The Unexpected

Chapter 4

UN·EX·PECT·ED  [uhn-ik-spek-tid]

-not expected; unforeseen; surprising

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Chapter 4

I never thought that I, Ricki Young, your average almost seventeen-year-old hazel eyed nobody, would ever have my very own stalker.

Well, maybe I'm being over-dramatic. One note doesn't mean anything. A picture of myself can't prove somebody is constantly watching me. Right?

But what if I was wrong? What then?

I tried to convince myself to tell Emma, or my parents. I had the opportunity to last night. By the time I had gotten home my parents were back from their little date. Why didn't I tell them then? But if the note was just a prank, I shouldn't worry anyone over nothing. So there I was, harboring my little secret. The picture was crumbled in my wastebasket and my lips were sealed tight. I intended on keeping it that way.

I was almost done with my algebra homework when my phone vibrated, signaling I got a text.

Emma: Can I come over? Thing 1 & Thing 2 are driving me insane.

I laughed at the pet name she gave the twins. Emma has two younger siblings, Elijah and Luke. They're named after people in the Bible, which can't be more ironic. The two were anything but saints. The last time Emm had come to my house was to get me to cut a wad of gum out of her hair. She had made the mistake of falling asleep while she was supposed to be babysitting.

Me: Sure. Do I need to grab the scissors?

It wasn't ten seconds before she replied.

Emma: Haha, very funny. Be there in a sec

Twenty minutes later and she had already completely depleted my secret stash of junk food. I stared as Emma finished the last snack sized bag of chips I own. "That bad, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it. Your so lucky you're an only child."

"So what did they do this time? Draw on your face while you were sleeping, feed your pet hamster to the dog, tie your shoelaces together?"

She shot me a glare. It would've been intimidating if she hadn't been sucking the flavoring off her fingers. "No. I don't even have a hamster. Or a dog. Luke thought it would be fun to play pirates and find buried treasure. Guess what the treasure was?"

I shrugged.

"My brand new purse. It was Prada, Ric, Prada. Completely ruined."

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon, Emm. Dirt couldn't have ruined it."

"Oh, I wish it was just dirt. They buried it in mud." She sounded so distraught you would think one of her relatives had died. Well, unless it was the twins. Then she would've thrown a 'good riddance' party, complete with cake.

Just then there was a knock on my door. Emma scrambled to gather up all the candy wrappers and empty bags while I cracked the door. I looked up to my dad. And I mean way up. He was, like, 6' 5". Which was pretty ironic since my mom was barely 5 foot. I inherited more of my dad's traits, obvious by his grayish eyes and strawberry hair. I was one of the tallest females in my grade, and had the same nose as him. Basically, the only trait I got from my mom was thin lips and my heart shaped face.

He frowned. "Is someone in there?" He leaned over to try to see past me.

I blocked him. "No..." There was a crash and a thump behind me. I winced.

"Emma?" My dad sighed

"Yes, Mr. Young?" Came Emma's timid voice.

"You okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Young. I just tripped over," There was a pause. "Ew, Ricki! What is this?"

Dad focused his attention back to me. "Your mother and I have decided that we're going on vacation for a week. We haven't had a vacation in a while and its close to our anniversary.

I pumped my fist. "Vacation! Where are we going?" I said at the same time Emma yelled, "Ooohhhh, where? Can I come?"

My dad rolled his eyes. "Colorado. No, Emmaline, you cannot come. Ricki isn't even going."

That comment interrupted my little happy dance. "What?! How come?"

"Its for mine and your mother's anniversary." He said it as if it made perfect sense.

"But-"

"No buts. You can stay with Emma if her parents don't mind, or you can stay home alone, but I've already made up my mind."

I was ready to fight this to the death if necessary, but my dad didn't give me a chance. He just walked away. I groaned and backed into my room. Emma looked up from where she was taking selfies on my phone.

"I would offer for you to stay at my house, but I doubt you could put up with my family for a day, let alone a week. Maybe I could stay here with you?"

I flopped down next to her and snatched my phone back. She had taken over a hundred pictures. Great.

"I don't know if I could deal with you for a week, either." I joked. "Its not like my parents are home that often anyways. Plus, I'll be at school most of the time. So it's not that different."

By the time Emma finally excepted that I would be fine on my own, and that I wouldn't be kidnapped or murdered or anything morbid like that, it was after nine. She had to go home, and my mind was left to wander. I decided to pass the time by checking my e-mail. My internet buddy, xAlec525x, had e-mailed me.

xAlec525x: Hey SweetsLover9. Can you talk?

I checked the time he sent the message. Only five minutes ago. He should still be on.

SweetsLover9: Yeah, I have time to spare before hitting the sack.

My laptop beeped.

xAlec525x: Still don't have a life, S? A shame.

I could always count on him to cheer me up. I had been buddies with Alec for about a year now, but we had never met in real life. Really, all I know about him is his name. He never asked me mine and just referred to me as 'S'. It was a relief to finally find someone to talk to online that didn't pry about the details of my life.

SweetsLover9: I so have a life! For all you know I could be a spy for the CIA. Or the president.

XAlec525x: The president right now is a guy. And I sincerely doubt his username would be SweetsLover9.

I smiled.

SweetsLover9: I hope not, for the sake of the country.

We talked until eleven before I told him I had to get sleep if I didn't want to look like a zombie tomorrow. I logged off and got ready for bed as quietly as possible. My parents had gone to sleep nearly an hour ago and I didn't think they would like that I was up so late, let alone talking to a stranger.

I climbed into bed completely exhausted. My eyes landed on the wastebasket. Under all the discarded wrappers lay the picture. I flipped over, determined not to let it bother me. It took me at least another hour to fall asleep, and even then my dreams were filled with strangers in hoodies and dripping red x's.

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I'm proud of myself! This chappy is pretty long. I know there's not much action, other than Emma tripping over some unidentified object, but Ricki needs a break sometimes.

Please COMMENT, even if you hate it. That's how desperate I am.

Also, VOTE if the following comment replies to you (and even if it doesn't =P):

-The awkward moment when you realize Dora the Explorer has more freedom than you.

That is so sad... Anywho, thanks for reading! Love you guys =D