Project: Death for Classroom Zero

Chapter 31: Mirror

“What is this?”

As soon as Tristan and his group finally passed through the swirl of light from the arced door, the sudden wanting of turning back to the safer place had secretly resurfaced towards them.

Tristan was standing beside Caspian. He could sense the extreme terrified emotion seeping away from his body, but it was also noticeable to other of his groupmates. The one probably feeling scared the most, Tristan thinks, is Tammy. He wanted to check her, but he could not, for even he, was feeling frightened as he stare on his surrounding.

The door that they have entered was just a single, simple-designed room—at least of the arrangement of the design. Unfortunately, the simplicity of the design was the sole reason why it became complicated.

Tristan saw his image standing on his front—upside down. He looked at his left, and another reflection of him was standing upside down. Then another. And another.

They were inside a room—or if it was a room, Tristan wasn’t sure—that is filled with symmetrically-sized mirror either standing or pasted on the wall, making it a room of mirrors.

“Don’t worry, I think it only has a simple design,” said Blaze as he look at the surrounding. “There is a pattern we could see toward the arrangement of those mirrors.”

“I see it too,” whispered Caspian. Tristan was the only one who had heard his comrade since they were focused to Blaze, who was about to explain the fast conclusion he had made in the place.

“Look,” he started. “The mirrors are symmetrically arranged. They are symmetrical in size and was placed in a wall as if a piece of easy puzzle. Some of the standing mirrors on the ground had relative and similar sizes as well. They too are standing in symmetrical distances as well,” Blaze explained.

Having his honest thoughts, Tristan is uncomfortable with Blaze and his immediate ‘feeling ease’ with the group. He was able to get the trust of the group, and even is attempting to get the post of being the leader of the group.

While it should not be a big deal to Tristan, the eruption of mysterious feeling uncomfortness inside his chest has been bothering him, most especially when he realize that Blaze was getting the trust of the group. He tried to ignore it, set it at the back of his mind, but something bothers him.

Something…

“I don’t think this is just a simply-patterned design,” muttered Tristan in a way of objection to Blaze.

He secretly pinched his leg with his hand hidden inside the pocket of his uniform. He felt that the way on how he said those words were of a clear intention of strong objection for Blaze’s words. Though yes, it was an objection, but he never wanted it to look as if he was the antagonist of the group.

But since it had happened, he did not pulled back his words, and decided to continue explaining. He felt saying sorry to a mysterious man like Blaze was unnecessary; too much and effort to bother.

“What do you mean, Tristan?” Blaze asked with his innocent face. Tristan hated it.

“Our reflection to the mirror,” Tristan answered.

“Ah, yes, the reflection. It was quite disturbing because our reflection to the mirror is upside-down. But I think it was just made to confuse us in finishing this quiz,” Blaze reasoned.

“At the first place, why would professor Buenavista would do this kind of s**t, if this was just a ‘quiz’ as she claimed?” Amara asked. “She’s just making things complicated. Duh.”

Tristan ignored Amara’s question since the answer was obvious; she was just naïve not to understand why. Instead, he focused his argument to Tristan.

“Not all of our reflections are upside down,” Tristan said. He pointed a certain mirror in which their reflection is not upside down, but instead, horizontally reflecting their images.

“I—It’s not upside down,” said Tammy.

Tristan’s pointed finger moved to one of the mirrors standing on the ground. It was on their front, but when they saw their reflection, they felt confused. It was their back that was being reflected through the mirror, despite the mirror being on their front.

“Besides,” Tristan continued explaining. “If we’re inside a room full of mirror, then we will be insanely confused by now with different reflections. I mean, in the reflection of the mirror, there must be some sort of utterly chaotic and repetitive images. But in this case, it is not.”

From that, Seven gasped. “Hey you are… right.” He was staring at his image at a certain standing mirror.

“This thing only reflects your self. Our body. But not the whole place.”

“Certainly,” confirmed Tristan. He stood in front of the nearest mirror. “If this thing’s a real, then as I stand here, there should be other reflection of me inside that I can see since other mirrors are being reflected inside as well.”

“But it was only a single reflection of you in each mirror,” concludes Rain.

“Yes. I suspect this was just not real mirror. But still, this was made to confuse us.”

“Then what are these things?” asked Blaze as he tried scanning one of the fake mirrors.

“I don’t know. Maybe a screen made to believe as if real mirror. Then we’re just being recorded by a camera in different perspectives and displaying it on the screen. But I am not sure.”

“That’s highly possible, man. At least, that’s the closest explanation to these things,” Timmy said, terrified.

“That’s a reckless thing for me to conclude that this is just a simple and easy place. I almost forgot that this was no ordinary place, and would never aim to make a simple, useless things.”

“That’s not a big thing,” Tristan coldly said. He was annoyed to himself. He could not understand why was he having this certain cold treatment towards Blaze, as if he was saying he do not want him on their group. He wants to. Loves to, since he could not forget the fact that he was the one who saved him and Rain from a certain death. But as soon as he was introduced by Rain as an ally, he could not overlook the bothering feeling on his chest. And he doesn’t know why.

“Now that we somehow know that this was not a real mirror, then what’s next to do?” asked Timmy.

It was Rain then who answered. “I guess professor Buenavista wants us to find the first question inside this place.”

“Uh-huh, and how are we going to find it if the place was from a perspective, still confusing? I suspect, this room was worse than a maze or a labyrinth. You know, it can dupe and fool us with our images,” said Amara with her usual high-pitched voice, while crossing her arms on her chest. She must probably be annoyed that even though they were just starting with the quiz yet, they seem to meet a dead-end already.

“There’s a clue.”

Hearing Caspian, everyone from the group had looked at him. Tristan secretly smiled. It seemed that the man also discovered the pattern that he was eyeing at.

“There is? Come on, tell us immediately!” Timmy demanded from Caspian, feeling excited.

“Our vertical reflection.”

“Vertical reflection? What’s with that?” Seven asked as he looked at one particular vertical reflection of them which Tristan pointed earlier.

“It’s not easy to spot, but I think, that concludes the direction we should take on to. You see, compare to the number of upside down reflection that we have, the vertical reflections are too little to spot on.”

“And it suggests a direction.” Tristan pointed the images with vertical reflection. It has, indeed, a pattern where it was pointing at. “I think the reflection of us with our back means a path not to take, or could not be taken, like that reflection from where the portal of the gate once was. While the Vertical line was the one we should take and consider.”

“If that so, let’s not waste our time anymore,” Rain finally said.

“That’s a good observation there, Caspian, I did not know you’re that awesomely genius aside from being an ex-bully!” as they walk, Timmy started teasing Caspian and his exceptional observation about their reflections.

But there is something subtly wrong on their group. Tristan felt it. As they walk, and some of the members are talking to each other and giving jokes just to release the tension they are feeling, Tristan secretly gazed at Blaze. He was walking last of the group. His stare was down the tiled ground, and his fist… it was clenched with dangerous raging.

“Blaze?” he called.

From the raging and dark aura he was exuding, he suddenly extinguished it and was replaced with a bright presence; a bright, charming smile.

“Yes?” Blaze asked.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Ah, nothing. Something came on my mind. I dallied through it, sorry.” Soon as after Blaze told his reason, he walked pass Tristan, and came beside Rain, at the front of the group.

While the one being the last to walk, Tristan continued to look at Blaze. Because, he had just confirmed that there is something unusual to him. Something dark. And dangerous.