Room Service

by Maren Stoffels

  I’m only just getting started.

  What was Claus talking about? What’s he planning?

  I move my wrists back and forth. There’s a little play in the right one.

  If I’m careful, Claus won’t notice. And if I get one hand free, I can free the other.

  “Hey!”

  The blood freezes in my veins.

  “No funny business.” Claus looks at me threateningly. “Got it?”

  I nod, my breath racing.

  “Great. Then I’ll get it all ready.” Claus bends over his suitcase again.

  Get it all ready? What does he mean? A shiver runs down my spine.

  Where are Fender and the others? Maybe they’ll just abandon me to my fate.

  “Okay.” Claus stands up. He’s holding something black. “Sorry, but I want you to have the same surprise as your friends.”

  Before I can protest, Claus pulls a trash bag over my head.

  The bathroom mirror shows a version of me that I don’t recognize. My pupils are dilated, like I’ve been living on coffee for days. I’ve pulled my hair into a tight bun again.

  “Ready.” I leave the bathroom and look at Lucas, who is lying on our bed. He’s unbuttoned his shirt, and his hair is a mess.

  “Why didn’t you get ready?”

  Lucas sits up. “I’m not taking part in this.”

  “You have to.”

  “I don’t have to do anything. I’m done with this. Screw that Claus guy. I’m not following his orders.”

  I can hardly believe what he’s saying.

  “What about Linnea? This isn’t a game, Lucas!”

  “I know that!” Lucas comes to face me. “You don’t need to keep repeating it.”

  “If you like her as much as you claim, you wouldn’t say that.”

  Lucas’s expression hardens. “Take it back.”

  “It’s true, though, isn’t it?”

  We’ve never argued before, let alone physically fought, but it feels inevitable now.

  Lucas takes a step forward so our noses are almost touching. I see the face I know so well. At camp we woke up like this every morning in the tent, almost lying on each other’s mats.

  “Linnea deserves better than someone who’ll abandon her.”

  Lucas’s eyebrows shoot up. “Since when do you care about Linnea?”

  I turn around. “I just don’t want Claus to win.”

  “You said just now that it isn’t a game.” Lucas takes me by the shoulder and turns me back to face him. “Why are you so keen to save Linnea?”

  Another image from last year flashes through my mind. What if this all ends the same as it did then?

  “Just get yourself ready.”

  The door opens and Kate appears. She’s wearing a little floaty black dress. It comes to just above her knees and flares out at the bottom.

  It makes her look older, but at the same time really vulnerable. Her bare arms are crossed over her body.

  “Can someone help me with the zipper?” She looks at me. “I can’t quite reach it.”

  I nod. When Kate turns around, I take hold of the silver zipper. I want to tell her I’m sorry, that I never meant to hurt her. That I’ll make sure everything turns out okay this time, that she won’t lose another friend.

  But the words stick in my throat.

  I look at the birthmarks all over her back. Kate hates them, but she thought they were great. One big beauty spot, that’s what she called it, and since then Kate has hated them a bit less.

  I do up the zipper.

  “There you go,” I say.

  “Thanks.” Kate turns around. “I actually brought this along for tomorrow. To celebrate my birthday. Not for…”

  She glances at Lucas.

  “Are you going to get ready?”

  Thankfully Lucas doesn’t protest again, but buttons up the shirt. “We need to take a weapon.”

  Kate shakes her head. “What are you planning to do? Stab Claus?”

  “Of course not, but we’d be mad to go in there unarmed.” Lucas looks at me for backup. “Right?”

  I think about Claus. At the end of the hallway, he looked smaller than I’d imagined.

  He was even a bit nerdy, in those glasses of his.

  “No, we’re not doing that,” I say. “He’ll search us. If we take any weapons, he’ll go wild.”

  A church bell rings. I count the number of chimes.

  Eleven.

  “We stick together,” says Kate, looking at me, then Lucas, and back at me again. “Whatever happens, we stick together.”

  I can hardly get any air with this trash bag over my head. Every time I breathe, I suck it into my mouth. My top lip is wet.

  I’m going to suffocate.

  This is just like in the lift that time. There’s no escape.

  I want you to have the same surprise as your friends.

  What was Claus talking about? What is he doing? I’ve heard him moving around for a few minutes now, but I have no idea what’s happening.

  To keep calm, I focus on my right hand, which is getting looser and looser. Meanwhile I listen closely to see if Claus is nearby.

  As long as I can hear Claus moving around, I’m safe.

  I hear a familiar tune. Claus is whistling cheerfully, as if this is one big party.

  What if I don’t get away?

  What if I die here?

  I start breathing faster, pulling the bag deeper and deeper into my mouth.

  The plastic tastes bitter.

  What will my mom and dad do when they hear what’s happened?

  Will they ever get over this?

  I think about Isolde’s parents. Their daughter has committed suicide. All they have left of her is that suicide note. But soon my parents will have nothing.

  I’m going to die with a trash bag over my head.

  No.

  That is not going to happen.

  I have to keep fighting.

  I wring my hand back and forth again, and the rope suddenly comes free, like a ring stuck on your finger when you soap it up and pull.

  Claus stops whistling. I quickly grab the rope so it looks like I’m still tied up.

  Footsteps head my way.

  “Let’s take a look.”

  His voice makes me shiver. Claus is suddenly really close. I smell strong aftershave, which he must have just put on.

  He leans over me. Is this the moment to attack? But it’s two hands against one, two eyes against none.

  Claus checks my left hand and gives the ropes a quick tug.

  He’s going to find out what I’ve done.

  In my head, I count the seconds.

  Any moment now…

  There are three loud knocks.

  “Coming!” Claus’s voice is loud beside my ear.

  “It’s your friends,” I hear him say. “Are you ready to party?”

  Then he yanks the trash bag off my head.

  I’ll count to ten, and if he hasn’t opened the door by then, I’m knocking it down.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four.

  The door swings open. In front of us is the boy I saw in the hallway.

  Perfectly ordinary.

  Black hair.

  Black glasses.

  Green eyes.

  Not handsome.

  Not ugly.

  The boy next door.

  What did she see in him?

  “You’re on time. Good.” Claus steps aside and beckons us in. “Come on, guys.”

  Lucas stands there, frozen. Kate hesitates. I’m the first to react.

  “Where is Linnea?” I hiss.

  “She’s inside. Calm d
own. She’s fine.”

  I step into the room. The first thing I see is the coffee table, covered with a tablecloth with three silver domes on it. The sight of those things practically makes me gag.

  There are candles everywhere, as if this is some kind of romantic dinner.

  Linnea is lying on the bed. The girl I hated so much for taking her place, for being alive when she was not.

  Linnea’s hands are tied to the bedposts. There is a bright-red gash on her forehead, with blood trickling from it. It’s dried, but it looks bad.

  “She isn’t fine at all!” I try to go to her, but Claus stops me.

  “Stay here.”

  How dare he hurt Linnea? That Room Service stuff was bad enough, but she has absolutely nothing to do with this.

  The way she’s lying there, completely defenseless and terrified. Has he gone completely mad?

  I’ll beat him to a pulp. I’ll kill him.

  I raise my fist to take a swing at him, but then I crumple. A shock runs through me, which I feel from the top of my head to my toes.

  Lucas swears. Kate screams.

  I fall to the floor, twitching. It’s like I’ve lost all control over my body.

  What is this?

  “What did you do?” wails Kate.

  “It’s a stun gun,” says Claus. “Don’t worry. It’s not lethal. Just really painful.”

  I try to get up, but my muscles won’t cooperate. I lie on the carpet, gasping for air.

  “So are you going to listen now? Or would you rather I give Linnea a turn?”

  I’d rather die than listen to him, but I know he has all the power here.

  “S-sorry,” stammers Kate. “We’ll listen to you.”

  They all stare at the stun gun.

  Did they really think I’d be unprepared?

  I’ve had it for weeks.

  Ordered it online, didn’t even need a permit.

  Lucas shoots forward and helps Fender to his feet. When Fender stands up, his eyes meet mine for a moment.

  I can read all kinds of emotions in his eyes, but what’s he thinking?

  Then he gives me a little nod.

  I nod back.

  It’s no more than that.

  We don’t dare to do any more.

  “Sit down.” Claus points at the cushions on the floor around the coffee table. “I made a seating arrangement.”

  When no one reacts, Claus tuts.

  “If you want me to let Linnea go, you’d better listen.”

  It works. Fender and Kate sit down beside each other, with Lucas opposite, and Claus at the head of the table. He still has his stun gun in his hand. It’s a weird yellow thing that looks like a pistol, but with two pins at the end of the barrel instead of a hole. I saw what it did to Fender. Claus said it’s not lethal, but I’m not so sure about that. If you held it to a body for long enough…

  Claus nods at the champagne cooler. “Time for a little drink.”

  When no one reacts, Claus continues.

  “How did you like my invitation? Was it a bit like last year’s?”

  So that was what he slipped under the door when Fender was here. This is what it’s been about all along: Kate’s birthday. Does he want to relive last year? I look at all the candles around us. In another situation, this setting would have been beautiful, but now it’s just terrifying.

  “I thought it might be a fun start to the party if we tell Linnea what happened last year.”

  I’m startled by the sound of my name. Is he serious?

  “She knows nothing about it,” says Claus, feigning shock. “That’s a bit sad, isn’t it?”

  No one says anything; everyone stares ahead, as if paralyzed.

  “Well, then I guess I’ll just tell her myself.”

  “No.” Kate interrupts him. “I’ll tell her.”

  She glances at me. I can see she regrets everything, but there’s no time now to forgive her.

  “Everything went wrong on my birthday last year.” Kate’s voice trembles a bit. “Isolde got hurt and…”

  “No, no.” Claus raises his hand. “You will start at the beginning, won’t you?”

  Kate looks at Lucas and Fender for help. “But this is what matters to you, isn’t it?”

  “The whole story, please.” Claus taps the first silver dome with his finger. “Start with this one.”

  Does he have more messages for us? I hold my breath as Kate lifts the first dome.

  There is a gold envelope under it, which Kate opens. It has the same paper inside as before, with ragged edges and a picture of a mouse on it.

  Another excerpt from Isolde’s diary.

  I clench my right hand around the rope. When the moment comes, I’ll have to be quick. Very quick.

  I have to get out of here alive.

  Kate’s eyes shoot along the lines. “Do I really have to read this out loud?”

  Claus nods. “We’re listening.”

  When Fender plays, I forget almost everything.

  Almost.

  Because Claus sticks around, always.

  Look at Kate and Lucas happily singing along. They don’t have a care in the world.

  Sometimes I feel lonelier when I’m with them than when I’m alone.

  What if I tell Fender the truth?

  Maybe he’ll get so mad at me that he won’t even hear what I want to tell him.

  Then I’ll have lost him for good.

  Kate’s voice is so shaky that she has to stop for a moment.

  I look at Fender, who is twisting his hands together. I can see that all he really wants to do is attack Claus again, but I can only hope that he controls himself.

  I needed to pee, so I went into the bushes, not that far from the campfire.

  I could still hear Fender playing from there.

  When I found a spot to go, I looked around.

  Maybe I was being paranoid, but I had to be certain.

  As soon as I started to pee, I heard rustling.

  It was really close.

  I stood up before I’d finished.

  I had to get out of there as quickly as possible

  “Isolde?”

  It was him.

  “Claus?” My heartbeat was practically audible. “What are you doing here?”

  “I just came to take a look.” He pointed at the place where our campfire was. “Having fun?”

  I didn’t want to answer, but nodded anyway.

  “You don’t look happy.” He took a step closer. “I can see there’s something wrong.”

  You’re here, I wanted to say, but I didn’t do it.

  “I don’t feel too good.”

  “You’re lonely.” He reached out his hand and stroked my braid. When he reached the tip, he gave it a little tug. “I can see that you’re lonely.”

  He was right—and he knew it. But it was because of him. And I think he knew that too. Maybe that was why he kept coming to see me. The more often we saw each other, the more secrets I had from the others. Claus was gradually isolating me. I was transforming from a country into a peninsula. And eventually I would become an island.

  “Kiss me.”

  I looked at him. Was he serious?

  Claus leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. His hand clawed under my braid.

  I wanted to push him away, but my body froze. I could only wait for him to stop.

  “You…” I’m startled by Fender’s icy voice.

  Kate is just in time. She grabs Fender by his jacket and pulls him back into his seat.

  “Don’t do that,” she says quietly. “Think about it.”

  Claus was there that night.

  He put his hands on her.

  While I was playing
a song in blissful ignorance, Claus was groping her.

  He kissed her.

  Why didn’t she call me? I really would have listened to her. I always listened, didn’t I?

  “You assaulted her.”

  I don’t care anymore that Claus will give me a shock. My blood is boiling.

  “Keep reading,” Claus says to Kate. “Then everything will become clear.”

  I’m in the hospital for the first time in my life.

  Pain all over, but I have to write.

  Or I’ll forget what happened.

  The paper has to remember it for me.

  When I got back to the campfire, Kate was lying with her head on Lucas’s shoulder. Fender put his guitar down and rested his head on my lap. I ran my fingers through his curls. I loved it when he wore his hair loose instead of in a bun. He gave me a big smile.

  I had to tell him the truth, that night.

  Lucas looked at me over the fire. Did he know what I was thinking? I felt like I was caught in a trap.

  “Want to do something fun?” I asked.

  Fender opened his eyes and looked at me lazily. “Like what?”

  Kate stood up. “I have an idea.”

  The ruin in the woods must have been empty for years. The building was like a skeleton without any flesh on the bones.

  Our flashlights shined from left to right like a sort of light show.

  “Creepy,” said Fender.

  “Magical,” I said.

  The inside of the building was in even worse shape than the outside. The stairs to the upper story were rickety and creaky.

  But I kept going. I wanted to get rid of Claus’s touch, and the adrenaline worked like a kind of shower.

  When I reached the top of the stairs, I gasped for breath. The floor up there had collapsed. There was just one long beam running from one side of the room to the other. If I put one foot off the beam, I’d plunge down below. But I could see the stars through the holes in the roof.

  I grabbed the bottle of wine that Kate was holding and took a few big gulps. I didn’t actually like it, and the alcohol made me dizzy.

  “Come here.” I pulled Fender toward me and kissed him.

  I didn’t care that we had an audience.

  “What did I do to deserve that?” asked Fender when I finally released him. My lipstick was around his mouth.