Marie's POV
I felt warm and tired as I forced my eyes open. The light burned and I blinked to rid it. I noticed Ryan sat on the sofa opposite me, looking off into the distance, completely zoned out.
I realised I'm back in the quiet room. I wonder how long I was sleeping for?
"Ryan?" I yawned, causing him to snap back into reality and stare at me with a look of concern, plastered across his face.
"What happened and how did I get here?" I moaned, kind of exhausted by this whole situation.
He looked down to his lap for a second, then back up to me. "You had another panic attack"
Those words brought it all flooding back. My so called mum coming over just after I told everybody about my ...dad? Then she gave me a parcel and ran off.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
"Where's the parcel?" I replied, ignoring his point completely.
"I'll fetch it for you"
He got up out of his seat on the sofa and quickly paced into the office, shortly returning with the brown, creased paper thing in his hand.
He handed it to me and I sat up properly on the sofa, leaving room for him to sit beside me, which he did. He put his arm round me and leant over my shoulder as I opened up the parcel.
It kind of felt heavy, not like 'hard to lift' heavy, but like 'really gonna hurt if I drop it on my foot' type heavy.
After taking a pause, and a deep breath, I started to unravel the paper.
There were layers and layers of it, guarding with care whatever was inside.
With the pull of one final layer, I saw a small box that sat resting between my palms. It looked a bit like a jewellery box, or a music box but still not quite the same.
"What's inside it?" Ryan asked.
I placed my hand on the brim of the lid and pulled upwards........but it wouldn't open. I tried and tried but it was like it was superglued on or something.
"Do you want me to try?"
"Yes please" I said quickly before handing him the box and awkwardly looking away. Such an emotional moment, completely ruined by my weakness.
Ryan also struggled with the box, neither of us could open it.
"Is there definitely something in there?"
He shook it against his ear and something made a rattling noise.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure" he said spitefully.
"Alright alright. How do we open it then?"
"I don't know. Let's look it up on the Internet"
"Alright but I'm not sure how much that will help"
He gave me the box back and we both walked into the lounge and I sat at the desk whilst Ryan stood behind me, leaning over my shoulder.
I opened up Google and typed in "how to open small wooden box with pattern on top"
"What are you to up to?" Asked Jody from her place at the pool table where she was taking on Tyler and Bailey.
"Trying to open the box" I said in my 'dur' voice as I clicked the first result.
"It says use a screwdriver to go round the edges and loosen the lid"
"Let's try that then" Ryan said.
"That won't work" Kazima stated boldly.
"How would you know?"
"Because it's not a jewellery box"
"What is it then? If you're so clever"
"It's a puzzle box"
I sighed and sat back in my seat, almost trapping Ryan's fingers between my back and the back of the chair.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he snapped his finger out the way just in time.p
"I'm no good at puzzles"
"Not with that attitude you won't be"
"Well how do you solve a puzzle box then Kazima?"
"Usually, it's a series of small actions, like a chain reaction that eventually triggers the opening of the box"
"Right....?"
"What's locked in there anyway?"
"I don't even know, hence why I want to open it so badly..."
"Oh right. Good luck"
"You mean you won't help?"
"I would, but I have this book to finish. Sorry"
"Ryan will you help?"
"Sure, but I don't know how much use I will be to you. I never knew puzzle boxes even existed until now"
"Neither, but we have to try. Whatever is in there, she was desperate for me to have."
"Let's do it upstairs"
"Oh then, but seriously, the sooner we start, the sooner it can be opened, o just hope I like what's inside"
Ryan and I both ran upstairs to my room and we're now sat on the floor opposite each other, with the box between us. We examined it first, to see if we could find anything on it that was unusual or out of place.
"We're never gonna solve it" I moaned as I put my head in my hands on the floor.
"We need to try"
"You're more into this than I am!"
"Because I know that whatever this thing is in here, you need it, and you need it now, otherwise your "mum" would have waited until another, more convenient time to give it to you"
"So you're saying I need to open it ASAP?"
"Basically yeah"
"Pass it here then..."
He handed me the box and I started fiddling with it. I wasn't getting anywhere but there's no harm in trying. Ryan stared at me the whole time but I didn't bother focusing on him. This is between me, and the box!
----------
"Marie!"
"What?!" I asked as I sat up on the carpet.
"You fell asleep"
"I can see that Ryan"
"Dinners ready"
"I slept for that long?"
"Yeah, I didn't bother waking you, and I couldn't open the box either"
"Never mind. Let's go"
He helped me up off the carpet where I lay, and we both went down to the kitchen to have dinner. Tacos, OK.
I couldn't really focus through dinner. My mind kept going back to the box and what could be inside it. The only time I stopped day dreaming was when Tyler's taco crumbled mid bite and he made a massive mess of himself, his clothes, and Carmen who sat next to him.
"Tyler! This top is brand new!" Carmen squealed as she looked down at the white top, now covered in salad and salsa.
"Sorry, it was an accident"
"Oh sure! You're gonna pay for this!"
"No way!"
"Urmm....yes way!"
"Guys shut up!" I snapped. Everyone turned to look at me with questioning looks on their faces, clearly nobody knew why I was so stressed and angry.
"Are you alright?" Mai Lee asked.
"I'm fine. Just those two driving me up the wall!"
"Guys shut up yeah? Enough fighting. Carmen, we will get you a new one tomorrow, Tyler, you'll pay for half of it!" She bargained.
"But I'm broke!"
"Well then it comes out of your allowance and that's the last I want to hear of it!"