When I opened my bedroom door later that evening, I was immediately greeted by Debby throwing a plastic bag full of items at me. I quickly grabbed onto it in an attempt to stop the contents from falling out and hitting the ground.
"I brought snacks!" was all she said in greeting as she pushed her way past me to enter the room. Whenever food was involved, it was one of the only times you would see her this enthusiastically happy.
A little dazzled from how quickly she'd thrown something at me, as well as the numb feeling I'd experienced from earlier that day, had left me a little unprepared. I blinked several times, trying to bring myself back into the moment. I hadn't even realized it had gotten this late.
From behind the doorway, Kevin Watowski appeared, making his way into the room just as swiftly. "I brought nothing other than my glorious, sweaty presence!" he said in a tone that mimicked Debby's own excited one.
I took note of his appearance. Still in his tennis wear, his curly brown hair was pushed back by a headband and his face red and overheated.
"You walked?" I asked, giving him a sympathetic look. "Well, at least you didn't have the sun beating down on you like I did a few hours ago."
Debby sat down on the edge of my bed, smoothening her skirt as she looked at Kevin. "You know, if I'd known what time you finished that tennis tournament, I would have just given you a ride here."
Debby was the only one with a license in our friendship group. I still hadn't found the time to go for mine but had it at the top of my to-do list. When I couldn't catch a ride with my Mom somewhere, I was stuck walking or taking my bike. As much as I liked riding the thing, it was more than two years old and had definitely reached its expiry date. Plus with the hot days and cold nights, it didn't feel like it was ever a nice time to be journeying in anything other than a car.
Kevin shrugged, resting his back against my bedroom door as it shut. "It's fine, I had to go back to the gymnasium anyway. Mom needed some help setting up for a junior session tonight."
Kevin was Coach May's son. While he didn't take gym himself, he often helped her maintain the studio and look after all the equipment. Most of the times I had group sessions with Debby, he was there helping out.
"Aww, that's so cute!" Debby smiled, her dimples showing. "I remember junior gym."
"Cute?" Kevin raised an eyebrow, voice full of disbelief. "It's like a never-ending anxiety attack! There's nothing fun about watching a bunch of kids flying around the room and trying to prevent them from injury. The last thing we'd need is a lawsuit from some rich, stuck up soccer Mom."
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh darkly at the visual thought of Kevin running after screaming first graders who were hoisting themselves up into the air. Changing the topic, I sat down on the bed next to Debby in an attempt to unwind a little more.
"How did the tournament go, anyway?" I asked him, leaning back.
He nodded his head, "Pretty good. The guy from our club got through to the next round, anyway."
Debby suddenly sat up straighter, widening her eyes at him with interest. "Really? That's cool. Is tennis fun? I've always been kind of interested in it."
I gave her an odd look, furrowing my eyebrows. "Since when?"
She shrugged casually. "It looks cool on television."
She shuffled back on my bed, reaching for the tv remote control that was on my bedside table. One of the first things she always did when she came into my room was start channel surfing and browsing for a good movie to watch.
Taking a deep breath in, I tried to settle my nerves. I was having trouble focusing on being with Kevin and Debby with other thoughts on my mind.
As Kevin moved towards where Debby and I sat, he turned to me in an instant. "Oh, did you still want me to look at your computer, Becca?"
I suddenly remembered the phone call I'd had with him earlier that afternoon. I shook my head, trying to dismiss him. "No, that's fine. Problem's gone."
He didn't press it, accepting my answer and moving towards where Debby was sitting. She turned to Kevin, her mind still thinking about their last conversation topic.
"But seriously," she began, "is it hard to play tennis?"
He sighed giving a light shrug as he sat down next to her. "Depends who you're up against, I guess."
Kevin went on to further explain the sport to her but I was distracted by the reminder of the hack. My mind was racing as the events played over in my head again. I could still see that message flashing before my eyes, clear as day.
7pm. Lynchmond park. Tonight.
Only moments after seeing the writing had it suddenly disappeared and my computer was left running normally like nothing had happened. I was confused by what it exactly meant. Did somebody seriously want me to meet them in a park in the middle of the night? And who?
I wondered if perhaps the message was meant for someone else and they'd simply contacted the wrong person. Then again, it had been my laptop they'd hacked and my name that had appeared on the screen.
I was searching for answers, yet they were hard to find with so little information. All I could do was come up with even more questions.
None of it was making any sense. There wasn't a single person I could think of in my life who would reach out and try to contact me like this. The possible reasons behind it had me even more stumped. What could anyone possibly hope to achieve by doing this? My stomach crawled with anxiety and a sick feeling the more I thought about it. I considered telling Kevin and Debby about it but didn't see the good in that. They'd likely have no clue what any of it meant either.
The best solution I could come up with was to simply ignore it. Maybe if I just didn't show up at the park, nothing would happen and the person would never contact me again. It was the option I'd decided to go with, anyway. Forgetting about it would be better than stressing over it.
Yet, as I laid back on my bed for longer while Kevin and Debby watched the film they'd selected, I still struggled to get the dilemma out of my head.
"Becca, do you think it's too early to be looking for prom dresses?" Debby asked me a few minutes later, snapping me out of my thoughts.
It took a moment for me to respond, slightly confused by the random question.
"Well, yeah. Prom's not till the end of the school year." I answered, giving her a light shrug.
She tilted her head from side to side, considering my words. "Well yeah, but some of the other girls in our grade have already got theirs."
"I don't talk to the other girls in our grade," I stated flatly.
It was true. Outside of Kevin and Debby, I didn't really talk to the other people in my grade - aside from just your normal small talk with classmates. It wasn't like I hated anyone, I just didn't really have the time outside of gym to form much of a social life. When I was in school, I had to dedicate my time completely to studying, otherwise, I'd fall behind. If it hadn't been for meeting Kevin and Debby at gym, I'd probably have no friends in the first place.
"It's a dress," Kevin spoke up with a mouth full of chips. "It's not like they're going to run out before the actual prom date and you'll have to turn up naked."
Debby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but there's also transportation that needs to be organized, pre and post parties, and I'm still yet to find a date."
"Join the club." he muttered in response.
She sighed, throwing her head back. Her wavy red hair dangled behind her, its tips reaching the sheets on my bed. "I wish I lived next door to some really cute brunette girl and we could just crawl through each other's windows at night to hang out like some cliche teen movie."
Kevin laughed, "Careful, your gay is showing," he joked.
"Wasn't hiding it," she muttered in response, taking a sip of the energy drink in her hand.
Sitting up, I tried to get more involved in the conversation in an attempt to relax a little more. "It's one night. I don't get why people make such a big deal out of it. Plus, I'd rather put my focus on school itself. Graduation first, then prom."
Debby scrunched up her face, giving me a look. "And what, you're not going to graduate? Your grades are pretty good, Becca."
I stayed silent for a moment, looking away from her. I felt a sudden wave of honesty rush over me as I stared at the wall.
"Sometimes it feels like I'm one slip up away from having everything crash around me," I said.
Neither of them said anything at first, but I soon heard the sound of Kevin shuffling on the bed as he reached for another snack from the plastic bag.
"Don't say that," he told me. "I know my Mom can be a tough coach, but if you're ever finding the workload too hard on top of everything else, just tell her."
Debby scoffed. "Oh yeah, and she'll definitely let her star gymnast slack off," she said in a sarcastic voice.
Kevin thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Also true." He threw a packet of candy in my direction and it landed on my lap. "Your state champion title is definitely good for her rep."
I sighed, not wanting to think about it. As my mind tried to come up with another topic, my eyes wandered over towards my laptop that rested on top of my chested drawers. Again, the message plagued my mind. I was trying to forget it and not let it bother me, but that was a lot easier said than done.
There was an unsettling feeling still lurking in the pit of my stomach as Debby and Kevin returned their attention towards the movie. I couldn't focus on it myself. I tried to get back into its storyline but was interrupted as I heard the sound of my phone go off beside me.
As I went to read the message, I took notice of the time written on the top of my phone screen. It was 6:50 pm. My brows furrowed in an immediate when I noticed the number that had texted me was not saved in my phone and the moment I read what it said, I felt my stomach churn.
Leave now.
Was this the same person who'd hacked me earlier? They'd wanted me at the park at 7pm, so it had to be.
This was them reminding me to be there.
Suddenly, I became more nervous than ever. My entire hopeful plan that I could just ignore the message and never have to worry about them contacting me again flew out the window. Frowning, I quickly went to type a message to send back.
Who are you?
Quicker than I had expected, my phone went off again and my heart leaped as I went to read the response. It immediately dropped at the words I saw.
Message delivery failed.
How was it that they were able to contact me but I couldn't say anything back? The park was only a five-minute ride away by bike. But to go there at night with no idea what I'd be in for would be stupid.
Who was doing this to me? Was it a kind of joke? It had to be. The other option wasn't sounding any better. It could be someone potentially dangerous.
I felt sick at the thought. What if they were trying to blackmail me or could harm my family? Whatever it was about, it sounded urgent - and that wasn't a good sign. I couldn't bare the thought that if I didn't show up, something terrible might happen to me. Then again, the same could happen if I did show up.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind. If I took my bike now, I could simply ride past the park and see if anyone was there that I could recognize. It wasn't that late, plus I'd take my phone with me.
I was conflicted. In one sense, the idea made perfect sense. In another, it was a stupid, risky move. Maybe it was both.
But simply riding past the location couldn't cause any harm. It was possible that I was just making this out to be a bigger deal than it was and whatever this was would be fine.
A sense of urgency kicked into me suddenly and I hopped off my bed.
"Guys?" I spoke up in a voice with no confidence. "I need to do something. I'll be back in a minute."
They were both paying a heavy amount of attention to the movie, but my words had caused them to stir slightly.
"Do what?" Kevin asked, his eyes still staring at the screen.
"I'll be back in a minute," I repeated, not giving him an answer. I didn't know what to say.
Luckily, he seemed to accept it as he didn't bother to spare a look in my direction. Debby had barely glanced up as well and I was suddenly feeling lucky that I'd decided to pull this stunt during an important part of the movie that had their attention grabbed. If they really knew what I was about to do, they probably would have stopped me.
I should've been stopping myself. But that part of my mind that was aching for answers wasn't going away and the thought that something bad could happen to me if I didn't show up was a worrying kick of motivation. If this person could hack into my laptop, who knew what else they could do?
I slipped out of my bedroom door quickly, and immediately groaned as the sound of music hit my ears. I'd completely forgotten.
The party.
If my mother saw me downstairs during it, she'd kill me. But I was still willing to take that risk. Knowing I had to keep attention off me, I moved at a fast pace, heading towards the stairs and taking a deep breath as I made my way down them.
The noise of music grew louder and louder with each step I took and before I knew it, I was facing a crowd of formally dressed people who were talking amongst each other.
I dove through the crowd, hearing the sound of champagne glasses clinking by my ear as I pushed through.
"Excuse me," I muttered, not making eye contact with any of them. If I did, I would have probably been met with odd or condescending looks. My mother had once explained to me that a lot of people found the idea of kids attending formal events 'off-putting' and I apparently fell into that category.
When I made it out the door, I released a deep breath of relief, still hoping my Mom hadn't caught glimpse of me. If I was in luck, she'd been too busy to notice.
My turquoise bike was leaning against the garage door, chained up to a pole and looking as battered as ever. I again cursed myself for not having a drivers license. One could have really come in handy right now.
It was cold outside, and the wind was as ferocious as I'd ever seen.
Was I seriously about to do this?
Before I could think about it more, my bike was unchained and I'd began pedaling down the street as fast as I could. The sounds from my mother's party faded into the distance as the cold wind hit my face, making me shiver.