Duo's Revenge

Chapter 1: It Begins

"Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!"

This is the sound I awoke to the next morning. In fact, it was the sound I awoke to most every morning, as Bicycle Race by Queen was my alarm.

I groaned, then tapped my phone screen over and over, searching for the button to stop my alarm–I was too lazy to open my eyes or get up. Finally, I found it, and I lay in my bed, listening to the early morning silence.

The rest of my household (which consisted of my mother, my father, my sister, and my cat) were still asleep, save for my father, who was likely sitting outside, drinking coffee from the same cracked, white mug he's owned for years and reading the newspaper–he refused to go digital and read it on his iPhone. I knew my mother would awaken soon to prepare herself breakfast, which was usually eggs and toast. She'd wait for about 10 minutes, then begin preparing something for my sister, who woke up a bit later than we did. Her name was Lola, and she always requested pancakes with strawberries and chocolate chips. My mother, of course, would always make them for her.

I opened my eyes, then looked at the time displayed on my lock screen. 6:03. I let out a small sigh. I did not want to go to school today at all. Well, quite frankly, I never did–it's such a bore–but today was different. Usually, the reason behind me not wanting to go to school was laziness and the desire to stay home and sing along to Queen songs that I would play at full volume on my Amazon Echo. However, I had a bad feeling about today that I just could not shake. I felt like something was going to happen.

I thought for a moment. I completed all my homework and I read the sections we were currently going over and discussing in American History in case of a quiz. Was it any of my friends's birthdays today? No, it wasn't. (I tend to sometimes forget things like this, and though it doesn't upset my friends very much, I always feel awful about it). I let out a small laugh at my ridiculousness.

"There's nothing to be worried about," I whispered to myself. "You're just being paranoid." I then rose from my bed, grabbed my iPhone, opened my bedroom door, and walked into the kitchen. I poured food into my cat's bowl, nearly filling it to the top, to Tabitha's (that was her name) pleasure.

I opened my fridge, taking out a carton of milk and a container of blueberries. I pointed a cup of milk into a small pot on my stove, then added some oats, and began mixing. This was my typical breakfast–oatmeal. I had to make it myself, since I awoke before my mother. While I was mixing, I heard my phone, which was placed on the counter near the stove, go ding! and saw the screen light up. I turned to look at it. I rolled my eyes–it was yet another irritating notification from Duolingo, and it said the same exact thing it always said. Hi! It's Duo. It's time for your daily Portuguese lesson. Take five minutes now to complete it.

I reached for my phone and picked it up. Mixing with one hand and holding my phone with the other, I placed my fingerprint on the home button, then went to the home screen. I clicked on Settings, then went to Notifications, then Duolingo. Irritated of constantly being reminded over and over to practice Portuguese, I turned off notifications. I turned off my phone with a satisfied smile. Duolingo and that stupid, nagging owl Duo would, at last, stop bothering me. I was extremely tired of seeing the ridiculous green mascot every single day, reminding me that he was disappointed in me for not using the app. He would finally leave me alone.

Well...that's what I thought.

***

I arrived home from school at precisely 3:45. I rode home from school on my bicycle, both because I lived a short distance from my school and Bicycle Race, being the first thing I heard almost every morning, had encouraged me to use my bicycle more. It had been sitting in my garage, unused, for nearly a year. I might as well get my money's worth and use it as often as I can.

I parked my bike next to our front door, then extracted the keys from the pocket on my pants and turned them in the lock. I entered my home, dropped my backpack on the floor, and immediately ran to my couch to lay on it. There was nobody home–my parents were still working, and my sister was likely hanging out with her friends. This was a good thing, because I was exhausted. I had completed assignments in nearly every class and taken a quiz. School wasn't the only reason I was exhausted, though. I had also been worried the entire day, fearing that something bad would happen. My reassurances to myself in the morning hadn't eased my worries at all. Nothing bad had happened, though, and it was highly unlikely anything bad would happen now, at my house.

I got up and took a cup of strawberry Icelandic-style yogurt out of the refrigerator, then topped it with a spoonful of peanut butter and a handful of raisins–this was one of my absolute favorite snacks. I got a spoon from the drawer and a napkin from the counter, then I was on my way to the dining room table to enjoy my afternoon snack. Before I got there, though, I heard my phone go ding! with a notification. I picked up my backpack and took out my phone. It was a notification from Duolingo, reminding me to complete my lessons. I frowned. That was odd. Hadn't I turned off notifications for Duolingo that morning?

I checked my settings again. I had indeed turned off Duolingo notifications. It must've been a glitch, then. I put my phone on the counter and began making my way back to the table. After all, my yogurt was waiting for me.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

My phone wouldn't stop dinging. "What the hell?" I muttered, going back over to the counter again.

I had 13 notifications. All from Duolingo. Each one was just one word, and I slowly scrolled back to the first notification, confused. I began reading each one in order, growing increasingly horrified with each word.

IF

YOU

EVER

WANT

TO

SEE

YOUR

SISTER

AGAIN

COMPLETE

YOUR

PORTUGUESE

LESSONS