The Game of Tag - By Liliane Kajika
Written By: Liliane kajika
Category: short story
Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026
In the enchanting world of storytelling, Liliane Kajika introduces us to her captivating short story "The Game of Tag." As a participant in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, Liliane shares a narrative set against the backdrop of youthful camaraderie and rivalry. This short story delves into the complexities of friendship, competition, and personal growth, inviting readers to explore the emotional journey of its young protagonists.
About the Work
"The Game of Tag" is a masterful exploration of the dynamics of friendship and rivalry among school-aged children. Liliane Kajika weaves a tale rich with the vibrancy of youth, capturing the essence of competition and the emotional nuances of peer relationships. The story unfolds with vivid imagery and genuine dialogue, immersing readers in the protagonists' world as they navigate challenges and discover the true meaning of friendship.
the game of tag
Original Submission by Liliane kajika
THE GAME OF TAG
Chapter One
The courtyard at St. Jude’s was louder than usual.
Everyone seemed to be gathered around the middle of the courtyard, watching a group of boys get ready for a race.
Damon stood in the middle of them.
Everyone knew Damon. He was fast, athletic, and somehow always ended up being the center of attention whenever there was a race.
Lily stood nearby, watching.
She wasn't planning on joining.
At least, not until one of the boys laughed and said something that made her stop.
“Girls shouldn’t even bother racing us.”
Lily looked at him.
Then she looked at the starting line.
“Who said I was bothering?”
The boys laughed.
Damon looked over at her, clearly surprised.
“You actually want to race?”
Lily shrugged.
“Why not?”
One of the boys rolled his eyes. “You’re going to lose.”
Lily smiled.
“We’ll see.”
The students gathered around them as they lined up.
Damon stood beside Lily.
“Don't blame me when you lose,” he said.
Lily glanced at him.
“Don't blame me when you do.”
The whistle blew.
They ran.
For the first few seconds, Damon was ahead.
Then Lily sped up.
She passed one boy.
Then another.
Then another.
By the time they reached the finish line, Lily had beaten every single one of them.
The courtyard exploded with shouting.
Lily stopped and turned around, breathing heavily.
Damon crossed the finish line a moment later.
He stared at her.
Then he laughed.
“You're fast.”
Lily grinned.
“I told you.”
Damon shook his head.
“What's your name?”
“Lily.”
“I'm Damon.”
“I know.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You know me?”
“Everyone knows you.”
Damon laughed again.
“Well, now I know you.”
And somehow, that was where it started.
A race.
A stupid comment.
And two people who had no idea that they were about to become best friends.
Chapter Two
After that race, Lily and Damon started talking more.
At first, it was just small conversations.
They would see each other in the courtyard and say hi. Sometimes they would sit together during break. Sometimes Damon would challenge Lily to another race, even though he already knew how it was going to end.
“You only won because I wasn't ready,” he told her one afternoon.
Lily laughed.
“That's what you said last time.”
“This time I'm serious.”
“Sure you are.”
Damon shook his head.
“You're so annoying.”
“And you're still talking to me.”
“Unfortunately.”
Lily smiled.
Somehow, their friendship just happened.
They started sitting together more often. They shared snacks, helped each other with schoolwork, and somehow ended up being partners whenever there was a project.
If Lily didn't understand something, Damon would help her.
If Damon needed help with something, Lily was usually the first person he asked.
By the end of Grade 6, almost everyone knew them as a pair.
Where there was Lily, Damon wasn't usually far away.
And where there was Damon, Lily was probably somewhere nearby.
They weren't dating.
They weren't trying to be anything.
They were just best friends.
At least, that's what Lily thought.
But not everyone was happy about how close they had become.
A few rows behind Lily sat a girl named Rose.
Rose had noticed them almost immediately.
She noticed how Damon laughed around Lily.
She noticed how he always looked for Lily during break.
She noticed how easily Lily had become the person Damon trusted most.
And she didn't like it.
Not one bit.
Rose didn't say anything.
Not yet.
She simply watched.
And waited.
Because Lily had no idea that their friendship had already caught someone's attention.
Chapter Three
By Grade 7, Lily and Damon were practically inseparable.
A whole year had passed since that first race, and somehow their friendship had only gotten stronger.
They knew each other's habits.
Damon knew Lily hated when people touched her things without asking.
Lily knew Damon always forgot where he put his homework.
They argued over the smallest things, laughed about things nobody else understood, and somehow always ended up sitting together.
But Grade 7 was different.
The teachers expected more from them now.
There were bigger projects, harder tests, and a lot more work.
One of the biggest projects that year was the History Fair.
Damon decided to build something that would actually stand out.
A medieval catapult.
He spent days working on it.
Wooden pieces covered his desk, and every afternoon he stayed behind to work on it.
Lily watched him carefully as he put the final pieces together.
“Are you sure that's safe?” she asked.
Damon looked at her.
“It's fine.”
“You said that last time.”
“And was I wrong?”
Lily stared at him.
“Yes.”
Damon laughed.
“Just trust me.”
“I trust you. I don't trust that thing.”
He looked at the catapult proudly.
“It works.”
Lily sighed.
“That's exactly what I'm worried about.”
The day of the History Fair finally arrived.
Their classroom was filled with projects, posters and students rushing around trying to finish everything before the judges arrived.
Damon stood beside his catapult, looking proud.
“I told you it would work.”
Lily smiled.
“Okay. I'll admit it. It's actually good.”
“Actually?”
“Don't push it.”
They both laughed.
Then Lily noticed something.
“We still need the name cards.”
Damon looked at the table.
“Oh.”
“I'll get them.”
They left the project behind and headed down the hallway.
Neither of them noticed Rose watching them.
She waited until they were gone.
Then she walked over to the catapult.
She looked at it.
Then she looked toward the hallway.
Nobody was coming.
Rose reached toward the wooden frame.
A moment later, the catapult was no longer standing the way Damon had left it.
One of the pieces had been twisted out of place.
The weight rolled across the floor and disappeared underneath the bleachers.
Rose quickly stepped away.
When Lily and Damon returned, Lily stopped immediately.
“What happened?”
Damon stared at his project.
“I don't know.”
Lily looked around the room.
Then she noticed Rose standing nearby.
“Rose.”
Rose turned.
“What?”
“Did you do this?”
Rose's expression changed.
“What? No.”
“You were standing right here.”
“I wasn't touching it.”
Lily frowned.
“Then who did?”
Rose shrugged.
“Maybe Damon built it badly.”
Damon looked at the broken frame.
Rose continued.
“Maybe if Lily wasn't always telling you what to do, you would've noticed it wasn't stable.”
Lily stared at her.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Rose crossed her arms.
“Everything doesn't have to be about you, Lily.”
Damon looked between them.
“Can you both just stop?”
Lily turned toward him.
“Damon, she broke your project.”
“You don't know that.”
“I saw her standing right next to it!”
“And yelling isn't going to fix it.”
Lily went quiet.
It wasn't the broken catapult that hurt the most.
It was the fact that Damon wasn't standing beside her.
For the first time, Lily wondered if their friendship was starting to change.
Chapter Four
Lily didn't say anything else.
She just walked away.
The rest of the day felt strange.
Usually, Damon would be beside her, making jokes or talking about something random.
This time, there was silence.
Lily couldn't stop thinking about what had happened.
She wasn't angry because the catapult was broken.
She was angry because Damon hadn't believed her.
After school, Lily caught up with him near the side exit.
“Damon.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“Why didn't you believe me?”
Damon sighed.
“I never said I didn't believe you.”
“You basically did.”
“I was just trying to stop you two from arguing.”
“But Rose was lying.”
“Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. I don't know.”
Lily stared at him.
“You know me.”
“I do.”
“Then why didn't you trust me?”
Damon didn't answer immediately.
“Because I'm tired, Lily. I'm tired of everyone arguing all the time.”
Lily's voice became quieter.
“So you'd rather let her lie than stand up for me?”
“That's not what I said.”
“It feels like it.”
Damon looked away.
“I just wanted everything to stop.”
Lily shook her head.
“You could've stopped it by telling the truth.”
Damon didn't know what to say.
The bus was waiting outside.
He glanced toward it.
“I have to go.”
Lily looked at him.
“Of course you do.”
Damon hesitated.
“Lily—”
But she had already walked away.
That night, Lily couldn't stop thinking about their argument.
Maybe she had overreacted.
Maybe Damon really had just been trying to keep the peace.
But she still couldn't forget how it felt when he told her to leave it.
The next morning, Lily was standing at her locker when she heard someone behind her.
“Lily.”
She turned around.
Damon.
“What?”
He looked nervous.
“I owe you an apology.”
Lily crossed her arms.
“For what?”
“For yesterday.”
She didn't say anything.
“I was stressed,” Damon continued. “And I didn't know what to do. I was trying to keep everyone from fighting, but I ended up hurting you instead.”
Lily looked at him.
“You were being a jerk.”
“I know.”
She tried not to smile.
Damon reached into his bag and pulled out a packet of peanut butter crackers.
“I brought these.”
Lily looked at them.
“Is this supposed to make me forgive you?”
“Maybe.”
She took the packet.
“Fine.”
Damon smiled.
“Does that mean we're okay?”
“Don't push it.”
He laughed.
And just like that, things between them started going back to normal.
But across the hallway, Rose watched them.
She had hoped their argument would finally separate them.
Instead, they had become friends again.
And Rose wasn't giving up.
For the next few weeks, things went back to normal.
Lily and Damon were together almost everywhere.
They walked to class together, sat together during break, and somehow Damon still managed to steal food from Lily's lunchbox even after she told him not to.
“That’s mine.”
Damon looked at the sandwich in his hand.
“You weren't eating it.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“Eventually.”
Damon laughed.
Lily reached for the sandwich, but he moved it away.
“You're annoying.”
“You've said that before.”
“And I'll keep saying it.”
Neither of them noticed Rose watching from across the courtyard.
She had tried to separate them once.
It hadn't worked.
So she decided to try something different.
Later that afternoon, Rose walked over to Damon while he was packing his bag.
“Hey, Damon.”
He looked up.
“Hey.”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Okay.”
Rose held up a clipboard.
“I'm helping with the track and spirit committee. We're looking for people to join.”
Damon glanced at it.
“Sounds cool.”
“You should join.”
Damon shook his head.
“No, thanks.”
Rose frowned.
“You're good at sports. You'd be perfect for it.”
“I'm not interested.”
Rose looked at him for a moment.
“Why don't you go ask Lily? She's better than me at this stuff.”
Rose's expression changed.
“No. Why Lily? I'm asking you.”
Damon shrugged.
“I'm not interested.”
He zipped up his bag and walked away.
Rose stood there, watching him leave.
She wasn't used to being dismissed.
And she definitely wasn't used to hearing Lily's name come up when she was trying to get Damon's attention.
Across the courtyard, Lily was waiting for Damon.
When he reached her, she looked at him.
“What took you so long?”
“Rose.”
Lily raised an eyebrow.
“What did she want?”
“Some committee thing.”
“And?”
“I said no.”
Lily laughed.
“Why?”
“Because I'm not interested.”
They started walking together.
Rose watched them from across the courtyard.
Her plan hadn't worked.
But she wasn't giving up.
Chapter 5
Rose didn't give up.
If anything, Damon choosing Lily's opinion over hers only made her more determined.
A few days later, she found Damon sitting outside during lunch.
She walked over and sat beside him.
“Hey.”
Damon looked up from his food.
“Hey.”
Rose smiled.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you ever feel like Lily gets in the way?”
Damon frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean... you two are always together.”
Damon shrugged.
“She’s my best friend.”
“I know.”
Rose picked at the edge of her sleeve.
“I'm just saying, sometimes it seems like you could do so much more if you weren't always worrying about her.”
Damon looked at her.
“Why would I be worrying about her?”
“Because you're always helping her. And she's always helping you.”
“That's what friends do.”
Rose smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
“Right.”
Damon went back to his food.
Rose watched him for a moment.
“You two are really close.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded.
“I can tell.”
Then she stood up.
“I'll see you later.”
Damon nodded.
“Bye.”
Rose walked away.
She hadn't gotten the answer she wanted.
But now she knew something important.
Damon wasn't going to stop being Lily's friend just because someone asked him to.
So maybe she needed to make Lily look like the problem.
And she already had an idea.
The next morning, Lily was at her locker when Damon walked up to her.
“Lily.”
She turned around.
“What?”
“You're running in the 100-metre race, right?”
Lily looked confused.
“What race?”
“The one next week.”
“I didn't sign up for anything.”
Damon smiled.
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because you're fast.”
Lily laughed.
“You just want another chance to beat me.”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head.
“You're still not beating me.”
Damon grinned.
“We'll see.”
Before Lily could answer, Rose walked past them.
She stopped when she heard them talking.
“The 100 metres?” she asked.
Lily looked at her.
“Yeah.”
Rose smiled.
“You know I'm the fastest girl in our grade, right?”
Lily shrugged.
“Okay.”
Rose looked surprised by how casually she said it.
“You should probably train before you embarrass yourself.”
Lily laughed.
“Thanks for the advice.”
Rose walked away.
Damon looked at Lily.
“You're definitely doing it now.”
Lily smiled.
“Obviously.”
The days passed.
But Lily didn't train.
Not even once.
Damon kept asking her about it.
“Aren't you going to practise?”
“No.”
“You're racing Rose.”
“I know.”
“And you're not worried?”
Lily shrugged.
“Should I be?”
Damon laughed.
“You're crazy.”
Race day finally arrived.
Students crowded around the track, cheering as the runners lined up.
Lily stood at the starting line.
Rose stood beside her.
Rose looked over.
“You ready?”
Lily nodded.
“Always.”
The starter raised the whistle.
The crowd went quiet.
Then—
The whistle blew.
They ran.
Rose took off quickly.
For a moment, she was ahead.
Then Lily caught up.
And suddenly, she was gone.
Lily kept running.
She pulled farther and farther ahead.
By the time Lily crossed the finish line, Rose was still ten metres behind her.
The crowd went silent for a second.
Then—
“WHOA!”
Everyone started shouting.
Lily turned around, completely shocked herself.
She looked at Rose.
Then at Damon.
“I won?”
Damon was laughing.
“You didn't just win.”
He pointed back toward the track.
“You gapped her by ten metres!”
Lily stared at him.
“I didn't even practise.”
Damon shook his head.
“That's the crazy part.”
The students were still talking about it.
Rose stood behind them, staring at Lily.
She had been the fastest girl in the grade.
Until now.
Lily hadn't trained.
She hadn't even taken the race seriously.
And she had still beaten Rose by ten metres.
Rose's face hardened.
She said nothing.
But she was already thinking about what she would do next.
Chapter 6
After the race, everyone was talking about Lily.
It seemed like the entire school knew about the ten-metre gap.
Everywhere she went, someone had something to say.
“Did you really beat Rose by ten metres?”
“Yeah.”
“And you didn't even practise?”
“Nope.”
People would shake their heads in disbelief before walking away.
Even some of the teachers had heard about it.
Lily didn't really understand what the big deal was.
She had just run.
Damon, however, wouldn't let her forget it.
“You know you're never going to hear the end of this, right?”
Lily laughed.
“Neither are you.”
“What did I do?”
“You were the one who told me to enter.”
“And you won.”
“Exactly.”
Damon shook his head.
“I still can't believe you didn't practise.”
“I told you I didn't need to.”
“You could've at least pretended to train.”
Lily laughed.
“Why would I pretend?”
“Because normal people practise before races.”
“Good thing I'm not normal.”
Damon smiled.
“Clearly.”
They walked toward their classroom together, still laughing.
For Lily, everything felt normal.
She had no idea that things were about to change.
A few days later, their teacher walked into class with someone standing beside her.
The girl looked nervous.
“Everyone, we have a new student joining us.”
The girl gave a small wave.
“Her name is Zoe.”
“Hi,” Zoe said quietly.
The teacher smiled.
“She's just moved here, so please make sure you make her feel welcome.”
A few students said hello.
The teacher pointed toward an empty desk.
“You can sit there for now.”
Zoe nodded and walked to her seat.
Lily watched her for a moment.
She knew what it felt like to be somewhere and not know anyone.
At break, Lily noticed Zoe sitting by herself.
She looked at Damon.
“Should we go talk to her?”
Damon shrugged.
“Sure.”
They walked over.
“Hey,” Lily said.
Zoe looked up.
“Hi.”
“I'm Lily.”
“Zoe.”
Lily smiled.
“Do you want to come sit with us?”
Zoe looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Zoe smiled.
“Okay.”
Lily introduced her to Damon.
“This is Damon.”
Damon nodded.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
The three of them sat together.
At first, Zoe was quiet.
But it didn't take long for her to start talking.
She told them about her old school, the things she liked, and how strange it felt starting somewhere new.
Lily listened.
Damon joined in whenever he had something to say.
Before they knew it, the entire break had passed.
When the bell rang, Zoe stood up.
“Thanks for letting me sit with you.”
Lily smiled.
“Of course.”
“You guys are really nice.”
Damon laughed.
“We're not always nice.”
Lily looked at him.
“Speak for yourself.”
Zoe laughed.
For the rest of the day, Zoe stayed around them.
She asked Lily questions about the school.
She joked with Damon.
She even joined them when they walked to their next class.
By the end of the day, Lily already liked her.
On the way out of school, Zoe turned to them.
“See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Lily said.
Damon nodded.
“See you.”
Zoe smiled and walked toward the gate.
Lily watched her go.
“She seems nice.”
Damon nodded.
“Yeah. She does.”
Lily smiled.
“I'm glad she came here.”
Damon looked at her.
“You make friends with everyone.”
“That's not true.”
“It is.”
“No, it isn't.”
“You literally invited a stranger to sit with us after five minutes.”
Lily shrugged.
“She looked lonely.”
Damon smiled.
“That's exactly what I mean.”
They continued walking.
Neither of them noticed Rose standing near the school gates.
Zoe became closer to Lily and Damon almost without them noticing.
At first, it didn't seem strange.
They started sitting together during breaks, working on projects together, and sometimes walking around the school together after class. Zoe was funny, easy to talk to, and somehow always seemed to know what to say.
For a while, Lily actually liked having her around.
But then things started changing.
It was small at first.
One afternoon, Damon and Lily were sitting outside after class when Zoe dropped down beside Damon.
“You're always with Lily,” she said casually. “Don't you have other friends to hang out with?”
Damon looked at her, confused.
“She's my best friend.”
“I know,” Zoe said, shrugging. “I'm just saying. You two are together literally all the time.”
Lily glanced at Zoe.
Something about the way she said it bothered her.
But she didn't say anything.
A few days later, Zoe tried again.
“Damon, come with me. I need help with something.”
Damon looked at Lily.
“You coming?”
Zoe quickly interrupted.
“Actually, I thought it could just be me and Damon.”
Lily raised an eyebrow.
“I have track training anyway.”
“Perfect,” Zoe said.
Lily grabbed her bag and headed toward the field.
At first, she thought nothing of it.
Then it kept happening.
Every time Lily had training, Zoe suddenly needed Damon.
Every time Lily had somewhere to be, Zoe found a reason to keep Damon behind.
And when Lily wasn't around, Zoe would casually ask Damon questions about their friendship.
“Don't you ever get tired of always having to wait for Lily?”
“Doesn't she ever stop you from doing your own thing?”
“You know you can have other friends, right?”
Damon didn't seem to notice what Zoe was doing.
But Lily did.
She couldn't explain exactly what felt wrong.
She just knew something wasn't right.
One afternoon, Lily was walking back from the track field to grab something from her locker when she heard voices coming from around the corner.
She stopped.
It was Rose.
And Zoe.
Lily stayed completely still.
Rose spoke first.
“So, when are we actually going to do it?”
Zoe sighed.
“I don't know. We're getting there.”
“You said that last time.”
“Because it's harder than I thought.”
Lily's stomach dropped.
She moved a little closer.
Rose lowered her voice.
“The whole point was to get them to drift apart.”
Lily's eyes widened.
Them?
She already knew.
It was her and Damon.
Zoe continued.
“I've been trying. I've been getting Damon alone whenever I can.”
“And?”
“He's still too attached to Lily.”
Rose went quiet for a moment.
Then she said, “Then you'll have to try harder.”
Lily covered her mouth.
They had a plan.
A plan to separate her and Damon.
Suddenly, every strange comment Zoe had made made sense.
Every time she'd tried to get Damon alone.
Every time she'd told him he spent too much time with Lily.
Every time she'd made Lily feel like she was interrupting something.
It had all been part of this.
Lily backed away quietly.
Her first thought was to confront them.
Her second thought was Damon.
Would he believe her?
What if he thought she was just being paranoid?
What if Zoe denied everything?
Lily pulled out her phone.
She opened her messages and typed.
Lily: Come here quickly. I forgot my bottle in my locker. Just come.
She sent it.
Then she waited.
A few minutes later, Damon appeared at the end of the hallway.
“What's going on?” he asked. “You said you forgot your bottle.”
“I did.”
He looked at her.
“Then where is it?”
Lily grabbed his arm and pulled him closer.
“Just trust me.”
She pointed toward the corner.
Damon frowned.
“What?”
“Look.”
He slowly peeked around the corner.
Rose and Zoe were still there.
Still talking.
Still discussing their plan.
Damon's expression changed.
He looked back at Lily.
“You heard them?”
Lily nodded.
“I told you something was wrong.”
For once, Damon didn't argue.
He looked back toward Rose and Zoe.
Then at Lily.
“You're saying they were trying to split us up?”
Lily swallowed.
“That's exactly what I'm saying.”
Damon stared at them for another second.
Neither of them had noticed that he was there.
Lily whispered,
“See?”
Damon's jaw tightened.
“We need to find out how far this goes.”
And for the first time, Lily wasn't worried about whether Damon would believe her.
He had heard it himself.
Chapter 7
Damon stared at Rose and Zoe for another second before turning back to Lily.
“So,” he whispered, “what do we do now?”
Lily looked toward the corner where Rose and Zoe had disappeared.
“I have an idea.”
Damon raised an eyebrow.
“That usually means we're about to get ourselves into trouble.”
“Probably.”
“What is it?”
“Not here.”
Lily grabbed her bag.
“Come on.”
For the next few days, Lily and Damon did something neither Rose nor Zoe expected.
They acted normal.
Completely normal.
They laughed together at lunch.
They worked on projects.
They walked to class together.
They even let Zoe hang around them like nothing had happened.
Lily made sure she never looked suspicious.
Damon did the same.
And Zoe seemed to believe it.
She continued doing exactly what she'd been doing before.
She would try to get Damon alone.
She'd make comments about how much time he spent with Lily.
She'd find reasons for them to separate.
But this time, Lily and Damon were paying attention.
One afternoon, Lily was packing her books when she noticed Zoe looking around the hallway.
A few seconds later, Zoe walked toward Rose.
Lily immediately looked at Damon.
He followed her gaze.
Rose and Zoe disappeared around the corner.
Damon whispered,
“That's our chance.”
Lily nodded.
They waited a few seconds before following them.
They stopped when they reached the end of the hallway.
Rose and Zoe were talking quietly.
Lily couldn't hear everything.
But she heard enough.
“We've been doing this for weeks,” Zoe said. “When are we actually going to finish it?”
Rose sighed.
“When Damon finally starts choosing other people over Lily.”
“He's not going to.”
“Then we keep pushing.”
Lily looked at Damon.
He nodded.
They needed everyone to hear this.
Lily pulled out her phone.
Damon looked at her.
“What are you doing?”
She opened the Grade 8 group chat.
Then she typed:
FREE FOOD. SCIENCE ROOM. COME NOW.
She sent it.
Damon stared at her.
“Seriously?”
Lily grinned.
“It'll work.”
It did.
Within minutes, students started arriving.
Some came running.
Some were asking what kind of food it was.
Others just came because they'd heard the words free food.
Lily quietly pointed everyone toward the hallway.
“Don't say anything yet.”
The crowd gathered outside the room.
Rose and Zoe were still talking.
Neither of them noticed.
Then Rose said,
“Once Lily and Damon stop trusting each other, she'll have nobody left to blame.”
Zoe nodded.
“And then?”
“And then they'll drift apart.”
A student in the crowd gasped.
Rose and Zoe immediately stopped.
Slowly, they turned toward the doorway.
Their faces dropped.
The entire group was standing there.
Damon stepped forward.
“So that was the plan?”
Zoe looked around.
Nobody spoke.
Then she muttered,
“Oh, dang.”
A few students laughed.
But the laughter quickly stopped when they realized how serious it was.
One student looked at Zoe.
“So you were pretending to be their friend?”
Zoe didn't answer.
Another student turned to Rose.
“You actually planned all of this?”
Rose crossed her arms.
“You don't understand.”
Lily finally stepped forward.
“No. I think we understand perfectly.”
Rose looked at her.
“You've been trying to break me and Damon apart this entire time.”
Rose didn't respond.
Damon shook his head.
“And you were both acting like nothing was happening.”
Zoe tried to defend herself.
“I wasn't trying to hurt anyone.”
“You literally just said the plan was to make us stop trusting each other,” Damon replied.
The hallway erupted.
Everyone started talking at once.
Questions came from every direction.
“Why would you do that?”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Were you lying to everyone?”
Zoe looked overwhelmed.
Rose stayed silent.
Lily stood beside Damon.
She didn't need to convince him anymore.
He had heard it.
Everyone had.
And for once, Rose and Zoe couldn't twist the story into something else.
The plan they'd spent weeks building had just fallen apart in front of everyone.
The Trap
Rose and Zoe looked at each other.
Neither of them said a word.
Then, without warning, they pushed their way through the crowd.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
But they were already gone.
The students started talking all at once.
Lily stood beside Damon, watching the crowd slowly break apart.
“Well,” Damon said, “that went well.”
Lily gave him a look.
“You're joking?”
“A little.”
She shook her head.
For the first time in days, she felt like she could breathe.
The plan was out.
Everyone knew.
She and Damon hadn't fallen apart.
Rose and Zoe had failed.
At least, that's what Lily thought.
A few days passed.
School went back to normal.
Zoe wasn't around much anymore, and eventually Lily stopped wondering where she'd gone. There were other things happening at school, other classes, other assignments, other problems.
Then one afternoon, Lily heard something.
She was walking past the science block when she heard a strange noise coming from inside the science lab.
She stopped.
The hallway was empty.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
She stepped closer.
Another noise came from inside.
Lily slowly opened the door.
The laboratory was empty.
Or at least, it looked empty.
She stepped inside.
“Hello?”
The door suddenly slammed shut behind her.
Lily spun around.
She grabbed the handle.
It wouldn't open.
“What?”
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then—
Click.
The lights went out.
Lily froze.
“No. No, no, no.”
She pulled out her phone.
The room was almost completely dark.
Her hands shook as she opened her messages.
She immediately texted Damon.
Lily: Damon, please answer.
A few seconds later:
Damon: What's wrong?
Lily: I'm stuck in the science lab.
Damon: What?
Lily: The door won't open and the lights just went off.
Damon: Stay there. I'm coming.
Lily stared at the message.
She tried the door again.
Nothing.
Then she heard something move behind her.
She turned around.
“Who's there?”
Silence.
Her phone buzzed.
Damon: I'm outside.
Lily hurried toward the door.
“Damon!”
“I've got you. Move away from the door.”
She stepped back.
A few seconds later, the lock finally clicked.
The door opened.
Damon stood outside.
“Are you okay?”
Lily nodded quickly.
“I thought I was going to be stuck in there.”
Damon looked inside the room.
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
He looked around the hallway.
“Come on. Let's get out of here.”
Lily followed him.
Neither of them noticed the small camera sitting on one of the shelves inside the lab.
A few days later, things felt normal again.
There was a school party coming up, and for once, Lily decided she wasn't going to spend the entire evening worrying about Rose, Zoe, or whatever strange thing was happening at school.
The music was loud.
Everyone was laughing.
People were taking pictures, dancing, and running around.
Lily was having fun.
For once, she wasn't thinking about anything else.
Later that evening, though, the crowded room started getting to her.
She felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
“I just need some air,” she said.
Before she could get very far, someone approached her.
“Come on. I'll take you upstairs. It's quieter there.”
Lily hesitated.
“I don't know…”
“Come on. You'll feel better.”
He reached for her arm.
Before he could lead her away, Damon appeared.
“Where are you taking her?”
The person stopped.
“She said she wasn't feeling well.”
“Then she needs to stay down here where everyone is.”
Damon looked at Lily.
“You okay?”
Lily nodded.
“I'm just overwhelmed.”
“Okay. Come with me.”
He guided her back toward the main room, where there were plenty of other students and adults nearby.
Lily sat down.
Damon handed her some water.
“Better?”
“A little.”
He sat nearby.
“You know,” he said, “you have a talent for finding trouble.”
Lily laughed quietly.
“And you have a talent for finding me.”
Damon shrugged.
“Guess we're even.”
Chapter 8
The party eventually came to an end.
Lily was exhausted.
Her head was still spinning from everything that had happened that night, and all she wanted was to get home.
Damon stayed with her until they were outside.
“You sure you're okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I'm just tired.”
Damon pulled out his phone.
“I'll get you a ride.”
A few minutes later, the car arrived.
Lily climbed in and Damon waited until she was safely inside.
“Text me when you get home.”
“I will.”
She smiled.
“Bye, Damon.”
“Bye, Lily.”
The car pulled away.
Neither of them knew that someone had been watching.
Neither of them knew about the camera.
And neither of them knew who had placed it there.
The next morning, everything changed.
Lily woke up to dozens of notifications.
She grabbed her phone.
At first, she thought something had happened at school.
Then she saw the messages.
Damon and Rose are dating?!
Wait, WHAT?
Since when?
I knew something was going on!
Lily sat up in bed.
“What?”
She opened one of the posts.
There was a picture of Damon and Rose together.
Another one.
Then another.
Lily stared at her screen.
Her stomach dropped.
“What on earth just hit me?”
She immediately messaged Damon.
Lily: What's going on?
No response.
She tried again.
Lily: Damon?
Nothing.
Later that day, Lily finally saw him at school.
He was standing with Rose.
Rose had her arm around him.
Lily walked over.
“Damon?”
He looked at her.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Rose stepped closer to him.
“You're going to have to give us some space now.”
Lily stared at her.
“Excuse me?”
Rose shrugged.
“We're together.”
Lily looked at Damon.
“You're dating her?”
Damon hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Lily felt something inside her drop.
“Oh.”
She forced a smile.
“Okay.”
She walked away.
Behind her, Rose smiled.
And from that day forward, things changed.
Damon stopped sitting with Lily.
He stopped waiting for her after class.
He stopped walking with her between lessons.
Every time Lily looked for him, he was with Rose.
At first, Lily told herself it wouldn't last.
Then days became weeks.
And the two of them barely spoke.
Lily tried.
She sent messages.
She waited for him after class.
She even asked him directly.
“What happened?”
Damon just shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Then why aren't you talking to me?”
“I've been busy.”
“Busy with Rose?”
He didn't answer.
Lily stared at him.
“We're just not friends anymore?”
Damon looked away.
“I don't know.”
That hurt more than she expected.
Then high-school applications opened.
Everyone in Grade 8 was suddenly talking about the future.
Where they were going.
What schools they wanted.
What they planned to do.
For Lily, there was one school she had wanted for years.
Her dream school.
And, unfortunately, it was the same school Damon wanted.
She worked on her application carefully.
She checked everything.
She submitted it.
Then she waited.
Weeks later, the results arrived.
Lily opened hers.
Her heart sank.
Unfortunately, your application was unsuccessful.
She stared at the screen.
“No.”
She refreshed it.
Still the same.
She read it again.
And again.
Nothing changed.
Damon got in.
He had been accepted into the school they'd both dreamed about.
Rose also got into a decent school.
Lily looked at her own placement.
It wasn't the school she'd wanted.
It wasn't even close.
She dropped her phone onto her bed.
“There is no way Rose got into a better school than me.”
She knew she shouldn't compare herself.
But she was hurt.
She had worked so hard.
She had imagined herself walking through those gates.
And now she wouldn't.
Meanwhile, Damon was going to be there.
The same school she'd wanted.
The same school she'd pictured herself attending.
Everything seemed to be working out for everyone except her.
Then, just when Lily thought things couldn't get any more complicated, another message started spreading around school.
Damon and Rose broke up.
Lily stared at the message.
She didn't know what to feel.
She had spent so long trying to understand what happened between them.
And now they weren't even together anymore.
She wondered if Damon would finally talk to her.
He didn't.
They still barely spoke.
And eventually, Lily stopped trying.
Not because she didn't care.
Because she was tired of being the only one trying.
The school year slowly came to an end.
Students talked about their new schools.
New uniforms.
New friends.
New teachers.
New beginnings.
Lily listened quietly.
She was about to leave everything she knew behind.
But she still couldn't understand one thing.
How could someone who had once been her best friend become almost a stranger?
She didn't have an answer.
And maybe she never would.
For now, all Lily knew was that they were going to different schools.
Different lives.
Different paths.
And she had no idea where hers was going to lead.
Chapter 9
High school wasn't getting easier for Lily.
Every morning, she walked through the gates wishing she were somewhere else.
She had tried to convince herself that it didn't matter.
It did.
She missed the school she had wanted.
She missed the idea of starting high school where she had always imagined herself going.
And, more than anything, she missed the person she thought would still be beside her.
Damon.
They were at different schools now.
Different classes.
Different friend groups.
Different lives.
She still checked her phone sometimes, wondering if he had messaged.
He never did.
At school, Lily tried to keep herself busy.
She joined a few activities.
She started talking to some people in her classes.
She slowly made friends.
There were days when she actually laughed and forgot about everything for a while.
Other days were harder.
But little by little, high school started getting better.
Not perfect.
Just better.
Lily was beginning to realize that maybe this school wasn't going to be as terrible as she'd expected.
Then, one afternoon, she saw Damon again.
The Restaurant
Lily was sitting at a restaurant with some of her new friends when she heard a familiar voice.
“Lily?”
She turned around.
Damon.
For a second, she couldn't believe it.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
They stood there awkwardly.
Lily waited.
Maybe this was finally the moment he'd explain everything.
Instead, Damon gave her a small smile.
“I just decided to come say hi.”
“Oh.”
“It's good seeing you.”
“Yeah. You too.”
He glanced toward the entrance.
“I've got to go.”
Lily blinked.
“Already?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
She nodded.
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye, Lily.”
He walked away.
Lily watched him disappear through the entrance.
She had imagined seeing him again so many times.
She just hadn't imagined it would feel so strange.
The Mall
A few weeks later, Lily was at the mall when she spotted Damon again.
This time, she wasn't going to let him leave without asking.
“Damon!”
He turned around.
“Lily?”
She walked over.
“We need to talk.”
He looked slightly uncomfortable.
“About what?”
“You know what.”
“I really don't.”
Lily took a breath.
“Why did you get with Rose?”
Damon looked away.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“No.”
“Did she say something about me?”
“No.”
“Did I do something?”
“No.”
“Then why did you suddenly stop talking to me?”
Damon sighed.
“Lily, things change.”
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“We just drifted.”
“We didn't just drift.”
He didn't answer.
“You stopped sitting with me. You stopped answering me. You started spending all your time with Rose.”
“I know.”
“And then you broke up.”
“Yeah.”
“So why didn't you come back?”
Damon shrugged.
“I don't know.”
Lily stared at him.
“You seriously have nothing else to say?”
Damon looked at his phone.
“I actually have somewhere to be.”
“You're leaving again?”
“I'm sorry.”
He started walking away.
“Damon!”
He stopped.
Lily's voice became quieter.
“I just want to know what happened.”
Damon looked back at her.
“Maybe you'll understand one day.”
Then he walked away.
Lily stood there.
She had asked everything she could think of.
And somehow, she still had no answers.
A few days later, Lily got onto the bus.
She wasn't expecting to see Damon.
But there he was.
Standing near the middle of the bus.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Lily took a breath and walked over.
"Damon."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"We need to talk."
"We've already talked."
"No, we haven't."
Damon sighed.
"What do you want from me?"
"The truth."
"There isn't anything to explain."
"There has to be."
"Lily, we just drifted."
"No, we didn't."
"Things change."
"Then tell me why."
Damon looked away.
Lily stood there, waiting.
"Why did you suddenly decide you didn't want me in your life anymore?"
He didn't answer.
"I was your best friend," Lily said quietly.
"I know."
"Then what happened?"
Damon looked at her.
Neither of them spoke.
The bus continued moving, but somehow it felt completely silent.
Lily waited for an answer.
Damon finally looked back at her.
"Don't you get it?"
Lily frowned.
"Get what?"
"You're chasing me like you're a puppet."
She stared at him.
"You're pathetic. Can't you get your own life?"
Lily's expression changed.
"Damon..."
"I told you we've already drifted."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"It doesn't have to."
He paused.
"You were just a pawn I used. And when I had no use for you, I threw you out."
Lily's eyes widened.
Damon continued.
"And here you are, coming crawling back. Do you have nothing better to do?"
For a second, Lily just stared at him.
She couldn't believe what she had heard.
Then—
SMACK.
Lily slapped him across the face.
Damon's head turned sharply to the side.
The bus went completely silent.
He slowly turned back toward her, stunned.
Lily's hand was still shaking.
"How dare you?"
Damon said nothing.
"I can't believe I was your friend."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I never want to speak to you again."
She turned around and ran off the bus.
The moment she reached the pavement, the tears started falling.
Lily ran all the way home, crying.
Behind her, Damon remained standing on the bus.
He didn't know what had just happened.
He didn't know why he had said those things.
And he didn't even understand what he had just done.
He simply stood there, staring at the bus doors as they closed.
Chapter 10
Damon stayed on the bus long after Lily had left.
He was still standing in the same spot.
Slowly, he brought his hand up to his cheek.
It hurt.
His cheek was red from the slap, and he could still feel the sting.
Damon didn't know what had just happened.
He didn't know why he had said those things to Lily.
He didn't even know why he had pushed her away in the first place.
But he knew one thing.
He had hurt her.
When Damon finally got home, he went straight to his room and put ice against his cheek.
The cold helped a little.
But every time he moved his hand away, the soreness came back.
He could still remember the slap as if it had happened a minute ago.
And the look on Lily's face stayed in his mind too.
He never told anyone what happened.
And Lily never found out why Damon had really stopped speaking to her.
Maybe she never would.
A few days later, Lily made a decision.
She was going to try one more time.
Applications for Grade 10 transfers had opened at Damon's school.
Lily knew it was probably a long shot.
But part of her still wondered if things could somehow go back to the way they were.
So she applied.
Then she waited.
Days passed.
Finally, the email came.
Lily opened it.
She had been denied.
She stared at the screen.
For a few seconds, she didn't cry.
She just sat there.
Then the tears came.
She had wanted that school for so long.
She had imagined herself walking through those gates.
She had imagined starting over.
But it wasn't happening.
Lily cried for a while.
Then she wiped her face.
Maybe she had been looking in the wrong direction the entire time.
That night, she started searching for schools abroad.
One idea caught her attention.
New Zealand.
It was far away.
A completely different country.
A completely different school.
A completely different life.
So Lily applied.
And this time, she got accepted.
For the first time in a long time, Lily smiled at an acceptance email.
She was going.
---
The airport was busy on the morning Lily left.
Her suitcase rolled behind her as she walked through the terminal with her family.
She kept looking around.
Everything felt unreal.
The signs.
The people.
The giant windows.
The planes outside.
Lily stopped for a moment and looked through the glass.
Her plane was waiting.
She was actually going.
She hugged her family before heading toward security.
Then she looked back one last time.
She was nervous.
Excited.
Scared.
But mostly excited.
She walked toward her gate.
She was leaving everything behind.
The school she didn't get into.
The friendship that had fallen apart.
The questions she never got answers to.
And Damon.
---
But Lily didn't know that someone else was at the airport.
Damon had heard that she was leaving.
He didn't know exactly what made him go.
Maybe curiosity.
Maybe regret.
Maybe something he couldn't explain.
He stayed far away from her.
He didn't want Lily to see him.
So he stood behind a wall near the gates, watching from a distance.
He saw her laughing with her family.
He saw her pull her suitcase behind her.
He watched as she walked toward the boarding area.
Damon didn't call her name.
He didn't wave.
He didn't go after her.
He just watched.
For the last time.
Eventually, Lily disappeared through the gate.
Damon stayed there for a moment longer.
Then he turned around and left.
Neither of them knew that this was the last time their paths would cross for a very long time.
---
New Zealand was different.
At first, Lily was nervous.
Everything was unfamiliar.
The school was bigger than she expected, and she didn't know anyone.
But slowly, things changed.
She made friends.
She joined cross-country.
She explored new places.
She started laughing more.
She took pictures.
She made videos.
She tried things she had never tried before.
And for the first time in a long time, she wasn't constantly thinking about what she had lost.
She was thinking about what she could build.
Grade 10 became one of the best years of her life.
Then Lily did something she had always wanted to do.
She published her book.
At first, she didn't expect much.
Then the views started climbing.
More people found it.
People started talking about it.
Her book wasn't some worldwide phenomenon, but it was doing surprisingly well.
Lily was proud of herself.
She had created something.
Something that belonged completely to her.
Life was finally looking up.
---
One afternoon, Lily was scrolling through Instagram when she saw a familiar face.
Damon.
He was with someone new.
Lily stared at the screen for a moment.
Then she smiled.
She wasn't angry.
She wasn't heartbroken.
She wasn't wondering what she had done wrong.
She simply thought:
Good for him.
Then she put her phone down.
She had her own life now.
Her own friends.
Her own school.
Her own dreams.
Her own book.
Her own future.
And she was happy.
Really happy.
Sometimes Lily thought about the school she had wanted so badly.
The one she had never gotten into.
The one she had spent so much time chasing.
And eventually, she realized something.
If she had gotten into that school, she might never have applied abroad.
She might never have met the people she knew now.
She might never have joined cross-country.
She might never have written and published her book.
She might never have discovered how much she could actually do on her own.
Maybe getting rejected hadn't ruined her future.
Maybe it had changed it.
And Lily was finally okay with that.
She didn't need to chase the life she thought she was supposed to have anymore.
She already had one.
And she was going to make the most of it.
At first, she thought something had gone wrong.
Then she opened her phone.
Her eyes widened.
Her book had gone viral.
Overnight, thousands of people had started reading it. Then the numbers kept climbing.
Lily refreshed the page.
Her book had gained so much attention that she had earned £1.5 million from it.
Her mouth dropped open.
"WHAT?"
She sat up so quickly that she nearly dropped her phone.
Messages were flooding in.
People wanted interviews.
Brands were contacting her about collaborations.
Readers were posting about her book.
Her notifications wouldn't stop.
Lily couldn't believe it.
One book had changed everything.
She wasn't just known at her school anymore.
People from different countries were reading her story.
She had become known worldwide.
And somehow, this was all happening on the same day as her cross-country race.
Lily quickly got ready.
She arrived at the race still trying to process everything.
Her friends were excited for her.
"Are you actually famous now?" one of them joked.
Lily laughed.
"I don't even know!"
But when the race started, everything else disappeared.
The messages.
The book.
The brands.
All of it.
There was only the track.
Lily ran.
She pushed harder.
Every step took her closer to the finish line.
And then—
She crossed it first.
Gold.
Lily stopped and looked at the results.
Her name was at the top.
She had won.
She stood there holding her medal, completely overwhelmed.
She had come so far.
A year ago, she had been crying over a rejection.
She had cried over a school she couldn't get into.
She had cried over a friendship she couldn't save.
And now?
She was standing in New Zealand with a gold medal around her neck, a book that had gone viral, £1.5 million from her book, and an entire future waiting for her.
Lily looked up at the sky and smiled.
For the first time, she didn't wish for anything to be different.
She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Sometimes rejection doesn't mean the end.
Sometimes it simply sends you somewhere bigger than you ever imagined.
And Lily finally understood that the life she had been chasing wasn't necessarily the life she was meant to have.
She had lost one dream.
And somehow, she had found a much bigger one.
The End.
About the Competition
The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a prestigious platform celebrating the creativity and talent of writers worldwide. It offers participants the opportunity to showcase their literary works, fostering a community of artists dedicated to the art of storytelling. The competition embraces diverse voices and narratives, reflecting the richness of the global literary landscape.
We extend our gratitude to Liliane Kajika for sharing "The Game of Tag" with us. Her participation in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 enriches our understanding of friendship and personal transformation. We wish Liliane continued success in her creative journey and look forward to witnessing the stories she will craft in the future.
About Hashtag Kalakar
Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.
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