side of the dance floor, continually checking the flickering screen of her cell phone for any update from Taylor, Lucas, and her brother, Roland. By the pout on her face, there was no news to report. She shot me a worried glance across the gymnasium. I never really had any friends besides the other girls in my band, but Morgan seemed to be growing on me. She was always there for me when Lucas and Sophia were missing. She never judged me. Never had a bad or negative thing to say to me. Yup, she was my friend. Watching her struggle with the same doubts I was having made me stop my playlist a few songs short for an early break.
“All right, all you Homecoming angels, we’re gonna take a short break and let you crown this years king and queen,” I said, with a slight squeal through my microphone. The winged audience all cheered and clapped. “Be back in fifteen!”
With a quick high-five slap to the girls in my band, I sat my guitar down and ran off the side of the stage. Sophia greeted me with a bottled water and a curious smirk.
“You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”
“Don’t be silly, I’m worried about all of them,” I snapped, uneasy. She shook her head and smiled.
“Me too, but I can see it on your face. You wish you were with Lucas,” Sophia stated, annoyingly.
I wanted to hold onto my stubbornness but for some reason I didn’t…for once. “Yes, I do.”
“He’s fine, Sis. He always is. He always finds a way out when he gets in trouble,” Sophia joked.
“That’s just it, Soph, trouble always finds Lucas.” I frowned down at her, and took a small sip from my water. Just then, Morgan ran up to us.
“It’s been too long, they’ve been gone too long. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
“Mo, it’s still too soon to panic, it’s only been…”
“Twenty-seven minutes,” she stated. I let a dry lump skid down my throat. She was right, something was off.
“Have you tried calling Taylor?” I asked.
“No answer. His phone just goes to his voicemail.”
“Text?”
“Nothing,” she whined. Sophia glanced down at her neck and quickly tugged at a thin silver chain she had tucked under her shirt. With a smile she pulled out the chain and revealed one of her magical rings.
“Let me try,” she whispered. Seeing her with one of the Jynshee Rings that she was told not to touch until she was older, infuriated me.
“What are you doing with that thing?” I scolded, and tried to snatch it from her but she stepped just out of reach.
“Hang on, O, let me try something,” Sophia argued, and wrapped a tight fist around the gleaming band. I knew instantly what she was going to do. The power of the rings and Lucas’ tattoo were connected.
“You’re gonna try and talk to Lucas through the ring,” I said, softly.
“Exactly,” she smiled.
“Okay,” I gave in. Sometimes I didn’t give my little sister the credit she deserved. She was smarter than most of the kids I went to school with, and she was still in Middle school. Gently, I reached out and slid a loose patch of hair behind her ear. She blushed slightly, and closed her eyes. Seconds began to tick by, and then a full minute. Her confident smirk began to fade until it was replaced by a frown.
“O, he’s not answering…” Sophia said, in a building panic. “Something’s wrong.”
I pulled her next to me in a half hug and looked over at Morgan. Tears filled her eyes.
“What if the library was a trap? What if Taylor is lying unconscious right now, or worse!” Morgan cried out.
“Don’t say that, Mo. We need to regroup before we jump to any conclusions,” I said, with barely any confidence.
“What should we do?” she whimpered.
The gymnasium lights fell black leaving only one spotlight upon the center of the stage. Slowly, the new Homecoming King and Queen made their way to the bright light. They were brimming with confidence and pride. Two beautiful smiles and twinkling crowns greeted the adoring audience. As the King leaned into the microphone to address the crowd, he fell silent and still. At first we all just thought he was suffering from a massive case of stage fright, but then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward, crashing to the floor as the audience screamed in shock. I grabbed Sophia by the arm and pushed ourselves to the front of the stage.