An Open Letter to Jolene (HS AU)

Harry

A call to the library is always like taking a fun field trip from work. Getting paid to see my favorite girl - what more could I want? The issue sounded like it might be the modem, but it could also just be some of the old wiring they have over in that building. That's the 'fun' part about working with a budget-tight library, the archaic methods of technology they somehow still use.

I saw Jolene in the staff room on my way down to the server room, and she just kind of stared at me, which was weird. I waved politely and continued downstairs without thinking about it. She was probably busy, since the public gets antsy when the internet goes down.

I worked quickly pulling out the old modem and detaching the wires. It honestly looked older than I was, so I wasn't surprised it had bitten the dust (literally, since it was also filled with dust!). I got the new one hooked up and set about reconfiguring the router in no time.

Once the wifi was up and running, my phone dinged with a text from Jolene. I laughed to myself, since she was always running out of data and tried to use wifi whenever she could to send messages.

I opened the text, noting she'd sent it about half an hour ago, and nearly dropped my phone. My blood turned to ice in my veins and my head spun in confusion when I read it: 'How could you? I can't believe it!'

What was she talking about? What did I do to make her so mad? I felt a bit sick just thinking about it, since she had quite the temper. I'll never forget the time someone bumped into her car and left a tiny scratch (barely noticeable) but she went postal on the other driver.

Had I forgotten her birthday, or our anniversary? No, we hadn't been dating that long - unless she celebrated month anniversaries, in which case I'd missed a few. Completely perplexed, I texted her back with shaking hands, asking her what was wrong.

I waited for a reply from her that never came. Instead, she tore into the server room like a hurricane, the sheer force of her presence nearly knocking the wind out of me.

"You have a girlfriend?!" She nearly screamed, keeping her voice at a barely acceptable volume for a library.

"Y-yes, you?" I stammered, feeling more confused than terrified now.

"I mean, besides me." She hissed. "I'm 'the other girl', aren't I?"

"What are you talking about?" Okay, now I genuinely questioned her sanity. "There's no one else, it's just you; how could I do something like that to you? What kind of a person do you think I am?" I was starting to sound a bit hysterical, but honestly, that's how I was beginning to feel.

"Then who is this?!" She shoved a crumpled letter in my face and I almost instantly recognized the handwriting.

"Oh," I said, sounding both relieved and disappointed as I quickly read through it.

"Oh?" She mocked. "What's that supposed to mean? God, I can't believe this is happening." She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes blazing as bright as her ginger locks.

I swallowed hard and shook my head in confusion as I explained. "She works in the coffee shop down the street. I see her on occasion, but I honestly try to avoid her. I didn't realize this was still happening."

I read through the letter again, and I couldn't believe it - and by the looks on her face, Jo didn't either.

"What is she, your wife?" She shot back exasperatedly.

"No, nothing like that." I shook my head and sighed frustratedly. I sat down and rested my head in my hands as I tried to think of a rational way to explain this. "We went to college together, and I asked her for help in freshman English. Kate never left me alone after that. We kind of dated, but she was clingy and weird, like she had our whole future planned out. Even after I broke things off, she'd still hang around where she knew I'd be. Like, she'd watch me and my friends play frisbee. She was just sitting under a tree reading, so there's nothing I could do about it, but it was annoying. She's just always...there."

Jolene seemed to calm down a little, but was still a bit skeptical. She sat down across from me and her bright eyes flickered over my face as she tried to figure out if this was the truth or not. "So she's stalking you."

I nodded, but didn't reply as I read through the letter again. I felt sick, but more than anything, I was embarrassed. How could something like this have happened to me? I wasn't anything special, so why did she have to attach herself to me? How could she have such little sense of boundaries, or respect?

"I guess, but I don't think there's anything I can really do. She's not threatening me or anything, and this letter does not exactly sound like a threat either. I've been ignoring her, but I guess that's not working." I sighed, running my hands through my hair as I thought.

Jolene looked thoughtful and cocked her head to the side. "What if we do the opposite?"

"You want to confront her?" I suggested, not liking the idea.

"No, not quite." She said with a smirk.