Find Me

3 • Panic

School is boring, as every day, but with a twist of fear and uncertainty. Every class I'm in, I stare out the window and pray I don't see the person outside. I really don't know why I'm so freaked out, I mean, it's not like he did anything extraordinary that would cause me to panic.All he had done was look, but that seemed to be enough to scare me.

I guess I just want to blame somebody for the text I received last night. Tomorrow, I'll probably think the mailman sent me the text.I chuckle slightly at the mere thought of our nice older neighbor-who doubled as our mailman-as a creepy person.

I make my way back to my locker, and the last bell for the day blasts through the speakers that are situated around the school. I sigh in relief at the thought of finally getting to go home.

Freedom!

As I grab my bag from my locker, something vibrates in my back pocket, causing me to jump. I let out a shaky laugh when I figure out that it's only my phone. Noticing everyone looking at me weird, I feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment. I hate to draw attention to myself, as most civilized people would.

Tucking a stray bit of hair behind my ear, I answer the call. "Hello?"

When I hear heavy breathing in the background, my eyes narrow in confusion. I take the phone from my ear to check the number, and almost drop my cell when I realize that it's the same number that had texted me last night. I know because I had accidentally memorized the number earlier. That way, I would know that it was him.

I put my cell back to my ear and say in anger, "What do you want?"

"You," the voice replies.

I can feel my throat constrict in fear. My eyes look up from the floor as I try to spot Laura in the crowds of people. I want to scream in frustration when I can't see her, because she needs to hear what he's saying right now.

"I'm going to tell you this once," I say, my voice steely calm. It surprises me how composed I am about the situation. "If you keep this up I'm going to report you to the police!"

"If you do that, you'll be sorry, Mel."

Before I can say anything more, the line clicks, as if he's hung up on me. I look at my phone's screen; he has.

I close my eyes as I think about what he had said to me. Why would I be sorry for reporting him to the police? And more importantly, why did he say he wanted...that he wanted me?

After I pocket my phone and grab my black bag, I walk down the hall, ignoring the few students staring at me as I walk past. If I'm correct, they heard my entire side of the conversation by the incredulous looks on their faces.

Cursing under my breath for even answering the call in the first place, I head out of the school. Walking along the sidewalk, not even glancing up at my surroundings, I try to keep my cool. I know that I can't have a mini freak out right outside the school, because everyone would be talking about it the next day.