The Skill Games

Date: 2/7/2024

In this world, it was like the Hunger Games, except nobody was killing each other and it was a random game filled with the best teams of boys. They were strong, smart, and almost felt indestructible. Only the best were picked to be in these teams, kind of like NFL players. They were mixed between the ages of 18 and 25, but a lot of them weren't as buff as you'd expect them to be. The players who've died participating in these games are the ones who've sustained critical injuries and some have even left, but there's something about the fame and feeling of power that makes these boys stay. There was this boy that participated in these games, whom I had a major crush on, named Julian. Julian and I had been friends since early middle school, but he always would bully me. It was a friendly banter we had and it did come off hurtful sometimes, but I pretended that it was just his way of being nice. My sister, Katie, worked as one of the operators during the games so I always had backstage access. This allowed me to congratulate him every game, even if he thought it was weird. The annual game was coming up and this year's challenge was to hang from a spinning wheel that's high in the air. The most dangerous one we've ever seen. The boys weren't that scared, except the ones with the fear of heights. You'd essentially hold on to a piece of string wrapped around this wooden, rotating wheel and the last one to stay on was the winner. Now, everyone thought this would be too tough and dangerous but because our ratings had been going down, they needed something more difficult. As the wheel rotates, your body will fling and your job is to not let go. For if you let go, it may be the end of your life if you're at the top. Best bet to survive is to fall while you're low, if you have to. I see Julian and approach him as he washes his hand. I wash mine as well and look at him. I say, "Good luck at the game tonight." He says, "Thanks..." I lean forward in this sink filled with water and he says, "Don't fall in." I laugh softly and lean back, giving him a light tap on the back. This makes him jump straight into the water and says, "You pushed me!" I look confused. I say, "No- Wait, I didn't push you!" His teammates look at me and I begin to feel anxious. He gets out of the water and dries himself, staring blankly at me and then chuckling. He says, "You can make it up to me. Participate in the games with me, I bet I'd win. Or, you could simply watch and try your best to make sure I win." I laugh awkwardly and say, "I'm not that strong... I'd lose really fast." He scoffs and walks away, saying in the distance, "Then, you better make sure I win." **Hours later.** The game is beginning and I had lost my ticket, without this and Katie no where around to let me sit, I panic. I walk in, they ask, "Where's your ticket?" because I'm sitting in the V.I.P section. I say, "I lost it... but, my sister is one of the operators. Her name is Katie." They scoff and tell me to sit somewhere else because they don't believe me. I sigh, moving to a different seat way in the distance with my friend. I find a lost ticket for the V.I.P section, what luck! I go back explaining that I found it and they apologize. I sit in the seat, waiting for it to start. The wheel is huge! I didn't expect it to be so high up at the top, almost comparable to a small ferris wheel. The boys line up and grab their string at the bottom of the wheel, making sure they're secured. I see Julian, bandages wrapped around his hand; smart. He makes eye contact with me and squints, telling me with his eyes, "Don't fail me." I don't know what to do! How am I supposed to help him win? I sit there anxiously as the game announcer speaks. He says on the loud speaker, "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 25th annual game! This is a special year, for we game creators have made a tricky one. There will be blood splatter tonight so beware, this is your warning! Don't worry, we have our medics on hand. I suggest you boys fall at the right time... Anyway, let's start this game right! The last boy to be hanging from the wheel wins for their team! Said team will be get an all expenses paid vacation and... You will not have to participate in next year's game!" The crowd gasps, the teams they've been watching for years, seeing these boy's grow up from teens to adults. The teams smile, happily. It's not that they dislike being in the games, but to get a year where they don't have to risk their lives is another vacation to them. The announcer says, "Now that we've established the rules and prize winnings, let's begin! The wheel will spin in 3... 2... 1!" The wheel spins slowly. The boys slowly lift into the air, holding on with a lot of their strength but Julian makes it look so effortless. It picks up pace every three minutes, but it has a set max. The game felt like it was going on for a while and no one was dropping, even though their faces said something completely different. I see Julian even starting to struggle and I make a decision. I escape onto the field and jump onto the wheel, holding a free string. They all look at me like I'm crazy; maybe I am. It felt like I jumped onto a train and now I'm fearing for my life. What came over me? The announce says, "Woah! Someone get that young girl off of there!" I scream back, "No! I will win for my team! Keep it going!" Everyone's intrigued, the ratings are going up, so no one stopped me. Julian, who I'm next to, says, "I was kidding early! What is wrong with you?! You're going to die!" I say, "I won't... I'll win." with struggle. Finally, boys start dropping and flying into the air into the ground. The medics rush in, tending to their care. I keep holding on, but take the initiative to wrap myself around the wood and hold on which wasn't against the rules; they just had no space since everyone was so close together. Now that my side was free, I had an advantage. Hours had gone by. It was just five of us left, Julian included. The string had cut into my hand and it was bleeding, but I ignored the pain. I knew Julian was going to collapse soon, along with the other guys who couldn't get onto the wood like me. The wheel was spinning so fast that I hugged my piece of wood and string in hopes that it'd be over soon. Finally, after another hour, they had fallen. It was just Julian and I. I told him, "I'll let go now. You deserve the win." He says, "If you jump off, you'll either die or hurt yourself majorly. I can't let you. It's going too fast for it to be safe at all." I said, "I know." I let go of the piece of wood and string as I come closer to the ground, hitting hard against the grass field. The game announcer says, "Oo... the girl is down! That means, Julian is our winner! Congratulations!" The wheel slowly stops and Julian collapses onto the ground in tiredness, the medics tending to his wounds. I lay there in pain, tinnitus ringing in my ears and my vision obscured. The amount of adrenaline and feeling going on in my body is overwhelming. The medics tend to me as well, trying to see how bad my concussion is and shining a flashlight in my eyes to check my pupil dilation. No response, but I feel alive. A third person view pans out and I see Julian, after being tended to, rush up to me and ask, "Is she okay?!" The medics say, "We don't know yet, but she's not responding to us. Fortunately her heart is beating and she has airy breathing so she's still with us. I wake up in the hospital and I see Julian sitting beside me. He looks exhausted but more worried about me than himself. I look at him and say, "Did we win...?" He says, "Yes, we won. You idiot. I told you not to jump! I would've jumped, but body could've handled it better. I'm trained for this... God, you had me worried." I smile and then laugh, before stopping from the pain. I say, "Vacation time..." **A week later.** I actually did get to go on the vacation and I was a huge hit with the media. However, I was relaxing and taking time to myself so I denied any interviews. Maybe eventually. I sit there on the cruise boat, looking out the window onto the water. The room is warm and dimly lit, candles scenting it and creating a beautiful atmosphere. I cozy up into my blanket. Julian walks in, sits beside me and wraps his arm around me. I blush, since this is new. He says, "This reminds me of those romance dramas I used to read." I laugh and shyly say, "I prefer slow burns..." insinuating that's what we are. He looks at me and for a moment it seems like he was going to kiss me, but he doesn't. An alarm goes off and you hear footsteps running harshly through the upper hallways. Julian rushes out and tells me to stay here; I comply. The leader of Julian's team says, "The other team is attacking and I guess retaliating against us. We have to leave. We're not going to fight, this isn't the game anymore. We don't have to be strong, now let's go!" All the men leave out onto an "escape" boat, except Julian who starts to run back for me. The leader says, "What're you doing?!" Julian says, "I told Mia to stay there. I can't just let her stay here and get murdered." The leader scoffs and says, "A girl isn't worth it, dude. Get on now or we have to leave you here! Now or never! For all you know, they'll leave her alone." Julian hesitates for a moment and decides to leave me, getting in the "escape" boat and they leave. The guilt eats at him the entire trip. I patiently wait in my room, but the stomping is gone except for the alarm still blaring. I walk outside; empty halls. I go to the top of the cruise ship and see that there's no one there. I feel a sense of confusion and hurt, possibly overthinking it. However, it isn't long before the other team arrives and grabs me. I say, "Huh?! Hey!" The leader of the opposite team says, "Hello, Mia. Where are your friends?" I say, "I'm wondering that too..." He says, "Huh? You mean, they've abandoned you? What a shame, you're such a tough competitor." I sadly say, "I don't know... Do you think they would?" He releases me and looks at me, thinking for a moment and says, "Unfortunately yes. They're not very loyal. Come with us, we'll make sure you're treated correctly." I agree to leave with them, only because I'd probably get killed or end up on an abandoned island with an empty cruise ship. I arrive at the headquarters of this team, the leader's name being Aaron. He spoils me in new clothes, food, drinks, and isn't mean. However, he does question everything I know about Julian and my ex-team (?). I didn't know much, but I told them anyway. They betrayed me after all. Still no contact with them. Aaron smiles at all the information I can provide. He sits down next to me and strokes my hair, staring at it. He softly says, "How could they just leave you there, all alone? How cruel, you must've felt so scared." I feel flustered from his touch, but know that it's probably just payback to the other team to have used me against them. I say, "At first, no. I didn't even know. Julian told me to wait there and he never came back..." Aaron fakely frowns, saying "Ouch. It's okay, you're safe with us. We'll make sure they never compete or win again." **Weeks later.** I was taken under Aaron's wing and he became protective over me, almost obsessive as if I was a prize. I wasn't sure if I enjoyed it or not, but I couldn't help but feel attracted to feeling "owned." I had no contact with any of the other team, especially Julian, until now. I was walking around the headquarters and decided to leave to go to the market. I see Julian from afar and he catches a glimpse of me, his eyes widening as he runs up to me. I step back, scared of any confrontation, but I stop for closure. He says, "Mia, you're alive. Oh, thank god." He hugs me tightly, but I reject the hug and push him away. I say, "You coward! You abandoned me and left me in harm's way! How could you?!" He says, "No, I- I came back. You weren't there, I was so worried." I say, "Right, but you left FIRST! You never came back for me..." He says, "I know, it was stupid. I regretted it every day, but knowing you're alive is all I needed to know." I step back, not knowing whether to forgive him. He notices the other team's pin on my shirt, marking me as one of their members. He questions it, "Why do you have that...? I thought you were apart of our team." I say, "Not anymore. They actually took me in and cared for me, something a real team would do. You're not my teammates, you never were. Anyway, Aaron is-" He interrupts me and says, "Aaron?! That jerk doesn't know anything about being a team either. He uses people-" I cut him off and say, "He's coddled me since that day and I owe him for not just abandoning me or hurting me. You don't know him. So what if he uses people, at least he isn't a dick!" I run away, feeling saddened from that interaction. I didn't know what to feel. Maybe this entire thing was a mistake, maybe I should've never joined the game and let him tough it out. Too late. I started doing interviews, but press had questioned why I switched teams. I didn't get into details, but I played it out as if the team was sexist. This caused people to turn on Julian's team and be more attracted towards Aaron's. I played right into Aaron's game, but he still never let me go after he got what he wanted. That ownership only sealed it, he knew I'd be loyal forever and decided to keep me around for as long as I can. This turned into an attraction and a relationship, that felt less romantic and more professional, but still a relationship nonetheless. After our relationship went viral, we became media famous and everyone rooted for us. I know this hurt Julian and I always wanted to talk to him again! Alas, I was too afraid. Afraid of the hurt he put onto me and afraid he hates me. I never stopped thinking about him, even though I was with Aaron. With Aaron, it didn't feel like real love but at the same time, I still felt like his girlfriend. Confusing. Katie always told me I was with the wrong person and that Julian made a mistake, but how can I trust he wouldn't do something like that again? **Few months later.** Aaron and I had broken up after he had been caught cheating on me through paparazzi photos. I wasn't very upset about it because I knew the relationship wasn't real, but it still hurt. He said that he still loved me and it was a one time thing, but I was done. I had moved back home, away from any of the teams and refused to interact with anyone from the games (except Katie.) My reputation was still an all time high, but Aaron had ruined his team's reputation with the scandal. Don't care! I had Julian show up to my door one day and we talked a bit, trying to rekindle our friendship but it was difficult. The trust wasn't there anymore. However, I was willing to try. **More months later. My dreams skip a lot of the times when I wake up and go back to sleep.** Julian and I became friends again. We even became closer than before, reminiscing about our school days and how much of a bully he was. It felt nice to have that connection with someone again. We were in his room together, those candles lit once again and the atmosphere almost identical to the one in the cruise ship. It felt like a do-over. He held me as we talked about stupid things, close to each other in a warm blanket. He looked me in my eyes, in which I looked back, and he kissed me. Whaaaat!!! I blushed, and kissed back. I had been waiting for this moment since I was young and first saw him. I smiled as he pulled away, and he says, "Was that slow burn enough?" I shyly laughed and hit his arm, laying my head on his chest. Good ending! ✨

AI generated interpretation Dreams are highly personal and subjective experiences, and analyzing them from a psychological perspective can provide insights into your unconscious thoughts, emotions, and desires. In this dream, several key themes can be identified: 1. The Hunger Games-like scenario: Dreams often incorporate elements from our waking life, and in this case, your dream might be reflecting your fascination with competition and the feeling of being part of an elite group. This may stem from your desire to excel or be recognized for your abilities. 2. Romantic feelings towards Julian: The dream reveals your deep crush on Julian, who had previously bullied you. These conflicting emotions suggest a complex relationship dynamic, where you seek his approval despite his mistreatment. This may reflect your longing for acceptance and a desire to be seen as more than just a friend. 3. Fear of abandonment and betrayal: The dream explores your fear of being abandoned and left alone in a dangerous situation. This fear is manifested when Julian seemingly abandons you during the game, leaving you vulnerable and unsure of his loyalty. This fear may stem from past experiences or insecurities. 4. Trust and forgiveness: Throughout the dream, Julian expresses regret for his actions and attempts to make amends. This may indicate your willingness to forgive and rebuild trust in relationships, even after they have been damaged. The dream highlights the importance of open communication and working through past conflicts. 5. Ownership and control: The dynamic between you and Aaron reflects a power imbalance