Chapter 1: The Mistyped Number
It was supposed to be a joke. A dumb, dramatic text to my best friend after the most soul-crushing Monday of my life.mention a user
I flopped face-first onto my bed, grabbed my phone, and typed:
“Remind me to throw my math book in a volcano. Mr. Graves is a joy thief.”
Then I hit send, tossed the phone aside, and groaned into my pillow like a tortured ghost.
A second later—buzz.
I rolled over, expecting Nia’s usual over-the-top response. Something like “SAME. Let’s drop out and start a smoothie truck.”
Instead?
UNKNOWN:
“Volcano’s booked until Thursday. Want me to handle Graves in the meantime?”
I sat up, blinking.
Wait... what?
Me:
“Wait. Who is this?”
UNKNOWN:
“You texted me. I assumed it was an emergency.”
My heart did this weird little flutter. Part panic. Part Who is this actual stranger that thinks they're funny?
Me:
“Oops. Wrong number. Meant to text my friend.”
UNKNOWN:
“Lucky me.”
Okay... bold.
Me:
“Alright, mystery person. Consider this your five minutes of fame.”
UNKNOWN:
“Challenge accepted. I’ll make it unforgettable.”
I actually laughed. Not just a nose-snort. An actual laugh.
What kind of random person responds like that?
Me:
“What’s your name?”
UNKNOWN:
“Let’s make this more fun. No names. Just vibes.”
I stared at the message for a second, biting back a smile.
Weird. Totally weird.
And kind of... interesting.
I told myself that was it. Block the number. Go back to my regularly scheduled teenage turmoil
But the next day, while I was pretending to care about triangles in math class—my phone buzzed again.
UNKNOWN:
“Graves ruin your life again today?”
I shouldn’t have replied.
But I did.
Me:
“Define ‘ruin.’”
