Behind The Screen

Chapter 1-Screen Chat

Emmaline ungracefully staggered into her kitchen, and throwing aside her seemingly endless supply of homework, she dived for her Smartphone. Just yesterday, she had gotten an account on FaceScreen, a worldwide popular site were you could converse with people from all over the world! Emmaline had practically gotten on her hands and knees to get the chance! This at first had no effect, because her parents were the type of people that believed that everyone was a Communist during the Red Scare (maybe a little of that history stuff actually rubbed in!).For months, she begged and pleaded her case, using the age-old tactic of "Everyone at school has one!". Surprisingly, this tactic worked. Emmaline's mother had been bullied as a teenager, because of, as her mother put it, "Baby fat that never went away." So in the end, she got what she had dreamed of!
She entered the lock-code (paranoid parents AGAIN), and opened her ScreenPals (who thought of that one?).
"Yes!" She squealed.
The boy she had sent a request to had accepted! AND HE WAS ON RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Attempting to keep from jumping up and down, she casually texted, {Hey}. What felt like hours later, but was probably only a moment or so, he responded {Hi! You're $Em$47, right? This is EMitchell47! This is what I look like}. He attached a picture of a sun-tanned, muscular guy, with a shock of bleach-white hair. He sent another message:{I'm fourteen. How old are you?} A sharp pang interrupted Emmaline's thoughts. Should she be telling a stranger this? She had a moment of what felt like déjà vu, but she ignored the feeling. What was the harm? {I am fourteen too! That's cool!}. He quickly commented:{Great minds think alike.}. Aww, what a nice thing to say! she thought. She sent a post back: {That is so sweet to say! 🍰🍬🍬}. They talked back and forth, sending photos and chatting, and Emmaline felt herself opening up to him. They revealed some of their personal life, but it was usually Emmaline doing the opening up. She sent him a picture of her Yorkie, Buttercup, standing in her backyard wearing a ribbon for her first birthday. {She is stunning; just like her owner😉!}. Over the next couple of days, Emmaline found herself telling EMitchell47 everything. She told about her love of horseback riding, the tiny cottage she lived in on Mulberry Lane, what she looked like, her favorite candy (which, by the way, is Tootsie Rolls), and even about her parents' divorce. Maybe some of the stuff he asked about should have sent warning signals flaring up, but all she could think about was how caring, and understanding this unknown friend was.
At school, she grew sullen and sulky, thinking how EMitchell47 would have understood her, HE wouldn't have contradicted her behavior and actions like her friends and teachers did, HE would think about how she felt when she was upset, etc. So you can understand why, when he asked to meet in person, she agreed.