Chapter Twenty-Six Mo
Chapter Twenty-Six
MO
Mo scuffed the toe of his ancient Dr Martens against the carpet and checked his watch.
Nine fifty-five. Netta would be arriving soon and, at the thought of seeing her again, the butterflies from last night were playing an enthusiastic encore in his belly.
There was something about her—lots of somethings, actually—and the anticipation of seeing her again sent a buzz of nervous energy through him.
Last night, he’d felt more seen than he had for a long time, and the thrill of it was a little confusing given he’d spent so much of his life hiding behind a persona.
But she also made him feel like he could relax a little.
Breathe. Be himself. Being with her had made him feel like he’d taken his sunglasses off—everything had looked a little different. Brighter.
There was a knock at the door before it opened.
The receptionist of the escape room smiled nervously at him as he stuck his head around the door.
‘Sorry to disturb, Mr Maplestone, I’m Callum— we met at reception.
Your, er, teammate is here.’ He pushed the door open to reveal Netta standing behind him, a huge handbag slung over her shoulder and that knitted hat on her head again, a takeaway coffee in each hand.
‘An escape room?’ She held a coffee out to Mo. ‘Have you booked the whole place?’
‘Yeah, I did.’ Mo puffed out his cheeks and scratched the back of his neck.
‘I know it’s weird. It’s just a thing I do when I’m stressed out.
Helps me focus,’ he said. ‘Or something like that, anyway.’ He didn’t know why, but the finite nature of the challenge seemed to soothe him.
The black and white, right or wrong of it was so different to his life in the public eye.
Out there, his success depended on so many factors beyond his control.
In an escape room, it was all on him, and he liked that.
He took a sip of coffee. She’d remembered how he liked it, and for some reason that small kindness felt profound
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to chug those coffees,’ interrupted Callum. ‘No food or drink allowed in the escape room.’
Netta had already taken a box from her handbag. ‘Oh, no snacks?’
‘Normally it’s no snacks.’ Callum was clearly uncomfortable with having to assert authority.
‘But I’ll make an exception for you, Mr Maplestone,’ he said.
‘My mum and granny absolutely love your music, they do. Mum had “Music Box” playing when I was born, so technically, your voice is the first one I ever heard. Isn’t that weird? ’
Netta raised an eyebrow as she offered Mo a cookie. ‘Wasn’t that song about—’
‘It was a song about a music box,’ said Mo, cutting her off with a quick grin. ‘And that’s lovely, mate. Tell your mum I’m honoured.’
‘Music Box’ had been one of Mo’s first big hits and its lyrics had set off a long debate among his fans about whether or not it was a euphemism for something that was probably not that appropriate to have provided the soundtrack to the birth of a baby.
Or possibly, now that he thought about it, was very appropriate.
‘Okay, so your game is set to begin in ten minutes,’ Callum continued. ‘Your Games Master will be with you soon to talk you through the challenge. I’ll see you when you’re done.’ He flashed them a sly grin. ‘If you escape, that is.’
As Callum shut the door behind him, Mo turned to Netta, his nerves crackling. ‘So, you haven’t decided not to come to the gala?’
‘Definitely still thinking about it.’
‘The whole fake date thing is kind of weird,’ admitted Mo. ‘Even for me.’
‘Super tropey.’ She grinned. ‘Like we’re in one of those cheesy romance movies where they have to pretend to be a couple to win an inheritance, or get a promotion or something. This—’ she gestured around them at the escape room signage, ‘—would absolutely be the start of a montage.’
Mo snorted. ‘Ha! Yeah. I guess I’ll have to throw some snow at you at some point and maybe you’ll wipe ice cream off my face and then we’ll fall in love even though we really, really don’t want to.’
‘But not before we go for a bike ride around a lake where one of us falls in, but like—adorably,’ said Netta. ‘And then another romantic interest will come along for one of us, but it won’t work out because even though they’re absolutely perfect, they’re not the one our hearts really want.’
‘Yeah, because true love conquers all, right?’ Mo demolished the rest of his cookie.
‘If only,’ said Netta, shaking her head. ‘Imagine if life was really like that.’
‘I’d have to carry a bucket with me at all times.’
‘Good morning, players!’ boomed a voice from behind them.
Mo and Netta turned to see the Games Master, who was clearly just Callum dressed up as a bearded wizard, standing behind them.
‘Your challenge awaits. In a moment I will escort you to the Magic Shop, where you will be surrounded by wonder and mystery.’
Mo looked at Netta. She was trying her hardest not to laugh, a cookie crumb clinging to her bottom lip. Her very, very nice bottom lip.
‘The wizard has cast a dastardly spell on the village and has vanished, leaving the townsfolk to live a miserable existence,’ announced Callum.
‘It is your mission to return the village to the happy place it once was. When you’re inside the room, the doors will be locked.
The only way out is to find the clues to break the spell. Do you accept this quest?’
Mo and Netta nodded solemnly.
‘Very well,’ Callum said. ‘Follow me.’
‘And let the montage begin,’ Mo whispered.
Netta’s giggle faded quickly once the escape room’s door shut firmly behind them. ‘Whoa, this is— Wow,’ she said, looking around. She turned and tested the door. ‘We’re really locked in here, huh?’
Mo nodded and cast his eyes around the dimly lit room.
Floor-to-ceiling timber panels lined the walls and shelves were loaded with dusty spell books, jars filled with potions and strange pieces of equipment.
A gilded cage contained a live rabbit and a clothes rack held a selection of velvet robes.
On the counter sat an old-fashioned cash register and a stuffed parrot, and behind the counter was a narrow door, partially covered by a beaded curtain.
On a low table, crystals and gems in bowls vied for space with glass balls and clusters of coloured feathers, and a rack displayed a shiny selection of silver lamps and jugs.
Tarot cards lay scattered on the floor. Banners bearing strange symbols hung from the ceiling.
Fat candles in every colour were dotted around the shop and soft music played in the background.
‘Is that a window over there?’ asked Netta, pointing to a curtain on the other side of the room. ‘Maybe we could let some air in?’
‘Let’s have a look.’
Mo stepped over a pile of magic carpets to reach it, and as he pulled the curtain back, a wooden shutter was revealed, open just enough to allow a peek through.
He closed one eye and pressed the other to the opening to see the ‘view’ of the village scorned by the wizard.
A woman appeared to be pleading for help in front of an apothecary and the street around her was littered with sleeping townsfolk, all out cold on the footpath.
‘It’s not a real window,’ he said to Netta, drawing back. ‘Take a look. I think it’s a clue.’
Netta peered through the crack. ‘This is the result of the spell he cast on the town?’
‘I guess so. Either that or everyone’s been going a bit too hard on the mead.’
Netta’s grin came and went quickly. ‘Okay,’ she said, her cheeks flushed. ‘I guess we should split up to look for clues if we’re ever going to get out of here.’
Mo looked around, taking in the clutter and chaos of the shop. ‘May the force be with us.’
A huge grandfather clocked ding-donged to let them know that five minutes had passed already.
Twenty minutes later, they’d discovered three of the five clues they’d need to find the wizard and save the villagers from eternal sleep, and Netta was starting to look highly uncomfortable, her face flustered and her breathing shallow.
‘You okay?’ asked Mo.
‘I thought I was over it.’
‘Over what?’
She looked up at him as though only just remembering he was there.
‘When I was a kid, my cousin locked me in a wardrobe and it scared the crap out of me. Made me a bit claustrophobic for a while. This hasn’t happened for ages—I’m so sorry.
’ She pressed her palm to her chest. ‘I feel like I can’t breathe properly,’ she said, sinking to the floor, tucking her legs in and resting her forehead on her knees. ‘I really need to get out of here.’
Mo crouched down beside Netta, wondering briefly if he should hug her but settling for a pat on her back. Remembering the emergency exit button he’d noticed next to the locked door, he stood and strode across the room to the intercom and rang the buzzer. Once, twice, three times. No answer.
‘I think our mate Callum might’ve taken a smoko.’
Netta was deep breathing now, her eyes fixed on the carpet in front of her feet, her hands clasped tightly around her knees.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Mo. ‘I’ll get us out of here.’
They’d already worked out the wizard had cast the spell because of a broken heart.
He’d fallen for the woman they’d seen through the window, and her rejection had broken his heart so completely, he’d sent everyone in the village except for her into an eternal sleep so that she could feel his loneliness for herself. Talk about revenge.
Mo gave Netta a tentative rub on the back.
‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ he said, and stepped towards the shop counter, slipping behind it to look for clues.
The narrow door behind it was ajar, and he peeked in to see an upholstered chair and a small side table.
A leather-bound book sat on the table, the light from a brass lamp shining directly on its cover.
He grabbed it, flicking through pages filled with loopy calligraphy in thick black ink until the very last page, where the ink changed to red and the words read: The tune is sweet and she is the key to break the spell of eternal sleep.
The tune is sweet? Mo focused on the music that had been playing incessantly during their search, the same classical piece over and over, and racked his brain.
He hummed along with the melody to access his deeper musical memories, the ones buried under his own songs.
It was Beethoven, he was sure of it. Für Elise.
He searched the room for a piano or a keyboard in case he had to play the song to get them out, but there were none.
The only thing he could find with keys was an old typewriter hidden in the back corner, surrounded by dragon statues and bunches of dried herbs.
‘Worth a shot,’ he muttered to himself. ‘“She is the key”.’
He clacked out E L I S E on the ancient keys and the door to the escape room clicked open.
Mo ran to Netta’s side. ‘We’re out. Let’s go.’
She wrapped an arm around him as he helped her up, her legs wobbly as they made their way from the room.
‘Congratulations!’ boomed Callum, standing right outside the door, his beard askew and a distinct smell of weed emanating from his cloak. ‘You have broken the spell! The townspeople are saved!’
‘What the fuck, Callum?’ hissed Mo. ‘Where were you when I pressed the emergency intercom?’ He tipped his head towards Netta. ‘We needed out fifteen minutes ago, mate.’
‘Oh,’ said Callum, taking in Netta’s obvious brokenness. ‘Shit. I’m so sorry.’ He held a piece of paper out to them like a peace offering. ‘Would you still like your certificate?’
‘I’ll take it,’ piped up Netta, standing straighter. ‘I reckon we earned it.’
Mo gave Callum a hard sideways glance and stopped short of the front door to send a text message, its reply coming almost instantly.
‘All clear outside,’ he said in explanation.
‘My driver’s waiting. I use her when I’m in the city.
Parking’s a bitch so I leave the Jeep at the car service depot and she takes me from there.
Means I can get straight to the door of wherever I’m going without being seen, usually.
’ He pushed the door open and held it for her.
‘Probably makes me seem like a bit of a diva.’
They went outside into the weak winter sunlight. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘Yeah,’ Netta said, clutching the certificate, the colour returning to her face. ‘Very embarrassed.’
‘Don’t be,’ said Mo. ‘I’ve had a panic attack before. They’re no joke.’
‘Really?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ he said. ‘Right before I went on stage in Tokyo a few years ago. It was brutal. I thought I was dying.’ He gestured to the shiny black parked car. ‘My driver can take you straight back to the hotel if you like.’
Netta shook her head. ‘I think I need a drink after that. Medically.’
‘Well, in that case, I know just the place,’ said Mo.
He looked around at the emptied back street the escape room was tucked away in.
If they were quick, they should be able to make it to the restaurant he was thinking of without attracting too much attention.
‘It’s just around the corner. We can walk if you need some fresh air?
’ He slid his beanie and glasses on and hooked out his arm so she could slip her hand through.
It settled easily in the crook of his elbow and it felt good. Too good.