A Peculiar Prom Night: Minded

By R.L. Merrill

Four sexually frustrated chaperones

Three hapless kids caught vaping in the bathrooms

Two heated kisses

One ghost ship on the San Francisco Bay turns this joyous celebration into one helluva creepy night…


Meet siblings Ramona and Ruben, veteran teachers at Baymont High School. They've been chaperoning proms for years, but tonight they'll need all of their faculties to protect their students from beings who may or may not have evil intentions. Oh, and manage to keep their family's secret while attempting to get closer to their respective love interests. No problem, right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Celie Bay Publications, LLC
• Release date: Sep 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201416287

R.L. Merrill

Author of Haunted and Teacher series, and winner of the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary award for Hurricane Reese. “With a strong plot, an expertly crafted cast of supporting characters, and deep empathy, Merrill’s novel will keep readers hooked.” —Publishers Weekly review of Typhoon Toby. R.L. Merrill brings you stories of Hope, Love, and Rock 'n' Roll featuring quirky and relatable characters. Whether she’s writing about contemporary issues that affect us all or diving deep into the paranormal and supernatural to give readers a shiver, she loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after. Ro spends every spare moment improving her writing craft and striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after. She writes LGBTQ romances for Dreamspinner Press, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe and works on various other projects that tickle her fancy or benefit a worthy cause. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, raising two brilliant teenagers, trying desperately to get that back piece finished in the tattoo chair, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance.

Book preview

Chapter One

Ramona

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Ramona stood next to the welcome table admiring the dresses and formalwear her students had selected for this special occasion and trying not to notice the ones who needed…adjusting. High school was an awkward enough time. Formalwear took it to a whole other level. 

Prom. That rite of passage most American teens aspire to be a part of. So many potential emotions. The thrill of being asked, the relief of having your prom-posal accepted…and the agony of rejection. 

Sadly, Ramona had experienced the latter at her senior prom. Eric Rogers—captain of the wrestling team, Honor Society member, and so socially awkward he’d only asked her to go at the urging of his teammates. Ramona had been one of the statisticians for the team for years but had never gathered the courage to speak to him other than a perfunctory good match as they climbed on the bus. The day before prom, he’d called to tell her his grandmother was visiting and his parents wouldn’t let him leave the house…which would have been understandable, but then she ran into him that night at Fat Fanny’s with his best friends. 

The worst thing was, Ramona should have known better. She was an intuitive, someone who knew things, could feel things, that others tended to ignore. So was her brother. Their gift should have made relationships easier. One might think.

Things in her adult life weren’t much better. At forty-nine, she was single after a failed marriage that ended five years ago and living with her brother. Her life revolved around teaching and volunteering at a local animal rescue. That’s all she needed. Most of the time. Prom, however, was a reminder of an era when she’d been a bit less jaded about relationships.

She was old enough now to call them eras.

Maybe there was something magical about it. She knew a thing or two about magic, but it didn’t seem to help her in the romance department. In fact, it didn’t benefit her at all. 

She took their tickets and checked IDs, permission slips for guests, and made sure no students on the exclusion list were admitted. Failing classes, too many tardies, or behavior issues could all keep a student from a celebration like this, and though Ramona wanted to see all of her students have a great time, rules were rules. 

A few needed help with corsages and pinning up stray locks of hair into elaborate dos. After twenty-five years as a teacher—and chaperoning nearly as many proms—she always kept an emergency kit with her containing safety pins, Band-Aids and hairpins. All of the students had the nervous and excited expressions one would expect to see on the faces of prom-goers. Ramona would watch them closely as the night went on for signs of distress.

She hoped there would be none, but something about this night…felt off. Peculiar. It was as if she was going through familiar motions, but things seemed…strange.

Ms. Gilman, have you seen Jeffrey Sandoval?

Samantha Rivera stood before Ramona in a dress that was flattering but appeared to make her feel uncomfortable, based on the way she rolled her shoulders in and hugged her midsection. She’d had her hair done in large curls that fell down the middle of her narrow back and her makeup was expertly applied, and much more than she normally wore. 

I haven’t seen him yet, sweetie. Were you supposed to meet him here?

Yeah, he’s my date. My mom wouldn’t let me go on the party bus and he’d already paid for it.

Samantha looked around with wide eyes, and Ramona gave her shoulder a squeeze. She was a shy student who excelled in Ramona’s Government and Economics classes. Ramona hoped Jeffrey wasn’t going to pull a fast one. She inhaled and breathed out slowly through her nose, concentrating on sending a little bravery Samantha’s way. Whatever the outcome of the night, she wanted the girl to feel confident in her decisions. 

I’m sure he’ll be here soon, she said, lightly patting Samantha’s shoulder. 

Samantha straightened her spine and dropped her arms from around her middle and smiled at Ramona. Thanks, Ms. Gilman.

A rowdy group entered the Craneway Pavilion and both of them turned their heads at the sudden sound. In the middle of a group of young men in tuxedos stood Jeffrey, his trademark laugh filling the open space. He stopped short once he saw Samantha, and Ramona felt a little more optimistic about the night.

The smile fell from Jeffrey’s face as he approached Samantha, and the young lady stood taller. 

You look amazing, he whispered as he stood close to her and fidgeted. He seemed to want to give her a hug or some sort of familiar greeting. Instead, he let his hand drift down her arm, took her hand in his, and then he bent down to kiss the back of it. 

Ramona nodded her approval as Jeffrey caught her eye and Samantha preened under his attention. The rest of his group watched the exchange with admiration in their gazes.

Aw, young love. Aren’t they cute?

Ramona shrugged her brother’s chin off of her shoulder.

Cute, I suppose. As long as he’s respectful. That’s all I care about. She turned to glance at her brother and shook her head. Aren’t you supposed to be directing activities or doing something else productive? I can manage the sign-in table without supervision, you know.

Ruben was dressed in his usual quirky yet stylish way. He’d long ago bought himself a suit to wear to such occasions, and it had been