Something was off about this place. Cal couldn't put his finger on it, and at the risk of insulting their host, he elected not to verbalise it. Cal and his sister were being shown around the ridiculous manor house Tess had scored at auction. Though the front facade was rotten, windows shattered and the garden hideously overgrown, the grand interiors were in relatively good shape. Together they revelled at yet another of Tess' ridiculous gambles paying off - as they always seemed to do. The work required was nothing she didn't have 'people for' by now, and she was in high spirits.
Tess led them from one bedroom to the next, giving her friend Reyan the tour, while Reyan's brother Cal had been employed for carrying the heavy stuff. Together they lugged over all the usual tools, making quick work of the car's contents. The two women had known each other for many years through friends-of-friends, but had become close in the last seven years doing up houses together. It started with Reyan attending one of Tess' rubble-parties, in a hovel she had just purchased and didn't mind near-strangers roughing-up. The two of them had been chatting about ideas for the place when Tess had invited her to come over in a few days, to take sledgehammers to some of the walls. Since then Reyan had leant her friend a hand with three other projects.
By now they had stores of equipment they liked to use, and spent this first day getting it all unpacked from the car, Reyan's brother heaving one final box up the stairs. Tess had done little more than coordinate but Reyan was fairly breathless, and flashed a weary smile.
"Uh, Rey, I wanted to ask you something." She said, pausing long enough to provoke curiosity. "Look we can keep on as we agreed with me paying you a day rate a little above my best contractors, but with the amount of time you're spending on these places now, I feel like we're closer to partners nowadays."
"We've talked about this Tess, for me this is just money on top of my shifts, I save most of it." Reyan assured, resting an arm on her hips. She was short and curvy, with rich brown skin, her wide eyes a few shades darker and her hair darker still. "Plus, I get to live vicariously through you! I always liked this renovation stuff so it's great to experiment with each place."
"Well that's just it, maybe it's time to throw your hat in the ring. Put those savings to work and come in with me on a stake in this place." Tess urged brightly, her expression beaming with enthusiasm, this was clearly something she had given a lot of thought. "Just think about it. I'll need a decision in the next few weeks before we go to the bank for a refurbishment loan, so I have a firm budget. No pressure, it just might be nice to share the load and split the profits."
Realising her face had dropped to one of concern and reflection, Reyan fortified a grin, but it betrayed her inner-uncertainty. It was true she had been taking less shifts at the gardening center, and they were in fact collaborating closer than ever.
"We need to go get that lumber by 3pm." Cal yelled as he strode down the steps, interrupting their chat and leading Tess to wander off into the kitchen and get some music on.
"Uh, don't worry I'll get that," said Reyan, drawing a long breath, "I could do with some time to think."
"Everything alright?" He asked, recognising when his older sister was turning something over in her mind. She recounted the conversation to him quietly, nervous at first but growing more excited as she detailed how it could work. "Sounds risky sis, wasn't it you that said Tess doesn't always turn a profit? That first place you did together barely broke-even in the end."
"Yeah, that's true." Reyan nodded, regretting sharing anything, she should have known what her brother would think of anything so cavalier. She was a little more daring, but flipping houses tended to threaten disaster throughout and that stress was easier to manage knowing she had little to lose, however emotionally invested she became. Tess typically bought these places on a whim, knowing little to nothing about them which was a terrifying prospect. "I just want to mull things over on my own for a bit, you two stay and get everything in the right rooms. I'll bring some food back."
At the mention of food, Tess rejoined them in the hall, offering some cash which was quickly refused, and then Reyan left. It was a rare occasion for Cal and Tess to be alone together, and in the quiet that followed, Tess insisted on a continued tour. Dismissing the task of getting things organised for now, she ignored the heaps of equipment and led Cal upstairs. In one of the bedrooms, she leaned against a full-length mirror as she deliberated aloud between possible layouts. Upon releasing her weight from the surface, the wall clicked loudly, drawing both their attention as the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror swung steadily open, revealing a hollow space behind it.
"Holy shit," Tess mumbled, pulling it out further to discover the full extent of the hidden chamber, "this definitely wasn't on the floor plan!"
The back of the mirror had thick padded panels, the wall behind it plain white with a large open archway cut into it. As Tess ventured straight inside, he hovered at the entrance, watching as she stepped through into a small circular room, lighting up at her arrival. The ground was made of hexagonal glassy tiles which glowed blue as she stepped on them, a rounded control panel dominating the far side. Rows of thick metal railings curved along the walls from floor to ceiling, each about a foot apart. It looked almost like a gameshow set, and though Cal was curious, it took her ushering him inside before he would examine it up close.
Cal's nagging sense that something was off about the room dimensions made sense to him now. The upstairs was smaller than downstairs, explained by all the space concealed behind the mirror.
