A child with short hair comes up to me and reaches out her hand.
"Are you ok, Kir-?"
Gasp!
I woke up in a classroom that seemed to be old and filled with dust. I looked and walked around the classroom to look for items and clues. My escape room instincts took over my body and the next thing I knew I started to scavenge around every shelf and cabinet. I checked the door and around it, and then I found a padlock.
'It seems that I need some kind of code.' After I looked around the door, I started to check the board.
-Welcome Back To School-
I pressed my hands around the board and tried to see if I could take the board off the wall. I looked at the teacher's desk and found something. There was a sticky note in a drawer under the desk.
-W B T S-
'W B T S. W is the 23rd letter of the alphabet. B is the 2nd. T is the 20th. S is the 19th. So, the code could be 2322019.' And so I went over to the padlock and mashed in the buttons.
-Incorrect-
'Damn it.' I looked around the room for more clues. The windows are boarded up so the only light I have is the ceiling, which is quite dim.
'Think, think. Come on you used to be the best at this. Multiple escapes and the record for the fastest which I hid for some reason.' I ran around the classroom to look for more clues. I looked at the sticky note again.
'2322019. Maybe I should divide that by 4.' I looked for my phone around the desk that I had awakened on. 'Do I have to do this the long way? I hate math!.'
I walked to the board and started to jot down my work. '5 times 4 equals 20. 8 times 4 equals 32…' I ended up having a total of 580,504.75. 'If round that to the nearest ones then it would be 580505.'
I punched the numbers into the padlock.
-Incorrect-
"Damn it!" I shouted.
'Welcome back to school. W B T S. There I checked everywhere. Every desk, shelves, cabinet, and drawer.' I couldn't think of any other way for me to unlock the padlock. I walked around the room a bit more than I thought of something. I walked up to the door and pulled hard. It was locked.
'This gonna be stupid of me if this succeeds.' I then pressed the number 4 on the padlock.
-Correct-
I was dumbfounded.'So it was just 4 huh.' I opened the door and I found a piece of paper on the floor.
"We have an announcement in the auditorium. Your attendance is crucial and absences will not be tolerated." I read out loud and I suddenly felt something in my pocket after I read it.
I pulled it out and it was a map around the school. I looked at the class number, which was barely visible because of how old this school is. 'If this is class 203 then the auditorium is to my right, I believe.' And so I started my walk to the auditorium.
…
More than a couple minutes later I found the doors to the auditorium. The map seems to be outdated, but somehow I found my way. I pushed through the doors and bright light gleamed into my face.
'Huh?' I found the room to be empty. 'Was I in the wrong room? No, I am positive that I am in the correct room.' Then I looked up at a black TV and saw some text.
-We are correctly waiting for 2 out of 15.-
"2 out of 15? I am the only one here."
"No your not."
I turned and saw a girl with glasses that had big and round lenses, red eyes, and black long hair. She closes a book titled "Sherlock Holmes" that she was reading. She had a brown leather coat and a hat that most fictional detectives have. Her whole attire screams out detective, but I would like to keep an open mind.
"May I ask you to not stare at me like that?"
"Oh, I am sorry."
She then opened the book and continued to read the page she left on. I sat beside her and I compared my looks and clothes to her's because of boredom. She had a nice detective attire while I had a simple black T-shirt and grey sweatpants. It did go quite well with my messy black hair and dark brown eyes, but I felt inferior for some reason.
"Do you like mysterious books like Sherlock Holmes?"
"Yes…" she plainly answered.
'I need to eliminate the awkwardness somehow.' I need to think of some conversation starters and fast because she is gonna think that I will be annoying. She does remind me of someone that I know from college, but I couldn't really put my finger on it. More important than that I need another conversion starter.
"Well, how did you get here?"
"Exactly how you got here. Kidnapped by a black van at night."
'What? Kidnapped? I wasn't kidnapped nor have I seen a black van lingering around the park at that, but it was probably because I didn't resist the invitation.'
"Would are your thoughts about the puzzle? I thought it was troublesome, but it was fun in the end."
"What puzzle?"
"Huh? You didn't get a puz-"
Creak!
The auditorium doors swung open in the middle of my sentence and saw 2 people.
One of them was a girl who had short blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The other was a guy with long silver hair and black eyes. He had glasses which made him look quite old. The guy had a black and white suit and black pants while the girl had a white jacket with a pink and pink dress with frills.
"What do you do for a living sir?"
"Well I am a lawyer and what about you?"
"I am a model. How could you not tell? My clothes are obviously from a very luxurious store."
'Why do I have a grudge against her already?' She seems quite boastful.
"What about you guys?"
I looked up and saw the long silver-haired man loom down at me and the detective girl.
"Well I used to be an escape room designer, but I got fired."
"Well, that is sad, and what about you, Miss Beauty?"
He completely ignored me and boy did I feel annoyed. My temper is quite short, but I can keep it composed. Just like the time when I got framed by my childhood friend. 'I wonder how Kris is enjoying his job.' I didn't know why I was so curious about him now.
I was too focused on my thoughts and feelings to notice that the silver-haired man lifted the detective girl's chin. 'What is he doing?' The girl seems to be keeping her composure quite well.
"You are quite the beautiful investigator. Say after this event, do you want to go back to my house?"
"For a lawyer, you are quite perverted and lewd."
"My clients are all beautiful and you can be my client anytime. Say, would you tell me your name?"
"It is Sahara. Sahara June."
"You have a beautiful name too. I might not be able to resist you."
I wanted to throw up after I heard that line. I looked back at the model girl and she seemed to be doing some random modeling poses. 'Why is she doing those poses when we have someone getting harrassed?!' I had to take things into my own hands.
"Excuse me si-"
Creak!
The door opened again which also interrupted me again. A bunch of people came in, but one of many stole my attention. The voice could never be forgotten in my brain.
I quickly turned my head and looked at the person who ruined my life. And there he is Kris Vault…