PUZZLER (mystery fic)

001. arrival.

CHAPTER ONE.

everest's pov.
??? , SOUTH DAKOTA.
. . . the arrivals 🎙️.

AS I walk up to  the mysterious building, I find that I'm definitely not the only person who was invited here... there's two people about my age at the door.

"Name?" The female asks, and I can tell she's not here to joke around... for whatever reason.

"Everest... Everest Lopez." I tell her, and the boy with her opens the door, allowing me to enter.

When I do, I see there's about a lengthy hallway, and then on each side there's a room that has about 6 beds, give or take a few. There's already 2 others in the room to my right, they appear to be siblings.

"Uh... hey." I mumble, and they turn to face me.

"Hi! Im Lizzy." The girl smiles at me, and I smile back.

"Im Everest." I tell her, and she motions to the boy with her.

"This is Silas, my older brother." She explains, and I nod at him in acknowledgement.

It appears that the side I've chosen is where the boys will sleep... for however long we're here. Apparently the girls sleep across the hall on the left side, but Lizzy is just in here with her brother since they're the only ones here right now.

"So you guys got letters too?" I ask, and they nod.

"One letter addressed to both of us, but yeah." Silas tells me, but then both of their eyes flick to someone behind me.

I spin around to see an absolutely stunning girl standing in the doorway. Her hair is slightly wavy, and her light skin is practically glowing.

"I'm Jade. Where do I put my stuff?" She asks, and I immediately volunteer to show her.

"I'll show you! It's right over here." I smile widely, leading her to the room across the hall.

"Thanks." She says shortly, going in and setting her suitcase next to one of the beds.

"I'm Everest." I tell her, and she sends me a look.

"Okay?" She raises an eyebrow, seeming unimpressed. "Can I call you Ev? Actually I don't care, I'm gonna call you Ev. Less letters to remember."

"Oh— uh— okay." I nod. "You need help with anything?"

I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. Obviously she doesn't, but it's worth asking.

"No thanks, pretty boy. You can go back to the other room." She forces a smile on her face.

Okay... not a fan of me, then!

"Alright. Uh— cya later then." I say awkwardly, and she waves.

"Bye bye, Ev."

I bolt back to the other room, and Silas laughs at me a little. There's now 3 other people in the room that I hadn't met while I was with Jade.