The Forgotten

The Not So Forgotten

I stare at him. How is this possible? A rich kid...a Forgotten?

"How...how can he be a Forgotten?" I ask. "He's a rich kid, an aristocrat. He was adopted."

Jess holds up a finger for silence.

"He and Jersey's parents couldn't have children. Mr. Hampshire fought in a war; he was shot up with shrapnel. They petitioned to adopt a boy and girl from the Forgotten. They let Jersey and York choose their own names. They named themselves after the other two 'new' states. I hear the Forgotten give themselves names. Like Janessa. Before she was adopted, she called herself Jane Eyre. Can you believe that?"

I swallow. Janessa, conniving, snobbish Janessa Cromwell, was my old friend Jane Eyre.

Then I realize something. Janessa knows. She knows Raven and I am-were-twins. She knew me at the Compound, and no doubt she met Raven shortly thereafter. I wonder if she knows it's me, not Raven.

York and Jersey could know too. It sounds like they didn't name themselves until after their adoption. I wasn't close to anyone after Jane and Robin Hood-boy. I wasn't even that close to them. However, I was infamous at the Compound. People avoided me like I was a leaper. I couldn't blame them, but it means Jersey and York could know me, or of me, and I wouldn't know them.

"How did you know they're Forgotten?" I inquire.

"I overheard my parents discussing it with Shain's and yours. They were saying that it was no surprise Mr. Hampshire's pole ratings were dropping, seeing as how he announced they want to adopt another Forgotten."

"Really?" I ask, trying to sound disdainful enough to be convincing. Jess laughs.

"Yeah. We're thinking about remind them who's Remembered and who's Forgotten."

"What does that mean exactly?" I say this in as much of a casual tone as I can muster. Jess grins.

"Well, you know how Shain, me, and other Remembered members pull stunts on the 'ex-Forgotten'?" I nod.

Whoa. I wonder if Lance and Ebony were Forgotten and Shain was lying about her motives for targeting them. Maybe she had just been looking for excuses to harass them.

Jess continues, "We're planning to humiliate York, expose him. Jersey too, although it's hard to get under her skin." I nod without really thinking about what I'm agreeing to. They humiliate and mock anyone who had already been rejected their whole lives. Un-frickin'-believable.

"How do you want to humiliate him?" I press. Jess shrugs.

"Haven't decided yet," he states. "We're gonna have to wait till Shain's out of jail. That'll be a week. That leaves us cutting it close. School ends in two weeks. Hopefully they'll actually let Shain graduate, considering."

I feel a slight, very slight, twinge of guilt. If Shain doesn't graduate, it's my fault. In my opinion though, Shain doesn't exactly deserve to graduate. It's not for me to decide, unfortunately.

"A week from now," I repeat. He nods.

"Okay, well, thank you." I mean it. I got safe haven from York and Janessa. I got plenty of useful information.

I'm guessing the Remembered are just a bunch of kids who want to remind the Forgotten that, even if they were adopted, they were still shunned by society. I personally consider their manifesto utter crap. It sounds like Raven was a member. It almost makes me believe she wasn't entirely convinced of the self-righteousness of the aristocracy.

"Um, no problem, I guess," Jess says. I give him a small, very fake, smile and go back outside.

Before leaving the Banks' property, I make sure York and Janessa aren't lurking nearby.

I go to begin my walk to town, even if I wouldn't visit the police station. I don't have the over-whelming urge to confront Shain anymore. She isn't worth it. Neither is Jess or their stupid friends.

As I'm walking down the road, a Mercedes suddenly pulls out in front of me. I recognize it instantly.

Once she gets out of the car, Mrs. Bristill practically throws herself at me.

"Oh dear child!" she exclaims, looking me over. "Where have you been?"

I pry myself away from her talon-like grip.

"I went out with my new friend Will. Then I came here, to Jess' house," I inform her. She continues to look concerned. I begin to get worried.

"What happened?" I ask. Her eyes suddenly well up with tears.

"Cardinal's still missing," she informs me. "She hasn't called. We contacted her friends. They said she had gotten a taxi home..."

"But she never showed up," I guess, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Someone killed Raven. She was missing before she turned up dead. Now Cardinal's gone.

I was thinking this was about Raven, but maybe it isn't. Maybe someone's after the Bristills.

That would be really bad. If Cardinal turns up dead, everything will go south fast. Not only that a girl would have been murdered, but the government would start investigating, sticking their nose in where they definitely don't belong. The killers obviously know Raven's dead. They would know I'm an imposter. Odds are they would expose me.

I have to find these people, and I have to find Cardinal....

And I have to do it soon. Otherwise, a lot more people could die. Me included.

Mrs. Bristill and I ride back to their house in silence. What is there to say? It would be rude to press her for information. One thing I do know, Mrs. Bristill actually cares about her children. Well, to be fair she might be freaking out because of what might be happen to her reputation.

This time I let the driver open the door. I feel numb. I let Cardinal out of the house. I gave her the ticket to being kidnapped. If she's dead, it's my fault. If she dies, it's my fault.

It's my fault.

I amble to the front steps. There is a stack of mail on the ground. I bend down to pick it up. Quickly and harshly, Mrs. Bristill's hand snaps out and wraps around my wrist.

I look up. Her gaze is steady and watery. She has a stare that makes me think of Sergeant Carlingston, who was in charge of the Forgotten Compound.

"That is not your job," she snaps.

I scowl.

"That is not your place to say," I retort in the exact same tone. As always, when I'm frustrated or upset, I respond being stubborn.

Mrs. Bristill hisses, "We have to be extra careful now."

"Why?" I ask. "Because you don't have a replacement for Cardinal too?" Her face contorts from irritation to horror and astonishment.

I probably should feel bad for what I said. But I don't. I was being completely candid. How long did she mourn Raven before she replaced her? I don't know exactly, but I'm guessing it wasn't too long. She was only gone for a month before they took me in. Who knows how long she was missing and how long she was dead. It can't have been too long before they replaced Raven.

The Bristills would undoubtedly replace Cardinal too if they could. So, yeah...I don't feel that guilty.

In fact, I don't feel guilty at all.

A/N: the picture is a portrayal of Mrs. Bristill (not an actress portrayal).