The Game of Questions

The First Clue

02

Gisabelle

          Gisabelle returned to her room after breakfast to search out some decent clothes to wear. She walked over to one of the two white doors that led to the bathroom or closet and opened it. Inside she found a huge walk-in closet about three times the size of the room she had woken up in. There were all sorts of clothes-short summer dresses, flowery skirts, longer less casual dresses, vintage tees, silk blouses, evening dresses, sneakers, high heel of all sorts, flip-flops, sandals, flats, and jean pants, jackets, skirts, and vests. And a whole wall of black clothing.

          Gisabelle wasn’t gothic. She wore some black clothing to bring out her white hair, but she definitely wasn’t gothic. Today she felt different, though…like she wanted to wear all black. Let her skin get a little lighter, seeing as she probably didn’t have any tanning oil here anyways, and just be someone else. So she put on a black shirt with rips down it, showing a second layer of material and a pair of black skinny jeans with zippers running from the bottom of her leg to the end of the pant leg. For shoes, she chose black Converse.  Her new look was complete.

          Next, she went into the bathroom to see if there was any make-up in there. She opened the door to a plain bathroom, all just as white as the room. There was a large counter with a sink in the middle and all sorts of things neatly lined up all over it. There were perfume bottles, make-up remover, and all sorts of make-up, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and mineral salt for baths. There was a shower with a bathtub doubling as the bottom and a toilet right behind the door. She walked over to all the make-up and chose black eye shadow and mascara. She then applied bright pink eyeliner to complete the look. She was ready to face whatever was outside of the mansion.

          She met the rest of them on the grand staircase. Alice-the one with light brown eyes-wore a plaid shirt with ruffles running down the front and light-wash jeans with leather flip-flops. Anna-the one with purple eyes-was wearing skin tone leggings under a pink dress with blue flowers dotting it. Isobel wore a brown ¾ inch sleeve shirt with a jean mini-skirt and leather ankle-boots.

          “Ready to see what’s outside?” she asked adventurously. “Wonder if there’s a swimming pool?”

          They slowly walked down the rest of the stairs and towards the doors that led to the outside. Isobel put her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. They all stepped on into the sun.

          One thing was for sure: they were not in Florida. They were somewhere in New England, probably. Maine? Massachusetts? It was a little chilly outdoors, though that could only be expected, seeing as it was about eight in the morning. In Florida, she would be in the pool by now. However, she had heard that New England spring times were less…hot and humid.

          She looked around at her surroundings. There were flowers along the outside walls of the mansion. There was a perfectly kept lawn with a road leading from an iron gate that must have been twenty feet high. There were trees on both sides of the property about five feet beyond the mansion. And the mansion itself was huge. It was made of gray brick and looked quite beautiful. Gisabelle started around towards the back lawn.

          Sure enough, there was a swimming pool. It was perfectly clear and revealed a blue bottom. She smiled. She wouldn’t be missing out on any swimming time.

          The others had circled around about five minutes after she did. They walked up to her with Isobel in the lead and stopped.

          “Gate’s locked, just like I thought,” she announced gloomily.

         Gisabelle nodded. No surprise to her. “I’m going for a swim,” she decided. No use not having any fun while they were stuck there. “Anyone want to join me?” They all shook their heads.

          “Okay,” she said, trying to hint that they could join in at any time.

          She walked back into the mansion and up to her room. In the closet, she found a large dresser with drawers full of undergarments-one for underwear, one for bras, one for socks, and one for bathing suits. She chose an extremely small black bikini with anchors printed on one pad of the top and one side of the bottom. In the bathroom, she grabbed a towel and headed out to the pool.          

          As she was heading out the door of her bedroom, she glanced across the room at the bed. And stopped dead. There was something on her pillow that wasn’t there before. She walked over and picked it up.

          Want to know why you’re here? You’re going to have to show dedication. Be the first to find all the clues I’ve hidden just for you and you’ll win the mansion. If one of the other girls finds all their clues first, you’ll be sent home. Easy as that. Your first clue’s floating in the pool. Go find it! And good luck!

P.S. Don’t tell the other girls about this. They’re getting their own notes.

          Gisabelle stared at the note. Easy. Why would they win the mansion? Why were they the ones that were chosen? It was a pretty nice mansion, though. Gisabelle wouldn’t mind having it as a vacation spot. Or a home when she moved out of her parents house. Sure, it would cost a lot to keep it clean and groomed, but she would worry about that if she won. With that, she ran out back and tossed her towel on a chair, already having spotted the clue. It was a water lily, floating towards the end of the pool. She jumped in and swam over to it.

          She picked it up and found that the lily pad it was floating on was plastic. She released the lily to float around and picked up the green pad. She turned it over and discovered the bottom had a cover that came off. She snapped it away and discovered a note and a key inside.

          Good job, you’ve figured out the first clue! The others will not be as simple. Enjoy your swim, and after, go exploring in the mansion. The hallway with your faces has the door which answers to your key. When you get in there, another note will be awaiting you. Take your time! You and the others have months to solve the clues. But don’t take too long. Best person at my game will be given advantages…wouldn’t you love it if you were that person? Don’t fail.

          Gisabelle swam over to the chair with her towel on it and hid the paper and the key under it. She still wanted that swim.