"Sorry," I spoke, recoiling my fingers and keeping them under my shirt sleeves. "You okay though?"
"Well you've always said that I was hardheaded so I'm a-okay." Nick shrugged.
"I'm sorry!" I retreated quickly, my eyes widening as my concealed hands went to my mouth.
"Rachel, I was only joking," Nick responded as he kept moving into the entryway of the conference room towards the table we were at yesterday.
We sat down at a table that was assigned to us as I kept peeking over at my partner hoping that he was alright. Yet, his shoulders were stiff and he seemed to be avoiding eye contact. I knew he didn't want to talk about the incident anymore.
Dill was sitting across from us when he shouted at Nick, "Dude what's on your face? Don't tell me Worm did that to you."
"How the hell could Rachel hurt me?" Nick snapped then his voice got lower. "I walked into the wall."
"You what?" Dill asked with a brow raised high, judgment glistened in his eyes.
"I walked into a freaking wall, you happy?" Nick barked, causing his friend to smirk.
"Are you serious? You're so stupid and here's an example of it, you walking into the wall."
"I got distracted…" Nick rolled his eyes at his own words.
What was he distracted by? We weren't really talking at that point.
"By what?" Dill questioned, just like he had read my mind.
Nick shrugged. "I was thinking."
"Thinking doesn't work for you my friend," Dill said, taking a sip of his drink.
"It works better for me than it does for you," Nick muttered under his breath as breakfast was served.
Poking around the frozen pancakes that could have been used as Frisbees, Bridget and I made faces at each other across the table since I knew our voices would not carry over from the busy room. I stuck my tongue out at her finally when Nick turned to look at me and he raised a brow high.
"Students," Principal O'Doherty started to command on a microphone, taking a minute’s pause for the students to stop their talking. "There will be a piece of paper handed out and each of you, are to sign your names, full names including middle names if you have one. Then, each pair will be called into a meeting with us. Once each group is done they'll go back to their table for further directions. We'll be calling out your groups by table numbers, so please pay attention."
The chaperones walked around the room handing out pens and the papers for each group. Once the paper was placed between Nick and me, I leered over to read it. Nick just signed his name not really reading the paper, then I signed my name next to his.
Certificate of Marriage
This certifies that
Rachel Olivia Hertz and Nicholas Alexander March
Were united in marriage on this day,
The fourth of November, two thousand and fifteen
"Wow they're taking this seriously," Nick commented, finally reading the certificate. "According to this piece of paper you're my wife. That means I can ask you to make me a sandwich."
My eyes narrowed at Nick. "Ha, keep dreaming."
"Hey can't blame a guy for trying," Nick shook his head slowly.
"I can, and I will," I grinned, batting my eyelashes while he smirked.
Twenty minutes later, the teachers collected the papers. Principal O'Doherty came to the front of the room once more.
"By paired groups you'll go to the room right outside of this room," Principal O'Doherty ordered, "Then when each pair's done you'll come back to your table. Then the next group will do so and so forth. So table one you're up first. Also we'll be calling out your groups so please listen or there will be dire consequences."
"I don't like the sound of that," I mumbled, still staring at Principal O'Doherty all the while my heart was beating fast.
"Neither do I," Nick said, and I turned to look at him.
There was something weird about the trip and I blamed the teachers for this whole mess.
It was at that moment that Nick placed his hand on top of mine, which was resting on the table. Without thinking I pulled my hand away quickly. There was a stiffness in the air that made me think something was going on. That made me fully alert to everything going on around me.
People at the tables came and left. When pairs were coming back it was kind of odd. I couldn't tell if they were happy, angry, or confused about what happened in the other room. I couldn't even tell if their brains were sucked out of their heads. They just acted as if nothing ever happened. The nerves just kept on building in my stomach for not being able to know what was going on.
"We're next," some guy at our table said.
A few moments later that seemed to be hours.
"Rachel we're up," Nick informed me, getting up, causing me to jump slightly.
I put my napkin on the table then stood up to follow Nick to what felt like our death. He kept taking quick glimpses back at me.
We walked into another room where there were white scentless candles all around the room. There wasn't any real light in the room other than what seemed to be a hundred candles and the sun struggling to come in from the single window that needed to be cleaned behind the weird man.
The stone-face man was wearing a suit. He had a brown beard that was thinning and his hair matched. He was standing in the opposite side of the room from the door with the pathetic excuse for a window behind him. I could not really see his features from the dullness of the room, just shadows dancing in the flickering flames.
The door suddenly slammed behind Nick and me. We whirled around to see Ms. Dixon leaning against the now closed door with a smirk on her face, her dark hair glistening in the candle light. I gulped. My heart started to go eighty miles
