The Last Day

The school trip is coming to an end, and the group is making their way to Kyoto tower. As they approached the tower, Harrison calls for all the students to reassemble for a moment, "just a reminder that everyone needs to meet me back here at 6 pm", Says the teacher, "You have 8 hours to enjoy the Kyoto tower, so have fun!"

Nadine, who has been to the tower before, offers to show the group around, "Consider me a guide it won't disappoint you at all", She says, a prideful look drawn all over her face.

"I'll tag along then", says Lina eagerly while raising her hand.

Adam eagerly chimes in, "Me too! What about you, Romeo?", But to his surprise, Romeo stands motionless, his eyes fixated on the display of chocolates in front of him. "Romeo? Oh my God, he's frozen!", exclaims Adam.

Lina, however, is not surprised by Romeo's reaction, "Of course, he would", She remarks with a chuckle, "He's looking at the whole chocolate section, guys!"

Finally snapping out of his trance, Romeo turns to his friends and speaks up while pointing at the chocolate section, "I want to get there right now."

As they get inside the section, Nadine's interest gets caught by something unusual for her right away, "Is that the pink chocolate?", She asks Romeo while pointing at it.

"Yeah", He nods, "actually it's called Ruby chocolate."

"I didn't know that something like this even exists!", Exclaims Nadine in amazement.

"It first came out in 2017, to be clear", He informs.

Lina is intrigued by Romeo's description of the Ruby chocolate. "Hey, Romeo! Does it taste like normal chocolate?" she asks.

"Not really", He shakes his head in response, "It has a fruity taste mixed up with the chocolate flavor."

"How does that work?", Adds the taken-aback Lina.

Romeo explains, taking a sample and feeding it to Lina, "It's made from ruby cocoa beans, a special type of cocoa that is naturally pink in color and has a unique fruity flavor, however, it's slightly sour as well."

Holding Romeo's hand with both of hers to prolong the experience, Lina savors the chocolate, "You're right!" she exclaims, her eyes widening thanks to this new experience, "It does have a fruity flavor."

Meanwhile, Nadine takes her phone and snaps a picture of the two friends sharing the chocolate. Lina turns to her, sighing softly as she says, "Let me guess, those two asked you to take a picture of us, right?"

Nadine grins, "Sure they did," she replies melodically.

As for Adam, who's still trying to grasp the concept, he asks while pointing at another type of chocolate, "And look over here, we can put this type of chocolate in our milk just like powdered coffee, right?"

"That's cocoa, you dumbass", Replies Romeo, lightly hitting Adam's head, "Try and taste if you want, it has such quite a bitter flavor you have to know that."

"You do know this stuff pretty well, Romeo!", Says an impressed Nadine.

"Chocolate is my thing, guys", Shrugs Romeo.

As they are leaving, Lina notices Romeo keeps glaring at one specific type of chocolate. He even stays immobile in front of it and gets separated from the other three, which made them get back to the shop.

"So you're still here", Says Lina as she approaches him.

"We were about to leave? Sorry if I slowed you down," Replies the boy apologetically.

"No worries, we have plenty of time", She says, "Did this type of chocolate catch your eye?" Lina asks, gesturing towards the chocolate Romeo was staring at.

Romeo hesitates for a moment before replying, "No, not really. I only tasted it once, to be honest. It's quite a fancy type of chocolate though, and it has all the four types as well; Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and ruby chocolate."

After that, he gently pats the girl and adds, "Let's get out now", Then he leaves the shop, making Lina step behind, "It did catch his interest", She thinks to herself, "I'm sure that he wants to eat it again..."

The group of four walks toward the restaurant when they see a curious announcement that caught their attention.

"Excuse me, miss", says Adam, addressing the staff member behind the counter, "what's this special event all about?"

With a smile, the staff member replies, "It's just a game, and if you win, we'll give you a free meal at our restaurant. Isn't that interesting?"

Nadine is intrigued, "What a coincidence, we were just about to head to your restaurant! What kind of game is it?"

"It's an escape game," explains the staff member. "You'll be led into a room where you'll receive instructions on how to escape it, it does need some decent IQ. You have to complete it in less than 60 minutes."

"What happens if we go over the time limit?", Questions Adam, curiosity eating him up.

The staff member replies nonchalantly, "Nothing. We hope you enjoyed the experience, win or lose. But to be honest, only three to four teams have ever managed to beat the game."

As Lina chimes in confidently, she playfully pats Romeo's back. "Well, we have an interesting dude on our team," she says with a grin. "So who knows? We just might beat the game. Count us in!"

Romeo winces slightly as Lina's pat lands on his sore body, "Lina, it hurts," he says, "And you are the ones who want to play, why should I join you?" he adds, sounding like the odd one out.

"Just shut up," Adam interjects with a chuckle, "We all want to have some fun together. Let's give it a shot and see how it goes."

Romeo can't help but feel annoyed, "This is such a drag," he says.

As the four friends enter the dimly lit escape room, they notice the walls are covered in intricate symbols and ancient markings. In the center of the room is a large, glowing crystal hanging on the roof.

Suddenly, the door is slammed shut and locked behind them, leaving them trapped in the room with a timer ticking down for 60 minutes.

"Alright then," Adam declares, taking charge. "Let's dig in, guys!"

For the next 20 minutes, the team frantically searches for clues, but to no avail. Lina and Nadine are starting to feel down about their chances of beating the game.

"I didn't find a single clue," Says Lina, her voice full of disappointment.

"Even Romeo didn't say a word!" Adam exclaims in disbelief. "Is it really this hard?"

"What do you mean hard?", Asks Romeo, "You still haven't found the answers?"

Adam turns to Romeo, surprised. "You're acting as if you already figured out the answer," he says.

Romeo simply nods in response, "I found the answer around 10 minutes ago, or maybe a bit more," he replies.

"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?" Lina, Nadine, and Adam exclaim in unison.

Romeo just shrugs, "You guys are being too loud," he says, putting his hands over his ears.

Adam rolls his eyes but couldn't help but smile, "Alright then, Mr. Genius," he says, "Would you mind helping us get a free meal?"

"Sure thing," Replies Romeo.

"This is the first clue," Romeo says, pointing at the photo of a chest glued to the wall. "If you look carefully, you'll find a pocket right under the lock drawn there."

He reaches into the pocket and pulls out a sheet of paper with an equation on it. The first clue leads them to a series of puzzles that can only be solved with advanced mathematical equations.

"Triple integrals, I see..." Romeo murmurs, closely observing the equation with his free hand under his jaw. The other three are left in shock as they watch him work. "And there's a Cos in the equation, so pi should be in the answer, no doubt."

After just two minutes, Romeo raises his head to the others. "Done," he says, revealing the next clue, "The answer is pi - i² + 4."

"That... We shouldn't be able to solve that if you consider our academic level, you know..." Adam says, starting to fear Romeo's brain rather than respect it. "And what are we supposed to do with the answer, anyway?"

"Simple," Romeo answers, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "Type down the answer to open the lock of this box."

"But it's clearly a picture, though..." Lina begins to say but is interrupted by Romeo's unexpected action as he takes the painting off the wall to reveal a chest hidden behind it.

"How did you... how did you see it coming?" Asks Lina, amazed by Romeo's quick analysis.

"How didn't you see through it?", Replies Romeo, "It's an escape room. You need to consider any possibility."

"Oy, Adam", Says Romeo", We need to put the chest down to open it. Come on pull it with me."

As Adam and Romeo work together to unlock the box, Nadine stands by, watching eagerly. When the lock finally clicks open, she can't contain her excitement as they open the lid and reveal the next clue.

But as they examine the contents of the box, disappointment sets in. Nadine lets out a sigh, and takes the paper from the box, scanning it.

"It's just another note..." she says, her voice trailing off. "This is... Is this a riddle?"

"A riddle huh?", Says Romeo, "Read it to us then."

"Okay", Adds Nadine just before clearing her throat as she reads the riddle:

"Engraved in clay tablets of old, My words are worth their weight in gold. A script of ancient times untold, In deciphering me, many are bold.

From Akkadian to Ugaritic, My characters are cryptic. From Hieroglyphs to Cuneiform, My complexity will transform.

I'm the key to unlocking history, A doorway to a world of mystery. My secrets are hidden deep within, Only the most skilled can begin.

What am I?"

Putting his hand under his jaw again, Romeo takes some time to think the answer over, "Engraved in clay tablets...", He mutters, slowly raising his head to look over the room, "Cryptic characters... Complexity..."

Romeo raises his hand, pointing at the walls, "It's ancient language", He says, "The second clue... We need to decipher the hieroglyphics on the wall for more clues"

"That does make sense I guess, " Nods Adam, also looking at the ancient markings.

"A script of ancient times untold", Rereads Nadine, finally getting the puzzle, "It sounds way too clear when you read it after knowing the answer. How, are we going to decipher it though? I don't think that one of us can read this stuff or anything."

"Nadine, can you read a part of the riddle again", Says Romeo, "A line with the door or something caught my interest."

-Nadine: "It says A doorway to a world of mystery... Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Realizing it right away, Romeo focuses his interest on the box, specifically the "Mystery" engraved on it. He knocks on it to make sure if there's a dull sound or not, "Doorway to a world of mystery...", He mutters again as he stands up and smashes the cover of the chest with his leg, shocking his pals again, "The doorway refers to access to something... As for the world of mystery... It's referring to that ancient writing..."

Unexpectedly, they find another note in there, and it appears that it leads to deciphering that ancient writing, "That, wasn't expected", Exclaims Lina, taking the paper from Romeo's hand and starting to decipher the writing right away, "I think you can beat this room, Romeo!"

Taking around 5 minutes to finally decipher the whole thing, Lina turns to her friends, " We've got ourselves a map this time!", Screams Lina, jumping to the location that the note mentioned and bringing out the scroll, "But the deciphering gave me a second riddle as well...", She sighs, "Here, hear it out:

"I'm a puzzle within a puzzle, a mystery within a mystery, A deceptive clue that will make you history. I'm a decoy, a fake, a cunning disguise, And if you're not careful, I'll leave you mesmerized.

My purpose is to mislead you, to throw you off the scent, To make you waste your time, and leave you feeling spent. I'm a diversion, a distraction, a cleverly crafted lie, And if you're not careful, I'll leave you high and dry.

I come in many forms, from objects to words, And I'm always lurking, waiting to be heard. I'm a challenge, a test, a mind-bending task, And if you're not careful, I'll leave you with a big ask.

So beware of me, for I'm a tricky foe, A clever adversary, that you'll never know. I'm the one thing that can make or break your quest, So be careful, and watch out for my deceptive behest.

What am I?"

They pose in silence for a while, trying to get the riddle which appears to be harder than the last one. Until Nadine breaks the silence while slowly getting closer to Lina, "We'll take care of the riddle later", She says, "Lina, open the scroll and let us see the road to the exit!"

As Nadine, Lina, and Adam focus on the map, they find it's leading to a pretty solid road, and it's easy to reach as well, "Well I don't think that we need the riddle anymore", Giggles Adam as he starts moving to the location described in the scroll, "Let's get going, ok?"

"No, wait a sec...", Says Romeo.

"What is it this time?", Questions Adam.

"Try thinking about the riddle, ok?", Adds Romeo, taking the paper with the riddle written on it by Lina, "It says that it's a fake, used to mislead, and it can come in many forms..."

"A fake?", Says Lina, immediately getting interrupted by Romeo, "That map, is Red Herrings", He says, "The answer to the riddle is Red Herrings, I'm 100% sure."

"Red Herrings...", That's when Adam starts thinking over, "Now I get it, it was going to lead us to a dead end, right? Good job Romeo!"

-Nadine: "Then, what's the real clue?"

Romeo turns to Lina, "Where did you find the scroll?", He asks.

"Oh, In that Jar over there!", She answers while pointing at a Jar. The four of them go together with Romeo looking closely inside the Jar, to find an air pistol, fully charged.

"It's just an air pistol", Says Adam while holding it, "But what are we going to need it for? These things are kinda weak you know!"

"Use it to break something weaker with it", Says Romeo, shrugging his shoulders, "Since it doesn't do much damage, we need to look for something pretty weak in stamina."

"Yeah but we can break it without using the gun you know", Adds Adam, thinking that he just outsmarted Romeo.

"Then use it to break something out of our reach", Adds our brain, pointing at the crystal hanging on the roof.

Stunned by the way His friend keeps pulling everything together, Adam stands tall, aiming with the gun at that crystal, "You keep amazing me, Romeo!", Says Adam, a smirky smile on his face as he pulls the trigger, bringing the crystal to shatter in the ground. Since it was glowing, the room became pretty dark for a moment, until the ground starts shining right away.

"The room just reacted", Says a relieved Lina, her hand over her heart, "So I guess that might be the right move!"

"It is the right move", Confirms Romeo, searching over the rubbish of the broken crystal, and getting a musical note out of it!

"Is this... A score?", Says Nadine, closely scanning the note, "It is a score, guys! I wish I have an instrument to play it for you!"

"That's practically the reason behind that note", Adds Romeo, scanning the room while talking, "It appears that we need to play the song for the next clue. Good thing we've got you with us then, Nadine."

After scanning the room, Romeo's sharp eyes land on a single square on the floor that isn't glowing. He gestures for his friends to follow him and approaches the mysterious square. With a curious expression on his face, he knocks on the floor and realizes that it is made of glass.

Looking at Adam, Romeo nods his head, signaling for him to use his pistol and shatter the glass. As the glass shatters, they find a beautiful violin with a microphone, and Nadine's face lights up with excitement.

"This is my favorite instrument!" exclaims Nadine, taking the violin with care.

Lina jumps in, "You need to play the score on the violin. Give me the note, and I'll hold it for you."

Nadine takes the violin, and a gentle melody fills the air as Nadine begins to play. The music is soothing and beautiful, and as she plays, Lina closes her eyes, feeling the warmth of the melody.

Romeo sits cross-legged on the floor, holding his head as he sighs, while Adam stands tall, his hands clasped behind his back, enjoying the music with a small warm smile on his face.

As the microphone amplifies the melody throughout the room, Romeo notices something engraved on the box where they found the violin and microphone: "Name of the song: Behind the Closed Doors." he realizes the reason behind writing the name of the song right away, "How can I know what's behind the doors if you don't open them to me?", He thinks to himself, "This is the last task then."

The melody comes to an end, and the group takes a deep breath, enjoying the lingering warmth of the music. Romeo stands up and stretches his arms, saying, "So that was the final clue, ha?"

Just as he finishes his sentence, the door that they had used to enter the room creaks open. Suddenly, a voice echoes throughout the room, congratulating them on successfully finishing the escape room in less than 60 minutes.

"Congratulations on finishing the escape room in record time!" the voice booms. "You all worked together brilliantly to solve the puzzles and clues. As a reward, we're pleased to offer you a free meal at our restaurant!"

Excitement fills the air as the group looks at each other, grinning with delight. They had been hungry, and the prospect of a free meal was too good to pass up.

"Thank you so much!" Nadine exclaims. "We can't wait to try out your restaurant."

Seriously, how did Romeo figure out the way to beat the game all on his own? As they arrive at the restaurant, catching up with the rest of their friends, they enjoy their last free meal of the trip. Now, it's time to return to their hometown.

As they settle into their seats, Romeo sits next to Lina and it's clear that he's exhausted from the day's activities.

"Romeo", Says Lina, "you look really tired!"

"I spent too... Too much energy today... I'm about to fall... Asleep...", Replies Romeo, barely speaking.

"It's okay, you can rest," Suggests Lina warmly, "I'll wake you up when we stop by your house, okay?"

-Romeo: "Okay... Than..."

Before Romeo could finish his sentence, he closes his eyes and falls asleep. Slowly, his head begins to droop, leaning against Lina's shoulder. She feels her heart beating faster than ever before. She looks down at him, taking in his peaceful expression as he drifts into a deep slumber. Lina can't help but feel a surge of affection for him, as she runs her fingers through his soft, wavy hair.

In this quiet moment, Lina realizes just how much she cares for Romeo. She feels a deep sense of warmth and tenderness in her heart, and she can't resist whispering softly, "I love you, Romeo."

Even though he's fast asleep, Lina wishes that somehow, deep down, he would feel her love for him. She leans in close, feeling his warm breath on her cheek, and whispers once more, "I love you more than anything in this world", Then she rests her head gently against Romeo's, feeling his soft breaths against her skin, and she knows that this moment is one she'll treasure forever.

At that moment, Lina finds herself lost in Romeo's company, their heads resting gently against each other. As she drifts off to sleep as well, Nadine and Maria, sitting in front of them, can't help but turn to glimpse at that lovely scene and smile at the sight of their dear friends finding comfort and peace in each other's embrace. With a soft "shhh" and a quick snap of their camera, they capture a moment of pure cuteness that would be cherished for years to come.

"She keeps saying that she's not in love with him and that they aren't dating", Whispers Nadine while addressing Maria, as she softly admires the picture, "however, they act like a fine one around us..."