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by Leona Keyoko Pink

  By the second week, I noticed things were going missing from the laundry. My mom did our laundry and would hang it outside on the clothesline to dry. From time to time things would go missing. I knew something was up when several of my favorite shirts and sweaters and the jeans I liked to wear went missing. I told mom and she kept a better eye on the laundry. Things stopped disappearing but I never found my missing clothes.

  Some of the papers on my route started disappearing. The subscribers started to report them as not showing up when I swore I had delivered them. When the lock on my bike went missing twice I knew someone was messing with me. I told my dad and we ended up parking my bike in the garage at night. I made sure to walk the papers to each door step and even started taking pictures with my phone to prove they had been delivered.

  A few days later, our dog went missing. The gate had been tampered with, all the screws removed. We looked all over for him. My father called the police. We thought it was Lynn given what he’d said a few weeks ago, but it turned out our house wasn’t the only one hit.

  Our dog had been found and picked up by the local dog catcher. He was in the pound along with most of the other dogs from the neighborhood. The police were investigating but considered it to be a prank.

  I didn’t think it was. I might have been paranoid but I refused to deny my gut instinct again. I just knew Lynn was behind this somehow. I didn’t know exactly what he was trying to accomplish messing with me and my family but I knew he was up to something.

  Nearly a month after Lynn had threatened me I got a call from my boss one afternoon letting me go. He said that papers were still going missing. I told him I had pictures but he said that several windows had been broken as well. I adamantly told him it wasn’t me but he said there had been several anonymous witnesses...other complaints as well. He just couldn’t keep me on.

  I knew I should talk to my mom and dad about this but I was too upset. I got on my bike and rode around town until I found that bastard. I was still afraid of him but my burning rage gave me a strength I had never known. I was fully prepared to threaten him to make him understand that he couldn’t bully me...He wouldn’t push me around.

  I found him hanging out in an alleyway downtown with a group of people I used to know. They were skateboarding and smoking. He was telling jokes when I parked my bike and marched right up to him.

  He seemed surprised to see me. They all did. It probably didn’t help that the first words out of my mouth were, “SCREW YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” But I was taking my power back. He wasn’t going to control me through threats and intimation.

  I’d make him submit to leaving me alone once and for all. Okay, thinking on it I might have been overzealous. But I’d had my job for years…years and I was always a good worker and this was the last straw.

  My friendship was over, my reputation had been tarnished, my family was worried and now I’d lost the only job I’d ever had, all because of him. I was done with this shit, done with him. I walked right up to his ass and told him, “I’m not afraid of you,”

  He was smoking a cigarette and just laughed at me. Andrew Pluck who was standing next to him laughed as well but that was nothing new. Andrew had always been condescending. He acted like he was smarter and more mature even though he was younger than me.

  Dannie Raider was skateboarding and had stopped for a moment. He looked at me like I was crazy. But I ignored them both, just staring at Lynn. This was between me and him. When he was done laughing he took a puff of his cigarette and said, “Excuse me?” like he didn’t have any idea what was going on.

  He seemed different. His overall body language had changed. It was like he was a chameleon and blended in with whoever he was with. Just the other day he was all dressed up to meet my parents. Now he looked laid back like he was some stoner who didn’t give a shit about anything. He wasn’t so intimating like this.

  The strange feelings were still there, my hate, the chill he’d sent up my spin just looking at him but they seemed duller, more distant. Perhaps it was my burning rage. I was actually able to glare at him as I hissed, “I know you’re behind this,”

  “Behind what,” he said chuckling again.

  “What you blaming him for this time?” said Andrew before he took a drag of his cigarette and teased, “Your cat go missing?”

  Lynn must have told Andrew about the incident with our dog. I know dad had asked Patrick to look into it. He, like me, hadn’t thought it was just some prank. Both Andrew and Lynn looked at me like I was some annoying pest but I knew what was going on. He could deny it all he wanted but I knew. “You.. You threatened me and now strange stuff has been happening,”

  “Oh...Okay,” said Lynn looking at Andrew. They both shared a look like they thought I was delusional. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t.

  My anger boiled in me, “Just stop it! Whatever you’re doing, stop it!”

  Andrew looked annoyed and stepped up to me. Without a word he reached out and flicked my forehead as if he were flicking crumbs off a table. I stumbled back more startled then anything, “Why don’t you and your lunatic father stop it? Always reporting him for shit he didn’t do. Just back the fuck off,”

  “Yeah,” said Dannie, coming into the conversation, “He ain’t interested in your skank ass,”

  “I’m not a skank,” I said.

  “That’s not what I heard,” said Dannie. He moved his hand and mouth, motioning a blow job. I was disgusted. I’d never done that in my life.

  “Just get lost you crazy bitch,” said Andrew, “Before I call the police,”

  I looked at Lynn and he just smirked at me, his eyes half slits. He found this all quite amusing. I clenched my fists and raged one last time, “Just leave me and my family alone! I’ll never submit to you...EVER!”

  I turned to storm off but Andrew rushed up behind me. He kicked my ass and I fell to the ground as pain surged through it. I landed right in a puddle from last night’s rain. The guys all burst into laughter. I couldn’t believe he’d just kicked me. I was shaken but got to my feet.

  I glared at Andrew and he flicked his cigarette at me. I brushed it off and he made a motion like he was going to rush me. I flinched, jumping back, and nearly fell again, tripping on my own shoe laces.

  The boys continued to laugh and I felt utterly embarrassed. I rushed to my bike wanting to get out of there. Dripping with puddle water and a sore ass I pedaled away, feeling stupid. Things hadn’t gone exactly as I’d planned. Then again, I hadn’t planned anything.

  He just seemed so different just now. Did he really have nothing to do with any of this? Was he just that good of a liar? Was I just imagining a connection between everything? No...someone had taken those papers, broken those windows, and left false complaints. Someone had messed with our gate, stolen my laundry, and taken my bike locks. But if, just if, it wasn’t him, then who?

  Chapter Nine

  The obvious choice was Julia if it really wasn’t Lynn, which I was ninety percent sure it was. She was the only one I could think of that could possibly have a grudge against me. Still, I didn’t want to believe it. I knew she was upset with me and probably hurting from Lynn breaking up with her but I didn’t think she could be this vindictive.

  Still...sometimes she could be cruel and oh so petty. I considered going to her house and confronting her but by the time I got home and out of the shower I was pretty sure I was done with confronting for the day. Especially since I still had to tell my parents I’d lost my job. One could only take so much embarrassment in a day.

  I considered not telling them at first but I was sure they’d figure it out eventually when they noticed the truck didn’t drop off paper anymore and I’d stopped setting my alarm. It was going to be so weird not getting up at four every morning.

  I waited until after dinner to tell them. They were just as upset as I was if not more so. My mom wanted to talk to my boss. My dad wanted to call Patrick. He, like me, was sure Lynn had done this. I couldn’t help but think of
what Andrew had said earlier. Everyone thought we were crazy calling the police on Lynn all the time. I thought we had reason but honestly we didn’t have any proof and without proof we had nothing.

  I didn’t tell my parents I’d confronted Lynn or that I thought it could be Julia. I just asked them both not to do anything. I told them it was my life and they needed to let me handle this. They weren’t too happy but agreed not to call anyone and let me handle things for now.

  Of course, I choose to handle things by falling into a deep depression. It was pretty easy to do with no school, no job, and no friends. I locked myself in my room for a week giving myself some time to ‘think’ but really I didn’t do much thinking at all. I found I didn’t want to think. I’d been overthinking lately. I just let myself relax. I ate junk food and binge watched foreign dramas.

  I knew eventually I should do something. I considered going to my boss’s office and asking him to investigate further, to plead my case harder, but he seemed to have his mind made up on the phone. There was only so much you could do when someone had made a decision.

  I considered just finding another job but with all the rumors going around about me lately I wasn’t sure anyone would hire me. I also knew someone was messing with me. Perhaps if I got another job they’d mess with that too. I needed to think, come up with a plan, but as the days slipped into each other one after another I found things were quiet and peaceful for once.

  Nothing strange happened. Of course nothing happened at all. I debated for a few days just staying in my room the entire summer until college started, but was scared I might be tempted to spend the rest of my life in my room.

  When more than a week had passed, I found myself finally getting stir crazy. I was desperate to do something outside the house. My mom was more than happy to take me along on her errands. Both my parents had been trying to be supportive and understanding but my mom was beginning to think I might become a hermit.

  We had some time before she needed to pick my brothers up from day camp. So we paid some bills, dropped off some mail, and went shopping at the local Nibbys’. I followed her around a few aisles as she grocery shopped but eventually wandered off on my own and found myself in the clothing section.

  I didn’t have a lot of money but thought it might be nice to replace some of the clothes that had gone missing. I looked through a few racks and then laughed when I remembered how much I hated shopping for clothes. I remembered Julia used to drag me around shopping with her all the time.

  Most of the time she didn’t get anything but she liked to browse. She’d even throw her own fashion shows in the changing rooms. The stores used to get testy when she’d try on more than twenty outfits in a row. Of course, after she got her credit card when we were sixteen they became her biggest fans. A few store clerks would even cheer when she did her catwalks.

  I let out a heavy sigh thinking of her. I was still so angry at her. I’d been angry before but we’d never fought for more than a week. Now it was already a month. I bit my lip and couldn’t believe how much time had flown by. I tried not to think about it, about her.

  I wandered over to some dresses and saw a pretty purple dress embroidered with various colors of flowers. I wondered if it might go good with some black ankle boots. It sucked Nibby’s didn’t have a shoe section, or that I didn’t have any black ankle boots of my own. I’d always borrowed them from-

  “Purple was never your color,” I froze wondering if I was imaging Julia’s voice.

  It took me a second to realize she was behind me. It was the first time she’d acknowledged me, spoken to me, since the park. I found myself grasping the shirt tighter than I should. I let it go as she moved into view and stood on the other side of the rack.

  I glanced at her and then looked back down at the dress. I wasn’t sure what I should do in that moment. Should I curse her out, confront her about everything that had been going on lately, or just walk away? I wasn’t sure I could forgive her…

  She moved to another rack and picked out a dress. She lifted it for me to see. Her voice sounded a little emotional, “Now teal...teal makes your eyes pop,”

  I felt my anger subside a bit. I didn’t know if she’d done anything to me or not. She might have but she might also be innocent and this could be our only chance to make up. I bit my lip and made my decision. Still, I wasn’t going to make it easy for her.

  I pretended to ignore her and kept browsing. After a few seconds she looked impatient. When it looked like she might walk away I spat, “Hmp, here I thought you wouldn’t be caught dead shopping for clothes in a Nibby’s.”

  She cracked a smile, “Who’s to say I was looking at clothes? I’ll admit from time to time they have good scarves,” she wrapped the scarf she was wearing around her neck, “But I stand by my earlier declaration,”

  “Scarves are still clothes,” I said rolling my eyes.

  “Accessories, scarves are accessories. Have I taught you nothing all these years?”

  “Right,” I said. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her. I tried not to get emotional, “It suits you,”

  “Of course it does,” she said, “And that doesn’t suit you,” She nodded to the purple dress I was still standing in front of, “Now,” she continued. She still had the teal dress in her hand and started to walk away. Instinctively I followed her over to a full length mirror. She put the dress in front of me, “This does,”

  I looked into the mirror and the dress did in fact match my eyes. I considered telling her how good she was, but she already knew that. Instead I teased, “I don’t know, I was thinking of doing the purple dress with some black ankle boots.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head, “Just give it up already. It’s not happening,”

  Julia held the dress up to me for a second longer before she put it on some random rack. She didn’t even bother hanging it up. I picked it up and quickly put it back. She continued to browse through the clothes and I followed her. After a few minutes she gave up on finding anything she considered decent, “It’s a wonder anyone can find anything here,”

  “Your scarf is nice,” I pointed out.

  “To be honest,” she said, “I didn’t get it here. Came in the mail last week,”

  “Oh,” I said and we both laughed.

  A second later there was silence. It was quickly becoming awkward. I bit my lip and knew I should do something, “So...how have you been?”

  “Not the greatest, but I got over it,” she sighed before pursing her lips.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, knowing I probably wouldn’t hear it from her. Usually when we fought I’d apologize a lot and we’d just move on. I knew the power in our relationship wasn’t even but figured that was common in most friendships.

  “Let’s not talk about it,” she turned looking back at the clothes, “How have you been? I heard you lost your job,”

  “Oh,” I said. Again I wondered if she had something to do with it.

  She stared at an orange long sleeve shirt for a moment and then surprised me, “I’m sorry. I know how much it meant to you,”

  It was peculiar for her to say she was sorry, and to show empathy. I studied her face to see if she was teasing me or lying but she seemed sincere. “Thank you,”

  “How’d it happen?”

  I didn’t feel like rehashing it again, “Long story,”

  “Well, you look busy,” she quipped.

  “I’m kind of here with my mom,”

  “We both know that woman can look at spices for days. Ditch her and come hang out with me,”

  I wasn’t sure if I should. We were talking but there were still a lot of things between us, “I don’t know,”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m still kind of mad, “I admitted.

  “And I’m not?” she said, offended.

  I paused for a moment. This was exactly the best place to have it out with her but I wanted to know, “Why’d you lie and tell everyone I had sex with him in the park
?”

  “I didn’t lie,” she said.

  I couldn’t believe her, “Yes, you did.”

  “Since when is finger fucking not sex? It could be foreplay, I suppose,”

  “Ugh,” I said disgusted.

  “Whatever,” she said, “I’m over it. I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. I don’t want to fight with you anymore. So, can we not?”

  I was still really mad at her. I wanted her to take it back but I also shared her same desire, “I don’t want to fight anymore either,”

  “Then its settled,” said Julia as if it were that simple, “Now, come hang out with me,”

  “Not right now. We’re supposed to pick my brothers up from day camp after this and I promised Tam we’d watch a movie.”

  “Right...you’re turning me down to hang out with your six year old brother,”

  “He’s seven now,” I reminded her.

  “Uh, so glad I’m an only sibling,” she paused for a moment and looked off at something in the distance. A second later she turned to me, “Okay, well, how about later then? I know! Let’s have a sleep over at my place and do some serious catching up,”

  It had been a while since we’d had one, not since finals. “I suppose we could,”

  “How about tonight? And I won’t take any excuses,”

  “Tonight?” I thought about it. It seemed kind of sudden. “I suppose I could ask my parents,”

  “You’re eighteen. You don’t need to ask them anything. I’ll see you around eight.”

  She didn’t wait for me to respond. I watched her scuffle off and knew I could still say no but I’d probably go. I’d been wanting to get out of the house after all. I looked back at the teal dress she picked out and wondered if I should get it.

  After a minute or two, I walked back to the purple one. I knew what she’d said but I liked it just the same. My mom came over a few minutes later, “Oh, there you are. I lost track of time. We’d better get moving- oh that’s nice,” she said seeing the dress I was looking at.