★ Cho - Story of a CS Dog ♥ / you may post!

[ri bird.]

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"Cho? Cho, dear, are you alright?"

I shrugged.

Mom's voice was gentle and concerned."What are you looking at?"

Hours after Mr. Maple had jumped out my window, I was still staring out of it,
dumbfounded by what had just happened. I was...dreaming, wasn't I?

"Nothing...I'm alright."
My mom hesitated, but I didn't elaborate. Finally, I heard the soft padding of her
feet as she left my room.

~

On Saturday morning the rain had stopped. The sun came out, shining soft from
behind billowing white clouds. The sunlight poured into my room through my
rosy curtains, giving off a pinkish cast.

I thrust the window open and took a deep breath of air. It was such a brilliant
morning- blue skies and dew frosted grass. Like yesterday had never happened.

However, I forgot my window didn't have a screen. The light breeze curled into
my room, snagging my language arts assignment. It floated out of my window
and drifted away.

"Oh no!" I made a wild grasp, but it was gone. Quickly, I hurled myself down
the stairs and wrenched the door open, racing after the paper. It was high in
the sky, working its way down the street.

I was still in my pajamas and felt stupid, but even for a Saturday morning my
street was quiet and no cars drove by. There was a dead end at my street
leading to an unused meadow behind a shopping plaza. Hopefully it would
stop there and not float any further.

I was still a long way away when I saw it land somewhere behind a copse
of trees in the meadow. I rolled up my sleeves and plunged into the meadow,
ignoring the ominous dead end stop sign. I hated how the prickly tall grass
scratched my legs and tried not to think about ticks clinging to my pajamas.
Mrs. Elroy was a tough teacher and I wasn't looking forward to her wrath.

I shivered. Even though the sun was out, it was still early February and the
morning air was chilly. And it wasn't just that...everything seemed strangely
silent. I couldn't hear birds. Or anything. Just the light wind stirring the grass.

Again I felt the prickling of eyes burning in my back. I turned around. There
was no one. "Hello?" I called. My voice was loud in the empty meadow. It felt wrong.

"Hello?" I whispered again. The eyes were still there, but I couldn't pinpoint them.
Forget it. I'd choose Mrs. Elroy's wrath any day over being snatched by some
serial killer. My thoughts frightened me, and I turned back. I stuck my cold hands
in my pockets, hoping to warm them, and left the meadow quickly.

On the way back to my house, I saw Toby sitting on his driveway with a sort of
gameboy or DS. Crap. I hope he doesn't see me. Toby was this guy in my
school who's had a crush on me since forever, but I'm not into the nerd gamer
type. He's nice and all but awkward.

I shuffled by, hunching my shoulders and hoping to look like some decrepit
old person taking an innocent walk. In pajamas.

"Hey, Cho!"

He saw me. I proceeded to ignore him, but he called again and actually ran
up to me.

"What's up?" He ducked his head shyly.

I stopped and held back a groan. "Nothing. I got to go, see you Toby."

"Oh...okay." He looked at me sadly- it was pitiful, to be honest- as I stalked
away. I felt like such a jerk. But I don't want to lead him on or anything- it's
the best thing to do in the end, I thought.

I went back to my house, locking the door behind me. "Way to start my day,"
I said glumly. "Losing my homework."

I heard my phone vibrate on the dinner table and went to check it. It was from
Annalise: 'Cho, guess what? Will is here, you have to come over!' Annalise's
twin brother Carlson and Will were best friends, so he went to Annalise's house
a lot.

I wanted to go...but I had homework. And I had to prioritize my grades over boys.
Will was at the bottom of my list, and I didn't have time to spare. I typed back:
'No, sorry...I have hw.' I sighed and hit send. I had a long day today.

[ri bird.]

Bump! ^^

[ri bird.]

Bump

[Owl]

Hehe, I saw the link in your siggy and got curious <3
Anyway, I just love your writing style!
Wonderful job so far C:

[ri bird.]

Hehe, I saw the link in your siggy and got curious <3
Anyway, I just love your writing style!
Wonderful job so far C:

Thanks Owl, it means a lot
coming from you!
I'm glad to have another reader! ♥

[ri bird.]

Bump! ♥
I'm on mobile but will try writing another
chapter tomorrow.

[ri bird.]

I hate this stupid mouse. Sometimes high
technology goes to a certain point where it's not even cool. I had a whole chapter
written when I moved my finger and the finger sensitive mouse slid my tab away into
the previous page, and now I can't retrieve it.
This happened twice. I hate you Apple.

[ri bird.]

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I set the phone on the table and shivered. It was freezing in here-was the
heater even on? I turned towards the window to open the blinds.

A pair of malicious red eyes gleamed at me, staring through the slats.

I shrieked and stumbled backwards, gripping the counter for support. I banged
my elbow on the corner and winced, rubbing it painfully. When I looked up the
eyes were gone- but not the icy feeling of being watched.

I reached toward the table and fumbled for my phone, not daring to take my
eyes off the window. I remembered with a jolt that there were black horns
like a ram's on the pale white face. And they had looked very real.

I hid between the counter and fridge, jabbing numbers on my phone. My parents
were at work, but there was no way I was staying in this house all alone. My
mom didn't answer. I buried my head in my arms in frustration, wondering what
to do now.

I couldn't remember having felt more relieved in my whole life when my phone
rang again. It was mom.

"Hey, Cho? Did you call?" She sounded faintly annoyed. "I'm at work, sweetie,
you know that."

"Hi mom...I know, but-" I hesitated. I suddenly realized she would never buy my
story. It was just too crazy- a devil stalking me? She'd probably think I was just
pranking her and get angry about wasting her time.

"But what?"

"Nevermind. Um...sorry for bothering you. Just- yeah. Nevermind."

"Alright...you sure?" I could almost see my mom's face, her forehead wrinkled
with worry.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Cho...You sound a little odd. Let me know if something's up." I waited for
her to hang up first, then lowered the phone from my ear. The house was
silent again. Too silent.

"That's it," I said out loud. "I'm getting out of here." I hurried up stairs, avoiding
the windows, and changed out of my PJs. Leaving the house felt like a huge
weight lifted off my shoulder- outside was bright, outside was where other people
walked and breathed and where demon like stalkers didn't exist.

I followed the sidewalk, not sure where I was going. I just wanted to keep on
walking- to at least look like I'm doing something instead of suspiciously loitering
around the neighborhood like some gang member.

I found myself being suspicious of every bush, thinking about what might be hiding
behind it. I flinched even when a leaf just skittered across my path. The occasional
jogger or dog walker passed me, which made me feel less frightened. It's a safe
neighborhood. There has to be some reasonable explanation for what you saw- some
teenage prankster who snuck into your backyard, a trick of the sunlight.

But I knew that wasn't true. Someone was watching me, and it didn't matter where
I was- it would always find me. Who could it be? What could it be? It couldn't
be Mr. Maple. He had amber eyes. But he had to be connected to it, I knew that.
I didn't start being followed until- ... no. That's not right.

I remembered the feeling of being watched Friday morning in science, and I met Mr.
Mapleafter that. Which caused which? Are they even connected?

I crossed my arms, frowning as I walked. Everything was just unbelievable- things like
these don't happen. Not to me, anyways.

I looked up and saw a small playground, empty and lonely. I was about to walk
right by it, then changed my mind. Why not? I was a little too old for stuff
like that, but it's not like I wanted to be walking around aimlessly until my parents
came home from work. There's no way I'm touching the slide or monkey bars though.

I walked over to the swings, sticking my cellphone in my pocket before sitting
down on one. Slowly, I used my feet to kick myself off the ground. It creaked like
my backyard fence, but it wasn't really a problem when no one else was around.
Better than complete silence.

I remember in Elementary when we used to have recess. The swings were my
favorite- I missed the feeling up soaring up into the air, higher and higher, sometimes
even hoping I could just keep on going up. But then gravity would pull me down
again, and I always forgot about reaching for the sky.

[ri bird.]

Do I have any stalkers so far? xD

[ri bird.]

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I don't know how long I stayed on the playground- all I know was that it was for a very long
time. When the sky started turning dark gray, melting into blue, I decided it was time to go.

I stood up from the swing. My legs were stiff, and I almost fell over, though I grabbed the swing
just in time. The evening air was cold and I half jogged home in a hurry to get back somewhere
warm.

I could see lights on in my house through the windows- mom and dad were home! Relieved, I
slipped inside. "Mom? Dad?" The house was silent. I went to the bird cage in the living room
and stared. A stuffed bird that looked exactly like Morning lay on the bottom of it, glassy
eyed. I reached through the bars and poked it. It was definitely stuffed. That was weird. Why
would mom and dad do something like that? And where did they put Morning?

The microwave beeped, and I walked into the kitchen, opening it. The pasta was cold- it must've
been microwaved a while ago. On the counter was a jar of peanut butter and a knife, the bread
only half spread with peanut butter.

I picked up the peanut butter jar, turning it around in my hands. What was going on? Were mom
and dad making their dinners and they just decided to suddenly leave the house in a hurry?

Or maybe they got kidnapped.

I pushed away the thought. No. Things like that don't happen. Not in my neighborhood.
And definitely not in my life. Just think things through logically- maybe one of their friends
got into an accident and they had to go help them. Or something.

Other than the lamps in the living room, the rest of the house was dark. The blinds were still
open- I closed them, feeling small and alone in the dark house. I tried calling my parents several
times, but they didn't answer.

"Hi, this is Elizabeth Lee! Sorry, I'm not available to take your call right now, please leave a
message and I'll call you back later."

I leaned against the living room wall, sinking down and staring at my phone. Why weren't they
answering? I felt something wet slide down my cheek and I brushed it away. A tear- I was
crying.

"Don't be a crybaby!" I muttered. "It's no big deal, something happened and they're going to be
home in a little bit."

I wasn't hungry, so I changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth, climbing into bed. I reached
toward the lamp and hesitated, then went to the hallway, pulled out the nightlight and plugged it
into my outlet before turning off the lights.

They'll be home by tomorrow- there's nothing I have to worry about.