The Forum by Marie Reyes (short books for teens .txt) 📕

looked like crap on a stick. She didn't belong there, and she was certain it wouldn't take long for someone to notice. The movement and whooshing sound of the automatic doors made her heart leap up in her chest. Her anxiety was through the roof, and she had no idea how to contain it, especially in such a formal environment. The receptionist looked them up and down as they walked in, and she could feel the judgment.

"Hi Jackie. I have two guests from the Ohio branch to sign in," he said coolly, like he'd done this a million times before.

"Sure honey. Is that for the financial crime conference?"

"It is."

Jackie tightened her high, blond ponytail, and then passed them a clipboard. Kristen looked down at the paper and picked up a pen from the front desk, trying to keep her hand steady. She put her actual name down, the date, and time. She considered writing an SOS message on the paper, to get the receptionist's attention, to get them to call for help, but John was hovering over her. She signed her name and passed the clipboard into Piper's trembling hands. Keep it together, Pipes, she said in her head, hoping that she could somehow transport the message into Piper's brain telepathically. Jackie seemed nice, and she didn't want anything to happen to her.

The receptionist passed them both a temporary pass, and they hung the lanyards around their necks. John swiped his pass and walked through a metal turnstile and all they could do was follow compliantly. Piper placed her pass against the scanner, but the light flashed red. Her heart thumped so loud she could hear the blood rushing past her ears and her hands gripped tightly around the plastic card.

"Try this one honey." Jackie held out a new pass, and Piper passed her the old one. When she held the new one to the scanner, the light flashed green, and she took a deep breath.

"Follow me," John ordered. They walked past the elevators, remaining on the ground floor and their footsteps echoed on the varnished tile floor. They walked through a set of double doors and past the washroom.

"I need to go," Piper said, worried about the answer. No matter what awful things had happened, or were going to happen, she still needed some dignity.

"Fine. Just keep in mind, I have your friend here, and if you're not out in three minutes, you know what'll happen. Don't make me regret this."

"I won't." Her voice broke, but she knew she couldn't cry. If she brought attention to them, she knew she would regret the repercussions.

The bathroom was clean, bright, and smelled strongly of floral air freshener. She ran into the stall and tried to get this over with as soon as possible. As she relieved herself, she rested her head on the door in exhaustion. Another woman entered as she came out her stall and smiled at her briefly. It would be so easy just to tell this person she was in trouble. They were even playing on their phone. It would be so easy for them to call 911. She couldn't take the risk and rushed out the door.

Other workers passed them in the corridor, oblivious to what was going on. They took a left, then a right, and the conference room sat at the very end of the hall between a set of double doors. He stopped as they passed a vending machine. "Get a drink."

"What?" Kristen asked.

"We folk can't get through a meeting without coffee. You want to look natural, right?"

Kristen got herself a water from the fountain, and Piper pressed the black coffee button on the machine and it whirred as a thin stream of coffee poured into the cup. They walked to the double doors, attempting to keep their cups steady. They didn't belong here. Kristen tried to pretend she was an actress in a role. It was just pretend.

Everyone looked at them as they entered an auditorium full of people. Luckily, they didn't look for long and went back to talking amongst themselves in their little cliques. John took a seat closest to the door and gestured for them to sit down beside him. Kristen finished her water and placed the empty cup on the floor by her feet, but her throat was still dry. He was right next to her, and the gun was tucked away under the waistband of his slacks. If she did something right now, maybe it would all work out, or maybe all hell would break loose.

She wanted to scream. She had to do something, but she had no idea what. Either way, she felt like she was making a monumental mistake. A group of three men walked up the central aisle and made their way down the row of seats in front of them. As soon as they had taken their seats, they turned back. "Who's your new friends?" One of the guys smiled at Kristen, revealing a perfect row of straight, white teeth.

"Hi. I'm Kristen. Ohio branch." She shook his strong, firm hand, hoping he wouldn't notice how clammy hers was.

"I'm Malik." He smiled again. "I didn't know they asked you to look after the Ohio lot," he said, turning to John.

"We've got a shy one." He held out his hand to Piper, and she shook it weakly.

"Sorry if we look a little... worse for wear. We went to town on the hotel mini bar last night," Kristen tried to sound casual.

"Say no more. Are you two sticking around?"

"Uh, yeah," Piper said without thinking.

"I'll keep that in mind. If you fancy a drink after this, let us know. Oh, this is Scott and Darnell by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Kristen said, as a middle-aged man in a suit stood up on the podium with a slide show ready to go and