"Jia-12. Jungkook- 14" Mina mused out loud.

Jia shut her book with a slam. She had the habit of ignoring everything and everyone around her when she got engrossed in a book. Especially when it was leading up to a jaw-dropping climax. It was their club activity hour and being a part of the library club, they'd just finished an enlightening group discussion on the topic 'lost in translations'. Seeing that they had around ten more minutes before the next hour, she'd jumped right into her book. Mina on the other hand, was not pleased. She'd tried distracting Jia with various topics but this one effectively managed to provoke her.

"Fine, I'll stop. I'm done. See?" She neatly placed the book back into her bag. Mina smiled smugly; triumphant knowing that she accurately hit her sore spot.

"But for real though." Mina continued. "Are you seriously planning to do this for ten years?"

"Don't be stupid." She chuckled. "If I hadn't obliged, he'd have eaten my head off. I did what I had to do to shut him up."

"I know you did, but what if he took it seriously?"

"Puh-lease." Jia rolled her eyes. "Do you really think he'll remember all of this after school? I bet two years max. Two years max and we all go separate ways- to separate colleges. Two years and all of this will be long forgotten. He will be long forgotten."

-

The day after the lab prank, Jungkook and Jia had argued fiercely. They'd gotten so sucked into it, that everyone else had lost interest watching the verbal spat. It was just the two of them, standing alone in their newly inaugurated basketball court.

"I propose a challenge." Jungkook said solemnly.

"Right, because what we're doing now is a friendly duet." Jia replied sarcastically.

Jungkook clicked his tongue in disapproval. "A bigger challenge." He corrected. "I call it, 'The Ultimate Prank War'. In ten years, we come back to this exact place to crown the ultimate champion."

"huh?"

"That's right. You can plan as many pranks as you want until..." He checked his fancy digital watch and mulled for a moment. "Let's say, first weekend of August 2021."

"Wow." Jia breathed out. "You don't just look like a coconut head... you really are one. You actually have a coconut for a brain. You've finally lost it, haven't you?"

"Aww. Is the challenge too hard for the Princess?"

"Dude. Think about it. In ten years, we're most likely to be on two different ends of the globe. Are you really saying that you're going to do this for ten years? Isn't that too unrealistic?"

"Unrealistic for you perhaps. You can say no but, that would make me the champion by default." He sneered triumphantly.

"First of all, that's a blackmail and not a proposition. Second, in your dreams." Jia had every reason to believe that this kid was high right now. There was no other logical explanation.

"Loser keeps talking. Loser keeps making excuses. Loser keeps blabbering..." He sang annoyingly.

Jia sighed. She knew that it was all just spur of the moment crazy talk, a mere provocation. She was damn sure that after two years, she wouldn't even remember the guy let alone a ten-year challenge. She would keep absolutely no contact with him after graduation. She knew that he was being absurd. She didn't see the harm in accepting the 'challenge' when she knew all too well that there would be none. And for that reason alone, she said:

"I accept the challenge."

-

It had been two weeks since then and the pranks were still going strong. Jia was starting to doubt if he was just kidding. Given that it's him, he might just take it as far as ten years. Jia shook her head as if to wipe away the unpleasant thought.

"Let's head out." She told Mina.

They roamed by the chaotic hallways, peeping into random classes on the way. They stood especially longer next to the music room in hopes of seeing a certain cute senior but found it void of him.

"He's probably in class." Sighed Jia.

"Yeah, about that. Jia, you still haven't gone out for that date with Min Yoongi." Said Mina seriously.

They continued walking towards the sports activity rooms and watched as the swim team concluded their final lapse of practice. Students in various coloured jerseys dispersed from the overcrowded sports ground situated far across the pool. Their high school harboured a few well-spirited sports teams, most of which fared in inter-school competitions.

"First of all, it's not a date. We're just hanging out. And second, relax. He said sometimes soon." Countered Jia.

"And my point is that the 'sometimes soon' was over two weeks ago." Mina deadpanned.

"He's a busy guy and he's rehearsing for his upcoming competition. He's also in senior year; he'd have lots of school-work to do as well. And besides, he sent a text two days ago."

"He did what?" Mina stopped in her tracks.

Jia bit her lip, mentally slapping herself.

"Min Yoongi texted you two days ago, and you didn't tell me?"

"I'm so sorry, Mina. I wanted to tell you sooner, but the stupid prank war keeps messing with my head."

"Fine. I'll let you off this once. Now spill."

"He apologised saying that he was having extra hours of practice now and that he'll make sure to text when he's free."

"Aww cute. Then, I guess it's okay. No need to panic. It's all under control. He's not avoiding you." Mina relaxed.

"You thought he was avoiding me?"

"Well, given the circumstances-"

"Mina!" A husky voice called out. They turned around to see a frantically running Namjoon. "Mrs. Kim wants to see you." He panted. Mina gave a quizzical look but decided not to question the poor fellow further. She waved at Jia and followed Namjoon back into the long hallway.

Jia scrunched her eyebrows trying to figure out what that was all about. She turned around only to bump head-to-head with a student. She looked up to find an annoyed Jungkook. Great. Of the sports teams, the athletic team was the most reputed. Jungkook happened to be an integral part of that athletic team. He was a fairly good sprinter with a few medals shining as his prized possessions.

"Watch it." She heard him say.

Jia scowled and observed him keenly. He panted hard; exhaustion clear in every breath. Not only did his jersey stick clammily to his sweating body, but he was also covered in mud from head to toe. His normally fluffy hair was now stuck stubbornly to his forehead.

"Eww!" Exclaimed Jia, taking a few steps backwards. "Were you rolling in mud or something?" She asked, pointing to his previously orange jersey.

Surprised, he looked down at himself as though only now realising that he was covered in dirt. He looked back at her and flashed his trademark smirk. Uh-oh, Jia thought. His smirk was synonymous to 'he's definitely planning something bad'.

"Hey Princess, show some love. Come give me a hug. Please?" he sauntered towards her. Jia shook her head vigorously and stumbled back further. "Come on. It's not that bad." He jeered as he daringly strode forward.

Instinctively, Jia took off at full speed only to be blocked by the tiredly moving figures of the rest of the athletic team. She looked behind frantically as he dangerously closed in on her. She bolted to the right and yanked open a wobbly knob which led to the presently evacuated swimming pool. With his large frame throttling at full speed, she slammed the door at his face. She hastily locked the door and stepped back in anticipation. There was a series of banging which reverberated throughout the pool room. It abruptly came to a standstill and Jia sighed in relief. Her happiness was short-lived as the door suddenly flew open from his kick. The damaged knob fell onto the floor with a clatter, and he looked at her menacingly. Before she could run further, he pounced on her, engulfing her in a bear hug.

"You didn't seriously think you could outrun a sprinter, did you?" His breath tickled as it hit her ears.

"Get away from me, you freak!" Jia yelled as she pushed him away harshly. The dark blue of her blazer had specks of mud on it and she was grossed out on a major level. "You moron! What the hell is wrong with you?" She flew into rage.

The boy had the audacity to laugh which only riled her up more.

"You think this is funny?" her teeth clenched in anger. "You are stupid. You, with your ugly stupid coconut head." She shrieked, grabbing a fistful of his sweaty hair. Jia had just lost her temper and she had no idea what she was doing. "Stupid wet coconut head."

"Ouch!" He yelled as he struggled to detach an angry teenage girl off his hair. He stamped her feet which effectively made her let go. Jia howled in pain as soon as spikes of his athletic boots came into contact with her foot.

"Mother... f-fluffer!" She yelled out in pain.

"Aww princesses aren't allowed to swear, are they?" He teased.

"Fuck you, Jeon Jungkook." She spat out in frustration.

"Sure." He chuckled. "But before, you need to freshen up a little."

"Huh?" Jia asked bewilderedly.

Before she could comprehend her situation, he thrust out his right arm, pushing her with full force. Only then did she realise that she'd bickered her way to the edge of the pool. She tried grabbing onto empty air before inevitably losing her footing. Within seconds, she was drenched, falling ungraciously into the pool.

Jungkook watched as a huge splash echoed through the pool room. He was having the time of his life. He laughed so hard that he could barely breathe. But little did he know that Jia was grappling to win a harsh battle between life and death. She was drowning.