The Girl Who Never Was by Skylar Dorset Page B
Authors: Skylar Dorset
Tags: Teen Paranormal
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and getting
answers. If my mother finds me, I have Ben's enchantment on me'and the way I feel at this moment, just let her try anything with me.
Ben's enchantment, I think. Ben has given me choice. My aunts can't make me stay locked up because I don't want to stay locked up. I need answers, and I need to find Ben too.
'I need to go to Salem,'I announce abruptly, decision made.
'Salem?'Kelsey echoes in confusion.
'Yeah.'
'For what?'
I hesitate. 'Do you remember I ducked into that museum while the rest of you hung out in Salem?'
'What? No. When?'
'When we went to Salem this year.'
Kelsey looks at me for a moment, her green eyes quizzical. 'We didn't go to Salem this year.'
I should have expected that, but I don't know why it seems like the last straw of frustration. Why is this my life, and who can I blame for it? I want to scream.
'Of course we didn't,'I say resignedly.
'Selkie, are you okay? You're acting weird. Actually, you've been acting weird for a little while now.'
'If I told you what's going on with me, you'd never believe it,'I tell her honestly.
'Of course I'd believe it. Don't be silly,'she says comfortingly, and she is my best friend, and I so wish she could understand.
I shake my head. 'No, never mind. It's nothing, really. I just'have to go to Salem.'
'Then I'll go with you,'Kelsey decides.
'No,'I protest. 'No, really, I don't want to''
'I'm not letting you go alone. I'd never let you go on an adventure like this alone.'Kelsey puts her hands on her hips. 'We'll have to have some kind of catfight over it, maybe push each other in the fountain or something.'
The idea is ridiculous. But so is the idea of Kelsey coming along with me.
'You know I'd beat you in a catfight, right?'continues Kelsey.
She probably would. 'Kelsey''I begin, but I can't come up with anything else to say. Finally I settle on, 'I'm not sure it's safe.'
Kelsey folds her arms and gives me A Look. 'Oh,'she says. 'Then I am definitely going with you. What kind of friend would I be if I let you go by yourself to do something dangerous? I'd miss out on all the fun!'
x I'm a little sulky that Kelsey's won the argument and is tagging along with me, so we don't really talk until we get to Salem. It's Kelsey who breaks the silence.
'So,'she asks. 'What are we doing here?'
'I have to talk to this guy I know here,'I answer. 'His name is Will, and he owns a museum.'
Kelsey doesn't ask me any more questions. She follows me as I walk the blocks to the street where I went to the Salem Which Museum.
And it isn't there.
I stand on the street, and I stare at where the museum should be'an alley between a souvenir shop on one side and a bank on the other. I am speechless and at a loss as to what to do. Maybe Will doesn't exist in this enchantment either, like Ben. Or maybe I am a crazy person and all of it'the empty Park Street station, the talking rat, the story about my heritage, Ben himself'was just an elaborate, vivid dream. For all I know, maybe I am in the same institution as my father right at this very minute, still in the throes of this terrible hallucination.
The harsh November wind tumbles up the street toward us, slamming into us. I huddle instinctively into my sweatshirt, tucking my hands into the pocket'and I close my hand around the shard of tissue-wrapped glass. The museum waves into existence, right where it's supposed to be, just the way it looked before. Kelsey utters a little squeak next to me, but none of the other people coming and going from the bank and the shop so much as look up.
'How did you do that?'breathes Kelsey, awe in her voice.
'I have no idea,'I admit. 'That's pretty much how it goes around me.'
I step forward confidently and push open the door, and there I am again, in the Salem Which Museum. Will is sitting
in the front room this time, reading, but he doesn't look surprised to see me. He closes his book, sets it aside, and frowns at me.
'Hello, Iggy,'I say to the iguana wandering around by the
answers. If my mother finds me, I have Ben's enchantment on me'and the way I feel at this moment, just let her try anything with me.
Ben's enchantment, I think. Ben has given me choice. My aunts can't make me stay locked up because I don't want to stay locked up. I need answers, and I need to find Ben too.
'I need to go to Salem,'I announce abruptly, decision made.
'Salem?'Kelsey echoes in confusion.
'Yeah.'
'For what?'
I hesitate. 'Do you remember I ducked into that museum while the rest of you hung out in Salem?'
'What? No. When?'
'When we went to Salem this year.'
Kelsey looks at me for a moment, her green eyes quizzical. 'We didn't go to Salem this year.'
I should have expected that, but I don't know why it seems like the last straw of frustration. Why is this my life, and who can I blame for it? I want to scream.
'Of course we didn't,'I say resignedly.
'Selkie, are you okay? You're acting weird. Actually, you've been acting weird for a little while now.'
'If I told you what's going on with me, you'd never believe it,'I tell her honestly.
'Of course I'd believe it. Don't be silly,'she says comfortingly, and she is my best friend, and I so wish she could understand.
I shake my head. 'No, never mind. It's nothing, really. I just'have to go to Salem.'
'Then I'll go with you,'Kelsey decides.
'No,'I protest. 'No, really, I don't want to''
'I'm not letting you go alone. I'd never let you go on an adventure like this alone.'Kelsey puts her hands on her hips. 'We'll have to have some kind of catfight over it, maybe push each other in the fountain or something.'
The idea is ridiculous. But so is the idea of Kelsey coming along with me.
'You know I'd beat you in a catfight, right?'continues Kelsey.
She probably would. 'Kelsey''I begin, but I can't come up with anything else to say. Finally I settle on, 'I'm not sure it's safe.'
Kelsey folds her arms and gives me A Look. 'Oh,'she says. 'Then I am definitely going with you. What kind of friend would I be if I let you go by yourself to do something dangerous? I'd miss out on all the fun!'
x I'm a little sulky that Kelsey's won the argument and is tagging along with me, so we don't really talk until we get to Salem. It's Kelsey who breaks the silence.
'So,'she asks. 'What are we doing here?'
'I have to talk to this guy I know here,'I answer. 'His name is Will, and he owns a museum.'
Kelsey doesn't ask me any more questions. She follows me as I walk the blocks to the street where I went to the Salem Which Museum.
And it isn't there.
I stand on the street, and I stare at where the museum should be'an alley between a souvenir shop on one side and a bank on the other. I am speechless and at a loss as to what to do. Maybe Will doesn't exist in this enchantment either, like Ben. Or maybe I am a crazy person and all of it'the empty Park Street station, the talking rat, the story about my heritage, Ben himself'was just an elaborate, vivid dream. For all I know, maybe I am in the same institution as my father right at this very minute, still in the throes of this terrible hallucination.
The harsh November wind tumbles up the street toward us, slamming into us. I huddle instinctively into my sweatshirt, tucking my hands into the pocket'and I close my hand around the shard of tissue-wrapped glass. The museum waves into existence, right where it's supposed to be, just the way it looked before. Kelsey utters a little squeak next to me, but none of the other people coming and going from the bank and the shop so much as look up.
'How did you do that?'breathes Kelsey, awe in her voice.
'I have no idea,'I admit. 'That's pretty much how it goes around me.'
I step forward confidently and push open the door, and there I am again, in the Salem Which Museum. Will is sitting
in the front room this time, reading, but he doesn't look surprised to see me. He closes his book, sets it aside, and frowns at me.
'Hello, Iggy,'I say to the iguana wandering around by the
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