Lindsey has a great life. She was starting high school in the fall and could not wait. Throughout middle school she had some friends, but no one to go see movies with, or get ice cream;  never someone who really got her. She then decided to try and meet people online. It was the end of seventh grade and Lindsey got an ad for online journaling. “Make friends from across the world!” was their slogan. When she looked further into it, she wrote a letter just because why not. It was public so anyone between ages 10 and 16 could respond. 

“Dear friend, Hi! My name is Lindsey, I have a cat named Pickles, I love drawing and want to make new friends.” Around a week went by when Lindsey lost hope. Then on a friday afternoon she heard the faint notification from her who-knows-how-old computer. It was the type you had to keep plugged into a wall because her mom could not afford a new one. She ran to that computer and spammed the power button as fast as her fingers could go. She clicked the faded blue icon and saw someone had messaged her back. “Dear Lindsey, My name is Mae. I saw your message and you seem super cool! We're the same age too. I am from Massachusetts.” The letter read. Lindsey couldn’t wait and messaged back right away. “I live in New York. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Lindsey replied. She was so excited to meet new people and thought she seemed super cool.

 It was time for her to go to bed so she curled up and fell asleep. It was around 2:30 AM when Lindsey saw a light through her window. Unaware of the time, she assumed it was her neighbor taking their dog out and fell back asleep. The morning came and Lindsey noticed handprints on her window. She then went to tell her mom, who told her to get some windex and wash it off. “Stop putting your hands on the windows and there won’t be hand prints.” Her mom demanded. Rolling her eyes, Lindsey knew she wasn’t the one to do that. 

Throughout the day, more and more weird things occurred: Random footprints, misplaced items, distant noises and more. Pulling out the chair for her dusty computer, Lindsey sat to write her new friend a letter. She was pretty freaked out and wrote about her day and the strange occurrences. Around an hour later, she eventually got a reply. “Dearest Lindsey, I wouldn’t worry about that stuff. You’re just paranoid. By the way, you have a really cool room. Talk tomorrow. From, Mae.” The letter read. Lindsey racked her brain but couldn’t remember sending Mae a picture of her room. Lindsey felt like she’s had a second shadow all day but as everyones told her, it’s nothing to worry about. 

The day had passed and Lindsey began preparing her school bag for tomorrow. The morning arrived and she was in her car on the way to school.  Lindsey noticed a man biking alongside them for most of the ride. He was tall, looked older, and wore a brown and green flannel. Once at school, she noticed him parking his bike and walking into the school. “Somethings not right.” Lindsey thought out loud. She was nervous and caught off guard but not sure why. After a long school day filled with nerves and anticipation, Lindsey was back home and shocked by what she saw. Large dusty footprints, opened food, trash and a brown and green flannel lying on the ground near her open bedroom window. Lindsey ran out of her house and hopped on her bike to get to the police station. She pedalled as fast as she could and ran in explaining the situation. “Slow down, slow down!” The officers told her. Once settled down, she explained what she saw and swore that man was in her house.  

Lindsey hopped in the cop car as they drove back to her house to investigate. Her heart beat fast and her mind raced with possible outcomes of the situation. Getting a good look at the evidence, the police asked who she’s talked with in the last few days. “Besides my mom I don’t have many people to talk to.” Lindsey explained. “My online friend Mae has been sending me letters lately but that’s it. The two daunting cops look at eachother like the puzzle pieces had just come together. “What? What is it?” Lindsey said, questioning the looks on their faces. “We’re gonna need to see the computer you use to talk to your friend on.” The cop replied. Linsdey showed them to the computer as they pulled out some fancy looking electronics. They began hooking stuff up like chords and screens to her dusty computer. 

Lindsey's mind was racing with questions. “What are they doing? Do they think Mae is involved? Where is the guy?” Her thoughts were practically spilling out of her. Lindsey's mom should be getting home from work soon as well. “Bingo!” She heard the cop shout from the other room. “What happened?” Lindsey eagerly asked. “We were able to access the location of your online friend. It should be loading in any second now.” He explained. Within seconds, their looks of joy turned to confusion and anger. “It says they are right here.” He showed Lindsey the screen showing where they were. “That’s right outside my room, follow me!” Linsdey shouted. 

She led them out to the shed outside her room. Guns in hand, the police banged on the door. No response. They then opened it to find just what was suspected. A man, in front of them, dark eyed and somewhat scared. One police officer went to grab him and the man didn’t resist. He simply smirked at Lindsey and accepted the handcuffs being placed on his wrists. The officers then found his computer with messages and pictures of Lindsey, taken unknowingly. He was pretending to be a fifteen year old from Massachusetts. Linsdey had trouble sleeping for the next few nights haunted by his smile. 

When her mom arrived home, she spent an hour explaining what had happened. Finally crawling into bed next to her mom, Lindsey heard a faint notification from the computer. Her mom immediately hopped up and unplugged it. “Tomorrow let's go see a movie together.” Her mom said. “And ice cream?” Lindsey asked. “And ice cream.” Her mom replied, tucking her in for the night.