THE CRYSTAL HOUSE

¶The First Story¶

The masked guards ushered them out of the game room and Ace headed to Penny's room. Penny was the only one in the house he really talked to, everyone else was already paired off or wanted to be alone. It was fine by him, viewers weren't controlling the outcome of the game so he could shut off everyone. When he entered her room, she smiled at him and strode over to give him a hug.

"Don't be sad. It's just a game, I'll be fine. I achieved my aim of coming here." Ace froze when she made contact, surprised with the gesture. Was this her way of trying to comfort herself?

"What was your aim?" Ace asked, slowly recovering. He couldn't remember a time when he had been hugged, and the idea seemed so foreign to him.

Penny gave him a grin. "Meeting you, of course. My exercise instructor."

"Oh, thanks." This girl seemed to think very highly of him, after two days of instructing them. He was sure the others didn't care about that. "What will you do after this?"

"Ace, I have a life. This was just a three-day break so by tomorrow, I'll be back in Greece working on my research paper, and missing you." She smiled and turned away to continue packing. "What about you? Where will you be when you get out?"

Ace joined her in folding the clothes. "I don't know. Wherever life takes me, I guess." He paused, and when she didn't respond, he went on. "Maybe by then, I'll remember something useful."

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up in a hospital with no memory of my life."

Penny looked shocked. "How? What happened? Were you hurt? I once read a story similar to that, he had been attacked by the mafia and left for dead."

Ace frowned, she was probing for information just like the nurse had done. He glanced at her and decided to open up. "I wasn't hurt so I didn't feel any pain. The nurses told me I had walked in and fainted, out for four days. All I had with me was an address, some money and a gun, the address led me to an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere. For weeks, I did menial jobs trying to make some cash and retrace my steps, but with no luck. So when the invitation came, I gladly accepted it and here I am."

Penny looked deep in thought, as she folded and unfolded the same dresses over again. "But you're an exercise instructor. How long have you been out of the hospital?"

Ace collected the clothes from her and folded, his knew the story seemed like a fairytale when he explained it. "I've been on the road for three months and in the second month I got a job at a gym, lifting weights is one of the two things I do well. The other is being an expert with tools, any type of mechanical tool I can handle it. But companies wanted a degree and on-the-job experience."

Penny moved closer, and touched his cheek. "With the way the game went, I'll really need an exercise instructor. My house also needs some fixing up." She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and squeezed it into his hand. "Contact me when you get out of here. I'll be waiting."

Femi

Femi's roommates invited him for a drink at the garden after the game, but he declined. He needed to be alone and think which was what he was busy with when Ingrid came in. He saw her when she stopped at his open door.

"Marcello and Florian are in the garden." He responded, expecting her to go away. When she didn't, he swivelled his body to face her. "Do you want anything else?"

"I came to talk to you, actually. I've never talked to those guys." She shrugged and advanced towards Marcello's bed to sit.

Femi didn't hesitate to voice his surprise. "We've never talked as well."

She shrugged, and offered him a chocolate. "It's from the kitchen, and there's a first time for everything."

Femi didn't respond to that, but he took the chocolate. After his love for adventure, chocolates came in second but he would rather die than admit that to anyone.

Ingrid filled the silence. "You played the game well. Do you play escape room games?"

Femi tore open the wrap and took a bite. Chocolate flavour was his best. "Yes, I do. The obstacle course was an easy challenge for me."

"Oh, that's good for you. I'm just glad I made it under four minutes, that stuff was scary."

Femi laughed. "How? It was simple stuff, and everywhere had protection so nothing dangerous could have happened." To him, that had taken away all the fun. A large portion of the game area was covered with foam to avoid any injuries, and the guards were also in close proximity.

The girl opposite him frowned. "Thank goodness for those, if not I would have refused to participate. What if I fell and broke my leg?"

Femi shrugged. "It seems you don't like the thrill of adventure."

"I don't care for it. I'm happy with both feet on the ground. Do you want another one?" She asked, pointing to his empty wrap. When had he finished it? He declined, trying to be modest.

"Okay, if you say so. So what else do you enjoy, apart from obstacle courses? Playing with snakes?"

Femi grinned at her. "What if I showed you the snake I have in my bag?" He reached for it, as he watched her expression. It was priceless, she jumped off Marcello's bed and made for the door with a pure look of terror on her face.

Femi laughed, and dropped his bag. "No, I don't like playing with snakes, and I certainly don't have one here with me. Besides, our belongings were inspected."

At the last comment, she walked back and sat down still glancing at his bag on the bed. Femi dropped the bag, and heard her sigh audibly.

"I also enjoy my studies, and reading. I'm not all about adventure, you see." She nodded, and when he asked about her hobbies, she launched into a story about her love for travel.

After a while, she decided to go. As she strode towards the door, Femi asked. "Why did you really come to talk to me?" He didn't need pity from anyone, he could handle what happened alone.

"I told you, you seem interesting and I wanted to know how it felt to talk to someone from another race."

After she left Femi decided he needed a drink, and he went to join his roommates. Later, when he remembered the slim pretty girl on glasses who offered him chocolate and wiped her hands on her black jeans before she made a comment, he smiled. She had come to cheer him up, and he was grateful.

*****

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