She handed it over without comment or even hesitation, all of us enjoying this escape room trial more than we’d expected.
Once I’d put it together, I pulled the instructions out of my pocket and used the embosser to press the design on the scrap of paper.
“It’s a code!”
“Yeah, but a code to what?” I scanned the room again, hunting for a safe or keypad that would let us input the code.
“And what about this symbol?” Vivian grumbled as Angela hopped to her feet.
She walked over to the stove, using the buttons to pull up the option to set the timer. “Keypad, anyone? Man, this is really neat. I wonder who designed all of this.”
I had a feeling I knew, and my eyes gravitated to Max before I could stop them. He didn’t look at me, but the scowl on his face and quick nod of his head confirmed it.
Kingston.
He’d come up with everything inside this room, and it didn’t surprise me. That was why I enjoyed it so much. Certainty ran through me that he’d made sure I would.
Unfortunately, that thought distracted me.
And I didn’t piece together what Vivian had said until it was too late.
“Wait!” I cried, right as Vivian snapped, “Angela, don’t!”
But she’d already put in the final number and pressed start.
An alarm blared, and gas filled the room.
Angela screamed as it poured out of the vents beneath the microwave, covering her face and running back over to us. Everyone else threw their hands over their ears, and we gaped in horror as reality sank in.
I looked to Max, and his defeated frown confirmed what I already knew.
We’d failed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Max dropped us off at Camelot Courtyard, and the sympathetic look he gave me instead of his trademark smirk made me feel worse.
But I forced a small smile before he left to clean up the escape rooms.
We wouldn’t know what failing the challenge meant until the final scores were posted. It depended on how the other group did, and they hadn’t returned yet. Knowing they hadn’t tripped the alarm early made our outlooks bleak.
Our group slowly dispersed. Izzy went over to Tristan’s room instead of hers, since some of the Knights were staying through the end of the third challenge. With her room empty, I went and sat on what would be my bed at some point.
I thought about going up to Kingston’s wing alone, but three surly voices echoed in my head, warning me not to do that. Grabbing my backpack to pull out my phone, I called Gia to tell her what happened yesterday and today.
“Oh my god,” she laughed, wiping the corner of her eyes. “I would’ve paid to see that Vivian chick forced to wear her hairlike that. I don’t even know what she looks like, and somehow, I have the most satisfying image in my brain right now.”
“Black hair, ice-blue eyes. Just picture the Queen of the prom.” I snorted. “Turns out she wasthatgirl. And yes, that’s me being petty and jealous because I wanted to be a cheerleader, but my dad couldn’t make the practice times work.”
Gia groaned dramatically. “Ugh, that reminds me.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. Not to respond to your thing with my thing, but I’m a mess over this new crush and need to tell you about it. It feels wrong that I haven’t.”
I cocked my head. “You can always stop me from rambling about my drama if you need to talk. Spill it.”
“Okay, so...remember how I told you about that hard-ass professor you lucked out and avoided?”
