Charlie Landon had her future worked out until her mother died in a freak shark attack. Her father uproots their lives in favour of moving back to his small town in America. Charlie meets Percy and Noah who unknowingly turn her life upside down. Bot...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE LOCK IN
Cold air nips my exposed skin as I race across the oval. I huddle under my thing jacket and curse my wardrobe for the lack of warm clothing it has. I rip the gym door open and sigh as the warm air circles around me.
"Hi, Charlie." A student behind the sign in desk smiles.
"Hey." I subtly wave.
"Samantha wants all the phones locked away so everyone can be immersed in the experience."
"Of course she does." We laugh.
I reluctantly hand my phone over and take the information pack. Someone else enters, so I wander into the main section of the gym.
Samantha and Annika are to the side chatting, while Percy and Noah are opposite. I wish I had a reason to see Noah, but I don't, so I dump my bag on the floor and force a smile.
"You've done an amazing job."
"Thank you." Samantha grins.
"We're close to starting, so you should put the blood pack on."
"Do you want help?" Annika sighs.
"I'll call out if I need help, but thanks."
I enter the change room and tuck my shirt under my bra. There's double sided sticky tape on the blood back which makes sticking it to my skin easier. I view the time and location paper before shoving that piece of paper into my pocket.
Samantha warned me to wear something flowy and thankfully, this top does the trick of hiding the blood bag. It's like red food dye mixed with chocolate syrup. I hope it isn't stick or stains my skin.
When I enter the gym, everyone is quiet and looking at Noah. I sneak through the crowd until I'm standing with Annika and Samantha. He's talking and it's a struggle to concentrate because he's rocking the figure hugging t-shirt and the trackies.
"Thank you for coming out tonight. Please keep the game fun and safe, so don't tackle anyone in the hallway. To submit your answer, ring this bell." Noah places the golden bell on a plastic chair. "If you're murdered, stay put until people have had the chance to inspect. Any questions?"
Nobody asks, so Noah blows the whistle and everyone scrambles. I search the crowd and smile as Percy wanders over.
Despite wanting to utilise this as a bonding moment, I hope we're murdered quickly.
Percy awkwardly scratches his head while I glance away.
"Do you want to hang out in the auditorium until it's time?"
"Sounds good." I nod.
Percy turns the lights on and we wander down the stairs leading to the stage. I wander to the middle of the stage and spin around.
