"We're coming up on a rest stop in a few minutes here so you guys can go to the bathroom and buy some snacks if you want," called a mom from the front of the bus.
We were on our way to compete at the Pittsburgh regional and I sat at the back of the bus with my senior friends, blasting childhood classics like the Chicken Dance, the Macarena, and old tv show theme songs. We were having such a fun time bothering the rest of our team that I almost didn't notice when my phone buzzed. Almost.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw a message from my ex, who sat at the front of the bus. What did they want now?
I clicked on the message and two pictures appeared. One was of a note that I had written to them in my old AP psychology textbook last year, and the other was a note they'd written back to me in that same textbook that I'd lent them.
Their messy handwriting read something about how much they missed me and how happy I seemed. I didn't really care much for what the note said, just that they had sent it.
"S," I said quietly, getting my friend's attention. I handed my phone over to her, showing her the messages. "They told them last week not to contact me."
"Is this the only thing they've done since then?"
"No. Yesterday, my transfer class was cancelled and the secretary announced a hundred times over the intercom that we were meeting in the library. They knew I was there and they came in for no reason to sit around with my class only a few minutes later. They followed me. I ended up giving the librarian an excuse to leave and went to sit outside Mr. S's classroom."
"Go back to the office on Monday and tell them about that and about this note too," she told me. The bus came to a halt in the parking lot of the rest stop and she added, "and you should tell A about those messages now."
I followed my team off the bus and went to stand in the Starbucks line. Most other people wandered off to the bathroom or the Burger King so the only people in line with me happened to be S, C, their moms, who were my official "baby sitters" to confirm that I was keeping my hands to myself, and A.
Looking around, I realized everyone in line with me already knew of the situation so there was no reason to keep quiet about it here.
"Hey, A..." I started nervously. She turned around to look at me. "Um, I went to the office last week and a few times this week and W was told by them to not have any contact with me. They just sent me a message a few minutes ago. It's nothing bad, it's just that they're not allowed to and since they're doing it during color guard then, uh, they shouldn't be," I stammered out.
A stared blankly at me for a moment before responding.
"Next time, you should talk to me about this in private," she told me sternly, before grabbing her order from the counter and walking away.
I stood frozen, flabbergasted, and the people around me were in shock too.
"What the heck?" S murmured as we watch A walk away.
YOU ARE READING
Look What You Made Me Do
Non-Fiction"Don't tell anybody about this." "If you just ignore it, it'll stop." "There's nothing I can do to help you." And so I did everything I was told. I shut up. I put on a brave face. I followed all the rules. But that was the past and it's not who I am...
