Shivley: A Now United Story

Ch 16: this is me trying

Hi y'all! Thank you so much for reading, your comments make me smile :) I'm really glad that people are still reading and I'm hoping the updates will be faster in the future! It's really cool to see that people reading this fanfic are from different parts of the world!

It was chaotic to say the least. The carpet was smaller than she anticipated and with 5 different groups along the carpet, things were cramped. Then there was the matter of the photographers. There must've been at least fifty of them with their giant fancy looking cameras. They were literally yelling at them. 

"SHIVANI LOOK HERE!" Shivani turned towards the camera she assumed the voice belonged to.

"NOAH! NOAH! WE WANT TO SEE YOUR SMILE!"

"SINA GET CLOSER TO NOAH!" Shivani smiled when she heard that one. Even the photographers could see the chemistry between the two.

"ASHLEE AND NICOLLETTE! WE CAN'T SEE YOU!"

"NISHAN FRONT AND CENTER PLEASE!"

"KENNETH MOVE CLOSER TO NICOLLETTE." 

Basically the entire time the group pictures were being taken of Nicollete, Kenneth, Nishan, Sina, Noah, Ashlee, AC, and Shivani all moved around to get in different poses, while also listening to the photographers, and also trying not to bump into each other. Shivani was sure her face conveyed none of the excitement she was really feeling and instead was just a look of pure terror. After about twenty minutes, though it felt like an eternity, the picture portion was over and all members were ushered inside the building. 

The room they walked into took Shivani's breath away. (Actual gasp-age) It had a high ceiling and a chandelier the size of a convertible. The sides of the room were lined with important looking men in suits and waiters were mulling about with trays of small foods. The other groups were each standing by doors which had each group members' name on it. 

Shivani's group moved to stand by the door which had their names on it.

"I'd kill for an In-n-Out burger right about now." Kenneth muttered.

"Same." Noah chuckled nervously. 

"I'm more of a Chick-fil-A kind of girl, ya feel?" Ashlee interjected.

"Of course you are Ashlee."

"And what's that supposed to mean Noah?"

This was so not the conversation they needed to be having before the group chemistry test. 

"Maybe we'll get to eat whatever it is the waiters have in their trays?" Sina asked hopefully.

Nicollette nodded. "I hope they have bratwurst," she said hopefully.

"Me too! Though I think I just see a lot of leaves in different colors." Sina shook her head, "I miss German food so much." 

She and Nicollette were both from Germany, and though they were both competing for the same spot, they had formed a cute friendship.

Ashlee was still sulking, AC had struck up a conversation with Nishan from Sri Lanka, and Kenneth and Noah were going over their interview questions. 

Shivani was looking around the room. She made eye contact with Hina who winked at her and then went back to talking to some girl whose name Shivani didn't know. Somehow she could feel another set of eyes on her and she moved her eyes to the left of Hina staring into a pair of eyes she could now never forget. 

Joalin was tapping Bailey on the shoulder, but his gaze was unwavering, and honestly, a little unsettling. But for some reason Shivani couldn't break eye contact. Then all of a sudden he started walking towards her and Shivani immediately started staring at the ground.