to the boy behind the chatscreen
by Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
"Did you actually get to talk to her?" she asked me excitedly.
"Yep," I answered with a grin that made fixing my lipgloss in the tiny mirror in my locker next to impossible.
"Well? This is driving me crazy! She only talks to a few people each week. You're like the only person I know of in the entire school who has actually talked to her and she's supposed to be from here. She has to go to this school, we're the only high school in the entire county. Unless..."
I looked at Haylea with a frown and asked the question she obviously left off there for me to ask, "What? Unless what?"
"Unless," she smiled slyly, "Unless you think she could be a middle schooler."
Psh. Shyah, right.
"Psh. Shyah, right. C'mon, Haylea, you've been in that chatroom as much as I have --"
"More."
"I know, right? You know that's no middle schooler. She's so..." I grasped in the dark for the right word.
"Wise?"
"She says she's fifteen. Wise doesn't cut it. Insightful. Yeah, that's the right word. She's so insightful that it's downright amazing. I mean, she reads in that chatroom all week as people present their problems, and then chooses like, what, two or three people every weekend to talk to in her private chatroom? And everyone she talks to has been energized, and inspired and..."
There was a laugh from a few locker-doors down the hall, and I glared over at the freak boy pushing his much-taped glasses up his nose again. What the hell? Where does someone like him, someone like THAT piece of rejected social refuse get off laughing at me?
"Is there something you have to add to the conversation, Bags?"
"Hm? Oh, no, Lucretia. You seem like you're enjoying yourself and I don't want to ruin that." And he said it without so much as a hint of irony. He was deadpan serious.
Of course, that meant I HAD to take the bait, even though I knew it was both a trap and folly.
I sighed mightily, a sigh for the heroine of an epic tale, and asked, "Okay then, schmot guy... ruin it... HOW, exactly pray tell?"
He shook his head and said, "You've been my best friend since before kindergarten, Cree, I don't want you to think I'm making fun of you. But I've seen what this chick writes about in her 'sermons' in that room -- yes, I gave in and checked it out -- and she's not that special. You make it sound like you're joining a new religion."
I just kind of stared at him for a minute. Then the bell rang and he just turned and smiled as he waved with his customary, "See ya at lunch!"
Argh. Boys can be so frustrating! Why the hell was my best friend one of them?!? Okay, a bit of background here... Yes, he's my best friend and yes, he's social refuse... I'm not exactly popular myself -- today's jump in interest due to actually being one of those chosen to talk to Hypatia not withstanding -- but liked enough that associating with Bags (Wilson Kenton Bagston) didn't make people hate me by association. Most didn't really hate him so much as he just wasn't someone anyone tried to include. He was kind of invisible. Well, except to me.
"I don't know why you even bother to talk to that guy," was Haylea's mumbled comfort a moment later.
"Because, Haylea, like he said, we've been best friends since we were kids. You don't just abandon friends."
"Are you kidding, Cree? Where do you think you are? This is high school for crying out loud!" she grinned so I would know she was at least partly kidding.
"C'mon, class... at least I like Drama."
"I'm just saying, Cree, that you need to be careful who you talk to on the internet. She could be some fat creepy old guy sitting in his basement."
"Come on, Bags. You're being paranoid."
"No, Cree," put in Haylea, "he's right about this, I've seen that Dateline NBC thing and there are some serious sickos on the internets."
"Okay, yeah, he is right," I smirked, "but I already had Miss Akane tell me what she thinks. She sat in on one of the weeklies last week and logged the chat. I asked her today during Drama, and she says that from the tone and voice that Hypatia writes in, she's about 95% sure to be a girl, and one about our age, though a very well-read and well-spoken one at that. Trained Psychologist win."
Bags realized I'd outdone him and went back to his burger.
"Anyways, Haylea, it's like... it's like she knows us, but even though we don't talk to her and hang out with her, she's willing to listen to our problems and wants to help us get through rough patches. It's like having really heavy girltalk with you, but without having to feel like we have to match it with a story. You know? She's not trying to make me feel like she's got it as bad, but I get that she's got this massive sorrowful being to her, y'know?"
"I have got to make her list for the private chat sometime. I go in there like every night," grumped Haylea.
Bags snorted.
= = = = = Welcome = = = = =
= = = = = = t o = = = = = =
= = = = Advice Chat = = = =
login: girloutofplace
passx: **********
checking . . . . . .
Welcome back, Hypatia!
Room?
(M)ain (H)ypatia's Astrolabe (L)ounge (E)xit
M
entering . . . . . .
Users in room: 384
Hypatia> Hello, all.
Hypatia> Before anyone gets too excited, there will be no more sessions involving me.
Hypatia> Do not be upset, as I did warn everyone that this could happen.
Hypatia> My friends in school are, I believe, close to figuring me out.
Hypatia> We talked for nearly an hour today after school about, 'Who Hypatia Might Be,'
Hypatia> ... and for me, that's too close for comfort.
Hypatia> I'm sorry for those of you I have not been able to talk to... maybe someday in the future I can do this again.
Hypatia> But, if you all knew the real me, you would not be so eager.
Hypatia> I'm not the kind of girl most of you now -- or ever -- want to associate with IRL.
Hypatia> Goodbye.
Hypatia has logged off.
I closed the door as quietly as I could and sneaked back downstairs. That was Hypatia. THAT was Hypatia?!? Whoa. Maybe... Um. Maybe I should talk to someone about this. I mean, I would usually go and talk to Hypatia! I sat in the kitchen and scowled at the lemon cake.
"Hello, Cree! We haven't seen you around in ages!"
"Hm? Oh, hello, Mrs. Bagston. I was just waiting for Wilson to finish up whatever computer geek stuff he's doing and then we're gonna catch a movie with Haylea and Ramona."
"Oh, okay, would you like a piece of that lemon cake you're staring down, with a tall glass of milk while you wait?"
"Hm? Oh, sure! Thanks. Say, Mrs. Bagston... you ever find out something wonderful about a friend that you're not sure you can tell anyone, even that friend?"
Comments
Outstanding...
The tone seems absolutely right; Bags and Lucretia are depicted very well. The story accomplishes everything it wants to with almost amazing brevity, and it hits hard, even though the big revelation comes as no surprise.
One of the best stories I've read here.
Eric
Nice!!!
You have really good short story here, Edeyn. But I´d like to see it more as first chapter of future series, because plotline seems quite interesting. Please, please, do continue.
Robin
Very nicely done
Very believable characters, very believable voices, short, to the point and very enjoyable. What we all hope for. Well I do at least; I shouldn't speak for everyone else). But wouldn't it be wonderful to have just one sympathetic friend discover my secret and accept me even so?
We here may have a little extra
... to help us strongly suspect who Hypatia is?
I find this extremely well written and with the perfect amount of teasing - a bit like the Dance of the Seven Veils, I suppose.
Congrats!
"The Cost of Living Does Not Appear To Have Affected Its Popularity"
in most, but not all, instances
P.S. - I'm desperate for some more Violet Ajah
Pretty please
Something wonderful...hopefully to those who love us...
Hypatia> But, if you all knew the real me, you would not be so eager
I feel like this all the time...and most of the time, it hurts. Thank you for this.
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
very, very interesting
I think Hypatia will find not having that outlet far too hard to keep up. Eventually, she will have to come clean.
"Treat everyone you meet as though they had a sign on them that said "Fragile, under construction"
dorothycolleen
The girl behind the boy behind the chatscreen
Always great to see a new story by Edeyn here. Touching, packs a lot into a short space, with nice bits of real sounding teen banter & observations on that strange little world called high school. But kind of sad that Hypatia only gets to be a girl in cyberspace; kind of like somebody I heard about- Oh wait, that's me. I hope Cree does tell her. To quote another famous line from Wizard of Oz: "Louie, this could be the beginning of a beautiful freindship..."
What borders on stupidity?
Canada and Mexico.
.
Very well done. Thank you
Very well done. Thank you for sharing it!
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Nice . . . Economical
Friendships are forged for a reason. Did they even know what they loved about each other?
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)