Between the Lines

Between the Lines - Episode 1

When I'd gotten the message from Thomas, I honestly first brushed it off as a prank. I hadn't changed my number for years, so it wasn't totally impossible to think that someone bored had gotten their hands on it. It made more sense than any of the alternatives, at least.

And I had to give them credit, really, they were dedicated. Not to mention detailed. Having 5 people in on it, each with various responses to me? That definitely sold it more. I'd expect that a prankster looking for laughs wouldn't risk presenting me with any arguments against getting involved that I could help with. But weirdly, their argument added conflict within my own mind.

I couldn't really decide if I thought that the entire friend group was bored and getting their rocks off this way, or if it was just one or two people playing multiple roles, but the level of effort they put into it made me decide to give it a shot. I didn't know a whole lot about identity theft, but I couldn't imagine the point was to ask me absolutely nothing about myself except my connection to a name I'd never heard before.

I went ahead to my computer and typed in the name they gave me. Hannah Donfort. Meant nothing to me, and I wasn't actually coming up with much online, either. They'd said 3 days ago, so I expected it'd be public by now. She was pretty, young, white, so I'd have expected to see her face everywhere.

Instead, it was pretty quiet.

Curious now, I caught a few profiles as people left the chat. First Dan, who didn't seem interested in me in the slightest so I was more surprised he'd participated at all than I was at his leaving. The dark, hidden face in his profile picture, along with his workout shots and Kung Fu Hustle link gave me a good chuckle. I knew his type.

Next went Jessy. She was cute, and I wouldn't have minded chatting with a real version of her occasionally. I dated women very rarely, but considering she was probably imaginary, dating wasn't exactly what I'd be looking for, now was it?

Lilly, strangely the most convincing of the lot to me, stormed out not long after. Her profile was the most impersonal, so I probably wouldn't have gotten much there anyway. I wondered if that had always been the case, or if a missing sister made you more aware of what you put out there and she'd locked things down.

Richy was also cute, in that effortless, corn-fed type way that I'd seen so often in the midwest. He seemed nice enough, too, and I imagined in a small town he was probably rarely without a girlfriend. Thomas's profile was just about nothing but Hannah at this point, so I could only assume they'd been dating a while. Or he was the type to lose his identity in relationships.

I feel ya there, buddy.

Finally, I looked at the last woman standing: Cleo. Her Instagram had the most activity, full of baking tips and pictures of confections I knew I'd never manage to make myself. It extended back years, too. It was probably totally possible to fake those time stamps. Difficult, but I couldn't imagine it was impossible.

The more realistic option, really, was that Cleo existed but was not actually who I was talking to. Easier to build up a contact around an existing history than the other way around, I figured. But wouldn't linking her socials in the profile of the chat make it easy for me to message her there and that would blow the whole cover wouldn't it?

Though, I guessed, if the goal of all of this was to get under my skin and waste my time, mission already accomplished. It wasn't like I had much better to do, though. So, win-win I guess?

Right before closing out of Cleo's IG, the word Duskwood caught my eye. I'd seen that on all of them, come to think. It sounded like a late 90's, early 00's teen show at first, like Dawson's Creek, but maybe it was relevant? I added that to my search next to Hannah Donfort.