Dear Lucy

Chapter 7:The Second Letter

~The Next Day~

(Oakland High School)

Lucinda's POV

After three classes, I was feeling exhausted. During the first class, I had already started experiencing cramps, signaling that my menstruation was imminent.

The cramps were debilitating, making me feel weak. I slowly made my way to my locker, trying to muster some energy. As I began arranging things inside, I noticed a drink and a letter. The letter was packaged similarly to the one I had seen yesterday.

I glanced around, but there were only students passing by, chatting and laughing. I turned my attention back to the drink - an energy drink - and opened the letter.

Dear Lucy,
It's another new day. I like your purple ribbon; it matches your clothes and makes you look smart. I saw how you're trying to fake a smile, and I noticed you're not feeling too good in our joint class at the auditorium. So, I got you this energy drink. Please take good care of yourself and don't forget to always believe in yourself. Are you going to the party tonight? If yes, please take care of yourself, and I might be there too.
Sincerely,
Your anonymous writer.

I read the letter, looked at the drink, and then back at the letter, trying to process the mysterious message.

This is getting weird, I thought. I appreciate the letter, but it's unsettling to know someone has been watching me.

The last sentence sounds like something a stalker would say. "Are you going to the party tonight? If yes, please take care of yourself, and I might be there too." It sent shivers down my spine.

Should I report this to the school authorities or is it just a harmless letter? I wondered.

My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts. I needed to use the toilet. I glanced at the energy drink and put it back in my locker.

No way was I going to drink it, despite the kind gesture. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.

As I headed to the toilet, I saw a figure approaching. It was Ethan. I tried to pretend I didn't see him, hoping he wouldn't notice me. But it was too late.

"Nerd," he said, walking past me with a smirk.

I felt a surge of annoyance at his condescending tone

"I have a name, you know," I said, my anger rising. Ethan stopped and walked towards me, his eyes locked on mine.

"There's just something about you that gets on my nerves, making me want to hate you for no reason," he said, his gaze sincere.

I sighed, exasperated. "You're free to hate me. I hate you too."

Ethan's expression changed, and he pushed me against the wall, his face inches from mine.

"What's with you?" I asked, trying to push him away.

"What's with me?" he repeated. "The fact that you come to this dangerous school without knowing what you're getting yourself into."

He took a step back, then turned to leave. I was left wondering what that was all about.

As I started to walk away, Ethan grabbed my hand again.

"Oh my goodness! What do you want?" I asked, jerking my hand away in annoyance.

But to my surprise, he removed his jacket and pulled me closer, wrapping it around my waist. I tried to pull away but he pulled me closer then he wrapped his jacket around my waist covering my bum

"You should know why I did that right?? He said and I wanted to removed the jacket but he stopped

"You're stained" he said quietly before leaving and my eyes widened

This was not supposed to happen today. This was embarrassing.

I thought as I rushed to the school toilet.

I checked myself, but to my surprise, I wasn't stained due to menstruation. Instead, I found a red paste on the bum side of my trousers. I wondered if it was from where I sat down.

I looked at Ethan's jacket and knew I had no choice than to use it then I wrapped it back around my waist

I left the toilet to wash my hands and checked myself in the mirror, letting out a sigh.

Those three boys were really weird. Firstly, Liam had taken care of me when I sprained my ankle but then ignored me afterwards, pretending I was a stranger. Then, Alex showed up at my house uninvited and made a strange request. And now, Ethan was kind of harassing me, but then helped me. This was crazy.

Then I thought back to the letter in my locker.

Who could it be?

Someone I knew or someone I didn't?