Find Me

2 • Prank

I get to school around eight, which is earlier than the time most students arrive, considering class begins around eight-forty-five. I enjoy coming early, just because I can finish up the homework I couldn't get completed the previous evening. In this case, I only have to finish the short story I had been working on last night, which I'll probably work on after putting my stuff away. That is, if Laura doesn't decide to get into a lengthy conversation about drama around the school, like she sometimes does.

I decide as I walk through the parking lot I will confront Laura about the text later onto see if she may know anything about it. Maybe she had overheard a conversation lately about it, seeing she can be a snitch.

I hope it's just a prank. If it isn't...I don't want to even think about what may happen. Watching TV shows about this kind of thing is much more enjoyable than living in it, trust me.

Just before I enter the school, an unsettling chill crawls up my spine, making me feel as if I'm being watched, again. The past few weeks, I've been seeing someone in a dark hoodie, sometimes holding a phone up like he was taking photos. This would have been harmless, if the person wasn't pointing the lens at me. Whenever I would try to go up to them, they would disappear down an alley or climb into a car. Sadly, they would speed off before I could ever make out a license plate.

My breath becomes uneven as I think about whether I should turn around or not. It could just be nothing, or it could be the hooded person again. After arguing with myself for what seems like two minutes, I finally trust my instincts and turn.

Almost immediately, my eyes settle on a man standing on the road where I had just been a few minutes earlier. The hood of his jacket is pulled over his head so I can't see his face. His lanky body is positioned towards the school, so I can tell that he is looking either at me, or he is admiring the old brick structure. My guess is he's looking at me.

Swallowing slowly, I turn back to the front doors, attempting to seem casual. If I act like I didn't see him, nothing bad should happen. At least, I hope nothing bad will happen.

Opening the door, I try not to throw myself inside the school and race down the hallway. "Stay cool, Melanie," I mumble to myself as the door swings shut behind me.

It's obviously the person who has followed me; I'm sure of it. The hoodie was the same, and the body type was the same. It's no coincidence that I would see someone with that description randomly.

This observation doesn't seem to calm me down at all.

"Hey Melanie," I hear a voice call from further down the hall. Looking up, I see Laura slipping past the groups of students talking and laughing. She seems happy, like she had just won the lottery. Then again, Laura almost always seems that way.

She reaches me after almost being pushed over by a senior who told her he 'didn't see her there'. I scoff when I hear him say it. Of course he had seen her. Seniors just like to push us tenth graders around. They think they're better than us, which is total bullshit in my opinion. Everyone is equal, and I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. Who cares how old you are compared to someone else? It doesn't mean the younger person should be pushed around like they're nothing. If everyone would realize that, there wouldn't be a word such as 'bullying'.

"How are you?" Laura asks as we begin to walk back down the hall towards my locker. I look behind me to the set of doors leading outside nervously before answering.

"I'm alright, how about you?"

She shrugs, glancing at me. I notice I'm shaking from nerves, so I try to cover it up by yawning. I cannot be scared. The person I saw outside would never come into the school. There's nothing to worry about.

But still I wonder.

"I have something to tell you," Laura says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What is it?" I focus my attention onto her as her face breaks out into a smile.

"Nathan asked me out this morning!"

My lips twist up into a grin and I reply with, "That's great Lau! I'm happy for you."

Laura has crushed on Nathan for almost two years now. For me, it has been rather painful watching them make small talk every once in a while, but never actually strike up a conversation. Not that I can say anything about it; it's not like I've had a boyfriend before, so how am I supposed to know the first thing about a relationship?

"I can't believe he asked me though, I mean...it just doesn't seem re--"

I drown out her words when the feeling of someone watching me comes back again. My heart pounds in my throat as I slowly turn back, looking down the hallway to the doors. When I don't see the person, my shoulders sag in relief. I'm just scaring myself now.

"Melanie!" Laura snapping at me draws me back out of my stupor. I look back at her, pretending that I'm perfectly fine. The truth is I'm not fine; I'm nowhere near fine.

"Yes?" I reply innocently. Laura narrows her eyes.

"You're jumpy," she decides. "What happened?"

I groan loudly. Laura can be so perceptive sometimes that it's almost impossible to keep anything from her. I curse myself for having such a bad poker face when it comes to things that worry me.

"Well?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. I can see the worry and anxiety in Laura's eyes as she waits for me to reply.

I sigh and pull out my phone. My fingers shake as I open my messaging app and pull up the text I received last night. I clear my throat before I hand her my cell. "I got this message last night around the time you were texting me."

Laura stays silent for a few minutes, only staring at the words on the screen. Finally, she hands the phone back to me and shakes her head in worry. "Melanie, that's not good. Do you think it's the person you've been seeing around you?"

I bite my lip. "I don't know, L. It's worrying me."

She looks at me skeptically. "I think it might be...I mean, who else would send a text like that to you? It doesn't seem like a prank to me either."

I nod my head slowly, agreeing with her. It doesn't seem like much of a coincidence that I'd have two creepy people on my tail, especially since I had seen the hooded man just a few minutes ago.

Laura looks at me for a few moments, thinking. I wait with bated breath, hoping I don't have to answer any more questions. Finally, she looks away and says, "Wait and see if it continues. If it does, go to the police."

"All right," I sigh. A feeling I have in the pit of my stomach tells me that it isn't just going to stop with one text, and that scares me more than anything else in the world.

The bell signaling the start of class rings in my ears, which snaps me out of my thoughts. Laura squeezes my arm and gives me a small smile before heading off to her first class. I stand and wait for a few more students to disappear from the hallways before walking to my locker.

After fiddling with the lock, I grab my binder and textbook for math and walk over to the room. The moment I enter the second bell rings, telling us that class is in session. I sit down and glance out the window to see if I can see anyone out there.

There's no one.

As I watch the teacher, Mr. Parker, walk to the center of the room, I can't help but think of the fact I hadn't finished my English story like I was supposed to earlier.

Crap.

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I know it's a shorter chapter, but after chapter 3 they will be around 1500 words or more a chapter.

For three days, this story has been #58 in Horror, like what? Crazy!!

New update comes Wednesday!

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