Now what?
When she had been sitting in the hall, praying for the hour to go by, she hadn't even thought of what she was expecting to find when she left the room. Now, she was just hanging awkwardly outside an exam room she should still be in...
After a moment of moving from foot to foot, she had a 'fuck it' moment, and turned to leave the corridor.
She'd go back to her dorm, pop into her local supermarket, pick up a ridiculous amount of comfort food, and hide under her duvet until she really, really has to deal with the state of her life.
She got halfway down the corridor when she heard her name.
'Lucy Davies?'
She span round, still on edge.
It was the invigilator, the one handing out the papers, who had stared at her when she upped and left.
The door softly closed behind her as she made her way towards Lucy in the centre of the corridor.
'You left your water bottle.' She gestured to it in her hand. Shit. Panic began to rise in Lucy's throat.
No, she was meant to leave it behind!
She threw her shaking hands in front of her. 'No! No,' she stammered, 'I don't want it -’
'You left your water bottle.' The invigilator repeated, almost mechanically.
She was now standing a little too close.
She passed Lucy the bottle, which is accepted gingerly, wondering what on earth she was going to do now.
'Thanks,' Lucy muttered quietly.
'You're welcome.' The invigilator didn't break eye contact.
Jesus, she was weird.
As Lucy turned to go, she felt a bony grip on her upper arm.
'Run,’ the invigilator hissed in her ear. 'Run as fast as you can down the fire escape. There's a black Mercedes waiting for you. Get in it, and follow all instructions from there.'
'You're life is in danger, Lucy. Trust me.'
And with that, she dropped her arm and sashayed back towards the exam room, as if nothing had happened.
Lucy didn't need any convincing. She turned on her heels and fled.