When The Snow Falls

The first thing Daniel thought when he met the line up of the Mystery Club was that the club had to be really unpopular this year. The club normally met after school, but Oliver had called all the members to the meeting room right after he and Felix had agreed to join so they could all meet each other.

Sitting at the head of the table was Oliver, a brown haired boy called Harry was on his right, there was another teenager called Amien on his left and the only female was a redhead called Meredith who seemed to have a thing for Oliver. That meant there were only four members before he and Felix had agreed to become members. Daniel had got the impression from the talk given by the head of sixth form that the clubs were all quite large. This one definitely didn't seem to match that impression.

"Is this everyone?" Daniel asked.

Oliver coughed awkwardly. "Yes it is. Harry is the accountant and Meredith is the secretary. Amien is the former leader- final year students have to step down from club leadership."

"We don't even have any students from the school this year," Harry added with a groan and Daniel was able to work out that Harry was Welsh from his accent.

"I maintain my theory that everyone who was interested in joining saw Harry and ran away," Amien commented dryly.

Daniel frowned. Amien should have been a pupil at Kingston Royal Academy, he was stuck up enough to belong there. He even looked the part with his very straight posture and slicked back blond hair.

Oliver coughed again. "That's why we are going to lure people back by solving the Seven Mysteries. It will do wonders for our reputation as an obscure club."

Daniel thought it would be best to ask a certain question now rather than look like an idiot later on. Oliver had termed it like they all should know what the Seven Mysteries were.

"What are the 'Seven Mysteries'?"

It was Amien who answered his question in a concise manner.

"The Seven Mysteries are a part of most schools in Japan. They are seven separate mysteries connected to the school. What is important is that they are horror based unsolved mysteries."

The basis in horror explained why he had never heard of the concept. Daniel didn't have the fascination with horror that lots of people seemed to have.

Oliver continued on. "They're usually generic stories. Mysteriously moving anatomy models, moving staircases and things like that. Each school has their own take on it, but they're normally quite similar."

Daniel waited for further information. If they were as generic and fake sounding as that, why were they bothering to investigate? Should he even bother filling in the form that would formalise his membership?

"This school has a very unique Seven Mysteries which is why we want to investigate them. There is a chance they might have a grain of truth," Meredith added.

"What are the Seven Mysteries that are unique to this school?" Felix asked.

Oliver held up a finger and began to tick them off.

"First is the blood filled well, second is the cherry blossom tree which s.u.c.k.e.d the blood of the dead body buried underneath, next is the self playing piano in the music room, the twelve steps that became thirteen steps, the body hanging from the statue, the bloody face at the window and finally the electrocuting light in the science lab," he narrated in a dramatic manner with wide eyes.

Daniel stared at him. Oliver looked like he really was enjoying himself.

"I see," was all he could say.

This territory was unfamiliar to him. He really needed to become acquainted with the horror genre. Felix on the other hand looked highly interested. He had noticed from the books in Felix's bedroom that he was fond of horror.

"They are certainly unique here, but all you have done is to find out what they are," Amien observed critically. "How are we supposed to investigate them with that scant amount of information?"

Oliver's eyes moistened and he frowned. Harry patted him on the arm and stepped in. Daniel had the feeling that Amien was not the most popular member of the club.

"Why don't you suggest how we investigate then?" Harry snapped.

"Why don't you ask the new members of the club?" Amien was unperturbed by the question.

"Remember how useless Oliver's previous recruit was?"

The four of them turned to face Daniel and Felix with inquisitive eyes. Daniel thought about it analytically. The Seven Mysteries sounded like a game of Chinese Whispers- the information became different when it was passed from person to person. He had never heard such a series of unlikely things said together. It sounded like a mess of information and could be a loose interpretation instead of the original mysteries.

"You need to find out when each of them first started or what they originally were. The current mysteries may not even be the original seven."

Meredith started taking notes frantically and even Amien was beginning to look impressed. Felix gave him a thumbs up.

"Any more ideas?" Amien asked.

Felix was the next one to speak up.

"If the Seven Mysteries are such an essential part of Japanese schools and the Mystery Club has been going for a while, why has the club never investigated them before?"

"That is a very good point," Amien conceded and readjusted his glasses. "The club has been going for twenty years by the way. I admit to not considering that before."

Felix looked decidedly smug. Daniel raised an eyebrow. He was enjoying seeing Felix in action.

"Actually I found something when I was organising the cupboard after the last meeting," Meredith announced. "The Seven Mysteries were investigated six years ago in 2013."

"I've checked the yearbook for that year and there's no record of that. How do you know that?" Oliver wanted to know.

"I have the minutes of a meeting from that year," she explained and drew an extremely crumpled and discoloured sheet of paper out her notebook. "It was wedged in the panelling at the back of the cupboard and was hidden by the old club diaries."

She smoothed it out and placed it in the centre of the table so they could all have a look. The paper was titled 'Mysteries of the School Meeting- Role Allocation' in neat handwriting alongside the date which was March 2013.

"Interesting," Daniel commented. "Is there anything else?"

Meredith got off her chair and started rummaging around in the cupboard. She pulled out a slim black book with 2013 stenciled on the cover in gold and the thicker 2014 equivalent.

"This is the 2013 yearbook. It's very thin like they did nothing that year, despite what we have evidence of. There's no mention of the Seven Mysteries. There's also something else."

She opened it up on a certain page and then showed them the 2014 yearbook.

"The club photo and member list are missing in the 2013 one, but they are in the 2012 one as well as the 2014 one."

Daniel compared them. There was a tear mark in the 2013 one where a page had been whereas the 2014 had a club photo in the equivalent position and no tear mark. Meredith was definitely right about something being strange.

"...I was here in 2013, unlike the rest of you. I was in the first year so I couldn't join any clubs," Amien began with obvious hesitation. "There were some rumours about a missing student. I think he was supposed to be a member of the Mystery Club."

Daniel and Felix exchanged looks. It seemed like there was a real mystery at the school.