Between by Mary Ting

is missing? I knew it wasn’t you for sure when they said her boyfriend, Ryan Weber, was missing too. I mean, not that I expected you to be missing, but I knew it wasn’t you so I wasn’t worried. You know what I mean?” she said, trying to be sensitive to the situation.
    “ I know what you mean. Kind of creepy.”
    “ Talk about creepy. That’s already two Claudia Emersons that died or went missing recently. First it was your friend and now her.”
    “ There must be a curse on the name,” I joked, then kicked myself for saying something inconsiderate and stupid.
    “ It better not be, for your sake,” Kristina replied.
    We started walking, waving hello to our friends as we passed them by; campus was busy with students on their way to their next class. In less than a year, this place would only be a memory. How quickly time flies , I thought. It just seemed like yesterday that I was a freshman.
    “ How’s Michael?” Kristina asked, grinning, breaking the silence.
    “ Gooood.” My heart started to beat faster just from the sound of his name. “I just saw him two days ago.” It was nice to be able to tell her some part of the truth.
    “ What’d you guys do?”
    “ The usual; some of this and some of that.” I giggled, thinking about how I fell on top of him on my bed.
    “ That’s it? Not much detail in what you are telling me.”
    I didn’t respond to her question. I froze at the site of Ryan’s friends, but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. My anxiety disappeared, but I was still hesitant. I wondered where he was and what he would do when he saw me.
    “ Claudia, you okay? Who are you looking for?”
    I didn’t want Kristina to worry and I didn’t want to tell her about that night. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone,” I lied.
    “ We can talk after class. I want all the details about your date, but only if you want to share.”
    We were already in front of our literature class. “After class,” I said, finding my seat. But I didn’t know what parts I would share. It wasn’t a “normal” date–a dinner and a movie kind. We were flying across the sky, appearing in different countries. How could I share that information with her? My stomach began to flutter as I recalled seeing all that I had with Michael that night–breathtaking.
    My thoughts were broken when a strikingly handsome man appeared in front of the class.
    “ Good morning. My name is Mr. Cain, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the school year. Mr. Moore had to take a leave of absence. I also want to remind you to sign up for the team project. You must at least be in groups of three, no less.”
    Mr. Cain had sandy blond hair with sky blue eyes. He wore navy slacks and a blue and white button down shirt that was neatly tucked in. What happened to Mr. Moore ? I thought. Kristina and I looked at each other, angling our brows, perhaps having the same thought. Then Kristina mouthed, “He’s cute.”
    I shook my head and giggled.
    “ Claudia Emerson,” Mr. Cain called.
    “ Yes,” I answered, wondering if I did or didn’t do something I was supposed to do.
    Instead, he called another name. Then I realized he was taking roll. I stopped turning to Kristina because she was distracting me. After Mr. Cain was finished, we were asked to get our books out.
    “‘ To be, or not to be, that is the question’,” Mr. Cain said, holding his book. “The question for today; think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?”
    “ Great,” Jeff, who was sitting behind me, mumbled sarcastically.
    I wasn’t paying attention to what other students were grumbling about. I was too busy in thought about the question Mr. Cain had asked. It reminded me of Michael. Would Michael love me forever? Was it even possible for Michael and me to have forever? Hoping Mr. Cain wouldn’t call on me, I tried to sink a little lower. In an