“We do!”
“You said she would sign!”
“She would have if you hadn’t started panicking!”
Their alliance disintegrated in seconds.
They shouted over each other, each trying to move more of the blame onto the other.
I had watched them behave that way since childhood. If they stole cookies, each claimed the other had opened the cupboard. If they skipped school, each insisted the other had planned it. If money went missing, they produced explanations before anyone had accused them.
But this was not childhood.
And the camera was recording every word.
I glanced at the clock above the refrigerator.
Three minutes remained.
Marcus saw me looking.
“What happens in three minutes?”
I hesitated.
That frightened him more than an answer would have.
“What happens?” he shouted.
I looked directly at him.
“The twenty minutes end.”
Rachel stared at the clock.
“Twenty minutes until what?”
Before I could speak, Marcus grabbed me and pulled me against him.
