lol im thinking on how much Hyude has to read…: Chapter 6
At the restaurant later, I was bringing drinks over to a table but I was deep in thought. All of the sudden, I tripped over a man’s foot. The drinks went flying and my face hit the floor.
“No,” I yelled. “I’m so sorry, sir.” I looked up to see the man dressed in tattered clothing looking down at me. “Hey, you’re th-”
“It’s alright,” He said and smiled. “Here, let me help you up.”
I stood and brushed myself off then picked up the drinks. “One second,” I told the table who were supposed to have them. “Let me go get a rag.” I hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a small towel. While I mopped up the spill, I started thinking again. But little did I know that if I were in Melissa’s household right now, I would hear loads of things that I didn’t even know Melissa knew.
Melissa stomped into the kitchen. “MOM, DAD! I KNEW IT! IT’S THAT STINKIN’ BRAT NATALIE AND HER FREAK FRIEND JAMES! THEY FORGED THE NOTE AND MADE THE DIRECTIONS LEAD THERE!”
“Melissa, honey, calm down!” Her mother soothed.
“No, I will NOT calm down,” She screamed. “They set me up!”
“Hey Teddy Bear, that’s a serious accusation to make. It’s probably just a misunderstanding. I’m sure that-”
“NO,” Melissa screamed again. “IT WAS NOT A MISUNDERSTANDING! IT WAS PURPOSEFUL!!!!
I woke up the next morning feeling tired and sick. My mother went into my room and took my temp.
“Wow, hon. You’re burning up. I don’t think you’re gonna go to school today. We’ll take you to the doctor and get you tested for COVID.”
Sure enough, the test was positive. I went back home and lay in bed with a box of tissues next to me. I pulled out my phone and texted James.
It’s Nat: Hey Cousin, what’s up? I ain’t comin’ 2 school 2day I have to lay in bed sick. ??I have COVID. >:-(
JAMES: :0
It’s Nat:Ikr. Sorry i cant be there 2 tease M. ?
JAMES:Its fine. Sorry u cant be there either. Maybe i’ll visit. I got it less than 3 months ago so cu later?
It’s Nat: u got it. ;) Cant wait!!! ??Best part of my day. CU Later, Cousin. Love ya!
JAMES: Love ya2! ♥️
Alright. So my day isn’t gonna be all that bad. James is coming over soon and at least I’ll HEAR what happened to Melissa.
An hour later I heard a BING on my phone.
JAMES: Comin’ soon. Got a message from M. What up?
It’s Nat: Nothing much. What about?
JAMES: ...
I waited for him to type back.
JAMES: IDK. Same old stuff??
It’s Nat: Ha, yeah. Bet ur right. When r u coming?
JAMES: 5 mins. Away.
It’s Nat:??
When James finally walked in the door, it had seemed like forever since I had sent those 2 emojis. “Finally,” I laughed as he came in. “We don’t have all day!”
“Ha, it seems like you’re feelin’ better.”
“How’d you know?”
“Hmm…” He joked. “I wonder…”
“มันอยู่ที่ไหน?” I asked in Thai.
“The letter? Oh, here it is.” James pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. “Here you go.” I took the note and read it out loud. “Hey, Nat and Freak, I bet you anything that y'all are hanging out doing freak stuff. You are the weirdest people but I know what y’all did.” I ended with a shiver.
“Is she a- what do they say in english- a สะกดรอยตาม?” James asked nervously.
I laughed. “ A stalker? No, way. Melissa couldn’t even spy on an ant without getting bitten. Plus, she’s never been here before so she wouldn’t know where I lived.” Then we heard the clock chime.
“Darn it! It’s 6:00. I got to go. Bye!”
“Bye,” I responded with a small grin.
Chapter 7
Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, I heard a chime on my phone. I picked it up and clicked on MESSAGES.
Melissa.com: Hi, Natalie. I haven’t texted u in such a long time. ? I just wanted to say that i actually miss u. My friends made me write that last note and i regret it. Im so sorry 4 being mean 2 u and ur friend.
It’s Nat: ?
Melissa.com: Do u 4give me?
It’s Nat: YES!! ☺️
Melissa.com: THX, BFF.?
It’s Nat: UR welcome.?
Melissa.com: I’ll c u at school but can we catch up?
It’s Nat: Yeah, sure! Basically, James (who u call the freak) is my long-lost cousin, we ganged up on u, we wrote the note 4 u 2 go 2 that weird restaurant, ect…
Melissa.com:I KNEW IT!!! BUT WAIT. Did u put the note on my station wagon?
It’s Nat: WHAT?? What did it say?
Melissa.com: “PAY OR ELSE” in all caps.
It’s Nat: Yeah… That was definitely NOT us. But… James and I consider ourselves GREAT detectives so we can help you solve the case. ?️
Melissa.com: Alr. Now?
It’s Nat: When else? I’ll make a group chat.
I made the group chat with a smile. Then I texted James so he could join. He accepted the invite and we all logged on.
M: Hey james (aka Freak but no offense) im really sorry. ?
J: its fine… ;-)
N: alr. So i think that this is a case of Loan Sharking.
M:...
J: wha?
N:u know. Money lenders. They give u money then make u pay back large interest rate.
J: whats that??
N: look it up already. U have a phone, u know.
J: ? woah!!!
N:?
M:?
J: ok, ok. I’ll look it up. But i gtg 2 do that so cu later!!!
10 minutes later I logged back onto the group chat.
J: BACK!!! U will NEVER guess what i found out.
N: hey, guess what COUSIN? We looked it up 2 bc u sent us that link!
M: so we know everything u know.
J: oh, right! Ha, ha. Just messin’ with y’all. Any way, its pretty interesting but i gtg 4 real. C y’all @school 2morrow?
M: cu
N: yep. I’m feelin’ better! I’ll c y’all later. K?
J: K
M: bye!
N:bye! ;)
J: ;) bye!
I yawned and grinned again for what was like the 50th time that day. But that was fine because I hadn’t smiled before now in ages. I put on a mask and went downstairs for dinner. I spooned chicken-noodle soup into my mouth quickly and then went back upstairs. Yawning more, I brushed my teeth and climbed into bed.
When I woke up the next morning, I got out of bed and went downstairs again. But I heard a distant chime. “Oh, shoot,” I muttered. “My phone.” I ran back upstairs and grabbed my phone. Melissa had texted.
M: Hi & good morning. How ya’ feeling Nat? Are u coming 2 school 2day? Hope u r. I’m really sorry (again) for what happened the past week. Also, are we still trying 2 find out what that note was on our car? James, I’ll cu @school.
N: u bet. And I am going 2 school 2day. Feeling MUCH better. I’ll cu l8r. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
J: That’s a lot of e’s… cu @school. Bye. ⬅️C? Only 1 e!
N: yeah, yeah, yeah…
M: I agree with James. 2many e’s.
N: u2, Melissa.com? Honestly u guys. U can’t even joke ‘round here anymore… well, got 2 get ready. BRB.byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.⬅️c? I can put as many e’s as I wanna.
I looked up from my phone with a sigh of relief. I was going to school and- I scrolled through my previous text messages quickly and grinned- what had happened last night with Melissa wasn’t a dream. But my smile faded. I had just remembered. Melissa’s family might be in danger. From sharks. Loan sharks. But now that I thought it all over again, that didn’t sound like loan sharking. The note that Melissa had found on her car didn’t sound like something loan sharks would do. I rushed downstairs, scarfed my breakfast down, and ran out the door. The bus was waiting at the curb. I got on and rode to school in silence. When I hopped out, James and Melissa were lingering around the path, obviously waiting for me. Just like the school bus, I thought with a grin on my face.
“Guys, I gotta tell y'all something,” I said with a hurry. But I couldn’t say anything more because we heard footsteps behind us. Archer Nelson was one of the biggest, meanest boys around and he was walking right towards us. Archer was a huge bully in our grade and did everything he could to make people feel bad. Kids even left the school because of him. James and Melissa backed away warily. But I just stood there.
“Move, Archer,” I said and I heard kids around me stop.
“What did you just say to me?” He growled.
“Who, me?” I asked. I was not going to let him get to me this time. “Oh, maybe I should have spoken louder. Pardon me. You see, I didn’t know you were part deaf, and…” He moved menacingly towards me.
“I’m not deaf,” he said and I heard a hint of danger in his tone.
“Oh, sorry. Did you just not understand what the word ‘move’ means? Usually, when the word ‘move’ is used like that, it means get out of the way,” I taunted.
“Do I look stupid?” He roared.
“Um, Yes,” I replied simply. The crowd behind me gasped.
“What?!” Archer thundered.
“My point exactly,” I raised my chin and walked back towards my friends. Once inside, I smiled. “And that is how you get rid of Archer Nelson.” I looked over at James and Melissa. Their faces paled.
“Think you got rid of me, huh?” Archer snarled. Whirling around I plastered another grin over my surprised face. “Yes of course, or do you not understand that either,” I responded.
I turned my back and walked back outside to the small stream that ran through the school grounds. There, I found a large salamander and bravely picked it up. I turned around and jogged back until I was face to face with Archer. I tossed the salamander on him and waited. He smirked. “What? You think I’m weak enough to fear a tiny little lizard figurine?” He looked down and put his finger close to it in order to flick it off. But it started moving at just the right moment. Archer Nelson, the brave and powerful bully, started shrieking and dancing in an attempt to get the salamander off. But it crawled into his thick, curly hair where it stayed.
A real smile took over my mouth as I fought the laughter that was bubbling up inside. “Why, yes, Archer. I do think you are weak enough to be scared of a tiny little lizard,”
