-This Is Not A Escape Room -

Her eyes caught sight of the bottle of the wine, her roomy had left days before. She was majoring in acting and trying to get a minor in dance. The acting group she had joined were off in NYC to see a Broadway play.

She walked to the front door where her shoes were and grabbed the thigh-high boots in her hands then sat down on the bench; slipping her feet into the boots as her left hand drew her phone out of her pocket. "Break Your Halo" played in her ears. After scrolling for a close uber, she pressed the botton and it said ‘10 min away.’

Her phone beeped and she picked it up, standing up on uneasy feet, her hands shaking from her tremors. She opened the door and shut it behind her locking it. Amelie walked briskly towards the car, wine in hand. Gripping the door handle she opened the car door.

Once in the back of the uber a male voice exploded through the car "Escape room 15 min away.” Trees seemed to fly by as they drove towards the hotel, when they pulled up it was not what she imagined. It was just a house that had a porch swing and mosaic windows.

Amelie gripped her phone and pushed open the door, the sky was now dark, the stars bright. Amelie walked up to the old-style wooden door with the address numbers: 1356. Amelie stood there at the steps then breathed in the country air. Then opened the door.

Inside looked like the outside, as if she had walked into a different time: A wood staircase that split into two, a dark wooden desk, a young man behind the desk. Then her friends, Ari, River, and Azul.

‘Amelie!” Ari, said in an excited squeal, rushing over and hugging her. Ari was the excited good girl of the group. River was the next to come over, Ari let Amelie out of her grip. River had been her friend for not as long as the other girls, and she was the quiet one of their group who hated hugs and would have to be forced to give one unless she was in ‘hug-mode’ which was not very often. Her partners did not seem to mind that she was not very emotional, they still loved her.

Azul, who was the oldest in the group, was the one who kept them together and sane, although she would also have her moments of silliness. Azul was talking to the young man at the front desk which was not surprising of course, she would be the one to make sure everything was in order. Azul got handed a key by the young man, huh weird maybe it is a part of the game.

Azul walked towards our small group with the key in hand. She smiled kindly at us "so we have to try and find our way out of this hotel and they gave us a key, whatever door it opens is the one that we started to look for clues in to find out how to get out of this hotel."

"Seems simple enough," Amelie said as a smile perked up on her lips

"If it’s so easy, why don't you lead” She offered the key to Amelie.

"You know, I lose things easily fiscally and mentally"

Ari smiled "Well best we split up then, we will yell if we find a door"

"Eh?" River said quite as her voice cracked a little and tried to look at Amelie for help, but none came. "I did not agree to this'' was all River said. She was pulled up the wooden stairs and to the left by Ari.

"Guess we are partners and we are taking the right way" Azul looked at Amelie with a light smile on her lips. Then Azul stepped forward on her dark brown combat boots as her hand lightly laid on the dark wood railing as she stepped on to the first step

Amelie followed her " Yep" Amelie said as they walked up the steps, turning right to go up a few more that were headed towards a dim lit hallway. A couple of doors lined the hall with one big one at the end. It caught Amelie's sea-blue eyes.

Azul smiled and wrapped her simple letterman jacket around her covering her t-shirt. The click of their boots sounded through-out the hall. Azul looked next to her seeing Amelie playing with some strings of her bracelet. "Let's check this room," Azul said as she opened the light wood door flowers and thorns carved into it.

Azul took the key from her pocket and put it into the lock. They both heard a click and a smile traced Amelie's lips as Azul opened the door leaving the key in the keyhole waving Amelie into the room.

Amelie looked at her questioningly, why was she holding the door open? Her head told her not to trust this but she ignored it and walked into the room. When Amelie’s black boots hit the wood of the old room, the door shut behind her and Amelie heard her friend lock the door. The only time Amelie had not to listen to the voice and she got this- great. Amelie turned around to the door as her heartbeat increased and tried to open the door but the only door handle was on the other said. "come on this is not funny let me out Azul!" no voice came from the other said.

"Trust me that does not work" a voice came from towards the couch there sat a person with black hair or that all Amelie could see because the rest of the person was lower on the couch.

“Ugh, I am starting to dislike my friends” Amelie heard the person laugh, she dragged her feet to the desk, bottle of wine in her hand, and leaned against the wood desk setting the wine down. " Well since we are in the predicament together, want to drink some of this wine?" Amelie had not noticed before but as her eyes met the bottle of wine. Amelie noticed there sitting on the desk two mugs one dark blue the other turquoise she smiled.

"I thought it was weird that my friend had told me to bring wine glasses to a study session at a library, he knew I didn't have any wine glasses because he broke them," said the person in an understanding but annoyed voice. "Also yes I would love a mug of wine.”

"Yep my friends did not tell me to bring wine but I thought I should since I was so late, also the wine is uh a-" Amelie let her eyes settle on the title of this wine bottle. Amelie noticed her heart rate had lowered and although some qusing thoughts were going through her head she ignored them. " It is a Wine Folly Merlot Vanilla. Also do you happen to know where a bottle opener is?"

"Check the drawers, it seems like the most likely," said the person from the couch not moving at all. She had probably found a good book from the selection on the shelves. Amelie scratched at her inner wist as she moved around the desk. She opened the drawer: a bottle opener. Amelie grabbed it, how had that girl known it was in this drawer? " You were, right how did you know it would be there?"

"My friend Torryn tried to hide it in that drawer without me seeing,"

As Amelie had the bottle in her hand and the corkscrew was tightly screwed into the cork as she tried to pull up but it would not open " we might have a slight problem, I can't get the bottle open" Amelie sat the bottle of vanilla wine down, crossing her arms as she leaned up against the desk.

"no problem, I can try to get it open" the person pushed up from their seat and walked around the couch there black vans with rainbow tap out the beat of her walking. Their choppy black pixie haircut fell over one of their white gold silver eyes as Amelie saw that the other had a light amount of black purple eye shadow around the light color of their eyes. They pushed back their hair as their black & red striped sweater with holed lining the sleeve fell there. As their tan hand held onto the bottle their black lace gloves stopped at their fingers, Amelie wondered if it was harder to grasp the bottle with the lace covering their plans but did not ask as the other person fingers grasped the flaps at the said then pulled then up slowly and the cork came down from the wine bottle.

They set the corkscrew on the table laying there, then lifted the bottle and started to pour the wine, they saw the astonished look on Amelie’s face and smiled as the wine flowed into the dark blue mug " It really was not that hard, also I am Orion," Orion said as they handed Amelie the dark blue mug setting the wine bottle down on the desk, walking towards the red dark-colored couch.

"Amelie, and thanks" Amelie held her mug in her slightly shaking hands as she played with the strings of her bracelet. Walking around to where Orion was sitting drinking, the wine from their turquoise mug. They had their legs crossed, the chains on the black slightly ripped jeans clinked as Orion sifted slightly. Amelie settled on the couch feeling the heat of the fire that hopefully was covering up her blush.

Orion's light lips came away from the mug, they looked up at Amelie resting their cup on their black jeans. "Do I know you from somewhere? I swear I know those eyes." They were quiet for a minute or two, then Orion’s voice burst through the room "you’re rose girl!"

"what?" Amelie remembered that day when her hair was shorter and a flower crown in her hair with a black-blue rose in her hand to give the person she might have had a crush on a rose saying wanna go to prom together. She also knew that year she did not go to prom and also that flower crown was in a ditch somewhere. It still surprised Amelie that Orions had seen her, Amelie had thought she had gone unseen.

"Prom, you were going to ask me by giving me a rose, but then backed out last-minute you thought I did not see you put the rose in my locker. “Thanks, by the way, made my day." Orion took a sip the wine.

Amelie deftly was blushing and could not hide it with the heat of the fire. "I think you're thinking of some other girl," Amelie said, putting down the mug.

"Your blush tells another story, plus not a lot of people in our town have snow hair" Orion voice had a note of flattery to it. Orion looked at her sea-colored eyes her heart skipped as it used to when Amelie would agree with her about the book they were reading together " do you still read?"

Amelie was glad Orion changed the topic from that day "I would die if you were not able to read ever again" Amelie said so compationatly, she read that middle ground laugh slip through Orion's lips.