Forgotten Lyrics

2. Anthemusa

Daniel Morgan stood on the docks next to Aiden, watching John help Zoë and Mackenzie climb into his grandfather’s speedboat. The moon was full above them, but Daniel could see dark clouds moving in, blotting out the stars. The wind across the bay was growing stronger, but John and the girls seemed oblivious.

“John,” Daniel said, “I don’t think we should be doing this.”

“Of course we should!” John assured him with a boisterous laugh. “Grandpa left me the keys for a reason.” He held out the boat keys jingling against the purple rabbit-foot key chain.

Even though Daniel was five years younger than John, he was taller than him by almost two inches, and he stared into John’s bleary hazel eyes with unease.

“You’re drunk, John,” Daniel told him. “You shouldn’t be driving.”

“I’m not drunk,” John insisted, but he swayed as he spoke. “You’re sober.” He laughed, then glanced back at the boat to see if the girls enjoyed his joke as much as he did.

“That’s my point.” Daniel turned to Aiden. “Aiden, help me out here.”       

Aiden shrugged and smirked. “If John says he’s good to go, he’s good to go.”

“Oh, come on.” Daniel lowered his voice so John would be less likely to hear and protest the truth. “You saw him take, like, three shots right before we left the party.”

“It’s a boat. It’s not like he can run over somebody,” Aiden said. “You’ll be fine.”

Daniel wanted to yell at him. Aiden was supposed to be John’s best friend, and he was way more sober than John. He should’ve been helping Daniel out, but instead he had a bemused smirk plastered on his face as he watched the scene unfold.

Zoë slapped the side of the boat, trying to get their attention. The moonlight made the diamond clips in her short blond hair shimmer, and her dazzling smile had begun to look annoyed.

“Are we going or not?” she shouted.

“In a second! Keep your panties on!” John laughed again, then turned his attention back to Daniel. He put his hand on his shoulder and leaned in, like he was about to whisper words of wisdom to his brother. “These girls are ready to party. I’m going out there, showing them a good time.” Then he looked over at Aiden. “Are you guys with me?”

Aiden shook his head. “I’m gonna pass. I’m freezing my nuts off already.” He had his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to fight the cold.

“You drove us out here, but you’re not coming with?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

They’d been at a party when John had gotten the great idea that they should go out boating, and while Zoë had been the only one actively encouraging this idea, Aiden seemed to go along with it because he thought it was funny. So he’d offered to drive them all out to the docks, and the five of them had crammed into his sports car.