The Cursed High School Reunion

“Come on, Ralph. Why are you being so mean to your sister? She got stung by a jellyfish. That crap hurts,” said Mike to his best friend.                 “She is just wanting attention like she does back home. She will be fine, let’s go back in the water. It’s our last night here, let’s make the most of it, guys,” Ralph said as he turned and headed back down to the water’s edge.                 “He’s right, you guys go have fun. I will be fine. Sorry for freaking out like that,” Marsha, Ralph’s twin sister, said. “I will join you when I feel up to it, I promise.”                 “Are you sure?” asked Mike.                 Marsha nodded. “Yeah, I am sure. If I need anything I will yell. Promise.” She gave Mike a small, coy smile.                 After her assurance and making sure she was comfortable, Mike and the crew headed back down to the water. Ralph, who was waiting on them, turned and dived into the waves.                 Mike, Tasha, Tim, Louise, AJ, and Curtis joined him. They started a quick game of chicken. Tasha was on Tim’s shoulders and Louise was on Aj’s.                 As Tasha and Louise tried to wrestle each other off of the shoulders of their friends, Tasha happened to glance towards the spot on the beach where Marsha was sitting next to the small fire they had started earlier in the night.                 “Hey, guys. I think something is wrong with Marsha. She is throwing up. Maybe one of us should go check on her?” Tasha asked as she fended off Louise.                 “I will go,” said Curtis, swimming back towards shore.                 “She is fine, man. Leave her be,” called Ralph, who seemed to have floated really far out.                 “What if she is allergic to jellyfish? Or swallowed way too much sea water? She could be really sick. I am just checking on her. Geez, man. What is your deal tonight, Ralph?” said Curtis, rolling his eyes as he waded the rest of the way to the sand. “Marsha, you okay? Do you need anything?”                 Curtis was quiet as he walked up to her. “Marsha?” He kneeled down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder before calling out, “Hey guys, she needs a doctor now! She is turning blue!”                 Mike turned and dove into the waves heading back to the beach. When he reached the shallower water, he turned back to where Ralph was. He seemed to be eve farther than before.                 “Ralph, come on man. Something is seriously wrong with Marsha. Stop messing around,” Mike called. As he turned around to face where Marsha was laying on the beach, he was sure he saw Ralph go beneath the water…..                 Suddenly, Mike sits bolt upright in bed. He had been having the same dream every night since he had received the phone call about the class ring that had been found on the reef off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. It had been his best friend, Ralph’s. The last gift that he had gotten from his grandparents before that fateful trip.                 The senior trip that Ralph had not returned from.                 Mike had been replaying their last night on the beach in his head all week, which led to the dreams, he was sure.                 Ralph had been a missing person for 10 years. Now with the discovery of his class ring on the reef, he was being classified as deceased. He was believed to have been the victim of a rip tide that had pulled him out to sea.                 Mike remembered that Ralph had been the only one super far out that night. But he hadn’t seemed panicked or anything. But the more Mike thought about it, the more his mind seemed to focus on how suddenly Ralph had gone under the water.                 Could that have been when the tide had grabbed him? Or could something else have happened to Ralph?                 Mike leaned back into his pillows and rolled over, wrapping his arm around his wife, Marsha and tried to go back to sleep.                 He knew there was no way to find out what had happened to his friend 10 years later.                 But as he laid there, he couldn’t help feel like something bad was coming their way. A feeling that he couldn’t really shake.