Online Boyfriend

The Online Boyfriend is a creepy chain mail about a girl who fears that she is being followed home. She tells her online boyfriend about it, but he says she is just being paranoid. Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked towards her home. The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster and faster. 'I'm just being silly,' she told herself. 'Nobody is following me.' To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept pace with her. She was afraid to look behind her and she was glad she was almost home. 'Please let me get home safe and sound,' she thought. Shannon saw the porch light was on and she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the safety of her own home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there. The sidewalk was empty. After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack. Then, she switched on her laptop and went online. She logged on under her screen name LonelyGirl13. Checking her list of friends, she saw that CuteGuy14 was on. He was her online boyfriend. They had been dating for more than a month. Although they had never seen each other in person, they were planning to meet up during the school holidays. She decided to send him an instant message: LonelyGirl13: Hi. Glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird! CuteGuy14: LOL You watch too many horror movies. Why would someone be following you? I thought you told me you lived in a safe neighborhood? LonelyGirl13: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was just my imagination. I didn't see anybody when I looked out the window. CuteGuy14: You're just being paranoid. LonelyGirl13: I guess so. For a while there, I was worried I had a stalker. CuteGuy14: That's not possible. Unless you gave your real name out online. You haven't done that have you? LonelyGirl13: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know. CuteGuy14: Cool. So how was school today? LonelyGirl13: We played softball and my team won!! CuteGuy14: That's great! Who did you play? LonelyGirl13: We played the Asheville Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL CuteGuy14: LOL. What's your team called? LonelyGirl13: The Canton Wildcats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They're really cool. CuteGuy14: Nice. Did you pitch? LonelyGirl13: No I play second base. Lucky number 7. Anyway, I got to go. Gotta finish my homework before my parents get home. CuteGuy14: What time do they get home? LonelyGirl13: Usually around 8. CuteGuy14: Aw! Do you really have to go? LonelyGirl13: Sorry. I don't want my folks to get mad and ground me or something. Bye! CuteGuy14: OK. Catch you tomorrow. Missing you already. LonelyGirl13: I love you. Bye! CuteGuy14: I love you too, Baby. Talk to you later. Shannon signed out and shut down her laptop. With a sigh, she opened her bag and took out her school books. Meanwhile, CuteGuy14 was still online. He searched for her profile and when it came up, he took out a pen and began to write down what he had learned about LonelyGirl13 so far. First name: Shannon Birthday: Jan. 3, 2000 Age: 13 Hobbies: Softball, singing, skating and going to the mall. Where she lives: Somewhere in North Carolina Besides this information, he jotted down some more pieces of information. She probably lived in Canton. He also knew she was alone in the house every afternoon when she came home from school. Her parents got home from work at 7 PM. He knew she would be playing softball on Thursday afternoons for her school team was the Canton Wildcats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the eight grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all of this in the previous conversations they had online. He had enough information to find her now. When Shannon's parents came home from work, she didn't tell them about her fears that someone had been following her home from the ball park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home on her own. Her parents were always overreacting and she didn't want to give them an excuse. I