The Test [#1]

Chapter 16: Daniel

"What do you want to do?" I asked Lissa after the dinner that night.

She looks around the room for a while before facing me. "I'm not sure. Maybe we can... just sit here," she says pausing, seeing as though there's literally nothing for us to do.

I shrug. "I don't mind."

We sit on my bunk.

For the first time, my arm can go around her without creating an awkward silence between us. For the first time, we may actually have something to talk about.

Except not really. Because something seems to be bothering Lissa.

"What's wrong?" I ask in a quiet voice.

She looks up at me. I can see the hesitation in her eyes before she speaks. "I'm worried about the test we took yesterday."

I bite my lip, trying to think of something I can say to make her feel better. "Well, maybe you didn't fail."

Her head rests on my chest and I can't help but smelling her hair. "I think I did," she whispers.

"Why?" I ask her.

Lissa pulls away completely, looking me in the eyes. "Because I lied about everything," she says, her eyes starting to mist over.

I look at her. "What?"

"I lied on every single question. Except for when they asked for my name."

I take her hands in mine. "Lissa, why would you do that?"

She wipes a tear from her cheek. "Did we have the same questions?"

"I don't know," I tell her. "I think we did, just not in the same order. They asked for my name, grades, parents, siblings, and address."

She nods. "I had those."

I run a hand through my hair. "Why would you lie, Lissa? We're wanting to not fail. Not see if they're smart enough to realize when we're lying or not."

Her lower lip starts to tremble. "I told you. They killed my dad. They probably know who I am, Daniel. Did you just give all your information away?"

"Well, it's not like they're going to care about me anyways. I told them the least bit about myself as I could. But I didn't lie."

She looks down at her hands. "Should I go up to them? Should I tell them what I did?"

I place a hand on her cheek, using my thumb to wipe away her tears. "I think you should just not worry too much about it. You'll see that we all passed and we'll move on the next part of The Test. But we can only do this if you believe in yourself. Because, whether you think so or not, you're kind of the leader in this group we created. And we all look up to you."

Her eyes sparkle when she looks up at me. "Do you actually love me?"

I smile a warm smile. "More than anything in the world."

Lissa's returns the smile. "How long?"

I shrug. "A few years, maybe?"

She nods, biting her bottom lip. "I thought so."

I really wish I could kiss her right now. But maybe I'm waiting for her to tell me it's okay. Because even though things have changed, I don't want to be the one who pushes her away.

Against my wishes, we just lay down and talk. Her head resting on my chest, my arms around her waist. We spent the rest of the evening... talking.
~•~
Today we found out who Passed. Despite everything I told Lissa, she still thinks she failed. I feel really bad for her. I wish I could make her not worry as much. But I know that whatever I try to do won't help. She won't be fine until she finds out.