Nerve

by Jeanne Ryan

  Ian tells me to ignore it, easy for him to say. After a few minutes, the doors behind us pop open, but when I take a quick peek, I quickly turn back toward the coffee table, trying to erase the image of Ty’s belly from my brain. The others return to their seats, adjusting their shirts and wiping their mouths with the backs of their hands. They laugh and point to their ratings before the screens go blank again.

  Guy announces, “After a close vote by your Watchers, the best use of seven minutes goes to Jen and Micki. Well done, ladies!”

  Bet it’s the first and last time that Micki’s referred to as a lady.

  Gayle’s head bounces next to Guy’s on the screen. “Okay, gang, the icebreaker dares are over. Now we get to the best part, the grand prize dares, which you all have to complete to win your prizes.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Ready for the first one?”

  A few players actually say “Yeah,” as if Gayle or NERVE cares.

  She and Guy lean forward and say in unison, “All you have to do is make a phone call.”

  thirteen

  A phone call? It hardly seems possible that our first task for such big prizes is a prank call.

  Guy shrugs. “It’s easy. We’ll give you the prompt and you make the calls. Each one will only last a few minutes. Who’d like to go first?”

  For a moment, no one volunteers, but then Daniella raises her hand. “Why not? I love chatting on the phone.”

  Gayle’s smile is wide. “Great! An extra fifty dollars for taking the plunge, Daniella! Your call will be to your ex, Marco. Tell him how all those times he accused you of cheating with his brother, he was right.”

  Daniella’s tan loses some of its luster. “How did you—Wait, but, even if I did, Marco and I are over now.”

  Gayle’s expression grows stern. “Make the call or forfeit the grand prizes for everyone.”

  Ty squeezes Daniella around the shoulder. It doesn’t look like a romantic gesture. Her eyes dart around the room, looking for what, a way out? When it’s clear that NERVE isn’t going to surprise her by changing the dare or popping open one of the closet doors so she can hide under the stained covers, she pulls out her phone. The rest of us bob and sway on the crazy furniture, becoming part of the audience, at least for a few minutes. Even though I feel bad for Daniella, part of me is curious about how the call will play out. God, what’s wrong with me?

  Daniella turns away from the rest of us, but somehow NERVE has linked her phone to the sound system, probably through that sneaky app they made us download, so the sound of the phone ringing on Marco’s end comes through clearly over the room’s speakers, as does a close-up of Daniella’s face. After two rings, a guy answers.

  “Um, hey, this is Dani.”

  There’s the sound of music on the other end of the phone line. “What’s up?”

  Is it possible he’s not watching the game? Daniella and Ty must be celebrities in Boise tonight and he isn’t tuned in? Did NERVE know that before coming up with this dare?

  Daniella uses a baby-doll voice. “I just wanted to say that when we were together, I was with Nate too. You were right.”

  The call seems to go static-y and then explodes with, “I knew it, you skank!”

  Daniella holds the phone as far from her body as possible, which does nothing to quiet the insults and swearing on the other end. Crying, she shouts to the camera, “Okay, I did it.” She ends the call and glances up at Ty, who’s scowling as though she’d cheated on him.

  A soft-focus image of Gayle appears above. Her voice is gentle. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She then calls on the rest of the players, making each person phone various exes and friends with messages designed to make the callers and the callees squirm. Ian has to contact an old girlfriend and tell her how breaking up with her was the dumbest thing he’s ever done, and how he’d love to get back together. The girl’s voice is so full of expectation at his words, it gives me a knot in my stomach.

  After the call, Ian wipes the sweat from his forehead. “I hope someone tells her the truth before I have to. What an effed-up dare.”

  How did NERVE find people to call who weren’t watching the game? Did they arrange for them to be otherwise occupied with free concert tickets or something? I’m beginning to believe their power is unlimited.

  Too soon, it’s my turn. I have to call Tommy and tell him that I know he has a crush on me, and list three reasons why we’ll never get together. My breathing calms. Tommy does not have a crush on me and he knows what I’m playing. In fact, I’ll bet he’s still watching, so I could tell him whatever I want and he’ll know it’s all for show. Whew. Maybe NERVE has limits after all, or maybe because I did my prelim dares so late, they didn’t have time to get all their evil plans in order. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it.

  Tommy answers on the first ring.

  I say, “Hey. Sorry about before.”

  A loud beeping comes from the overhead panels. STICK TO THE SCRIPT.

  What? I can’t apologize before getting into the conversation? Is that what they meant by integrity of the dare?

  I go on with the call, although I wasn’t able to hear Tommy’s response. “Anyway, I know you kind of like me. But there’s no way we can get together, because, uh, um, because we’re too much alike. You know, always working behind the scenes and all. Plus, you’re, uh, pretty intense.” He is, isn’t he? All those hours and hours he spent redoing the set. “And, I could never really measure up to your standards anyway.” Whoa, where did that come from? I should’ve scripted this better. But that’s it. Three reasons.

  He’s silent for only a moment. “Wow, I knew you were selfish, but this proves it.”

  Wait a minute, why’s he saying that? He knows this is a dare. Oh, I get it, he’s just playing along.

  He says, “The real reason you could never get together with someone like me is because you hate yourself too much to be with someone who’s into you for the right reasons. You’d rather go for a guy who belittles you and makes you look desperate in front of your friends. I thought you were different, smarter than the rest of the tribe. But now I see you just weren’t given a chance to grow into your true miserable self.”

  He hangs up before I do.

  I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Once again, I’ve been humiliated for the world to see. So much for him being my wingman. I want to crumple into myself.

  Ian reaches for my hand. “He’s jealous and hurt. What did you expect?”

  I don’t know what I expected. But NERVE got what they wanted, from all of us. Bastards. Only a single grand prize dare, with two hours left to play, and we’re like a roomful of shell-shocked soldiers.

  Guy shows up on-screen, wearing a jacket and tie, but no smile. “Okay, now that we’ve contacted our friends, time to call our families.”

  Everything goes a little fuzzy. There’s no way my parents, who can barely work the remote control for the TV, are watching NERVE. My mind races with possibilities of how the game could torment them.

  Guy clears his throat. “All of you will have the same script for the next call, but you’ll each speak to another player’s closest family member. The message is simple. Say that your fellow player has been in a serious accident, and then hang up. That’s it.”

  Oh God, oh God, oh God. The thought of my parents’ faces on hearing that kind of news makes my eyes burn.

  “I can’t do that to them,” I whisper.

  Ian takes me in his arms. “Yeah, it sucks. And trust me, my dad’s not the kind of person you want to give bad news to. But think of how happy your parents will be when you come home with fashion school all paid for. Besides, you’ve got a lot of friends watching. One of them will call your folks and tell them the truth. I know my friends will.” He turns to the closest camera. “Right?”

  He says this with a smile, but there’s a pulling at his eyes, like he’s afraid of something. Still, he has a point. Even if Syd’s mad at me, she wouldn’t let my parents believe t
hat I was hurt. Not for a minute. She’ll be on the phone as soon as she sees this. So will Liv and Eulie. That means my parents will only suffer for a matter of seconds in exchange for all that tuition money. Plus, a call from one of my friends will also explain why I missed curfew, so this could be a win-win dare, even if I still end up grounded, which is pretty much a given.

  I take a deep breath. “Okay.”

  Since I was the last to go on the prior dare, I’m the first to make the call on this one. I’ve been assigned to call Jen’s dad, whose phone number is displayed on the panels. Despite her tough-girl persona, she glances at me with worried eyes. I nod her way, wishing I could tell her I’ll go easy on him, but it’s not like there’s a kind way to tell someone that their kid’s been in an accident. Hopefully, her outside friends are looking out for her.

  The sound of me punching in the number is played over the loudspeakers like a death march. As soon as Jen’s dad answers, I give him the message and then hang up in the middle of his “What?” Maybe the abrupt end to the call will clue him in to the fact that this is a prank. A demented, psychopathic prank. Please, Jen’s friends, put him out of his misery quickly.

  The rest of the calls go the same way. My fingernails have dug ruts into my palms by the time Ty makes the call to my house.

  When my mom answers the phone, Ty’s voice takes on a strained quality as if he’s been crying. “I’m sorry to inform you that Vee’s been in a really serious accident.” Smirking, he stays on the line long enough for her wail of pain to come through in a straight shot to my chest.

  Thinking only of her anguish, I call out, “I’m okay, Mom!”

  As soon as I yell, Ty hangs up the phone. Did Mom hear me? I close my eyes in a silent prayer. Oh, Syd, no matter how much you hate me now, please look out for my mom the way you always have for me.

  A beeping from the wall panels brings me back into the game. Several shots flash up of different groups of Watchers booing. And then Gayle fills the screens. With a disappointed sigh, she says, “Oh, Vee, and you thought karma didn’t apply to you.”

  Huh? And then I remember what I posted on my ThisIsMe page earlier.

  Large, crimson-colored letters scroll slowly under Gayle’s shaking head: VEE HAS VIOLATED THE INTEGRITY OF THE LAST DARE. WE WILL DISPENSE A CONSEQUENCE AT A TIME OF OUR CHOOSING.

  So that’s what they meant by integrity? I wait for them to give me a hint of what my punishment will be, but the panel goes blank. They want me to stew over it, of course. Maybe they’ll put me in one of those time-out chairs we passed in the corridor. Or maybe I’ll get shoved into one of the make-out closets with Ian. But I know I won’t get so lucky.

  I grit my teeth. Was Gayle right about karma? Do I deserve any of this? I think about that apple-cheeked girl in the Purity Promisers and her sweet boyfriend. Ian and I ruined their date. And who knows whether that guy who wanted to save hookers survived the pimp I steered him toward. Geez, he could be in a hospital now. At least what I’d done to Sydney hadn’t caused physical harm. But I didn’t stop Ian from bullying Jake. And I signed up for this twisted grand prize round, which has traumatized my parents. On the whole, I’ve earned way more bad points than good tonight.

  Karma probably wants to kick my ass.

  fourteen

  Micki chants, “Someone’s getting a whuppin’.”

  I slump onto the stupid love seat, letting it fling my body around. “Shut your piehole.” I’m sure that’s the first time I’ve ever used that term. Look how the game is improving my vocabulary.

  She bolts up. “What’d you say to me, bitch? First you try to ruin everything and then you call me names?” She begins making her way around the table. “Is the game putting you up to this, trying to get us to screw up our dares? Like those Watchers did in Atlanta? If you’re a fuckin’ plant—”

  Whoa. What? Does she really think I work for NERVE? I estimate the distance between me and the door. She’s closer. Great, I’ll get beaten up for the next round of entertainment.

  But Ian stands between us and says, “Calm down.”

  She thrusts her tree-trunk chest out toward his. “Don’t tell me to calm down, pretty boy.”

  He’s a head taller than her and doesn’t back away. “Are you serious?”

  Jen calls from across the table, “Get back over here, baby. We don’t wanna scare off any players. You’ll lose out on that Harley.”

  Micki stabs her finger toward me. “I better not find out you’re trying to sabotage us, or I will beat your puny ass into the ground.” What’s with this girl and why is everyone pointing out my skinny butt tonight? At least she returns to her side of the table.

  Even though the wise thing to do would be to keep quiet, I say, “You really think I’d team up with the rotten people behind this game? How do we know you aren’t a plant sent in here to keep things stupid and violent?”

  “You wanna see violent?”

  Jen tugs on her girlfriend’s shirt and says something into her ear. Whatever it is, it gets Micki to sit down.

  Ian takes his spot next to me, his head fitting into my neck, and whispers, “I think the phone call dares tore her up more than she’s letting on.” Micki’s first grand prize dare had been to tell a girl that she’d crushed on her for years and would do anything to get together. The girl sounded kind of grossed out by the admission, and Micki’s face had bloomed pink. On the next dare, she tried to act like she didn’t care when Ian called her grandma, who’s in a nursing home, but her neck pulsed like it was about to explode.

  “What do you think my consequence will be?” I ask Ian.

  “All I know is that it’ll make the dares harder.”

  I groan. “Because what we’ve been doing isn’t hard enough?”

  NERVE leaves us alone for a minute, probably time for a commercial break, or maybe there’s still another grand prize round going on. Naturally, the players across the table use the time to grab another beer. While they’re burping away, I lean against Ian and dream about what it would be like to be with him outside of the game. He whispers how great I’m doing and a few other suggestive tidbits made all the more enticing by his hot breath against my ear. Who needs dares to make things exciting when every touch is electric?

  But my fantasy is short-lived. Gayle appears on-screen to inform us that the setup for the next round of dares is complete. She licks her lips. “Everybody ready?”

  No one bothers acting enthusiastic except Ty. We all know it’ll suck. I check my phone. An hour and forty minutes to go.

  Gayle clasps her hands in front of herself like she’s about to sing a solo. “The next round has been custom designed for each of you. On the long wall opposite the door are four exits that lead to special rooms. We’ll conduct this round in two groups. When we call your name, head to the open door.”

  The first door pops open from the wall. Does it lead to another of those pervy closets? Or maybe a diving board off of the roof? I’d hate to meet the people who make up this club’s typical clientele.

  Guy shows up on the screen next to Gayle and calls Ian’s name. Ian hugs me quickly and marches to the front of the door. If he’s nervous about going first, he doesn’t show it.

  Gayle says, “Once the door closes, it’ll go on a timer, not to be opened again for fifteen minutes, unless there’s a fire alarm.”

  An interesting way of locking us into our dares, making the trap totally our own doing. Ian shrugs and closes the door behind himself, probably eager to get whatever it is over with. I share that feeling, while at the same time dreading a dare where NERVE wants to lock doors. But I’m not one of the names that Guy announces for the first phase. Samuel, Micki, and Ty enter the next rooms, leaving Daniella, Jen, and me behind.

  While our partners are off being tortured or caged with rats, the other girls and I get together near the refreshment cabinet to share some chocolate that was tucked into the fridge with the beers. Why not? It strikes me that we’re the weaker half in each of our coupl
es. The better to terrorize us during the second phase?

  Jen nibbles on a piece of chocolate and wipes the side of her mouth. “Micki’s not as much of a hard-ass as you think. The game’s just getting to her.”

  “Or maybe it’s showing her real side,” I say, not willing to cut Jen’s partner any slack. “Anyway, thanks for getting her to back down earlier. It’s crazy for her to think I’m working with the game.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “Is it?”

  My mouth drops open. “Yes, totally.”

  She hits my arm. “Just messing with you. If anyone’s a plant, it’s Samuel. He’s just too quiet.”

  Daniella shivers. “I’m scared of the dark. You don’t think they’ll make us sit by ourselves in a room without any lights, do you?”

  I straighten my skirt. “Now that they know your fear, they might.” It’s not like I’m trying to be bitchy, but someone needs to give her a clue that any weakness she shares will be used against her.

  Her shoulders do a quivery thing.

  I smile at her. “But nothing bad will happen. If they turn out the lights, try to take a nap and get some energy for the next dare.” Easy for me to say.

  Her eyes are wide. “No way. The minute I close my eyes, they’ll send in spiders or something. Remember that girl Abigail last time? Her biggest fear was of snakes and look what they did to her.”

  I recall watching the terror on that player’s face a month ago. I’d told myself that there was no way the snakes were venomous. If she’d just relax, she’d be all right. But she didn’t relax, and I watched her squirm. For entertainment.