Page 5 of Give Me a Shot

“I’m not getting the best vibe from the administration. It’s getting…”

“Curiouser and curiouser?” Alice asked.

“I’m afraid they may all be mad here,” Stephanie said.

Jess and Alice grimaced.

“Well, we can keep our fingers crossed,” Alice said. “At least Steph’s picked up tennis again, and I’ve got my second book club meeting next week. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, Jess.”

“Right,” Jess said. “I didn’t tell you that I’ve found a place to shoot.”

She minimized the window and pulled up a browser. After copying the link to the Michigan Folk School, she pasted it into the chat.

“This looks good,” said Alice.

“Is it far from where you live?” Stephanie asked.

“Not too far,” Jess said. “And actually, there’s an open house there this afternoon.”

“You are going, right?” Stephanie asked.

Jess raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Well, you know how you get,” Stephanie said, shrugging.

“What’s that supposed—”

“Huh,” Alice said, cutting Jess off. “Funny coincidence.”

“What?” Jess asked.

“They have a blacksmithing program. Looks like it’s following you around,” Alice said.

Jess took another look at the site. She’d only focused on archery before.

“Oh, you’re right,” she said, scrolling through. There were a couple of photos of people taking classes. None of the people in them could have been the guy she ran into; they were too short or too slim.

“The guy isn’t on here. Plus, he was working in the city,” she said.

“Be funny if you ran into him again, though,” Stephanie said.

“Yeah. Hilarious,” Jess said, deadpan.

“Well, maybe awkward,” Alice said. “Since you did threaten to kill him.”

“Jess doesn’t get awkward,” Stephanie said. “She gets, like, closed-off ice queen.”

“That’s true,” Alice said. “All sealed up, keeps everything inside.”

“You know,” Stephanie said, “it’s a wonder she ever let us in enough to become friends.”

“It is,” Alice said, ignoring Jess gawking at the screen. “Probably because we’re so awesome. Did take a bit of work to get her to actually share an emotion. Like genuinely smile at—”

“Ladies! I am right here,” Jess said.

“What? We still love you,” Stephanie said. “Your hermit crab nature is part of your charm.”

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