I’m not sure how or why this story from last year re-surfaced, but I’m glad it did. In a way, it’s a companion to the Jennifer Pan story I shared at the start of the week: the tale of teenage girls who fall in love, fall out of favor, and struggle with the things that are expected of them.

Skylar Neese, a 16-year-old from West Virginia, snuck out of her house on night three summers ago, and vanished. As panic set in among those around her, Skylar’s close relationship with two girlfriends came under scrutiny.

Holly Millea details exactly what transpired in Elle.

From the get-go, Jessica Colebank’s instinct told her that Shelia and Rachel were lying. A blunt 31-year-old Star City police officer with brown hair slicked back in a tight ponytail and dark, hawklike eyes, she was the first cop to interview them. “Shelia’s demeanor was so off. I thought, If that were my best friend, I wouldn’t be sittin’ at home hanging out with friends having a good ol’ time. I’d be bawling my eyes out and searching for her. Shelia was devoid of emotion, unless you asked questions she didn’t want to answer. Then she could turn on the tears.”

You can guess the rest, I suppose.

Except, not quite. The story manages to take you to a place you kind-of-expect but don’t-really-expect. It manages to be shocking without being graphic.

I don’t agree with the narrative framing that Millea uses: it’s positioned as a modern, social media, selfie-driven mystery (headline: “Trial by Twitter”) despite the fact that the claims about the performative nature of these girls’ lives seems remarkably low key. But, unusually for me, the technofear grafted on to the story doesn’t get in the way of it too much. Perhaps it’s because it is laid on too thick only once or twice, or perhaps it’s because it’s balanced out with some lovely imagery.

You get the same feeling crawling through the tweet tunnels of the threesome. Their tiny missives, more than 9,400 posts, quickly telegraph who the girls are and what they want, want, want, want, want: what they’re thinking and feeling, or unable to feel. They’re like the dots in a Georges Seurat painting — seen together, a picture emerges, although, context being everything, it’s only fair to draw from tweets that are statements — not conversations or reactions, just declarations.

Either way, it’s a strong telling of a grim story. Definitely worth your time.

Trial By Twitter

By Holly Millea, Elle