaccines this round if they wanted to be comfortable for the upcoming round.
The orange team were trying their best. Of all the teams, this was the least like a team. All of their infected members were cured, but the energy between the team was noticeably different from the others. It was like they didn't really care about the challenge. They found more joy in having fun during the rounds. Surprisingly, that carefree attitude wasn't hurting them too badly. But keeping this attitude wouldn't benefit them later.
Finally, the green team. The team that had struggled in the first round. The second round wasn't much kinder to them. Five more people got infected. They did get four vaccines, but they still had four people infected going into the third round. As expected, Ryan confronted Adam about how many people he had infected. Adam told him he had infected at least six people, which was a complete lie. Adam didn't want to hear any complaints. The green team's position wasn't desirable, but it was salvageable. They could recover from this with a massive vaccine haul. That was one of the main talking points during their break.
So going into the third round, the green team were doing the worst while the yellow team were in the most comfortable position.
Fabio and Cody had spent almost the entire challenge together. At first, it was convenient. They were friends, and they were on the same team. Neither of them had a reason to split up. However, after the first two rounds, sticking together became natural.
Cody wasn't complaining. Being around Fabio was making his job easier. He didn't have to do anything discreet. The infections came naturally from playing around. Most of the areas of this arena were like a party, with close contact everywhere. Squeezing past people, bouncing and bumping into people, and constantly brushing past people. It wasn't hard for Fabio and Cody to join and blend in. Cody had his fun, but always kept his objective in mind at all times.
"What's the plan now?" Cody asked, looking around with his hands in his pockets.
"No idea," Fabio said, looking around with his hands in his pockets.
The two were walking to another area after spending time at the rock-climbing area, having fun. They both tried some of the rock climbing walls, but there weren't many people there, so they left.
"Everybody is being more careful now," Fabio said, glancing at spots with people around.
He was right. The atmosphere had subtly changed.
It was already more than halfway through the round, and the vibe was much different from the previous two. The large groups of people having fun together had visibly decreased. More people were around the mini challenges, trying to get a vaccine. Now people were starting to take this challenge more seriously. There were still a fair few people who didn't care and kept having their fun, but it was clear that everyone was wary of one another.
"Infecting people will be so hard now," Cody said, keeping an eye out. "I don't know how I'll do it."
"You don't have to force it," Fabio calmly told him. "There'll be opportunities for sure."
"I don't wanna look suspicious," Cody quietly said.
"Then don't be suspicious," Fabio replied with a smile. "You're acting suspicious right now."
"Isn't us two being together this whole time suspicious?" Cody asked, constantly looking over his shoulder. "Wouldn't your friends in 1-A find it weird?"
"It's not that deep. You're on my team," Fabio said, laughing a little. "Nothing weird about sticking around your teammates."
Cody exhaled heavily, shaking his head.
"I'm just so paranoid right now," he said. "It feels like everyone is watching me."
"You're fine bruh. No one is watching you," Fabio casually replied.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have this pressure on you," Cody said, furrowing his brows.
"Our teammates said it's fine. As long as you don't mess up," Fabio replied. He stopped walking and picked up a pool noodle that was lying on the floor. "And right now you're on the road to messing up," he said, lightly slapping Cody's face with the pool noodle.
He got a few taps before Cody inevitably reacted.
"Bro I felt like I was on a roll in those first two rounds. I haven't infected anyone this round."
"Relax man. Just have fun like everyone else," Fabio told him.
"Bu-"
Whack!
Fabio clocked Cody around the head with the pool noodle. It was a pool noodle, so it didn't hurt, of course, but it still left Cody stunned.
Cody's lips slowly progressed to a smile, "Son of a bitch."
Fabio already sprinted before he saw any motion from Cody's body. He didn't stick around for Cody to make the first move.
(Cody's chase on Fabio lasted the entirety of what was left of the round.)
"Benjamin."
Benjamin paused what he was doing, "Frank. How you doing bro?" he said, happy to see him.
"I'm going great," Frank replied, walking to him. "What about you?"
Benjamin sighed, "Not as great," he said, shaking his head with a smirk. "I've been trying to do this challenge for ages."
Frank looked at the screen mounted on one of the walls in the area.
Get 10 'swish' shots in a row. The ball must go in without touching the rim. If completed, you will receive 3 vaccines.
The area they were in was a little cage area with four basketball lanes. The flooring of each lane being a trampoline.
"10 in a row? That's a bit much," Frank said, his eyebrows raised.
"The reward matches it," Benjamin replied, his eyes locking back onto the hoop.
He concentrated for a second, put his arms in position and let a shot fly. The ball spun through the air and,
Swish!
Dropped cleanly through the net.
Frank's lips circled, silently whistling, impressed by the shot. "What shot was that?"
"Third," Benjamin replied, going to get the ball back, looking like he was in the zone.
He returned to the spot and repeated the exact same preparation.
Concentrate, arms in position, let fly and,
Clink!
"Argh!" Benjamin frustratedly let out, swiping his arm through the air.
"You still made the shot," Frank said, pointing out with an impressed laugh.
"Argh, so annoying man," Benjamin said, clearly frustrated, still waving his hands around. "It's the balls. If they were proper basketballs, I would've done it by now."
The balls were significantly lighter than an average basketball. The whole basketball set-up was tailored to fit the bouncy aesthetic, so even the backboard of the hoop wasn't proper.
Frank picked up another ball nearby and felt it around for himself.
"You gonna try?" Benjamin asked, hands still clenched.
"Nah, if you're struggling to do it. I have no hope," Frank replied. "I'm just gonna shoot some hoops."
"You're not trying to get vaccines?" Benjamin asked, shoulders slumped.
"I could, but I'd rather have fun," Frank said, lightly bouncing back. "I don't know if I'd ever be in a place like this again. Gotta make the most out of it."
Benjamin watched as Frank threw his ball into the hoop, making his shot.
He lightly shook his head, ashamed of himself, "You got a point," he smiled. He looked around and saw that it was just him and Frank. "It's only the third round. What am I doing? I should be with my friends."
"You were having fun, so you weren't really wasting your time," Frank said, lining up another shot. "If you're having fun, that's all that matters."
"I could play basketball anytime. This will be the last time I'm with all my friends in a massive trampoline park, though," Benjamin replied, suddenly realising and feeling stupid.
"Did you bring them here to try this challenge?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, at the start of the round. Then they all got bored and left," Benjamin said, shooting another hoop. "This is like a carnival game. It's too addictive to me."
"At least you're not losing money," Frank scoffed.
"I'm losing time. That's worse," Benjamin said with a knowing grin. "What about you? I'm surprised you're not with Alexander."
Frank's shot hit the backboard and rebounded to him. "I don't know where he is," he replied, catching the ball. "I was with him in the last round, and we were doing challenges. He's probably doing the same this round. Trying to get as many vaccines as he can."
"Maaan. I wish I was on his team," Benjamin said. "I wouldn't even have to do anything, and we'd win."
"You're that confident Alexander's team will win this?" Frank asked, just about stopping his shot.
"Aren't you?" Benjamin asked back.
"I'm confident my team will win," Frank said, turning to him.
Benjamin took a second to process that.
"Oh shit, yeah," he said, slapping his forehead. "See? That's how little confidence I have in my team."
"Your team can't be that bad," Frank chuckled. "The teams seemed balanced."
"I don't know. Maybe they are. I've lowkey stopped caring," Benjamin said, throwing a basketball to get a dopamine shot. "Whatever happens, happens."
"You might win. You never know," Frank replied.
For a while, they simply shot hoops. They both knew the round was ending soon, so they silently agreed to stay in this area until it ended.
"You said Alexander's team would win, right?" Frank asked, breaking the silence. "You don't back Malakai's team to win?"
"Have you seen how Malakai's been acting?" Benjamin asked. "His team needs to lock in a hundred times more for him."
"Is it just having fun?"
"He's like a kid sugar rush."
A quiet laugh escaped Frank. "I'm impressed he's stayed number one for so long," he said. "I was convinced it was pure fluke the first couple of months."
"Trust me. It's fluke," Benjamin straight up told him. "Ha. Maybe not all fluke. He's my boy, so I can admit he is built different... in a weird way. But he's been riding his luck for a long time."
"So you won't be surprised if he loses that number one spot?"
"Nah. He won't be surprised," Benjamin replied, emphasising the he. "He'd be lowkey mad as fuck," he grinned, taking a shot. "But he knows it's coming."
"Me too," Frank said, also taking a shot. "I'm ready to take that number one spot." His shot swished into the hoop.
"Oh shit. You're third on the leaderboard," Benjamin remembered. "No one's noticed."
"I'm afraid not. People in my class tell me about it all the time," Frank said.
"Do they?" Benjamin asked, surprised. "People in my class never talk about you imma be honest," he replied. "Our class rarely talks about the leaderboard actually. We just be talking about dumb shit. But when we do talk about it, it's just everyone shitting on Malakai and saying Alexander is going to overtake him."
Frank lightly smiled, "I feel sorry for him."
Benjamin's smile wasn't as light, "Don't be. He did this to himself."
Before the conversation could continue,
BEEP!
"Anyone who isn't in a ball pit in the next 30 seconds will be infected."