Possessions by Nancy Holder

were playing the game , I reminded myself. Then you would have done it. And stayed and laughed over it, even if twenty boys saw you naked.
    “We’d better go,” Lara said, as she knelt and repacked the now wet nylon rope into Kiyoko’s backpack. “Ms. Meyerson might actually notice we’re gone.” She took the dark green booze bottle from Mandy’s outstretched hand.
    “Okay,” Mandy replied, as if doing Lara a favor. “All right, ladies. Show’s over. We’ll be here all semester.”
    Good-natured chuckles accompanied her lame joke as everyone got up and dusted the sand from their clothes. Everyone who’d come to watch imagined they had a bond with Mandy Winters now. To prove it, we would all hike back together—although no one would dare approach the inner circle of Mandy and her friends. I marched with the rest of the not-so-cool, determined to keep as much distance between Mandy Winters and myself.
    It turned out there was an easier route back to our quad, on a blacktop road. From there, the lesser beings could hike back to their own uncool dorms. The return took a little longer, which was probably why we had defied death to climb down the cliff. It was also how the outsiders had arrived ahead of us to watch the fun.
    Mandy came up beside me, carrying the stinky wet leather jacket. I grimaced.
    “Sorry,” I gritted.
    “It’s forgotten,” Mandy promised, and then she chuckled. “Well, maybe not by Spider.”
    “I’ll be happy to replace it,” I said stiffly.
    Mandy blinked at me; then she began to laugh. My face burned. I knew it had to be expensive. I didn’t know it would be hilariously out of my reach.
    “You didn’t approve of our little prank,” she said, changing the subject.
    “Lindsay’s a lifeguard,” Julie piped up loyally. Mandy and I both looked at her, and she turned ten shades of scarlet. I knew those words had cost her, and I wanted to hug her sweet little fifteen-year-old self. “Lake. Night. Dangerous.”
    “Oh.” Mandy made a show of tapping her chin. “Gosh. You’re right.”
    Back off , I wanted to say, but Julie laughed pleasantly.
    “Only, not so much, because I had the rope.” Mandy gestured to the wet backpack hanging from Kiyoko’s thin shoulders.
    “Ropes untie,” I said, more to side with Julie than argue with Mandy.
    We walked a few more feet; then Mandy zipped in front of me and circled around to Julie’s other side. “I heard you had to sell your horse,” she said. “Pippin’s her name? That is so wrong.”
    Julie swallowed and twisted her wheat-blonde ponytail. “Pippin’s a boy. The new owner said I could ride him, but . . . ”
    “Dixie told me.” Mandy pulled a very sad face. “Pippin’s new owner hasn’t shown since he bought him. Pip’s still being boarded at the stable.” Her frown turned upside down. “Maybe I could pull a few strings.”
    “Oh.” Julie’s eyebrows shot up. She looked like a little kid sitting on Santa Claus’s lap. “Wow, thanks.” It was clear she wasn’t sure which strings Mandy was referring to. But strings at all were good.
    “Spider asked me what your name is,” Mandy continued. “He said you were a hottie.” She almost winked at Julie.
    I nearly gagged.
    “He’s cute,” Julie murmured, blushing again.
    Mandy smiled at her. And the thing was, I knew Mandy was up to something, but I found myself smiling faintly, too. It was so weird; it was as if I couldn’t stop myself.
    We walked on. Those who were not worthy kept their distance, but I watched them watching Julie and Mandy. As we climbed the hill, Lara and Kiyoko chatted as if nothing unusual had happened; then gradually, they clumped up with Julie, Mandy, and me, until we were five.
    I looked down at the lake, wide and dark. I shivered, trying to imagine what it must have been like for Kiyoko. Scary. Freezing. And she’d been a terrible swimmer.
    Lara walked up close beside me as Mandy and Julie drifted along, talking about horses some more. I