Jennifer loved traveling to different schools for away games. As the bus zipped down the highway, she could take her mind off of things for a little while. Before the field hockey team was excused from last period, she'd spied Erica looking giddy in the hallway. Jennifer knew that look, and it didn't make her feel nearly as gleeful. It often meant Jennifer had something new to worry about. When Jennifer approached her friend, Erica told her about the kiss.
There was a short period where Ted and the popular girls were all friends with Erica. Ted would hang out with them during birthday parties and trips to the bowling alley. Jennifer tried her best to make Ted comfortable, seeing as he was too scared to talk to any of the girls besides Erica. He was a nice guy. Jennifer had nothing against Ted, and truth be told, he was a better person to be dating than the seniors, college kids and adults Erica typically kept company with. Jennifer just didn't want to see her friend immediately throwing herself into a relationship.
"He's just kind of like our little brother or something."
Erica pursed her lips.
"Little brothers don't go around saving people's lives."
Jennifer looked impatiently back at her team, which had nearly finished filtering out of the building.
"Erica, I trust your decisions."
"No you don't."
Erica was right.
"Let me finish. But–"
"There's the but."
"I don't think it's right for you to get with Ted because he gained some sort of freak alien powers."
Jennifer expected Erica to blow her off and shoo her to her team bus. Instead, she pulled Jennifer in close, making her the only person who could hear what she had to say.
"I'm doing this for the right reasons, Jen. Good luck."
Jennifer watched the cars going the opposite direction on the highway, wondering if the time away from the comfort of home really had changed Erica. She looked around at her teammates. Most of them were watching clips of Ted's interview on their expensive phones or tablets. How long would they really survive if they were out on their own? A few days? A few hours? The fact that Erica lasted an entire month was impressive. Jennifer's train of thought was interrupted when Natalie tapped her on the side.
"Good game," she said.
Jennifer looked up. She knew Natalie was a fellow classmate and a member of the team. On the field, however, she was like an otherworldly force.
"Funny to hear that coming from the girl who scored two goals and won the game."
Natalie was all-district in every sport she played. Last summer, she'd invited Jennifer over for a training session. Jennifer's legs ached for a week and a half afterwards. Natalie shrugged at the compliment and pointed at Jennifer's bags. Jennifer shifted them over and Natalie planted herself there.
"I suppose you heard about Ted and Erica?" Natalie asked.
Jennifer knew that every action had consequences. She hoped Erica's action with Ted didn't have the result of her getting punched in the face by Natalie. Jennifer was fast, but there wasn't much running room on the bus.
"I was sorry to hear about you two breaking up."
Natalie nodded. Jennifer thought the two of them were an odd couple. Ted was mild-mannered where Natalie was bold. She wore the pants, the pads and the cleats in the relationship. But when she saw them canoodling after an early season game, she figured love didn't have to make sense to work.
"I don't really want to talk about that. I want to know where Erica was for the past month."
Jennifer felt the same way. When she sat down with Erica for lunch earlier that day, both Winny and Beth were shot down when it came to answers about the disappearance. Jennifer felt like they deserved to know.
"You and me both, Nat."
"What was she doing before she left?"
Jennifer had told everything she knew to Deputy Daly a few days after the disappearance. She supposed her information wasn't very helpful.
"She was in bad shape. Distant. High or drunk on most days. Erica was dating older guys, but she wouldn't tell us anything about them."
Jennifer looked out the window, hoping the scenery would hold back the tears. She was not interested in being the girl who cried on the bus that day.
"Where did she hang out?"
Jennifer looked back at Natalie. Her teammate seemed as determined to get answers as she was to score goals on the field.
"Why do you care?"
"My boyfriend – my ex-boyfriend – just started making out with this girl on a whim. I deserve to know what he might be getting himself into."
Natalie was unyielding. Jennifer wished she was at home on her bed.
"I'm sorry. She was hanging out at this club with some guy. It was called Veo."
When Natalie said she'd never heard of it, Jennifer brought it up on her phone. Veo was one of the few places Jennifer had ever seen online with nothing but perfect five-star reviews. She'd never been there herself, but Erica couldn't stop talking about how amazing it was.
"It's in the middle of nowhere," Natalie said.
"I think it may have been where she was the night she disappeared."
Jennifer coughed and dried a tear with her sleeve.
"And your dad already checked this place out?"
"As far as I know," Jennifer said.
Natalie looked at the phone one last time before handing it back. She nodded and took a deep breath.
"Thanks, Jen. This has been helpful. Really, good game today."
Natalie got up and walked to the back of the bus with the other captains. Jennifer could tell from the look in Natalie's eyes that she'd be going to Veo to look for information. But what could she find that her father couldn't, she wondered. If Natalie was looking for some dirt on Erica, what would she do with it and would it all come back to her somehow? She blinked until the last tear fell from her eyes. She hoped that Natalie wouldn't do anything rash. After all, the field hockey team would be sunk without her.