E.R. 101
Cho
After divining that we were the ones who had stolen her phone, Fa C gave us a week’s worth of extra homework and ten detentions with Ms. Waan. Noone cared much about the homework, but the detentions were torture. Ms. Waan just kept beating us up and blaming our bruises on lack of defence and reflexes. Fa C was lenient with us because she thought that our work was a fantastic bit of spying.
We were on our way to the next class. The timetable said ‘Improvisation in Different Situations’. However, I knew that the students called it Escape the Room 101 (ER 101). That gave me a decent idea of what we were going to learn.
Zacharias
We entered a large hall where a teacher stood. He had a salt and pepper beard and gelled back hair. He wore a striped t shirt with jeans.
“I am Mr. D. Ruv. I am your teacher for this year. In this class you will be placed in different situations where your main objective is to get out. The situations you are placed in are the same, however the way you all tackle it will be very different. Each group go through a door.”
Angelina
The hall was big, with doorways all along the walls. We chose one and entered it. The door locked behind us. There was a door at the other end of the room, one I was assuming we had to go through. The room was designed and decorated like somebody’s office.
I made to step onto the carpet but Snowy stopped me, “If I know this school, then the carpet’s probably booby trapped. I think there are sensors on the carpet. When you set foot on them, the touch sensors get activated and...lasers shoot at you, or something.”
Vincent
‘Punzel fiddled with her lip, deep in thought. “Snowy? Any other traps we should know about?”
“None that I can see.”
“Makes you wonder how the owner of the room gets in himself,” quipped Sandy.
In the meanwhile, Fizz, who was listening to us talk with half a ear, suddenly lifted off the floor by whirling her nunchucks in the air. She steadied herself and moved across the carpet. When she reached the other side, she lowered herself down and smirked at us.
Cho
The boys stared at her open mouthed. Then Snowy strapped his shields determinedly to his feet and activated them. They lit up. He walked across the carpet without ever touching it with his feet.
Sandy whispered something to his boomerang and threw it. It hit the wiring of the carpet sensors and tore the wires. He walked across confidently. They all looked at me now from the other side.
Zacharias
‘Punzel just smiled at us sweetly. She took out her dagger and went close to the door through which we came. She pressed the button on the knife that released acid and dissolved the door lock. It swung open. She grinned, “You guys go that way, I’m leaving this way.”
We opened the door on our side and left. Mr. Ruv was standing there with a stopwatch in his hand. He walked us through a small room and led us back into the main hall we had come into.
“You had a little Chinese girl with you didn’t you?”
Angelina
“Yes,” I answered, “She left through the other door.”
Mr. Ruv smiled thoughtfully. When we reached the main hall, ‘Punzel was standing outside the door. Mr. Ruv asked us, “How did you get out?”
‘Punzel explained the different methods we had used to reach the other side of the room. When she came to her part, Mr. Ruv’s smile became wider. He openly grinned at her.
Vincent
The rest of the students soon began filing in. We remained standing in the hall as Mr. Ruv went to each group, no doubt questioning them the same way he had been questioning us. ‘Punzel just stood and stared at him, deep in thought.
He soon left to the front of the hall and called out, “Class dismissed!”
We turned to leave.
“Not you, Miss Chang!”
Cho
I turned back. The rest of my friends kept walking. Some friends. Mr. Ruv walked towards me, “I would like to take you on as my extra student for this class. If you accept, of course.”
“Of course! Thank you, sir!”
“Let’s get started, so in every improvisation, you need to remember...