Leslie's Journal - Allan Stratton [43]
I guess I should be grateful. She could have said, “I know how you’re feeling” or “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I shrug off her hands and get up. “Want some help with the dishes? I can dry.”
“That’d be nice,” Mom says, totally stunned. “Thanks.”
If she wasn’t my mother, I might even like her.
This morning when I get to school, everything’s normal except for one thing—Jason’s nowhere in sight. By the end of the day, I’m starting to have a good time. Maybe I am being paranoid. Maybe I don’t need a bodyguard after school.
I get back home feeling great, grab a snack and sit down to check my e-mails. There’s one from Jason headed: “Hi there stranger.” Inside there’s attachments. I click.
Oh god. It’s photos of me and Katie in the park.
Twenty-Nine
I forward the e-mail to Katie. She calls right away. “You still think I’m paranoid?” I say.
Katie tries to control her breathing. “Mom always says if you ignore teasing it’ll go away.”
“That’s what every adult says, and it’s a lie. Do nothing and things get worse.”
“I know,” she says in a scared voice. “But what choice do you have? You can’t stop him going where he wants. You can’t stop him taking pictures.”
She’s right. I decide to pretend everything’s fine, hold my breath and hope for once her mother is right.
She isn’t.
Jason works like magic. I never see him. But at least twice a day, when I open my locker, a card falls out with a cheesy message like “You Complete Me.” On the Net, I’ve changed my Facebook settings and deleted him from my Friends list, but my regular in-box is swarmed with e-mails from strange addresses, headed, “Hi there Leslie” or “UR Hot 2Day Leslie,” and photos of me at the corner store or coming home. I change from Gmail to Hotmail to Yahoo. It doesn’t matter. Within a few days, he’s found my new address and the swarming starts again. Honest to god, just going online gives me a rash, and I shake so bad at my locker, it takes forever to land my combination.
Then there’s the phone. It never stops ringing. I let Mom answer. When it’s him, there’s just a click. Like me, she dials *69. The number’s always blocked.
We turn off the ringer at night. I mean, he’s even called at two and three in the morning. The first couple of times, Mom hurried to answer, thinking it was some emergency. I finally told her it’s Jason.
“You don’t know for sure.” That’s what she said, anyway. I guess she doesn’t know what to do either.
After two weeks, it’s all too much. I open my locker before school and out drops another card. I sink to the floor a nervous wreck. And there he is, lounging against the wall opposite, grinning at me.
“Go away!”
He gives this innocent shrug. “What did I do?”
I’m too freaked out to say anything. But not Katie. She walks right up to him and sticks out her chin. “You know, if you really cared about Leslie, you’d leave her alone!”
“Me leave her alone? She’s the one who won’t let go. Calling my place all the time, sobbing to my mother.” A glance at me. “I wish you’d stop it, Leslie. It’s getting tired.” He sounds so sincere, I can’t believe it.
“You put cards in my locker,” I whimper. “You swarm me with e-mails.”
“What are you talking about?” he laughs. “Are you sending yourself cards and e-mails now? No wonder people think you’re a nutbar.” He cocks his head at Ashley. “Actually, she’s the reason I dropped by.” He smiles at her. “I’ll catch you later, Ash, when Twitch-Brain’s had her meds.” He gives her his famous finger-point, grins and heads off.
Ashley pulls out her books really fast.
“Don’t go after him,” I say. “He’s a rapist.”
“She’s right.” Katie nods.
“And you’re a liar and a baby suck,” Ashley snaps and hurries off. Baby-suck. This from someone whose mom won’t let her wear eye shadow.
Thirty
I don’t eat lunch. I sit with Katie, then go to math. I’m actually looking forward to it, because math puts me to sleep, and sleep is what I need. I usually leave