Persey shielded her face from the camera, desperately hoping her picture wouldn’t turn up on Escape-Capades’ array of social media platforms.
“It’s just for our social media,” Leah said, reading Persey’s body language as she attempted to avoid the camera’s lens. “Don’t you want the world to know about your accomplishment here today?”
No.
Sheryl grabbed her husband’s arm and pulled him to her side. “Take one of Clay and me. And the cash prize! I almost forgot.”
I didn’t.
“It should be split evenly four ways.”
Leah ignored Sheryl for the second time in as many minutes and kept her focus on Persey. “It was impressive to watch you solve that final puzzle despite…distractions.”
Persey smirked at the idea that Sheryl and her husband, two highly educated adults who probably could have run intellectual laps around the academically challenged Persey, had been categorized as distractions. “Thanks.”
“I suppose you’re quite the connoisseur of escape rooms.”
“Obviously,” Kevin said, answering for her. “Persephone here is a champion.”
Leah’s eyes drifted toward Kevin; her smile softened. “Funny you should use that word.”
“Persephone?”
“Champion.”
“Champions,” Sheryl said correcting her with the plural. “We’re a team.”
For the first time since she walked into the room, Leah addressed the other two contestants. “Mr. and Mrs. Rohner, I sincerely hope that you’ve enjoyed your escape room experience at Escape-Capades. If you’d give your information to the cashier on your way out, your prize money will be mailed to you.”
Sheryl’s face dropped. “That’s it?”
“Were you expecting something else?”
“Well, yeah,” Sheryl said, sounding thrown. “Ten Hidden Library escape rooms in five countries, and my husband and I are one-half of the first team to ever beat it. Shouldn’t we be on CNN? TMZ? Oprah?”
“It’s possible Persephone might find herself on the news.” Leah’s permasmile deepened, though her flawless skin showed no creases or wrinkles, as if the shiny red lips were merely painted on the canvas of her skin. “Her victory today might—”
“‘Her victory’?” Sheryl said, eyes wide with shock. “You mean ‘our victory.’”
Leah was having none of it, and her tone, while firm, was dismissive. “Persey is the one who figured out every single clue and put them together for the final puzzle.”
“But we’re a team,” Sheryl whined. “We were in this together.”
Kevin laughed. “Like five minutes ago, weren’t you threatening to ask for your money back because she was ‘hogging’ the challenges?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
Persey cocked her head. Seriously? “How did you mean it?” She should have let the comment go—there was no reason to argue with this woman—but for some reason, Sheryl rubbed her all kinds of wrong.
“How do you know it was all her?” Sheryl pressed. “How do you know my husband and I weren’t instrumental in—”
“We were regulating the game,” Leah said, intervening before the argument could escalate further. “Via hidden cameras. All Escape-Capades rooms are monitored this way. That’s how we know exactly what happened here today, and might I just add that we were all really impressed with your problem-solving ability, Persephone.”
Persey’s eyes dropped to the floor. She was unaccustomed to praise of any kind.
“So while the prize money will be split four ways,” Leah continued, “we do have something special just for you.”
“Special?” the professor asked.
Leah folded her arms across her chest. “I’m sure you’re aware of the Escape-Capades All-Star Competition taking place next month in Las Vegas?”
The lime-green posse’s energy exploded as soon as Leah mentioned the all-star competition. As the Escape-Capades employees’ whispers and fidgeting doubled, Persey caught stray phrases like “last spots” and “totally secret.”
“Never heard of it,” Professor Rohner answered, even though Persey was pretty (totally) sure the question had been meant for her. “Is it a new escape room?”
Leah’s eyes were cold as she turned to him. “Perhaps you don’t frequent the online communities where we promote this kind of information. Geektacle definitely caters to a…younger crowd.”
“I’ve heard of Geektacle,” Sheryl snapped.
No, you haven’t.
Leah sighed, resigning herself to an explanation. “Positions in the All-Stars are only offered to the best and brightest in the escape room community. And beating the unbeatable? That scores you an invitation.”
“Oh,” Persey began, “I don’t—”
“The All-Stars?” Professor Rohner said, leaning forward in excitement. “Us?”
Sheryl grabbed his arm. “We’re in!”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Leah said. Her voice was smooth and even, and dripped with sincerity even though Persey suspected (knew) she felt none. “But I only have two slots left for the All-Stars and I’m offering one of them to Persey.”
“Me?”
Kevin snorted again. “No, the other puzzle-solving genius in the room.”