Twice The Trouble

Chapter 56: Partners in Crime

Stacy

I had just walked away from the Marriage Booth when someone yanked my arm.

"What the hell?" I snapped at my assailant, who turned out to be a petite junior with short hair.

A mischievous grin spread across her thin red lips. "Miss, you are under arrest."

"On what grounds?" I demanded her. Damn, her grip was strong despite her stature.

It was only at the point did I notice she was wearing a plain blue police uniform and badge.

"For being too attractive," she answered, then proceeded to lead me somewhere.

"How is that my fault?" I growled at her. "Listen, I have other stuff to do besides this--"

The petite brunette rudely told me to shut up. How dare she? I shot her a lethal glare.

"No arguments. Put this on," ordered the girl in blue uniform as she handed me a cloth.

I stared at the white handkerchief in my hands. "A blindfold? Is this a scam or something?"

"We're wasting precious time!" The female cop scowled at me. "Just put it on, miss."

I angrily huffed before tying the white cloth around my head, covering my sky blue eyes.

"You better not try to cop a feel," I threatened the girl as she pulled me by my arm.

I heard her snort. Everything was pitch black in my eyes. "They warned me about your wit."

"Where the hell are we heading?" I demanded after a few minutes of walking.

"We're here, Miss Sassy."

I wasn't sure, but I could smell wafts of perfumes and colognes, and.. was that scent metallic?

Reaching behind my head, I untied the knot of the blindfold and slid off the white cloth, retrieving my clear vision of the universe. And damn, it sucked as it always did.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Alison and I exclaimed, our shocked faces mirrored each other.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the two of us, there were ten more girls, wandering around the spacious,wintry classroom, their expressions equally bewildered.

"I'm getting bored," complained Heather, tossing her long dark hair behind her shoulder.

Barbie caressed the thick red curtain separating us girls from the other half of the room.

I ignored the three musketeers and let my sky blue eyes wander around the other girls.

They had no clue either, why they were here, but then I saw it. The sign on the ceiling.

JAIL BOOTH, it read in bold capital letters. PRISONERS WILL BE CHAINED.

What the hell---What was that supposed to mean? It was too early for this crap.

"Ladies." The annoying female cop swam into view, along with a taller girl in blue uniform.

I darted the so-called policewomen a scornful smile. "Why are we here?" I demanded them.

"I told you she was feisty," muttered the petite brunette to the tall girl with a black pixie cut.

The gorgeous cop with a pixie hairdo clapped her hands as she raked her eyes over all of us.

"Ladies," she echoed her colleague's earlier greeting. "You're probably wondering why you're-"

"Damn right we're curious," Alison snarled.

"Shut it, Rivera," I hissed at the fellow blonde, who shot me a nasty look.

Bailey, one of the girls, complained: "I'm getting hungry. What are we supposed to do?"

"And what's with the bulky red curtain?" Irma, another victim,  asked, pointing at it.

Tessa, a gray-eyed blonde, suddenly giggled. "Are there boys on the other side?"

"GIRLS!" Officer Pixie raised her voice a notch, making everyone fall silent. "Listen."

"I'm going to close the lights in a minute, which will envelope the room in darkness, preventing anyone from seeing the people on the other side of the red curtain," the policewoman explained, her eyes dissuading anyone from pulling anything suspicious. "I will count from one to fifteen, and you have to fumble around for your partner, who you will be chained to for the rest of the day, no objections to whoever you get. Is that understood?"

Elena let out a high-pitched squeal,hopping up and down. "So there ARE boys in this room!"

The entire classroom or "Jail Cell" erupted in girlish excitement, making me roll my eyes.

Officer Pixie Cut hovered near the light switch, then yelled "Go!" before killing the lights.

Within two seconds, the whole room was covered in pitch black darkness, and I blinked.

"I can't see anything!" wailed a girl nearby.

"The curtain's over here!Oh My Gosh!"

"I can feel a guy's arm! Yes!"

"Which one of you stepped on my designer shoe!?"

"ONE... TWO... THREE.." Both policewomen began to count.

I squinted into the darkness, half-hoping I find someone decent, half-hoping I escape from here.

"...FOUR.. FIVE... SIX..."

My hip accidentally bumped into another girl's hip, and she venomously told me to watch it.

"..SEVEN.. EIGHT.. NINE.."

"Damn, I can't see anyone," I grumbled to myself as I maneuvered the cold,dark classroom.

"..TEN.. ELEVEN.. TWELVE.. Girls, I hope all of you have a partner now."

I silently cursed. Maybe I wasn't going to be paired up with anybody at all.

"THIRTEEN... FOURTEEN..."

A startled cry blew out of my mouth when I felt my hand become tucked inside another hand.

"FIFTEEN!" The female cops swiftly flicked open the lights, blanketing us in glowing white.

I lowered my gaze to the hand whose fingers entwined with my own.

Then, I glanced up. "Oh, hell no," I said, realization dawning. "YOU?"

Bryce De Los Reyes flashed me a sadistic yet sinfully handsome smile.

"Happy?"

"NEVER!"