Bullied

Ten

The next day, I was cleaning my room, when my phone vibrated. It was a text. I checked who sent it. It was from an unknown number. I didn't pay much attention to it, at first. After finishing the chores, I returned to my room and read the text. "Hey," It said. I wanted to reply with another hey of my own but instead I asked who it was and the reply came a minute later.

The reply caught me off guard. Amy was the name she had texted back. I thought it was Fred at first, using his uncle's phone and hence the unknown number, or maybe Justin. I was dumbfounded as to how she got this number, but then I remembered Facebook. She probably got my number the same way Fred did. I half thought of changing or if not removing the number entirely, but before I got to that, I called Amy to know how she was doing? Despite what I now knew about her, she was still an old classmate I had back in school. Someone who used to be on Fred's side. I wonder if she still was, or if she's changed since then too.

Amy didn't pick up the phone. She actually declined it on his first ring. I was confused. She texted instead, claiming she was in her hostel and couldn't let others know she was talking to someone. It was clear that texting was our only option. I didn't mind. She asked me what I was up to these days, like what Fred had asked.

My mind flashed back to the last time I saw her. The only thing I remembered about her was seeing her crying when Justin hit her. The memory was uncomfortable and I was glad that we settled for texts instead. We went back and forth with the texts for a few minutes before she asked a question that knocked my breath out.

"Is it true that Fred is still hung up on what happened back in school?" I wasn't expecting this conversation to happen, or this topic to come out, yet here it was.

"Who told you?"

"I still have some friends who haven't left the school yet," I felt stupid even asking the question after her reply. "Is it true tho? He's still hung up on that? It was ages ago."

"I know, I told him, but he's not done making him more miserable?"

"Please don't tell me he still has the notebook?" Does she know? Of course she does. She and Fred made fun of Justin's mom together. But then, maybe she has changed since then too. After what I heard from Justin, I'm no longer sure who is who.

"I can't say for sure. I only saw it once. After the Justin incident."

"Have you read it?"

"Some of it. His handwriting is terrible but I managed."

"What else do you know about it?"

"Just that it's like a bucket list of stupid things to do."

"Like a record. He really is crazy. So do you know what's new on that list? He showed it to me once but I couldn't understand his writing. I only nodded along to whatever he said."

"I don't know. I haven't talked to him in days. If I can I hope I won't have to," I assumed her friends from school kept her up to date as well about some of it. Fred was the kind of guy who would brag about his achievements to the ones who would listen. Judging by her responses, it gave me vibes that maybe she should be talking to Fred about this instead of me.

"When's the last time you met Fred?" She asked.

"A few days ago. You?"

"It's been a while," Then in a separate text she added, "You know Justin and Fred are kind of neighbors now. Talk about cruel irony. Lmao," Her reply raised more questions but before I could ask anything, she did. "Have you met him? The Jerkometer I mean," she asked. All her texts could've been summoned up in a single paragraph but were instead spread into multiple ones.

"I have," I replied.

"How is he?" These were like rapid fire questions that were so fast I had a tough time keeping up with my grammar.

"Nicer than remembered, albeit still somewhat scary."

"Like a miniature Jason Voorhees, or Michal Myers?"

"Sort of. Anyway, let me know if you wanna hang out sometime?" I asked. "I'll even call Fred and you can catch up with him too. He may actually be more comfortable with the topic," If she said yes, then I could just let them both talk and see how much either of them had changed, if at all. The reply that came next took ten minutes. I thought she left her phone somewhere and forgot that we were chatting until the reply came. I read the text she sent, and it was unsettling.

"No but thanks, Quicksilver," Quicksilver? Was this a joke? She'd never called me that. She and Fred both only ever called me Nate. The sudden realization hit me like a rock. This wasn't Amy. It all started to make sense now. The unknown number and eagerness to know about Fred's plans, especially the notebook. How could I be so stupid? All this time I'd been talking to Justin.

I called him immediately. I didn't expect him to pick it up, but he did. "Hello, Justin? I know it's you."

"Took you long enough." Justin's voice replied. "I'm sick of this. It's time I end this at once and for all," Justin's voice broke as he said it. Did something happen? What does he mean by that?

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't read the latest thing he's done have you?" Before I could ask, he hung up. Justin sent me a link a second later. What else was new in his notebook? I clicked on it and saw the final straw. The reason he paused for ten minutes to reply just now. The reason he reached his breaking point. The worst thing Fred has ever done.