Puzzle Boxes are Meant to be Smashed Open

[Laurels]

Shoshanna continued to run through the plan to herself. She did hear the hidden boy finally introduce himself. His name was Gus, and he was a skateboarder. Shoshanna didn't entirely recognize the name or interests, but it didn't matter. He now owed them for the clothes.

She glanced over when she saw him fully dressed. He had a different bandanna than her and Jasper, but that didn't matter. They were a non-denominational escape group. It wouldn't be an issue unless a large group of people all with the same bandannas came forward to sway someone away from the others. But knowing their school, that was pretty unlikely.

"Looking suave," Shoshanna said. "Stay hydrated though, cause odds are we'll be outside for a long time and you're in all-black."

Shoshanna brushed some loose hair back.

"Anyways, just so you know," Shoshanna told Gus, "Jasper and I are busting out of this place. If you're interested, feel free to stick around. And if not...well...why?"

[AnimeNerd]

Alright, Gustavo Thicke, specifically with an e in Thicke, called Gus by friends, who liked skateboarding and was a Miami native. He didn't seem like much, but hey, SOTF had contenders of all shapes and sizes, and everyone had potential to get alive, didn't they?

Still didn't stop Jasper from mentally noting that he could probably take him, if he absolutely needed to.

Jasper put a hand to his chin as he looked Gus up and down, giving slight nods as he did so. "Definitely doesn't look bad, I can tell you that much," he said, giving Gus a subtle wink shortly after. Some added security to keep him on their side never hurt, right?

He looked to Shoshanna as she talked about their general plan, nodding once before turning his head back to Gus. He didn't really have much to add to it, so he stayed silent for the time being. He figured Gus was probably willing to join them-more than willing, really-but saying as much probably wouldn't help their argument.

So Jasper stood and smiled at Gus, keeping up the charm as usual.

[Sh4dE]

Both of them liked Gus' new looks, that made him feel better, especially the compliments coming for Jasper felt nice as they were given with a nice charismatic smile. Gus responded with awkwardly giving a thumbs up with both of his hands and showing his teeth with his smile until he remembered that one of his teeth was now missing, so he closed it again and carefully listened to Shoshanna. He was pretty sure they couldn't see his missing tooth because it was molar, right?

Anyways, Shoshanna told him what they planning to do and Gus was excited to help them, he responded with an approving smile. They were going to try to bust out of the place. They were going- wait.

Busting out meant escaping, right?

Oh. Okaaaaaaay. So that was what they trying to do. Well, that didn't sound like a good idea. Escapes sucks.

Gustavo didn't really know exactly why escapes sucked, but he constantly heard his brother complaining about them and Gus trusted his brother on that one. They were a bad idea and never worked out, is why they sucked, if Gus recalled correctly from the rants from his younger brother. They sucked, they were idiots, they were fools. He could hear Fernando's voice telling him that.

"Hmm, well, okaaaay, I'm uh, I'm not sure about that, whether that's a smart idea, y'know? So, yeah, uh, I have a brother, yeah. His name is Fernando and he watches SOT- he loves watching SOTF, y'know. He's basically an expert in that so-to-say. Escapes don't work and are dangerous and stuff, like, uh, he, uh. Escape attempts suck and are bad and uh, a bad idea. Get me? I trust my brother on that, with my life, and he's family, you understand?"

Gus tried delivering it as confident as he could given his lack of knowledge in the subject and he kind of felt confident about it. After all, the person in front of him was just a small girl. What could she know about SOTF? He hoped he managed to talk her out of the dangerous and naive idea of attempting to escape and that his explantions were convincing.

[Laurels]

Shoshanna came to realize that Gus's surname was appropriate, because he was apparently Thicke-headed. Shoshanna hadn't even discussed any of the ideas she had for escaping, and he was already in full critical mode. Who the hell was he to assume that she didn't know what she was doing? Yes, she was working abstractly, but that's how masterpieces of art were made.

Shoshanna tried not to show any of her frustration at Gus criticizing her intentions. She kept a calm expression, her eyes darting back and forth from Gus to Jasper. She waited until Gus got his piece out, and she let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I don't know your brother," Shoshanna said, "but as someone who has extensively studied this game, read tons of literature on it, and has attended several events both fan-run and officially sponsored, as well as someone who has created her own blog dedicated to analyzing the series, I think I have some retorts in me."

Shoshanna stood up from her seat and locked her eyes with Gus's.

"Your brother seems to ascribe to a negative view of escape attempts. There's some valid criticism in that, but there's a fundamental error to that thinking. Escape isn't 'impossible.' On the contrary. It's 'uncommon.'"

She took a step closer to the boy.

"Darius Darby, Gerald Howard, Jessica Hillman, Emilie Brown, Jessica Hurley, Rachel Lexington, Connor Compton, Nina Reeves, Nolan McMann, Pascal Maynard, Adam Nejem, Felix Berger, Zalika Attwood, Jaylyn Curtis, Gwyn Black, Ashley Sanderson, and, according to some circles, the cast of Season Sixty. They all proved escape was possible. They proved there are flaws in the game. They proved they could work within and against the system in place. Your brother isn't wrong. Escapes are risky. They are dangerous. But they are possible. And frankly, finding the hidden way out of here sounds way more fun than murdering your way back home."

She took another few steps closer.

"Like I said, you don't have to join us if you'd rather just take the clothes and run. Jasper and I can accept that and can wish you the best of luck on your journey. But if this is where our lives end, wouldn't you rather spend it challenging yourself to do something others say you can't do? Wouldn't you like to try to save yourself without having to become a mass murderer?"

Shoshanna stopped walking and smiled at Gus.

"Wouldn't you like to prove your brother wrong?"

[AnimeNerd]

For a minute, it looked like they were going to have a new ally through the game. Sure, Gus may not have had much to help when it came to supplies, but an extra set of hands was always appreciated for one of these plans, right?

And then Gus opened up his mouth.

It didn't seem like he was completely at fault-this Fernando didn't sound very helpful and him apparently being Gus' only exposure to SOTF clearly made things worse-but it didn't seem like Gus was completely blameless either. Yeah, escape attempts are dangerous and difficult as Hell, but so was trying to survive SOTF in general. The only differences were escapees end their games early, tended to avoid killing a bit more, and usually seemed more well-adjust compared to some winners.

Jasper was about to make as much of an argument when he heard a laugh. Coming from a familiar voice, yes, but a laugh like that was never a good sign in SOTF.

He glanced over to Shoshanna and, for the first time since he woke up in this season, felt some fear come over him. Shoshanna may not be displaying that much emotion outwardly, but Jasper was a poker player-he could read people.

And what he read from Shoshanna basically screamed 'Underestimate me. I dare you.'

As she went on with her speech, Jasper kept his mouth shut and eyes open a little wider than usual as he watched and listened. At one point when she paused, he wanted to jump in, help her argument a little more, only for her to come back again and with the point he was about to bring up.

By the end of it, he finally turned his gaze back to Gus, his more relaxed expression back, but a neutral frown on his face instead of the usual smile.

"It is going to be dangerous either way, dude," Jasper said, rather casually now. "You pretty much just get to choose the level of danger at this point."

[Sh4dE]

Aw, fuck. That was embarrassing. He should've just shut his mouth. He really regretted having opened it after carefully listening to what the girl had to say.

Gus wasn't sure what to reply to that, because frankly she seemed like she knew what she was doing. Gus was now more scared of that girl than of Jasper. He felt like a fool not knowing his homework about SOTF while Shoshanna listed all these names and all these references he didn't understand. It didn't seem like she was faking it either or making anything up, even though if she did, he wouldn't be the wiser.

Sorry, Fernando.

"Okay. I guess I can try to help you. Escape isn't such a bad plan, I suppose."

He said that in a less confident tone than his explanation of why escapes were a bad idea, the shame and insecurity caused by Shoshanna's words were recognisable in his voice.

[Laurels]

Well, that convinced him. Shoshanna had to mentally raise a fist in the air. Looks like she was way better at debate than she thought. Or Gus was really that easily swept by the opinions of others. It didn't matter, that meant that there was another person who could chip in.

"Yep, we're choosing our level of danger," Shoshanna said, echoing Jasper's comment, "and frankly, the last thing we need is to do anything that will make the folks back home smack their foreheads."

Shoshanna stepped back over to the table.

"Okay, so I have some things to discuss, but I think we're at the point where things will have to be a bit more discreet. So, I'm thinking we find a room with pens and pads of paper, and we can get into the nitty gritty."

She started to fold the map up and pocketed it.

"So, shall we?"

[AnimeNerd]

Well, crap. Now Jasper kind of felt bad for putting Gus in a corner. Not bad enough to switch his stance on the subject, since that would be stupid, but he still felt a little bad.

He gave Gus a smile as he also placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up, dude. Everyone makes mistakes. Plus, I'm sure Fernando will change his mind about escapes when you get out alive because of one."

And if he didn't...Jasper could always introduce Fernando to his fists.

But there was a time and place for this thinking, and it definitely was not here and now. Looking over to Shoshanna as she summarized the current plan, he gave a slight nod once she finished.

"You know I'm up for it."

All that was left was to figure out what place would have pens and papers. Best guess was there would be some on the cruise ship, considering the variety it had for potential objects, but a lot of other boats had the potential to hold paper and pencils, like the Floating Restaurant (notepads waiters write orders on) or the House Boat (he'd be surprised for any sort of house to not have pens or paper).

He decided to remember that for later, though. No need to over think it and check the bigger places before checking the smaller ones.

[Sh4dE]

Gus silently nodded when Shoshanna suggested moving to a place where they could find writing utensils. Jasper tried to comfort Gus, but now it felt like he was the most stupid person on the island. He was right about his brother, though. His brother would be happy to see him alive. Fernando always complained about his favorite characters dying too early. Gus hoped he wasn't his brother's favorite character at the moment.

Gus started walking and tried starting a conversation with his companions to get to know them better.

"Do you guys have any siblings?"

Right after saying that he immediately regretted saying anything. He should've just shut up and not have said anything anymore. He anxiously waited for Shoshanna's response to destroy him once again with her words.

[Laurels]

Shoshanna adjusted her bag's strap, as the boys got ready to leave. She had a few ideas forming, and she was hoping to discuss them further once she had writing material. There were a lot of fine details and a lot of places to check, so having a handy dandy list would help. She wasn't sure how long the days would last here, and they needed a plan before they tried to navigate the jetties in the dark.

As they started to leave, Gus asked if they had any siblings.

"I'm the third of five," Shoshanna said. "The oldest is in college, and the others also went to Mangrove. But I think I was the only one picked. It looks like only seniors and juniors were picked, and I didn't see any of them in the briefing."

Shoshanna bit her lip a bit.

"I know you're a senior, Jasper, but if you ever had a class with Oskar Kowlaczyk, he's my brother."

She sighed.

"I'm really glad he's not here. And that the other two aren't either."

[AnimeNerd]

Feeling like he sufficiently comforted Gus, Jasper took his hand off Gus' shoulder and zipped up his backpack. He had neglected to do so after giving up the extra clothing, and realized leaving it open would definitely be a stupid move. He was tempted to grab the water and take a sip, but he wasn't that thirsty yet. Save it for a time you're more desperate and all that jazz.

As they began to move, Gus asked a question-an understandable one considering what they were just talking about-and Shoshanna answered. He thought the name Oskar was familiar, and they may have talked before, but weren't really close or anything.

Jasper did take note of one thing, though.

"Well, what are the chances that the first three in this group all have siblings?" He said, smile getting slightly smaller and tad more sad. "I have a little sister myself. Catalina. She's still in Spain, and she's still in preschool, so I don't have to worry about her ever being here."

He sighed before continuing.

"I am hoping I can actually go back to her, though. Haven't really been there for her too much as big brother while in America, or not as much as I'd like to anyway. Want to make sure I'm there for her whenever she needs me after this."

Before the silence could settle too much, Jasper exhaled through his mouth forcefully, similar to a sigh, but still avoiding it.

"But enough of the doom and gloom," he said, smile back to its usual levels of appeal. "Let's get moving and find something to write with, yeah?"

Jasper only waited for an answer out of courtesy, walking ahead of the other two and staying facing them as he planted the hook tool on the ground, blunt end first, ready to head out.

[Sh4dE]

Gus carefully listened to the other two. Wow, third out of five? That was a big family, then. He knew his parents also had quite many siblings, but he only had one and he was kinda glad about that. It must be really exhausting to have four.

He kept silent and did not comment on anything the others said. Shoshanna was only interested in talking to Jasper and not him, it seemed, with her attention being drawn to Jasper instead of him. Jasper and his stupid good-looking body. Jasper, who didn't make a fool out of himself.

His barefoot feet followed Jasper's to catch up. He was anxious to see where they would end up next, but he was glad he made some allies.

((CK11 Gustavo Thicke continued in cheesed to meet you))

[Laurels]

Shoshanna listened as Jasper mentioned a sister, then snapped back to reality. She'd have time to think of her loved ones while she was trying to fall asleep later in this arena. It wasn't conducive to her mission right now to dwell on them. They had to get to work. They needed to find writing materials and things to write on, and then they needed to route where to go next while they still had daylight.

"Alright, let's check some of the cabins," Shoshanna said. "Cruise ships probably have complimentary pens and notepads in the guest cabins. Or, if not, we can check some of the office areas."

Shoshanna wiped some sweat off her brow.

"And then, we can really get to work."

Shoshanna wasn't entirely sure if this would work, but she was already living up to her ideal of how she'd act on SOTF. She had two allies and direction to survive. Survive, not play. She wasn't sure how the public was reacting to their trio right now, but she hoped they were forming positive opinions of her, and were dying to see where they would go next.

((Shoshanna Kowalczyk continued in cheesed to meet you))

[AnimeNerd]

"Alright, let's head out."

Time to make sure that a few siblings didn't have to see their loved ones die. It was a tall order for a group of teens that had never met before this, and definitely one of the biggest gambles Jasper's ever taken.

Good thing he was a damn good gambler.

[Jasper Suárez-King continued in cheesed to meet you]