I sat back in my chair,
stunned. Why would Josh bother to talk to me?
And what did he mean by 'I was out at
band practice'? He totally had dropped the hint he wanted to be there
to see me when I came. Why? Maybe... he has some sort of interest in
me??? Finally, at least he notices I'm alive! And he even emailed
me! Could this mean something? Many questions spun through my head,
but no answers came back to me. I hated it when there were no
answers. I always like to know EVERYTHING. Wait, what was I thinking?
It just seems so dog-eared. I mean, how could he like a girl thats,
like, FOUR YEARS younger
than him? Who isn't all that pretty? Who is only one out of a billion
choices of girls?
By the time I finished
my steady reel of all reasons why he would not
like me, I felt remotely satisfied
with my tempory conclusion (s)
- he probably was trying to be friendly to me, since I am something to do with him.
- Or, he was simply just teasing me, playing around.
- OR.... he probably wrote emails like that to every girl he meets. Your average flirt.
There, done. Simple.
Written in black and white.
But the time to pick up
Angie from school came to soon. I had to leave in five minutes. I
quickly typed him back a reply.
Hey Josh
yer wat do u know?
Anything 2 do with time makes me a klutz! =P
heh heh nxt time I wont be
THAT eager. g2g & pik up my little sis from scool.
Anyways, guess ill see u
around too
cya, Kat
I pressed Send, not
bothering to check it over. I waited till my page had reloaded and
then clicked on my Sent Inbox and found my email. I clicked on it to
reread it. I usually did that, to see how my emails always turned out
as the 'after' result- because what was in your Sent Inbox, is what
will be in someones actual Inbox. So you get the point people.
The email took a little
longer to appear; but when it did, I noticed something VERY wrong.
This wasn't my email. It was not mine. The words that stared back at
me were unfamiliar. I didn't write this. Sure, it was the right time
and date and everything. Even the subject was the same. It read this:
To Joshua,
Get out of my life. You
are simply annoying me and please never contact me again. You are
just some vain selfish person that sends dodgy emails to waste
everyone's time. Who do you think you are? Take this as a warning, I
am not to hear from you ever again. EVER.
From Katrina.
I held my breath. Was this for real? I know I did not
write this. And that could only mean one thing. I have been hacked.
One minute my life is
breath-takingly perfect, the next its downright dissapointing, before
you know it it's some fire illusion, and then it's just plain crazy.
Life is a big never-ending rollercoaster. Not that i'm very fond of
it. I mean, the rollercoasters.
I heaved a sigh and
hurried my arms into a raincoat, as a slight drizzle had started.
Tying up my new combat boots, I clomped down the stairs and snagged a
bun from the pantry. I slammed the door behind me and shielded my
eyes. I'd deal with the hacking scandal later.
I walked all the way
over to Angie's school, which was about a kilometre away from home.
As I neared the school, I heard it first before I saw it. It was
always like this; kids yelling at the top of their voices, mothers
cradling crying babies, honking cars, snappy teachers, barking
dogs.... it reminded me a lot of high school. And you know, I hate to
admit it, but I actually miss high school. Not the actual classes. I
miss all my best friends- all those hysterical moments we've had. All
the mischeif we'd been up to; secretly recording teachers when they
were shouting and passing funny notes to each other and all that.
And I miss the
atmosphere. It is basically where you spend a third of you life till
your eighteen. You get so used to being there. There was always
someone who had some juicy gossip, and their was always a continuous
contest of who had the quirkiest story to tell. It was great fun, in
high school. Those hushed conversations you had in a corridor where
you weren't supposed to talk. Or those times when you accidently
snorted and giggled in class or the library and everyone turns in
their seats to stare at you.
But you probably
wonder- why AREN'T I in high school? I'm only 15. I still have those
three years left in school. Here's the reason: I have stopped going
to high school temporarily due to my 'destined career', as my English
teacher, Mrs Holt, says. What that means is that since I have decided
(well, sort of. God probably had it marked off on his map of my life
plan) to become a singer, it put a stop to my education momentarily.
Because I have a concert and a music video to plan and perform. And
my school willingly -a bit too willingly, but thats a good thing
right?- gave me a 30 month suspension.
Its a bit like annual
leave, they explained. It didn't have to be 30 months straight of no
school; I could just go to school for a while until I can't afford to
lose time there and then go back to my life as a singer. So it'll be
like I'm there one week and gone the next. The longest I'm I could
stay at school straight with no single day missed, could probably be
about maybe two weeks. And thats a big BUT.
What kind of education
was this, huh? Not your ideal norm way for sure.
This school day was
particuly noisy. It certainly was far more louder and crowded than
last time. Well, the oval was a bit crowded. What was going on? Angie
must be wondering where I was by now. I figured if I quickly tracked
her down and pulled her outta this dump, we'd be home in one piece.
If we weren't one of the first ones out, there was going to be a lot
of traffic once the 'event' has finished.
I decided to wait a bit
till the crowd as thinned out a bit so I could squeeze in and get out
to the front. Wait, wasn't I taller than the little primary kids?
Sure, I was, but I could see quite a lot of adults around too. And
was that an-ambulance???
That did it. I had to
find out what was going on. I was getting worried. I should've found
Angie by now; she was hard to miss. Angie spelled loud colours. You
could've sworn you'd seen a pride of lions following her around.
Thats why she should have been spotted by this time.
I was just about to
turn around when I spotted a familiar figure. This figure was
skipping and hollering and waving madly. I shouted back and waved by
arms. “Angie!!! Angie over here!!!! Its Kat!!!” But then the
figure in the distance stopped short. As I hurried nearer, Angie was
looking at me quizically. My cheeks burned. I felt like and idiot.
This wasn't Angie. This Angie had freckles across her nose and a
little beauty spot on her cheek. And her hair was parted sideways.
Angie never wore it like that. She always made a big fuss of having
it parted straight in the middle in a perfect line.
But it sure looked like
a clone, or a twin. Funny how people can look exacly like you but are
not one bit related. Little did I know.....
I watched the Angie
clone run up to a woman who was apparently her mother. Then she
started yammering away something I couldn't quite catch and pointed
her finger at me. I turned five shades redder as I realised she was
telling her mum what I had did. How stupid of me.
The woman suddenly
stopped cold when she saw me. Her face turned to stone and her eyes
besetted a look of shock. But then her expression became impassable
again. She hurried the girl away and gave me a long, hard stare that
could've turned me to ice if I was a bottle of water.
Looks like its plain
clear to me I was somehow disturbing to her. Was it my outfit, or
maybe my combat boots? Suddenly I wished I never did put them on. Why
not my Nikes? Why? Why? Why? Or maybe she just detested teenagers.
Whatever the reason, she held something against me.
As a stretcher was
hauled into the ambulance, I tore my gaze away and ran to the
ambulance. Maybe I could ask them for a search or something? As I
approached, one of the paramedics were apparently looking for
someone. The paramedic asked, “May you by any chance be Katrina
McKenzy, miss?” I swallowed hard. “Um, yes...” I croaked. My
throught felt dry all of a sudden. “It is required you ride with
your sister, Angie McKenzy to the hospital, please. There has been a
slight accident, and the poor child needs a trip there.” explained
the paramedic, consulting a clipboard. WHAT IS WITH ADULTS AND
CLIPBOARDS???
My blood ran cold. An
accident! I so did not want to enter the dreaded building again, yet
alone even see it. The thing gave me nightmares. I'm sure Angie
wouldn't appreciate it either, would she? “What exactly happened,
anyway? This accident I hear about?” I inquired, putting on my best
immitation of a 'mature' voice adults seemed to always
use. The paramedic frowned.
“From what the
school's security cameras showed, Angie was attacked by a group of
'thugs'. Mainly boys. Apparently she was heading to the library, when
this 'thug group' approached her. They said a few things, which the
cameras didn't detect, and then, God bless the poor girl, attacked
her with no mercy. It has been suspected that this bullying most
likely would've been going for a while before this happened.” Talk
about a great exaggeration about the “thugs” bit. Helpful
information to know for a person who's already beside herself with
worry!
The paramedic shook her
head. “From her bruises and scrapes, we assume they were quiet
strong, meaning they were possibly older. She- Angie was it?- is
definitely in need of bandages and stitches.” Big Gulp. Second Big
Gulp. Third Big.... before I could gulp again I was pushed inside the
ambulance. I sat on the little side bench. The doors were slammed,
and the ambulance took off with a jolt, sirens howling.
I leaned over, found
Angie's hand, and held it. Her fingers tightened her grip on my hand.
She was still unconsious, since the group of attackers just about
knocked her out. I should've known Angie was getting bullied. Why
else would be the reason when Angie would come home from school, with
a face as white as a ghost and a wound on her knee or a scrape on her
arm. Or a bruise on her face? Or red puffy eyes? Yet she never told
us.
I started sobbing, and
the tears plopped on my lap. I watched as first two, then three drops
fell and created a wet spot on my jeans. I squeezed my eyes shut and
started praying. I prayed that God would somehow use this situation
to make something good out of it. I prayed that Angie would recover
quickly. I prayed that God would continue protecting my little sister
for the rest of her life. I prayed for me to stop worrying.
After I finished, I
felt a whole lot better. Praying really worked; God was for real. He
IS real. And I knew many teens faced everyday without God. How could
they do that? How could they manage? I don't know.
Angie sleepily opened her eyes and blinked rapidly at me.
I smiled and recited our favourite verse, “ 'He remembered us in
our weakness. His faithful love endures forever.' ” Angie half
smiled. “And where is this verse from, Angie?” I said as I eyed
the hospital looming into view. “Psalms
136 verse 23...” she whispered right as the doors were opened.
She was lifted out of the stretcher, me following
close behind. Her stretcher was rolled into the emergency department.
Just as I was about to follow down a corridor, a baulky nurse blocked
my way. “Sorry, but you can't go any further. Please take a seat in
waiting room C until further notice”. I turned back, found waiting
room C, and collapsed on the nearest plastic chair. Immediately I
pulled out my iphone and dialled Dad's number. Would he get a
suprise......
After calling dad,
where he said he would be on his way, I continued to wait. During my
wait I skimmed through eight magazines, completed two crosswords, and
a game of noughts and crosses with another kid. When the baulky nurse
finally reappeared, I was allowed to go and see Angie. Baulky led me
down that narrow corridor. I kept my face straight ahead, ignoring
the rooms I was passing, dead people strewn on their beds... okay,
maybe not dead, but some of them sure LOOK like it. My face
impassive, she led me to that same children's ward that I'd worked
hard all these years to forget, but too late, it was all coming back
to me. Wanted or not.
Baulky opened the door.
I risked a glance at the reception desk, but the old receptionist
wasn't there. Not that I excpected her to be, after these years. I
went to see Angie. Kneeling by her bed, she stared at me, eyes wide.
“Kitty, I don't like this place...” I knew the reason why. Seven
years old is not so young to remember signifcant stuff. Hopefully she
didn't remember too much. I grasped her hand, and whispered in her
ear. “Angie, I don't like this place either.”
Angie had a bandage on
her left eyebrow, with the left eye swollen, hanging like a bag. A
blue stripe trailed from her mouth, displaying beautiful hues of
purple, all in the name of wrong. I could see that she already had
the stitches done in her lips, as I leaned closer to examine them.
And I won't even get STARTED on the other things. Kissing her on the
forehead, I acutely became aware of the Baulky Nurse's precence, her
frame leaning against the doorway. “Sorry, am I overtime?”
Smiling, she shook her head. “No, its just that... I can't help but
notice how... how sweet you look together. You guys just seem to
touch me.” I managed a small smile, tears gathering in my eyes. She
had no idea.
“How much longer - sniff-
will Angie stay here -sniff-
in the hospitable for this?” Jerking her chin away, she hissed,
“Dont' try to be smart with me, you bratty little pop star! I know
who you are. Come on now, I don't have time for games.” What!! All
of a sudden she was doing the mushy-mushy stuff, now she's spitting
at us as though we sued her! “Um, excuse me? Didn't I, uh, have
five minutes left?” Bad mistake. “Tttt! Think you know
everything, do you, sweetie?
I'm the one in charge here, and you do as I say!” she exclaimed.
And with that, she marched me away. The last thing I saw was Angie's
face, peeping out at me.
Once we reached the
waiting room, I sharply shrugged off Baulky's firm grip of my arm,
seething. If I didn't know better, I'd thought smoke was steaming out
of my ears! “Now what do you think you're doing you....!” Before
I could finish my string of anger, a sweaty hand clamped over my
mouth. Quickly realising how that could look in public, Baulky
immediately released me. “Quiet, kid! No scenes in public! But I
strongly advise to NOT show up here again.” she sniggered, a smug
grin playing at her lips. My eyes slid to her name tag. Barbara. Hmm.
I put up my hands in
surrender. “Ok, ok, calm your farm! No need to be so hasty. I've
got the message, Barbara.”
She
scowled. “You got that right, kid. And hey, the names not Barbara
you twit, its Gloria-
you got that!” I gasped. I couldn't believe it. A real one in this
hospital? Realisation struck Gloria at
the same time. That vile women could've made up some lame
tongue-stuttering excuse, but she chose option number two. Shove me
out of the way and run for it. Attracting quite a crowd, I shouted,
“After her!!!” Security appeared and bounded down the hall. I
rolled my eyes. Those uniformed galumphs were as fit as my granny
overweight. This wouldn't do.
Before anyone could stop
me, I shot off down the hall, hearing a satisfying whoosh!
as I flew by the surprised guards. I
grinned, the fun is about to begin. I rushed down the corridor I saw
her head down last. Hmm, I can't see her anywhere, I thought as I
ran, nearly slipping on someones spilled drink. I saw a flash of
colour, and turned to see a large figure hurrying down another
corridor to my right.
Oh no you dont, you're
not getting away from me! I thought as I leapt on Gloria and tackled
her down. Once I finally had her pinned down, I stared down into a
face. Which was completely unfamilair. Big oops! How was I going to
talk myself out of this one? First of all, I had just passed out a
totally different person, and second of all, that venomous Gloria got
away!
I sheepishly peeled
myself off. “Oh, umm I'm so terribly sorry, mam! I was looking for
someone else, but looks like I got the wrong person.” I laughed
nervously. The woman gave me one look and dashed round the corner.
Wait a minute. What the hurry? I watched after where she'd gone. I
had a strange feeling it actually was
the right person I'd gotten myself
tangled up with. In fact, as I now recall, she actually DID look kind
of familiar. Those wide green eyes, that nasty crooked smile. All the
same. Just a thinner face, with a different shape and everything.
Different nose too.
I'd heard of people
using face masks before, as a disguise. It could make a person look
completely different, to a certain extent. From the distance, its God
knows who. Up close, aha! I put my head in my hands. She was gone for
good. For now, I hope. I'll get to the bottom of this, sooner or
later, I thought as a pathetic excuse for a security guard caught up
with me. “Lost her?” I nodded. The guard barked something in his
walkie-talkie, and immediately there was a response. Him and the
other person on the other end yammered on for a few minutes, and then
he muttered, “Alright, thanks Fred. Over and Out.” He slid it
back in his pocket and beckoned me to walk with him.
We walked all the way
back, him leading, picking up the other two guards along the way.
I caught a bus home,
with a promise for a deeper look into the case. I didn't know what
all that had meant. It all innoncently started out as a simple
hospital visit, ending with a chase after a nasty “nurse”. What
do I make of it? And could it all possibly connect with that email
hack? It sure seemed likely someone as nasty a Gloria could pull it
off. But then again, what am I to her? How could she possibly know
me, that I was “the right person”?
On the other hand, lets
reword that! She actually could, potentially, know me because of
those newspaper articles, the TV news & possibly the songs or
video. So there are plenty of possibilities where she could've seen
me. Even more possibly, I am more than sure she is connected with
someone. Or a few someones.
But why so interested?
I walked up to the
front porch and knocked on the door. No sound. I looked through the
crack in the curtains. Strange. No light on, no flash of colour or
activity, no movement. Silent, still and dark. What had happened to
Dad? Didn't he come from work about this time of evening? Looks like
I was about to find out, I thought as I searched for the spare key in
the garage. I finally found it tucked in the folds of an old rug.
I unlocked the door and
stepped inside, any moment now excepting Budget to bound up to me and
brandish my face with wet, joyous licks. I looked around, turning on
the light. No big dog came bounding. What could possibly be going on?
If Dad was out somewhere, and thats a big if, surely he wouldn't take
along Budget with him for a ride? He knew I was coming from the
hospital.
The hospital!!! I
slapped my forehead, over and over. How could I have forgotten? Oh
Lord, please help me here! If I finally remembered correctly, I'd
given a call to Dad to come over to the hospital, telling him about
Angie's situation. And then, I remember, he had told me he was coming
right over. What with the whole Gloria episode, I'd completely wiped
him out of my mind. And there he was, searching for an invisible girl
by the name of Katrina McKenzie! He probably would've driven the
hospital staff mad by now.
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