Never Forgotten by Kelly Risser

  Monday when Mom dropped me off at school, I hurried inside. Despite her assurance that we had plenty of time, I knew I only had five minutes before first period. I needed to get my book out of my locker.

  When I got there, I found Katie, Val, and Jen waiting for me.

  “You’ve got to see this,” Val said, thrusting her phone in my face. I stepped back so I could actually see what she was showing me. It was a picture of Katie and Jen from the club the other night. Behind them, I recognized two of Kieran’s friends.

  “I don’t remember taking this,” Val said, frowning. “But clearly, we did dance with the guys you saw.”

  “And we don’t remember them,” Jen added. “Even after seeing the picture.”

  They looked scared, and I didn’t know what to tell them. There was no way I was bringing up Selkies.

  “Do you think they drugged us?” Katie asked.

  Drugs—a plausible explanation. “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe?”

  “I did feel weird the next day,” Jen said.

  “You drank half a bottle of peppermint schnapps!” Katie said. That set them off, and they started arguing about who drank what and how much. I didn’t have time for this.

  “Ladies,” I interrupted. “Can we discuss this at lunch? We’ve got about a minute before class starts, and Jen, you’re standing in front of my locker.”

  “Oops! Sorry.” Jen jumped to the side.

  “We’ll see you at lunch then,” Katie said with a pout. “Come on, girls, let’s go.”

  Katie caught my eye and mouthed, “Sorry” before turning back around. It wasn’t much of an apology, but it was something. I regretted my impatience. I didn’t mean to be abrupt with them this morning, but seriously, I didn’t need to get in trouble while they bickered. Frankly, I was getting tired of petty fights. There were usually at least one or two every week. I grabbed my book and headed off to class, so not looking forward to lunch.