Author: Ena Žanetić, OŠ Blato
My name is Allison and I’m 15 years old. I’m writing this story because I had to deal with a secret that’s been haunting me for a while. Where do I even start? Macy’s got under my skin and I desperately want her out.
I know all of this is confusing right now, but I will try to explain.
I lived in a small town at the time and I could say those were some of the happiest years of my life. I had everything I wanted. But then, all of a sudden, the happiness started to fade. First, my father got fired. Then, my best friend started spreading these really mean rumours about me. My whole life suddenly fell apart. And the worst thing is, the teachers didn’t even seem to care! The rumours turned into bullying and it kept getting worse. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
One day, during breakfast, my mother told me we were very low on money and that we had to move to London for my father’s new job. At that point, I was actually happy to move, because it meant to be away from the bullies. Still, I knew I would miss my hometown.
Our new house was small and cheap and I didn’t like it. But I had to cope with it. My first day at the new school didn’t go well, either. I felt so lonely and sad. Well, at least there were no bullies this time. However, I was always alone and sad.
At home, I started spending more time on the Internet, doing homework or just browsing. I felt I was different and didn’t know how to deal with it. Well, too bad, because on the Internet, it was actually cool to be different. I liked the feeling of that.
One day, after school, I was feeling very lonely and so I logged in my usual chatroom. There were a lot of people hanging out on that site, but that was the first time that a name Macy caught my attention. After chatting for a while, I found out we were very similar. I felt like I finally found a friend. She seemed to like all the things I liked. Her profile picture was that of a pretty girl with brown hair and dark blue eyes. She was 16 years old. At first, she was a little shy but as the time went by, we became best friends. I was happy. Our conversations really made me feel good. I went to school with a smile on my face because I knew I would talk to Macy after school. And she was such a nice girl. She was the nicest girl I had ever known.
We chatted every day and we were closer and closer to each other. My favourite band was her favourite, too. My favourite book? She’d already read it ten times. It felt like we were soulmates.
It was all too good to be true.
I didn’t even try to fit in or hang out with people at my school any more. I just wanted to meet Macy in person. I kept asking if we could video-chat but she explained her camera wasn’t working. She kept making excuses. Sometimes I even thought she didn’t want to meet me. I started to feel lonely again. I trusted Macy more than anyone, but there was something suspicious about her behaviour. But then, one afternoon, I suddenly got the following message:
Macy: “Hey, I’m free today. We can finally meet if you want. Text me back if you’re up for it!”
Happiness and hope came back to me. I accepted the invitation, of course. We agreed to meet in the local park at four o’clock. My hands were shaking as I rushed outside. In the end, I came to the park an hour early because I was so nervous. But it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered at that moment was that I was finally going to meet my friend.
It felt like I was waiting forever. It was starting to get dark and Macy was still not there. Then, all of a sudden, this boy approached me. He looked about 20, all tall and dark. He seemed sketchy and I didn’t want to talk to him, but he started talking about a band I was also listening to. So, we talked. I started to feel comfortable. I felt like I already knew him from somewhere, but I was still hoping Macy would show up.
Then, when he mentioned his favourite book, that I was also reading at the time, something suddenly clicked. This boy was Macy all along! I started to panic and the boy just laughed. I ran from the park as fast as I could. I was terrified and crying for help because he was running after me. I didn’t know what he wanted and it scared me. Luckily, after a while, I lost him. I was still trembling. Who was this guy? What was he up to? What kind of a sick mind would do something like this?
So many question, but I had no answers.
However, there is one thing I now know for sure: I am never going to trust an online “friend” just like that again! From now on, I would rather hang out with kids at my school than with virtual friends who always pretend to be what they are not!
