No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

Ed blinked. “What?”
“Circle time.”
“Circle time?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell is circle time?”
“My aunt is a preschool teacher. She uses this to break the
ice with small groups. Basically, you’re all seated in a circle,
kind of like we are right now, and you all agree on a topic, like
my favorite pet, or whatever. And then you take turns,
clockwise, sharing your answer.” Ashley hesitated, glancing
from face to face. “And that’s … that’s why it’s called circle
time.”
Silence.
Finally, Ed spoke. “Shoot me in the face, please.”
Everyone was distracted again, so Darby paced back to the
Espresso Peak counter and grabbed a brown napkin. She
slipped it inside her notebook, clicked her pen, and scrawled a
message.
“Guys, we’re all snowed in here together, and we’ve got
another seven hours to go.” Ashley tried valiantly. “Come on.
We’re going to get cabin fever if we don’t open up and talk a
little more.”
Ed grunted. “We’re talking right now.”
“So, circle time, then—”
“I’m not playing circle time.”
“I’ll go first.”
“So help me God, Ashley, if you make me play circle
time, the snowplows will arrive tomorrow morning and find a
rest stop full of bloody corpses.”
Darby clicked her pen. Let’s hope not.
“I like circle time,” Lars chimed in.