The Popularity Game

{ t e n } Operation: Spin the Bottle Sabotage

"Alright everyone! A house party, no matter how rad, can't be considered a real house party unless we play one of the classics." Dan yells, standing on top of a very expensive looking table.  A chorus of cheers erupt from the crowd that has now formed around him. 

"So," The empty bottle that he was holding was now raised above his head. "Who wants to play?" 

A round of cheers erupted once more, a sea of raised hands erupting.  I raised my own, shooting Jason a look when I saw his hand still limp on his side.

How fast an arm can shoot up amazed me.

I smiled triumphantly as the crowd began to disperse, forming a circle around the game room. Almost every inch of the green carpet was filled immediately. My eye caught two certain blondes huddling about in the corner of the room. With their backs turned and speaking in hushed voices, I continued to look at them curiously until I felt somebody pull me by the arm.

"Ow. Ow. Ow." I whined as Jason pulled me out to what looked like a storage room. Boxes lined every shelf that spread out throughout the entire space. "What the hell are you doing? If somebody saw us come in here, they would assume that we were hooking up or something." 

It was only then that I noticed that the only thing illuminating the room was the moonlight that was peeking through the window.

This couldn't get more cliché.

"Come on, Sanders. Nobody actually hooks up in storage rooms." I could see his eyes narrowing through the dark. "It's dusty and icky and gross."

I raised my eyebrow in amusement. "Did Jason Matthews just say the word icky?" 

He rolled his eyes. "Don't test me, Sanders."

I stifled a laugh, masquerading it as a cough. He cleared his throat, dismissing the silence that was beginning to encase us. "Anyway, we need to get this sabotage plan straight."

"Oh, right." I said. "I saw Chloe and Kent whispering about something in the other room. They're definitely scheming."

"Scheming about what?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "To plan their next move and reinvent themselves as the king and queen of our high school."  Some people in our school were already starting to doubt their relationship, they said that it was yet another popularity stint.  As if they needed it—they already reigned the entire school as it is.

"There's talk that Chloe and Kent are faking their relationship purely for publicity. But to be honest, I don't think it's that."  The gears inside my head were running on high speed, although admittedly, it was getting nowhere.

"What possible reason could they have to fake a relationship with the one person that they despise the most?" 

"I don't know," I say, a smile creeping up to my lips. "But I know how to get her to admit that this entire thing is fake."

"You know, you're really scary when you're in evil scientist mode."

"Don't push it, Matthews." I slapped his shoulder—or what I think was his shoulder. It was dark, and I couldn't really tell. "Now here's the plan."

_

"The rules are simple." Dan says loudly, his voice booming over the room, each and every teenager more than excited to listen in. "We spin the bottle; whoever it lands on has to do a dare." 

He eyes everyone in the room carefully. "And whoever finishes their shot first," He motions to the shot glass that rests two inches away from everybody, "And raises their hand, gets to say the dare. No exceptions." And with that, he put the bottle on the floor, spinning it with a flick of his wrist.