Stranger

03 | Glimpse

Arriving to Hampton college, the usual sights and sounds welcomed my senses; wafts of cigarette smoke graced my cheeks, heavy unnecessary cursing could be heard and some arrogant student revving his car. For a 14th century building, the college was in surprisingly good condition, thanks to regular maintenance. It was a listed building, so the college was limited as to what they could build; meaning limited facilities for us students. I liked the college, I've always admired old buildings and that 'old-building' smell. A group of students walked hurriedly towards the reception building. Laughter could be heard bellowing out from a classroom window. Students often stole the classroom door codes when the teacher left the classroom, so they could use them in their spare time to do whatever they felt like. It was understandably against the college rules, but no-one cared. 

"I have to go to my class." Ryan said, "I'll see you later." And with that, he ran off towards the science building, his brown hair jumping around as he bounced from each step. He was studying biochemistry and microbiology, he was hoping to do a doctorate one day. I admired him for his ambition and intelligence. I, however, don't know what I want from life. I've never truly known what career I wanted so I decided to accumulate qualifications whilst I made my decision. 

*****

As I left my lesson to go to the canteen for lunch, I received a text from Ryan asking how I was. I assured him that I was feeling a lot better and that I looked forward to seeing him later. I raised my gaze towards the decrepit canteen hall, whilst I slid my phone into my pocket. Taking only a few steps forward, my phone vibrated in my back pocket and I immediately came to a halt. 

"Leggings and hoodies don't compliment your beautiful face."

It wasn't Ryan. My eyes widened, I jolted my head up and scanned the car park. It was full of students, like it always was at lunch time. Music was blaring from someone's car, students were shouting to each other as they prepared to group together for lunch and every available space was filled with a car, van or truck. How on earth could I spot this person texting me? Just as I was about to give up searching, a glimpse of a hooded figure caught my eye. It appeared to be a male, his face was almost completely covered by his red hood, his hands in his pocket. I needed to confirm this was the guy. 

"I don't care, leave me alone." I hastily texted. 

My eyes were now glued on the man by the gates. My phone notified me that my message had been sent. The man brought out a phone from his pocket and smiled at it. His head raised and our eyes locked. His smirk dropped like a bag of bricks. In the same second, his body swivelled around as he began to run out of sight. 

"Hey!" I called out. "Oi, wait! Who are you?" My instincts told me to follow after him but by the time I reached the gates, he was nowhere to be seen and I had no idea which direction he went. I placed my right hand on the cold, iron gates, trying to catch my breath. I stared out at the road in disbelief of what had just happened. I felt a hand hold onto my arm. My eyes met the emerald eyes I had fallen in love with years before. 

"What's happened?! I saw you running towards the gate. Are you trying to burn some last minute calories or something?" Ryan said, as his face changed from startled to the face he pulls when he cracks a joke. 

"I-I saw him", my voice wobbled. I was still in disbelief.

"Saw who? Mya, you're worrying me!"

"I saw the guy who's been texting me...  I chased after him. He's stalking me, Ryan." My voice raised in volume. "I don't know what to do. He's definitely not a student here, he looked middle-aged." My palm met my forehead as I felt a wave of anxiety and I started to pace. Ryan's face distorted with anger, "give me your phone!"

"Why?" I asked.

"Just give me your phone!" Ryan sternly requested, his arm outstretched and his palm flat. I reluctantly placed my phone in his hand. He tapped the screen a couple of times and put it to his ear. 

"No! Ryan! Don't ring him. You don't know who you're messing with. It could make things worse!"

Ryan refused to look at me as he raised his other hand to give me a sign that I should remain silent. I usually loved it when he took the lead, especially when he insisted on protecting me. Every girl likes to feel protected by their boyfriend, but this was different. We didn't know what this guy could do. He clearly knew a lot more about me than I realised. He knew my phone number, where I lived and now where I studied. Who knew what else he knew about me. Information he could use against me. 

"Hello?" Ryan had gotten through. I heard the faint mutter of someone on the other end of the line. "Who's this?" The muttering continued then suddenly stopped, but Ryan didn't respond. He stared ahead, his mind in the clouds. He looked like he'd received some really bad news. He slowly looked at me, his gaze felt like he was looking straight through me. 

"What? What is it?" I asked. 

"So you don't know who's been contacting my girlfriend?" Ryan frowned as he paused. "Okay, well thank-you for your time." He ended the call. I stared at him, anticipating bad news. "A man answered, said his name was Andy and that he's never text this number. He said he didn't know who's been contacting you and that I probably had the wrong number."

My brow furrowed. "How can that be?! That's the number I've been getting texts from." I checked my phone, just to make sure. "Maybe it was him, but he's lying!" Ryan nodded with sympathy and understanding. 

"I think we should go to the police," he suggested. Up until now, contacting the police hadn't crossed my mind. I've always been an independent person, someone who only relies on themselves. I guess that side of me was inevitable since my dad left my mum and I when I was young. 

Sensing my thoughts, Ryan said "I know you don't like getting help for anything, but this is something out of your control and is potentially dangerous." It didn't take much persuasion to change my mind. He was right.