Femi
Femi looked at the screen, dumbfounded. His name was at the top of the list, with the highest number of good throws. Seven. How? He had never played the game before, let alone understanding the rules well enough to throw his blue ball accurately. All he did was throw as near to the black one as he could and hope for the best in the game.
Mr. Han's voice pierced through his ears. "Congratulations are in order, Femi. You've won the fourth game and as this is your second win, you'll automatically be the Assistant Head of House till the next games."
Femi heard claps ring out, and he looked at the smiling faces of the housemates. They seemed happy for him, all except Marcello. His roommate stood at the edge of the door to the game room, glaring at him. Not really at him, though but at everyone.
His loss and immediate elimination was another issue that needed to be addressed. His roommate's confidence for this game was apparent, he said he regularly played back at home yet he was unable to get even three good throws.
"As you're aware the next games will be two days from now, at noon. Come prepared, and goodluck to the seven of you." Mr. Han said, dismissing them.
When they all stepped out, Mr. Han closed the door behind them and locked it as usual. Femi suspected it was to give him time to arrange the departure of the eliminated housemate, or to start arranging it for the next games. He was sure the mystery door at one edge of the game room led elsewhere.
As he looked towards where some of the housemates stood, he saw Mareike talking animatedly to Marcello talking in a corner and he saw the guy's annoyed face take a twist and turn into one of shock. He hoped she was giving him a piece of her mind, it was long overdue. He was still watching when she pointed a finger at his face and stormed out of the lounge, retreating into Room A.
Femi stared at the ashen face of his now ex-roommate, wondering how the girl put up with him. It had been tiresome to deal with someone who regularly made fun of people behind their back, especially Florian and Mareike who were supposed to be close to him. Femi suspected the guy also made fun of him, just like the white guys at his college.
The straw that broke the camel's back for him was the incident today; he was a bit tempted to tell Marcello that his love interest was behind him, but he wanted nothing more than for the girl to see the guy for what he really was: a manipulator.
He still looked annoyed at the turn out of events, but it was over and done for him. Honestly, he didn't feel sad for the guy though. Eventually, they would all leave and get back to their normal lives, God willing.
In the beginning, the games had him thinking of Escape room but the organizers regularly sent them video messages of the housemates outside, so he relaxed. The others were doing well, in their various countries and nothing was amiss. Even if he didn't win, he had gained enough experience and his bucket list would have one more tick.
Participate in Escape room games. Check. Maybe, not exactly Escape room but it was nearly the same thing.
Suddenly someone tapped his shoulder and when he turned, Chiara was smiling at him.
"Congrats in today's game, and thanks for supporting my friend. You're a good person, Femi." She said, and instantly walked away giving him no chance to reply.
Things kept getting weirder in the house.
Mareike
"Mareike, that was incredible. How did you do it?" Chiara said inaudibly, trying to make her voice a whisper.
Mareike whispered back. "I do not really know, I just started saying stuff in my head and it happened."
A part of her was still shocked by the play out of the events; Marcello was long gone and she was single again. Back to her feelings of body hate and loneliness.
"You know what I loved the most? How you gave him a piece of your mind." Priya offered, and high-fived Chiara who burst out laughing.
"That was so good, girl. I wish I had taken a video." Chiara added.
Mareike smiled, trying to hide the hurt she still felt at his betrayal. Her mind was still raw with anger, but it was flooded with pain and regret. Marcello had been her first requited crush (or so she thought), and now she felt foolish for not seeing the signs and for allowing herself to be swept by sweet words.
In her mind, there was also a bit of guilt. She basically made him lose the game, and get eliminated. What if he needed the money for something urgent? Life-changing or threatening? Now his chances were cut short. All because of her.
She felt something poke her arm, and she glanced at Chiara.
"Sea to, Mareike. If you're feeling guilty, squash that feeling like the bug it is. Like I said before, he was a shallow narrow minded jerk to you and he got what he deserved." Chiara said, and looked at Priya who gave a nod. Clearly, they were on the same page.
"Instead, you could be thinking about your big-girl move this evening. I've never seen you that mad or passionate about something, and it's certainly a pretty sight."
She laughed and thought back to the main event of a few hours ago, an event still fresh in her memory.
Mareike waited till the games were over, and Mr. Han announced the results with Marcello being eliminated. They watched the projector screen as a large red X appeared across his face, making it official.
She couldn't help her smile at that announcement, it felt nice to take a small bit of revenge. Her mother would be proud of this small feat, this was the sort of thing that didn't go unnoticed. Punishment.
Immediately they filed out of he room, Mareike left her friends and went in search of the guy that caused her blood to boil beneath her sweaty body.
She found him at the door of his room, staring angrily into the faces of the oblivious housemates. She stalked towards him, her mind still replaying his cruel words.
"Hey Marcello. So you are leaving?" She asked, stopping directly in front of him.
"Mi amor! It seems so, how will I see you?" He asked, his face now a perfect mask of sadness and longing.
As Mareike stared at his facial features, she felt a burden lifting off her shoulders. It was easy to see how he deceived her, he played his features so well and used it to his advantage.
"Well, you will not see me again. It is all over." She replied.
He frowned, "What do you mean, love? We still have so many plans. Come on, I want to give you a goodbye kiss." He said, taking hold of her arm as he started to walk into his room.
She stood still, and drew her hand out of his grasp wiping it on the pleated bottom of her gown. The thought of kissing him once made her ecstatic, but now it felt disgusting.
She came out straight. "I heard what you told Femi, Marcello. I sat behind you the whole time you were uttering nonsense, and now I know what you really think of me."
Mareike watched as his face turned white. His eyes widened, and he saw his hands through his hair.
"Y-You heard that? It's not what it seems like. It was just a joke, a harmless one, just to scare Femi away. He was expressing interest and I-I had to scare him off somehow." He begged, moving forward to take her arm again but she drew back.
Lies, all lies. This time, she saw it in his face. He still wanted to save face, and make her want him but she was past that.
"Marcello, chill. You do not need to explain so much, it is not like you cheated on me. You just said how you really felt, and you deserve an applaud." She said, and started to clap into his face.
He shook his head frantically. "No, that's not it. I'm sorry you heard that."
Mareike stopped clapping and pointed a finger at him. "You are sorry I heard it, not that it was uttered. Marcello you got what you deserved, and on the return plane, remember that I was responsible for that. You are really nothing more than a little warrior."
Mareike finished and walked away, taking large steps till she entered her room, closing the door behind her. She sighed and expelled a huge breath. Courage was something she still needed to work on, but today she deserved a large bottle of white wine for effort.
Eryk
Eryk sat up and looked around, trying to find the source of the voices but there was nothing in the dark room. He stretched a hand and put on the lamp on the dresser beside him, the soft glow illuminating his bed space. His roommates were still asleep, snoring softly, and he didn't want to wake them.
He shrugged off his shirt and swallowed two pills of Advil dry, as he rubbed his sore leg continously. The pain was getting worse, and he needed a doctor but it wasn't urgent yet. Hopefully, he would be out of the house before anything serious happened again.
Eryk got out of bed and made his way upstairs, limping as he did so. The ticking of the clock pierced through the quiet of the night and he glanced at it. Three a.m. He shuddered, and continued into the kitchen to get something to drink.
Five minutes later, he was drinking a cup of bland coffee and staring into the darkness of the lounge. The kitchen light was turned on, but it was set too low to shine elsewhere.
The darkness and quiet was too much to bear, so he picked up a remote and chose a soft music to play. The continous drones of the music slowly pushed away the strange dreams that woke him up. However, it wasn't enough to block out the voices whispering around him.
Until he heard a voice. "Eryk, is that you?"
He nodded, and kept quiet till he realized the girl couldn't see him. He shook his head, "Yes, it's me."
At that, the owner of the voice walked closer till she was directly opposite him, reaching out a hand to drag out a chair.
"Why are you not asleep?" She asked, furiously blinking her eyes as she tightened her sleeping coat across her body.
"Had a nightmare and felt thirsty. I thought I left you both snoring." Eryk replied, raising his cup towards her.
"So coffee is your go to drink when you are thirsty?" His roommate scrunched up her nose. "I do not snore, maybe Ingrid does though." She added, laughing.
He studied his roommate. "You seem happy, Mareike." He rarely saw her smile, and even though it saddened him, he wasn't in the best position to make someone laugh. Hell, he couldn't even make himself laugh on most days.
He heard a sigh. "I'm trying to be. Chiara and Priya said I need to be happy and more confident."
Eryk nodded. "That's two solid friends you've got there. One more than mine." Priya seemed to be a really nice person, and the fact that she was helping this lady sort out her problems even when she had hers, made him like her more. With Chiara, he hadn't conversed with her one-on-one to really be sure.
"You have one friend? Outside the house?" She raised her brows and leaned forward.
Eryk frowned. "Are you mocking me?"
She shook her head frantically and got up to get a bottle of water from the fridge.
"No, not at all. I don't have any friends outside the house, not even one. You could say I am jealous, instead." He heard her explain behind him.
It was his turn to be shocked. He turned to face her, and nearly bumped her arm with his head. He drew back and looked at her.
"Why? How come?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.
She moved away from the fridge and sat down again, causing Eryk to turn along with her.
"My upbringing, I guess. My mom is a top politician at home, so I am very restricted and overly protected. Add that to my size and obvious lack of communication skills, and I am the poster child for bullying and fake friends." His roommate shrugged, and took a sip of her water.
Eryk couldn't resist asking the first question that came into his mind.
"I've never seen you drink any other kind of water, except it's sparkling? Is it because of your mom too?"
She glanced at the bottle. "You know, I am really not sure. It has always been like that for me."
"Hmm. Well, I'm happy for you. Now you've two good friends, nice conversation skills, and gotten rid of Marcello."
He saw her tense up at the last part, and watched as she gulped down a large portion of her water before responding.
"Yes, I guess I have." She said, shakily.
In a few seconds, she was wiping sweat off her brows with shaking hands.
"Are you alright, Mareike? You seem tense."
She bored her eyes into his. "What? No, I am fine. Just a bit hot that's all."
Eryk could easily recognize when someone didn't want to talk about something, and Mareike seemed that way. He decided not to push, and steer the conversation into safer waters.
She did it first. "What was your nightmare about?"
Not so safe, then. He was mute for a few seconds, debating whether or not to tell her about his issues.
"For the past two nights, I've been having one constant nightmare ending with two words." He whispered.
She leaned forward again, the curiosity evident in her body language. "What two words?"
"Come home."
Eryk heard the unmistakable sound of plastic dropping and water splashing.
"It cannot be." He heard his roommate say.
*****
WHY DO YOU THINK MAREIKE REACTED LIKE THAT AT THE END? DO YOU LIKE HOW SHE'S IMPROVED? LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENT SECTION. IF YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE VOTE AND/OR LEAVE A COMMENT.