Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the very late update. I know it's been years since I've updated this story, but I'm on winter break now and was re-reading TID and decided that I wanted to write again. I've made a few slight plot changes since my last chapter, so ignore the supposed layout I added at the end of the last chapter.
Btw, I'm impressed by how long you guys kept reviewing. I got notifications about reviews even as recently as this R&R!
The rest of April and the first week of May flew by. The games continued, with Ethan house making up for the loss from the first game in the rest of the matchups. By the end of the decathlon event and the escape artist challenge, the team had boosted their standing to third place.
The games were cut in the middle for a 5-day weekend. Tessa didn't want to be stuck at Institute all by herself; this time, even the Herondales were going to Brazil for a whirlwind holiday. When she grumbled about this to Tori, she impulsively invited her to come with her Paris. "Why not?" Tori had said as she flipped through her math textbook one night in the dorm a few days before the break. "My grandmother has already heard so much about you and she wants to meet you. My aunt and uncle can deal with another houseguest for 5 days. Besides, if you're around, my cousins will be less likely to bother me."
Which is how, after a flurry of phone calls between Tessa's parents and Victoria's family, Tessa found herself seated on a plane to Paris. Tessa loved Paris. Victoria and her grandmother not only took her around to the touristy destinations, but also to some of their favorite places in the city. They spent many evenings at Victoria's aunt's home, and Tessa quickly figured out why Tori hated the family so much. They reminded her of the evil step-family from Cinderella. Her uncle Antoine was alright, but he was very soft-spoken and often oblivious to the cruelties of his wife and daughters. Nonetheless, Tessa was disheartened to leave Paris and go back to Institute. There was a certain charm to the city that made her never want to leave.
As the plane took off from Charles de Gaul, Tessa turned to Victoria and asked her when she was going to talk to Cecily. Three weeks had passed since their conversation and things still hadn't been sorted out.
"I'll do it when we get back, T. I didn't know what was the right thing to say but honestly, I want to be finished with it at this point. If she's going to hate me forever, I want to at least know now so that we can move on" Victoria said, sighing and leaning her head against Tessa's shoulder.
Tessa nodded and brought her knees up to her chest. "It'll set you both free, I promise.
Victoria walked down the hallway. Sophie had told her at lunch that Cecily was in their room, just reading until the last event of the games started. This was the perfect time to talk. When she reached the dorm, she knocked quietly on Cecily's door. She heard a nonchalant "It's unlocked, come in." She didn't look up as Victoria entered the room.
"Cecy, it's me" she said, "Do you have a few moments to talk?"
Cecily looked up. She had felt terrible at first for kissing Gabriel, but as time wore on, all she felt was anger. Everybody was miserable because Victoria didn't want to talk.
"Gee, I don't know Tori. You never seemed to have a moment for me when I needed to talk to you, so I don't see why I should drop everything just to listen to you now."
Victoria's face dropped, but she still let herself into the room, closing the door behind her and sitting at the desk chair at the foot of Cecily's bed. "Please Cecy. That's why I'm here; to hear you out. And in turn, I want to talk to you to. If you still want me gone afterwards, I'll go. I just have to know…"
Cecily sat up and set her book on her nightstand. "Know what, exactly?" she asked.
Victoria took a deep breath. "Were you the one who kissed him or was he the one who kissed you?"
"He kissed me Victoria" Cecily said in all honesty.
Victoria looked at her friend for a solid minute before she spoke again. "I believe you. I can't tell you exactly why, but I believe you. Something in your expression….". She shifted over to the bed and sat in front of a cross-legged Cecily.
"I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me too Cecy. I let my anger get the best of me. I don't want to lose you."
"Victoria, of course I forgive you. Your anger was warranted, though unfair."
"Cecy, I've really missed you" said Victoria, her face crumpling as she leaned into Cecily for a hug. Cecily usually wasn't sentimental, so she was surprised when she felt a tear roll down her cheek. The girls clung to each other, crying into each other's shoulders.
"Aw gross, it's a hug-fest."
The girls whirled around to find Thomas (who had his eyes covered) and Mark standing at the doorway.
"Lemme guess, you guys have sorted everything out?" asked Mark.
Cecily and Victoria nodded, smiling at the boys.
He shrugged before saying "Anyways, Tessa asked us to get you guys because the last event of the games is starting and for some reason, everyone's been called down to the parking lot. I don't think this last event is happening on campus."
The boys dragged the girls to their feet and out of the room. Victoria and Cecily linked arms as they walked outside, each of them feeling eerily lighter as they went outside.
The four of them entered the parking lot laughing over the ridiculous new haircut that Jessamine had gotten.
"She looks stupid. Almost like… who's that American singer? Miley Cyrus?" said Victoria.
"At least Miley keeps the cut neat. Jessamine looks like she let her bulldogs claw it" added Cecily.
"Or like a wrecking ball went through it…." said Thomas under his breath.
The girls doubled over in laughter. Cecily felt better; she had missed this. The rest of their team was idling around the parking lot, waiting for Dean Roberts' final instructions. Tessa and Sophie grinned and walked over when they saw Victoria and Cecily laughing.
"So I guess this means that everything is good between you guys?" asked Sophie.
"Never better" replied Victoria, tying her hair into a ponytail.
Dean Roberts stepped into the parking lot. Everyone quieted as he stood in front of the group. There were 12 very fat envelopes in his hand.
He cleared his throat. " Several years ago, a book titled the Hunger Games was published. The story revolved around a girl who was a player in the Hunger Games, which was an arena that posed many threats. The winner was the last person alive."
Everyone looked slightly puzzled as he continued.
"For you final challenge, you will be taken to Downing Wilderness Park. While there will be no manslaughter during this challenge, you might be required to do a little sabotage. Upon your arrival, you will be given supplies to last you for twelve hours. Each of these envelopes contains a challenge, which is different for each group. The group that has completed the challenge to the fullest will receive highest number of points. Can one person from each group come and take their respective envelopes?"
Will, who was standing near the front, took the envelope from Dean Roberts.
"Remember" Dean Roberts continued, " you are not to look at your challenges until you reach Downing. Good luck to you all, and I'll meet you here tomorrow by noon."
Everyone was given 20 minutes to pack a bag of personal supplies for the trip. Once they were on the bus, the group huddled as close together as possible in the back.
"Are they even allowed to something like this?" hissed Abby between her teeth. She sounded the way everyone felt. They all loved nature, but to be honest, everyone had been living a pampered life style. There were minimal struggles and many luxuries. Vacations meant jetting off to the Continent or cruising through the Mediterranean, not hiking and camping in the woods.
"I know a little bit about living in the wilderness" said Tessa in her usual quiet manner.
Will's head snapped up. "You do?" he asked.
"Yeah. When I was in the States, my high school took our class on a three-night trip to the Adirondacks. It was supposedly 'character building', but I did wind up learning a lot. By the look of things, it seems like this challenge is not going to be about survival but about completing the task" answered Tessa.
At that moment, the bus screeched to a stop, causing everyone to slam into the seat in front of them. After much grumbling and head rubbing, everyone got off. The 2 other groups on their bus scattered in different directions. Will turned the envelope over in his hands.
"Well, it's the moment of truth" he said, ripping it open and pulling out the card.
He read it silently to himself before he read it out loud.
"Ethan House was built in 1256 AD as the first residence hall for Institute Preparatory School. Along with the school, this house has changed and grown throughout the house has forged many relationships over several hundred years, both good and bad. For your challenge, you will be required to obtain the crest of your house rival. In turn, they will also be looking for your crest, which is hidden in Downing. The rules are simple: you have until 9 am tomorrow morning to find your opponent's crest. You also have to keep your flag defended until 9 am tomorrow morning. Remember the Institute's Honor Code as you forage on. Best of luck, Dean Roberts" he read, tucking the card back into the envelope.
Cecily glared at the park. "This is stupid. We don't even know whose crest we're supposed to be taking" she huffed.
"It really isn't that hard Cecy" said soft-spoken Charlotte. "Think" she continued, "Who, of all of us, has the most enemies here?"
Everyone turned to look at Victoria. She tossed her hands in the air. "Thanks guys" she hissed. She twirled her ponytail around her finger. "Well…. Jessamine and Sebastian do top my list. And they live in Bexley. So I guess we're looking for the Bexley crest" she finished, shrugging her shoulders.
The group trudged through the park for an hour before they figured that they were far enough away from everyone else. They reached a field that was quite large and surrounded by the dense woods.
Jem tossed his backpack of personal supplies and bag of camping supplies, which they retrieved before their hike, onto the ground and plopped down on his back. He rested his arm across his forehead, causing the hem of his shirt to ride up over his stomach. Sophia glanced at him. God, he looked like an angel. She was tempted to walk over and lie down beside him. And she almost did, before she noticed Cecily and Victoria watching her with bemused smiles on their faces. She scowled to herself and went to help Tessa spread some blankets out.
With a little help from everyone, a makeshift camp was set-up. Tessa sat on the grass and set a map of Downing Park in front of her. Everyone gathered around her. For her it was weird, being the leader of the group.
"Okay, the first thing is we need to find our own crest. Downing's pretty big, but it looks like the challenge has been restricted to this area" she said, tracing a red line that divided the park. "Our crest will probably be there, and we have another hour to get it before we can start looking for the Bexley crest."
"Well, let's go down there. You see that statue through the trees there?" asked Oliver, pointing to a spot in the west. "It looks like that statue on the map here, and it looks like it might take us 20 minutes to even get to the edge of the restricted area" he said, tracing his hand from the mentioned statue to the bounded area.
"Let's divide and conquer then. We don't want anybody to take our stuff, so half of us will stay back and finish setting up camp while the rest of us can go look get our own crest" said Logan.
He scanned the group, looking for the best way to divide everyone. "Okay, me, Oliver, Arjun, Will, Cecily, Victoria, Abby and Charlotte will go look for the crest. The rest of you can stay back."
Since there were no objections to Logan's plan, the group quickly scampered, eager to be winners of this final challenge.