The Riddle of the Room

Prologue

Roger Calvaruso was confused. Confused might even be an understatement. In fact, he was completely, totally, truly baffled.

He was in a room; that much was clear. The walls were yellow and covered in posters, the desk and cabinets about the room strewn with trinkets and paper. It looked about average for a young girl's bedroom. It wasn't very tidy. He wrinkled his nose.

But why was he in the room? More importantly, how on earth had he gotten there? He couldn't remember. He was flat on his back on the floor, and had been that way for...who knows how long? He wracked his brain and thought back to earlier in the day...

***

Roger smiled as he typed away the final message that would shut down a smaller company forever.

He was about to become CEO of DenTech Inc., and everyone knew it. No one was as dedicated, focused, and competent as he was. No one. He took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled, sliding his phone into his pocket. He almost never ate lunch outside. It was harder to work that way. But today, he was feeling a tad frivolous. He had just made what was possibly the biggest business arrangement of his life. He was about to get a lot of money for his company--oh, the sun was indeed shining today.

He stood up, balling the remainder of his lunch in a napkin and walking over to a trash can. He began to imagine how he would decorate his office when he was CEO. It would have to look sleek and professional, with just the right balance of homey-ness so people didn't feel uncomfortable. He hated talking to people when they were uncomfortable. They started stammering, and sweating, and apologizing--ugh. It was obnoxious.

"Sir," a voice croaked. He frowned, looking around. His eyes found an old woman sitting beneath a tree. He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Could you spare the remainder of your lunch? I'm awfully hungry." Her voice was crackly and trembling. It reminded him of paper. He hated paper. Technology was the future.

He let out a laugh. "If you want food, you know the rules. Work hard and get a job. We're a capitalist nation, lazy tramp." He grinned.

She narrowed her eyes. "My," she said, "what a rude man you are."

He shrugged. "So is life." He began to walk away when the phone in his pocket began to buzz. It was probably his boss. He picked up without even looking. "Guess who just sealed the deal?" he said with a grin.

"Roger? What?"

Oh. It was his wife. He stopped, sighing. "Hey, Lisa."

"Um...ok. I just wanted to remind you that it's the twins' birthday, and--"

"Yes, I know very well what day it is," he interrupted. "Honey, I want to be there, I really do, but I have this really big business proposition that I have to follow up on, and I really can't miss it. I'll be home late tonight. I'm sorry."

Lisa sighed. "Are you sure you're ok we do this without you?"

He shifted impatiently. "Yeah. I'm ok." Didn't the woman understand? This was a big deal! He would buy something for the twins later, something big and flashy that they would like. That would be fine. "Look, I have to go. Have fun." Before she could say anything else, he hung up. He needed to call his boss.

"Don't you want to be home for your children's birthdays?" a voice said quietly.

Oh. He had forgotten about the old woman. He turned to her with a sigh. "Quite frankly, I don't enjoy parties, and I have more important things to do."

"Things more important than your family?" she asked curiously.

He glared at her, frustrated. "This is none of your business!" he said angrily. He strode away without another word. That old woman needed to learn her place.

He strode along the sidewalk, his good mood ruined. He needed to get to his office. He was happy at his office.

Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion fell over him. He HAD worked really hard today...suddenly, the bench he was passing looked a lot more comfortable.

He sat down, almost sore with fatigue. This was sudden. What was going on? Was he getting sick? He didn't get sick. Getting sick meant missing work. Missing work was bad.

But his eyelids were just so heavy...

It wouldn't be a problem if he rested his eyes for just a few moments, right?

***

And now he was here. Staring up and the creamy white ceiling of a little girl's bedroom. His eyes narrowed. The old woman. She MUST have had something to do with it. He wasn't quite sure how, but it had to be her.

He sat up cautiously. He was still in his business suit. He looked down at it in disgust. He would have to have Lisa iron it later. He shrugged off his jacket, folded it, and put it to the side.

That was when he noticed the note.

He picked it up. The handwriting was spindly and spikey. He quickly scanned it.

"Hello, Roger! I've told your boss that you took a last minute vacation, so no need to worry about that. Ironically, this family is also on vacation. Old friends of yours, by the way. What? Surprised? Did I forget to tell you? This is a test. I hope you pass it, because otherwise, you'll lose your job, money, and status. We wouldn't want that, now would we?

You know the person who lives in this room. You have one week to figure out who it is. Your time begins now."