UNTOUCHABLE

Two

2|CAT AND MOUSE

"Someone heard us!" I exclaimed at Camille when we were riding the bus going to school.

"Heard what?" She said while texting on her phone.

"Our conversation on the bleachers at the tennis court during lunch yesterday! You know. . . about me!" I said half exclaiming and half whispering. Her hand halted from tapping her phone and looked at me at last.

"What!? Who? And how did you know?" She asked in surprise.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and showed her my conversation with Four. She snatched my phone and started reading it.

"That stalker called his own name as Four. That's not even a name. I'm sure that that crazy s**t was playing games on me!"

"Wait! Four just texted you again!" Camille exclaimed and I snatched my phone from her hands reading Four's message.

Four: Hey! Good morning, puceau! : )

"Who the fvck is puceau! And what's with this blushing emoticon for?" I exclaimed while jabbing my phone with my index finger annoyingly just when Four texted again.

Four: If you're wondering what puceau means, it's virgin in french.

I felt my cheeks heated up and heard Camille trying to stifle a laugh. I glared at her. "It's not funny!"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I know. We should search the owner of that number, right?"

"Exactly!"

"But where are we gonna start?" She asked and I bit my nail. "Stop biting your nails, will you? You look gross."

"School." I said and made a face at her and started typing a reply to Four.

Me: what r ur true intentions!?

Four immediately replied and Camille leaned closer to read Four's reply.

Four: Nothing. I just find it amusing that those rumors i heard about you turned out to be just rumors after all.

Me: you don't have the intention of telling anyone about it?

Four: No.

I felt relieved and Camille exhaled upon reading his reply. I was about to type thank you when I received another message from Four.

Four: But i might change my mind. It depends on you.

"What. . ." I frowned and looked at Camille before typing again.

Me: what do you mean?

Four: I want you to buy my silence.

"Ha!?" I gasped. I don't have money to buy Four's silence! Camille snatched my phone from my hands and started typing a reply when Four sent a message again.

Four: And by buying doesn't mean money. I just want you to talk to me, you can say that i'm one of your fans.

"Oh, gosh! As clear as the crystals, this Four's hitting on you! I'm so sure of it, Coby!" Camille said.

"What!?" A shiver runs down my spine. If Camille's true then I am being stalked by some lonely stranger who was trying to hit on me. I felt like I should be cautious. What if I would be kidnapped, raped and killed!? What the fvck! It sounded as if I was a woman, but I already heard news like that. I shivered.

**

I was skimming my notes recalling what I studied yesterday while I was walking down the corridor. We were having a long quiz on Analytic Geometry. Our instructor was already distributing the test papers when I went inside the room and I hurried on settling myself to my chair. I glanced at the test paper: one to ten were identification and the rest were numbers and problem-solving.

"The same rules apply during my exams. If ever I will catch you cheating or a single rotation of your head, five points will be deducted. Do I make myself clear?" Mr. Baton said. He never liked cheater.

"Yes, sir." We said in chorus and began the test.

"And, no calculator, no test." Mr. Baton added.

The first few questions were easy but I encountered a question where I knew the answer but I couldn't figure it out on number four.

Seriously, four?

I played my pen with my hand, a hobby when I was thinking and I decided to skip that number when I felt my phone vibrated inside my pocket.

I didn't know why but I kinda wanted to check who texted me. It wasn't as if I was cheating anyway. I pulled my phone out hiding it of course and read the message from—oh, the timing— Four. My eyes went wide when I read his message.

Four: Antinomorphy

I glanced at the question I was about to skip. Four's message was the answer to the question in number four! How did he know? I felt like I was freaking out. So, Four's one of my classmates! I turned my head above and looked at my classmate's faces.

"Coby Beaton." Mr. Baton said catching all the attention of my classmates and glanced at me.

Fvck me!

I slowly slipped my phone inside my pocket again when I saw Mr. Baton approaching me with a violet ballpen on his hand. I screwed! I really forgot about how forbidden it was to turn my head. I gave my paper to him when he motioned his hand to hand it and wrote something above while clicking his tongue.

"No turning of heads." He said and handed me back my paper.

I suppressed a groan when I read what Mr. Baton wrote at the upper left of my test paper. A big minus five points in figures. Great!

**

I passed my paper after reviewing my answers before I glanced at my back again. Though I didn't really know all their names, all I saw were familiar faces and they were busy tapping with their calculators. I couldn't even imagine one of them was Four. And I didn't even know if Four's a girl or a boy!

I pulled my phone when I felt it vibrated again in my pocket.

Four: why did you look at your back, i***t.

I snorted and scanned the room if whoever was using their phone. No one. They were busy with the test and their calculators.

"Coby, you can go." Mr. Baton said.

I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the room while glancing again. I pulled my phone and texted Four when I was walking to my next class.

Me: who are you?

Surprisingly, Four replied instantly.

Four: I am number four.

I rolled my eyes annoyingly and typed my reply.

Me: I'm not playing games with you 'four!' Note the sarcasm there? Imma block ur number on my phone and done!

Four: Did u forget your secret?

I paused and stopped from walking and thought maybe that Four was just blackmailing me. He just wanted to play with me. Maybe this stalker didn't even have the guts to announce it out loud in the whole school that I. Am. Still. A. Fvckin'. Virgin.

Me: I don't care. Go ahead.

So what if they knew? Was it bad being a virgin? I should be proud of it, yeah? And I didn't think I was the only untouched here.

Four: you think i can't do it?

I narrowed my eyes at Four's message but I didn't give him any reply. Suit yourself. And at least, I didn't block the bastard. I shove my phone in my pocket and went inside my next class, Social Science.

I made a face when I saw the board. Another session of jotting down notes. Some or maybe the majority of my classmates just took a picture of the board and done. I didn't do it, maybe if I was really in a hurry. I was almost done taking notes when I felt my phone buzzed but I didn't bother to read it. It would be another message from that Four.

But it suddenly got annoying when it kept vibrating in my pocket. I pulled my phone out and read the messages.

Four: I'm telling the whole school about it.

Four: hey!

Four: i'm serious!

Four: last warning, puceau!

Four: I'll countdown five to one and if I don't receive any reply from you, that's it.

I frowned while reading the messages especially when I read the word puceau. I googled it when I was still on the bus with Camille and yes, it was indeed a French word. Well, back to Four. He just wanted someone to text him back! What would he gonna do if I wouldn't reply? Tell the school by a group message that I am a puceau? That i***t was crazy! He thought they would believe him? Countdown, my ass.

I placed my phone on the table and continued writing down notes when the speaker that was connected to the media room released a scratching sound and my heartbeat went faster when I heard a robot sound countdown coming from the speaker, and every room in the school has speakers.

"5. . ."

"4. . ."

It can't be Four's doing!

"3. . ."

I grabbed and unlocked my phone and tapped it sending him a message so fast that I pressed the wrong keys.

Me: oksy stip!

"2. . ."

The countdown stopped and I also stopped from breathing. He was fvcking serious!

"What was that?" The room became noisy.

"That was weird!"

I stood, grabbed my bag, went out to the room and jogged to the media room located a floor above me when my phone buzzed again.

Four: Did you had a mini heart attack? That was hilarious! I thought you said 'okay strip'.

Me: where the hell are u?

I replied while climbing the stairs to the next floor.

Four: Somewhere in front of you.

I halted my steps when I reached the second floor and looked ahead when students just started to come out from their rooms for lunch and flooded the corridor.

How can I see this fvcking stalker in this crowd!?

I wanted to throw my phone on the ground. This Four was definitely toying with me!

**

"Hey! Earth to Coby Beaton!"

I glanced at Camille who was raising a brow at me. We just arrived from school and I directly threw myself on the couch. I sat.

"Did you heard the countdown?"

"What countdown?" She said and went to the kitchen. I stood and followed her. "By the way, did that Four texted you again?"

"Wait, you didn't hear the countdown? The five, four, three, two?"

"No. What's that for?" She opened the refrigerator.

"That bastard." I murmured. It was the only room where I was in that he broadcasted that fvcking countdown. He fooled me. I pulled my phone.

"Look, read this." I scrolled where Four messaged me about the countdown. Camille went and skimmed the messages.

"Wow. You're getting along!" She said and I rolled my eyes.

"This sucker used the speaker to announce his countdown, it freaked me out!"

"Seriously? How come I didn't hear it?"

"I don't know how Four did it, it was only released to the room where I was in and I think Four's one of my classmates in Math. We were having this exam and I was stuck in a number, not to mention it was number four, when I felt my phone vibrated." I searched for that message and let Camille see. "Four just texted me the answer!"

"Impossible!" She snatched my phone. "So Four was just around you." I nodded.

"I will find this Four and have my revenge for making me a fool."

"I'm with you, bro." Camille nudged her shoulder to mine.

"Thanks, sis." I punched her shoulder lightly.

"How about me?"

We both turned our heads and we saw mom grinning while looking at the both of us.

"What are you two talking about? You both look so serious." Mom said squinting her eyes at my phone. I slowly slipped it inside my back pocket.

"Nothing, mom. School stuff." I kissed mom on the cheeks and Camille did the same. "Welcome home, mom. So, I need a shower and change my sweaty shirt, gotta go." I said and jogged outside the kitchen to avoid any more questions from mom. I didn't want of course for mom to know about whoever that sick bastard that was texting me.