Mean Girls Missing

3

March 20

7:35 am

Monica

Pulling my jean jacket over my arms, I stumbled into the kitchen. My roommate had already lifted the curtains so the bright light automatically blinded me. I had rolled out of bed ten minutes ago and was supposed to get up probably about a half hour ago. As usual, I was running late. I was excited to get to my classes today. Both of them were fun projects instead of writing assignments or tests, like the typical college day. I poured the remainder of the coffeepot into my thermos. Screwing on the lid, I caught Lola sitting on the couch, watching the morning news.

"Anything good?" I asked her. I sipped from my mug. The coffee was fairly warm but tasted bland. Bleh.

Lola whipped her head around. "You're not going to believe this."

"Believe what?" I grabbed a few granola bars out of the cupboard and made my way to the couch.

On the television, a photograph of two girls appeared on the screen. In a dramatic slow-mo they drew in closer to the faces of the girls. I wrinkled my eyebrows. They looked familiar. Especially the one on the right.

"Oh my God!" I pointed at the TV as if Lola couldn't see it from her spot next to me. "That's Sammi. She's my partner in journalism. Is she okay?"

Lola didn't respond. She simply grabbed the remote and turned the volume up a couple notches.

"...reported that both Stephanie and Samantha James disappeared early Saturday morning. Witnesses say they saw them leaving a party together at about two in the morning after an alleged fight between one of the twins and another girl at the party. Neither of the girls have been seen since that evening. Again, authorities are asking individuals with any information to please contact the local police department or just call the number on your screen."

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. Missing persons reports were fairly common on the broadcasts but it had never been someone that I knew. It also shocked me that the James twins had gone missing. It seemed like anywhere you went, everyone knew about the James family. If they didn't know about the sisters, they had heard of their multi-million dollar parents that raked in more dough than they could count. How could someone so high profile disappear without a trace?

"That's so sad," I mumbled. I glanced at Lola. Her face didn't look upset. "I mean, I know they had a reputation and everything, but Sammi was so nice."

Lola turned her nose up. "Uh, they were anything but nice. I was the one who fought them at that stupid party."

Again, my jaw dropped. "What? Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"I didn't think it was important. They're always picking fights or stirring drama. It just happened to be with me this time." Lola shrugged her shoulders. "I hung out with Austin. You know, Sammi's ex? Apparently that's not her ex and they're still very much together, even though he says the exact opposite. Why would I believe anything they say?"

I perched my chin against my knees and leaned closer to her. "I never really experienced Stephanie. She would be there sometimes, waiting for Sammi, but we didn't talk. I guess she always has her stink face on. Anyway, tell me what happened."

Lola rolled her eyes. "I didn't even know they were at this party, okay? I was there an hour and didn't see them. But I was talking to someone and they walk by me. Steph shoulder checks me and I was confused, you know? I didn't know she had a problem with me. So we got to arguing and she was accusing me of trying to steal Sammi's boyfriend."