Free Eyes of a Stalker by Valerie Sherrard

seriously.”
    â€œOkay, but I still don’t think any of us should be discussing him,” I said, “especially since we know he has, uh, problems. This kind of talk could ruin his reputation.”
    â€œOh, don’t be ridiculous,” Jimmy said with a slow smile. “Anyway, writers
want
people to think they’re eccentric.”
    â€œWhatever,” I said, still angry. I told myself I was overreacting because of everything that was going on. “Anyway, I have to go. I need to get some stuff out of my locker before class.”
    â€œYou
do
go a bit overboard sometimes,” Betts said as we made our way down the hall.
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œDon’t snap at me. Anyway, I mean, you know, about not gossiping. Like, if someone acts all psycho in front of a whole group of kids, you think that’s going to stay quiet? In Little River?”
    She was right. There was no way there wasn’t going to be talk about Webster.
    â€œYeah, well, I don’t have to be part of it,” I said.
    â€œNo, but you don’t have to jump down someone’s throat over it either.”
    â€œI’m surprised at you,” I added, though that was an out-and-out lie. “You’ve seen how much harm gossip can do.”
    â€œThis is different,” she insisted. “Anyway, maybe we should just drop it.”
    Typical, I thought. The second Betts thinks she’s going to lose an argument, she changes the subject. Then I decided I wasn’t being fair.
    â€œI’m just so stressed,” I said, and I told her about the e-mail I’d received the night before.
    â€œYou mean he was stalking you when Greg was walking you home?”
    â€œThere’s no other explanation for it.”
    â€œThat is
so
creepy.” Betts shivered and looked around. She lowered her voice to a whisper, even though there were only a few students at the lockers, and none of them seemed to be paying the least attention to us. “Do you think he could be listening to us right now?”
    â€œI doubt it,” I said, but I found that I was whispering, too.
    â€œSo, you think the police will really find out who it is today? After they check the e-mail and stuff?”
    â€œHopefully.” I thought it was odd how normal my voice sounded, as if it wasn’t that big a deal to me. The truth was, it was pretty much all I thought about all day. I somehow managed to get through my classes, but I was really tempted to ditch drama.
    â€œLet me use your cell phone,” I said to Betts when we got to our lockers. “I think I’ll call Mom to come and get me now. I don’t think I can handle drama today.”
    â€œI don’t blame you,” she said as she dug through her book bag. “Now where is that thing? I’m sure I put it in here this morning.… Oh, wait, here it is.”
    I dialled our number and listened while the phone rang seven times. “No answer,” I said. “That’s odd. Mom knew she had to pick me up today.”
    â€œDid she know you were supposed to have drama?”
    â€œI told Dad to let her know.” “So, she’s out because she thinks you won’t need a drive for another hour.”
    â€œI guess so. It looks like I’m stuck here, then.”
    â€œYou can probably catch Greg before his bus leaves,” Betts suggested.
    â€œNo. I mean, I know he’d walk me home if I asked him to, but when I mentioned that I had drama after school today and Mom would be picking me up, he said that was great because he needs to study for a big history test he has coming up.”
    â€œSo, what… are you going to stay then?”
    â€œI guess.”
    â€œYou might be able to get a drive home with someone else,” she said.
    â€œNo, I’ll just go to drama after all, and call Mom later.” I didn’t want to admit to Betts that I was afraid to be home alone, even for such a short time. To