Lavender

It’s time for Fandango’s Story Starter prompt.

We are to use this sentence somewhere in our stories: The anonymous text message she received simply said “very clever.”

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Janelle was thrilled with her new cell phone — a Google Pixel 9a. It did everything but flush the toilet it seemed. All she really cared about though, is that it deterred her crazed stalker. He’d harassed her for the past eight months. At least she thought it was a man. It could very easily be a woman, too. Or even a bot.

Her new phone number was obtained with her father’s Top Secret security clearance. It’s supposed to be impossible to trace, and if someone tried to buy the information it would cost $100,000.00.

Only her closest friends and family would have the number.

After school, Janelle met her friends at Jake’s. It had become a tradition, every Tuesday afternoon at Jake’s.

They ordered Cokes and fries and onion rings, as usual. Just as the waitress left their table Janelle’s phone made a noise. She assumed it was either her mom or brother, but it wasn’t. The anonymous text message she received simply said “very clever.”

Something inside Janelle snapped. She’d never responded to the texts before but now she was done playing. She texted back, “Thanks. I thought so too.”

“I like your shirt. You look very pretty in lavender.”

How did he know that? Janelle perused around the restaurant, but everyone seemed to be busy with their own affairs. She looked out the window, but no one was parked outside. Just heavy traffic going by.

“Thanks, I like your shirt too.” Janelle wanted to throw up. “Y’know what else? You gonna look hot in orange. It’s a good thing too. You’ll be wearing it for a long time. You sick mother–.”

The waitress brought their food and Janelle put the phone down. As she and her friends chatted about everything, Janelle would glance at her phone every so often. Nothing.

The girls finally finished up and decided to head home. It had been an hour since Janelle texted the stalker.

So, she texted again just to mess with him. “What’s wrong, sweet pea? You scared?”

It bounced.