Playing "The Game" Ch. 01

Author's Note: I put this under the non-consent/reluctance category because that's more of the direction the story will go. Also my plan for this story will be more extreme then some of my other ones, so expect that in the future.

Also, if you are looking for updates on my other stories they will come, but this idea popped into my head and I wanted to run with it.

Hopefully everyone enjoys!

*

Olivia was sitting at her desk in her new dorm room alone and bored. She had just arrived at college, her second day, and wasn't really sure what to do. The first day was at least filled with emptying boxes and putting things way, but now she didn't have anything to do. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet and she didn't know anyone at the school. The only reason she went there was because they offered her a partial scholarship and it was the only way her family could afford to send her to school. So there she was, alone, lonely and bored in her empty dorm room.

Olivia came from a strict family, maybe not the most strict, but strict enough to stop her from exploring as much as a normal teenage girl would. She didn't drink or smoke weed, or really go to parties even. Her parents always had a strict curfew and if she missed it she was grounded. She learned to obey it. Olivia and her family would attend church every Sunday and say grace before every meal. They are religious enough to make her fear god, but not enough to make people think they were crazy.

The house she grew up in was nice. It had bedrooms for everyone, and a spare one for guests. There were never any arguments about bathroom use, and they have a pool. She has one sister, a year younger, who is a senior at their local highschool. To be honest Olivia missed her family, especially her sister, and being at home, even though it was strict, it was better than being at school alone.

She also missed her friends. She didn't have a lot of friends back home, but they were good friends, friends who understood her family and didn't try to pressure her into doing things she didn't want to do. She knew that going to college was important, and her family wanted to do it, but being alone was going to be hard. Unfortunately none of her friends decided to go to the same school as Olivia. It wasn't because they didn't want to be close to her, but their families thought it was too far away. It was what it was, life.

Olivia continued to sit at her desk scrolling through Instagram, looking at pictures of strangers and people she knew. She saw pictures of her friends together at a different school, her sister hanging out at home, her whole life thousands of miles away.

She could feel tears starting to grow in her eyes until she stopped herself. "Well, I can't just sit here all day," she said in her half filled room before getting up from her chair. She turned to her mirror and inspected her outfit as any teenage girl would do. Her jean shorts looked good on her she thought, her flip flops needed to be replaced, and her white t-shirt wasn't dirty. She shrugged to herself as if saying "I guess I look OK" and left her room, locking the door behind her.

Olivia was OK with her body and how she looked, but always wanted to be skinnier. She wasn't fat, but she had a little extra around the middle, her thighs a little bigger than average, her ass a little bigger too. 5'4", average height, average bust and even average shoe size. She always wished her stomach was a little flatter, and her hips a little thinner, but she didn't feel terrible about herself, not a supermodel and that was OK with her. Her blonde hair flowed down over her shoulders usually but today she had it tied back in a ponytail. She had spent the first day moving in and setting up her room. The school supplied a bed, dresser, desk and chair so she had her clothes and things shipped, meaning no drive by her parents, and having to do everything on her own.

She walked through the quad towards the food hall. Her mind was running back and forth between looking around at all of the new things, and how lonely she was. At least the sun was shining she thought as it warmed her as she walked. Other students, maybe even classmates of hers walked past, but she didn't know them. The thought of being this lonely for the whole year killed her on the inside. Olivia was never very outgoing, and finding new friends in a place she didn't know was not going to be easy for her. Hopefully she could find one or two she could rely on.

As Olivia reached the food hall she looked around at the options, burgers, pizza, sushi, chinese. "Well at least I won't starve," she said under her breath. She chose pizza for today, something easy and comforting. As she grabbed a tray and walked over to the line she began looking around again, seeing all of the other students talking to each other, being friendly, and it made her feel more alone again. If only she had the strength to get out of her shell.

The line slowly moved forward, apparently there was a lot of people wanting pizza today. The freshman 15 hadn't hit yet it seemed. Olivia started to unconsciously eavesdrop on the two girls talking to each other in front of her. As their conversation progressed her focus on their words increased.

"Have you heard of this thing called The Game?" one girl said while looking at her friend.

"Ya, I heard a bunch of people have started playing, but I haven't signed up yet, have you? What is it anyway?" the reply came from the other nameless girl.

"Basically it's a game, or app, or whatever, and it gives you tasks and you have to complete them."

"Wait, that's it? Tasks and you complete them? Huh? Sounds boring," the second girl said in reply, not sounding very interested.

Olivia wasn't sure if she was really interested in the game, or just liked feeling like she was part of another human conversation. Either way she continued to listen closely while trying not to make it obvious.

"Well, I think it's kind of like a clout thing, like who can get the furthest, you know the competition."

"Oh, well... is there a prize at the end of something?"

"Some people say there is, some people say there isn't. To be honest it's super mysterious, like it's all black, and simple, and you have to agree to things before you play, but I don't really know what happens or how far it goes," the first girl explained as she grabbed her food and walked towards the cash.

Olivia quickly followed the two nameless girls.

"Well how far have you got too?" the second girl asked.

"Oh, not far, I think maybe task 6 or something. They start really easy, like clap, or smile, it's kind of weird," she paused while starting to pay, "oh and I think they are adding a scoreboard, or there is one or something, so you can see how everyone is doing. It's all by username, so no one really knows who is who I guess," she shrugged.

"Huh, well, maybe I'll try it," the second girl said as she paid.

The two of them walked off and found a seat together somewhere leaving Olivia alone staring off at them.

"Miss..." the cashier said causing Olivia to come out of her daze.

"Oh, sorry!" she replied and quickly paid.

Olivia grabbed her tray and walked over to an empty table and sat by herself. As she ate her pizza she thought about The Game. It sounded kind of interesting, almost like truth or dare she thought. Do a task, get some points, maybe even play it with some other people. "Maybe I'll look into it when I get back to my room," she mumbled to herself, her mouth full of dough.

After her lunch Olivia took a little walk around campus before returning to her room. She didn't have anything better to do anyway. As she finally walked down the hall she noticed her dorm room wide open. "What the fuck!" she said as she walked quickly towards her door. Her mind thinking the worst and that her stuff had been stolen. But instead standing inside was her roommate, Charlotte.

"Hey," Olivia said quietly, not wanting to startle her new roommate.

Charlotte turned around, her short black hair waving around as she did. She smiled at Olivia as she said hi.

"It's so nice to meet you!" Charlotte said with a big smile.

"Nice to meet you too!" Olivia answered back, maybe a little too excitedly, she was just happy to talk to someone, "do you need any help bringing stuff up?"

"Ya that would be great actually," Charlotte replied as she started to walk out the door. Olivia followed.

For the next 15 minutes the two of them brought boxes upstairs and put them down on Charlotte's side of the room. As they were moving they chatted about where they were from and their life before this big change. Charlotte was from not too far away and grew up in a town that sounded similar to Olivia's. The only difference was it did not seem like she was as sheltered, her highschool experiences seemed to be much more in line with the popular side of things then where Olivia spent her time. But college was a fresh start Olivia thought.

The other thing Olivia got to do was look at Charlotte. Her hair was jet black and looked amazing on her. She wore black leggings and a white t-shirt, something that was pretty common on girls their age. She was tall and skinny and alot more like that supermodel then Olivia would ever be.

Olivia wasn't really into girls, or maybe she was, she really didn't know. Growing up in a Catholic family meant being gay was never discussed, so the thought never really crossed her mind. But as she looked at Charlotte she couldn't help but think that maybe she was at least bi. Charlotte definitely wasn't bad to look at. College was a time for exploration anyway. Olivia's mind was running overtime.

Olivia has been with one guy before, they had sex a few times, it was a teenage love which fizzled out like so many do. If her parents ever found out that she had sex she would be in a lot of trouble so she did what she could to keep it a secret. All she really knew about sex was that the times she had it, she enjoyed it, but she hadn't had it for a while.

Finally all of Charlotte's boxes were brought up and both her and Olivia flopped down on their respective beds.

"Well I'm exhausted," Charlotte laughed while taking some deep breaths.

"Ya, me too," Olivia chuckled back.

After relaxing for a few minutes Olivia started helping Charlotte unpack some of her boxes. So far they were getting along well and it was nice to have someone to talk too. As the boxes began to empty and the sun was going down the thought of The Game popped into Olivia's mind.

"Hey Charlotte, have you ever heard of something called, The Game?"

"Oh, ya, why?"

"Well I heard some people talking about it today and I was just wondering if you've tried it. I was thinking of looking into it," Olivia asked while still emptying the last box in front of her.

"Ya, I have an account, I've only played it for a few minutes here and there. It's a little weird, but it's kind of fun, I guess. I think the more you get into it the more fun it is," Charlotte answered looking up at Olivia and shrugging her shoulders.

"Huh, OK, well... like what are these tasks you have to do?"

"Well, I've only done a few, but I think the first one is like smiling at the camera or clapping or something, and then maybe winking or sticking your tongue out. I don't really remember too much, but I've heard some people say that the tasks get harder and harder," Charlotte said, not seeming to be too interested in the conversation, and more interested in hanging up her clothes.

"I might take a look at it later then," Olivia said ready to move on.

"Well you'll need an invite then," Charlotte said while turned around the other way.

"An invite?"

"Ya, it's invite only. If you have an account you get some invites to send to new players. Do you want me to send you one?" Charlotte asked, craning her neck to look at Olivia.

"Uh ya, sure, I'd like to take a look..." Olivia trailed off.

"Ya take a look and let me know what you think... just be careful about the rules!" Charlotte said with a raised tone.

"What do you mean?"

"Just read all of the fine print carefully to make sure you understand is all I'm saying."

"Well OK then," a chuckle came from Olivia.

For the next while they chatted while Charlotte put her things away and finished up her side of the room. The room had two beds, one on each side, with two desks in between them and a window. There wasn't much room otherwise, but it didn't feel too cramped either, as long as they didn't have too much stuff.

As dusk became night Charlotte finally finished up putting her things away and announced that she had to go and meet her parents for dinner but she would be back later.

"Have a good time," Olivia said while still laying on her bed.

"Thanks, see you later," Charlotte replied while leaving their room and closing the door behind her again.

Olivia was alone again. At least she got to talk to someone for a while, and the good news was her new roommate seemed nice, and she hoped they would get along for more than the few minutes they had spent together.

Olivia decided to get comfy and watch some netflix. Changing into a pair of loose sweatpants and a hoodie and laying back in bed. She started a movie on her laptop, some new teen romance something-or-other. The movie played in front of her eyes on her laptop, but behind them she was thinking about The Game. For some reason it intrigued her. She hadn't even played it yet, or looked at the website, but she had this urge to do it. Olivia kept putting it off, kept making the anticipation grow. She waited and watched and tried to focus until the movie ended. Finally, thankfully, it did.

"OK Olivia, let's see what this is all about," she said to herself, closing netflix and opening the invite e-mail Charlotte had sent her.

The link went to a webpage that popped up on her screen. All black except for white bold lettering saying "The Game" in the middle, and just below the title two buttons, "Yes - I am over 18" and "No - I am not". Olivia clicked "yes" and entered the site.

The next page was again very simple. A brief description and then a list of the basic rules and outlines.

The Game is a task based adventure where you are given tasks to complete for points. Move up the leaderboard and become the champion of The Game.

"What does that even mean?" Olivia said to herself. The description was incredibly brief and offered almost no information.

Rules

You must provide your e-mail and cell phone number to play.

Once you begin a task you must finish the task.

You will not know the task until you accept the task.

You can stop at anytime, but not during a task.

You can start a new task at anytime.

Each task has a time limit.

Read the fineprint.

Have fun and move your way up the leaderboard!

"Huh," Olivia sighed. It all seemed easy enough, innocent enough. It was odd that they came out to say read the fine print, but it also seemed like a good thing, like a cautious thing to do. Everyone should always read the fine print.

Below all of the words was a button, "Sign Up", Olivia clicked it and was brought to a very simple page. She had to enter four pieces of information. A username, a password, her e-mail address and her cell phone number. Without thinking she typed it all, picking the name 'farfromhome' as her username.

Just below the "submit" button was a link to the 'fineprint', her finger clicked the trackpad and it opened in a different tab. She looked at it, page after page of text. Her eyes glazed over a couple of lines, trying to pay attention to it, it all seemed so dense, after a few minutes she gave up. "What's the worst that can happen? It's just a game," she said to herself as she clicked the submit button.

Nothing happened. And then a minute later the page reloaded and said "Check you e-mail".

"This is fucking weird," Olivia said outloud while clicking on her e-mail and opening the new message from The Game.

Hello farfromhome,

We are very happy that you have decided to play The Game. Hopefully you understand the rules and have fun playing. As per the signup page you have provided us with your e-mail and phone number. We have used this to download The Game app on your phone. The link below will bring you to a web version of the game if you prefer.

Remember if you begin a task you must complete it in time.

Have fun and work your way up the leaderboard!

The Game

Olivia picked up her phone from her table and unlocked it, scrolling to the end to check to see if there was a new app add, and to her amazement there was. "How the fuck did they do that?" she asked herself, "I thought it was supposed to be a lot harder than that to access a phone?"

She opened the app, and clicked the link in the e-mail, just to see what worked and what didn't. Her excitement level started to rise, the fact that she got this far, that somehow this app just got added to her phone, it all seemed so exciting and secretive somehow. Both screens popped up with the same message, "Are you ready to play?", below it a button saying "Start". That was it. No other options, no other links, no other information.

Both people she had heard talk about this game had gone through a few tasks without an issue so Olivia assumed there wouldn't be an issue with at least trying a task and seeing what would happen. It was a public game open to anyone over the age of 18.

With a little hesitation Olivia's finger pressed the "Start" button in the app. Her breathing stopped as she waited for the next screen to show up.

The words "LEVEL 1" showed up on the screen before fading out and displaying the first task.

Task 1: Smile

1:00

The timer started at 1 minute and immediately started to count down, :59, :58, :57.

"Shit!" she said not realizing how quickly the game would move along. She flashed a smile quickly at her phone and the app moved forward.

Task 1 Completed!

Olivia smiled again at completing the first task. It was silly and she knew it but it was fun doing something to get her mind off being alone in her room, and everyone loves moving forward in a game, winning, and being congratulated. The screen in front of her eyes said some simple words, "Task 2?", and underneath a single button, "Yes".

If she pressed it the next task would begin and she would have to complete it, and if stopped now she could forget all about it and go back to Instagram or Netflix. The decision only took a second and her finger came down and pressed the "Yes" button.

Task 2: Wink

1:00

Olivia laughed at the task, "winking, seriously?" she said while she scooted up in her bed a little more. She had to admit she was having some fun with this little stupid game, maybe it was because she was alone, but whatever the reason was it was helping her relax. Her eyelid lowered and she winked, the app responded.

Task 2 Completed!

She smiled again waiting for the next task to pop up in this stupid little game she was playing.

Task 3?

Without any hesitation her finger pressed the "Yes" button making the next task show up. Any worries she had about the app were sliding away faster each round.

Task 3: Snap your fingers

1:00

"Oh my god," she chuckled shaking her head. "How could anyone not complete these?" she thought as her fingers came together making a snapping sound and completing the task.

Task 3 Completed!

Task 4?

"YES!" she said rather loudly wishing they would just advance to the next task without asking. If the tasks were all snapping and smiling there wasn't much harm in just moving on. Regardless she pressed "Yes" again and moved on to the next task.

Task 4: Clap

1:00

The timer started counting down, :59, :58, Olivia rolled her eyes at the task before her hands came together making the clap sound needed to complete task number 4.