FEARFUL: Scary Stories of the Evil App

7

Fear crept up my back, and I couldn't stand it. I dropped the phone and rushed downstairs two steps at a time into the kitchen.

After I pushed the door open, I froze, slowly piecing out what had happened.

Mom had a deep frown on her face. "That was not the plan, Jacob."

"It was a joke," he replied. "Funny, right?"

My eyes darted between them. Instead of fear, I felt a sudden urge to lash out.

"You pranked me?" I asked Mom.

"No, Baby." She shook her head. "It was a surprise."

My rage swelled so much I couldn't think straight. "Huh?"

"I bought you a phone," Mom explained to me. "It's 'pre-owned' and not exactly the same model as your brother's, but—"

"A bad copy," Jake mouthed so that Mom wouldn't hear him.

That tipped me over the edge. Although a part of me realized I was getting a gift, I felt my temper reddening my face. "The iPhone upstairs is mine?"

"Yes," she replied.

"And you didn't help him prank me?"

She waved that notion away with her hand. "Your brother's terrible idea." She glared at him. "Jacob was only supposed to call you."

My twin wiped laughter tears from his cheeks. "The S stands for Such An Easy Target."

I couldn't stop myself. One second I was there, standing next to him, and then we were both rolling on the floor, a messy tangle of arms and legs, grunting and calling each other names.

"Esau!" Mom shouted.

I tried to pin him down but couldn't. However, as Jake pushed me away, I moved behind him and put him in a grappling hold I'd learned in judo class. What do you know? Being Jack of All Trades paid off sometimes.

In the few seconds it took Mom to pull us apart, my brother landed a few clumsy punches on my leg, and I hit my elbow against the kitchen tabletop, knocking down one of the pans with a clang.

"Stop that!" Mom looked flushed.

"He started it!" I cried, angry blood still pumping through my veins.

"Crazy much?" Jake coughed and rubbed his throat.

Mom raised her arms in disbelief. "I do something nice for you—" Her voice was on the verge of breaking. "And this is how you thank me?"

I expected Mom to ground us until we turned eighteen, but she only twisted her lips to the side and avoided our gaze. As the fog of rage in my head cleared, I noticed her eyes well up with tears, and guilt tightened my throat. She must have dug deep in her pockets to buy me an iPhone, and I didn't even thank her.

"Sorry," I said. "May I go to my room?"

She nodded, still staring outside the kitchen window. Jake apologized and left too, but I didn't care where he'd gone to hide.

"Oh, and Mom—Thanks for the phone. I love it."

That wasn't a lie.

The smartphone upstairs wasn't evil. Once I wrapped my head around that, I got so amped up. I had an iPhone! Its sick screen, powerful camera lens (that, thank god, looked nothing like a goat eye), and smooth shape redefined awesome in my book.

Last school year, my brother and I were the only kids in the entire fifth grade who didn't have a phone. That put a target on our backs.

"Why do we call you names, Dufus?" Anthony McGee asked me this one time during PE. "Because we can't call you any other way."

Everyone laughed until Coach Morales made them stop. I wanted the earth to open and swallow me. Later, C.J., Rory, and I would refer to that day as 'Sucklstice.'

But now I had a phone! I could watch videos, listen to my music, and text my friends!

I needed everybody to know I wasn't the weird phoneless kid anymore. And to do that, I'd have to do something amazing. A mirror selfie, #NewPhoneNewMe, wouldn't do. It was all about making a statement: winning the PlayOffs Competition.

My new smartphone evened the playing field, but time was not on my side. Remember what I said about some white lies in my application form? Well, I had to make those lies true. And fast! If I wanted to stand a fighting chance, I had to call in the cavalry. Rory would have been my top choice if he wasn't MIA, so that meant C.J. was my only hope.

Once in my bedroom, I figured I'd try her house number since The Squall had fried her cell phone. So, with a smile on my face, I brought up the keypad, entered the digits carefully, and tapped the call icon. Could I have simply gone next door? Sure! But why walk anywhere when your thumbs can do the walking for you. Besides, cut me some slack. After living in the Dark Ages, I was finally joining you in the twenty-first century.

"Hello."

That did not sound like my friend.

"C.J.?"

"No. Kara."

This time, the heat in my cheeks had nothing to do with anger. Part of me wished to hang up; the rest of me would have loved to talk to her forever.

"Eh—"

"Who's this?" Kara asked.

"It's me?"

"Huh?

"Ah—"

"I'm hanging up," Kara said.

"It's C.J.!"

"What?"

"I mean—" My tongue tied itself in a knot. "Is C.J. home? I am Esau, I mean, S!"

Silence.

"Who?"

My stomach sank. She didn't remember me?

"C.J.'s friend," I explained.

"Oh, the twin. Right."

My palms were sweaty.

"Yeah."

"C.J.'s not here," Kara said.

"Okay."

Another beat of silence.

"Well, bye now."

"Wait!" I told her. "Can I pick you?"

"What?"

I facepalmed.

"Pick your brain! That's what I—I have a new phone."

"And?"

She was so impressed when Jake found his eyePhone, but she didn't care that I had one. What was up with that?

"You killed it on Jake's streaming," I said.

"So, you want me on your videos too?"

"Yeah! No, I mean—" A burst of nervous laughter.

"Listen, I'm—"

"What would you do?" I asked her. "I need a thousand followers for the PlayOffs Competition."

"To win?"

"Participate." I clarified. "One thousand subs in four weeks, or I'm out."

"Hm."

"It's not a lie 'cause I'll totally hit that number in no time."

I waited for her to tell me things would be okay, but she didn't.

"What if I stream Creative Differences? That game is straight fire."

I swear I almost heard her shrugging. "Maybe."

Disappointed at her answer, I slouched on my bed. If I were a cute girl like her, dancing and lip-syncing would have been enough to get me started. But I am me, and that simply won't do.

"I need to learn from the most popular channels. That's it! Then I'll be ready to kick butt."

The silence stretched on.

"Um ... Hello?" I listened hard for any sign of her. "Kara?" An eerie buzzing grew louder on the other end of the line, and the call went dead.