Melanie wiped the sweat from her forehead. She thought it wasn't that difficult to put her belongings in her new room. But after doing it for nearly an hour, she wanted to take back her words. It was suffocating!
Yesterday, she had just moved into her campus dormitory, but it was only this afternoon Melanie finished unpacking and organizing her things. Luckily, she rented a single room. If not, her roommate would have likely kicked her out the very first night.
Thanks to her hard in school, Melanie managed to get into one of the prestigious university, although it was quite far from her home so she necessitating her stay in the dormitory at least until the holiday season. Susan, with her cooking skills and hobby, continued her vocational studies in downtown. Theo made good use of his graduation by traveling abroad to explore places he had never been. Meanwhile, Abe with his fondness for gaming equipment in his room, didn't want to go far and continued his education at a nearby university so he could still pursue his hobbies without interruptions.
Although they were starting to drift apart according to their own interests and desires, they remain committed to keeping in touch via social media. This way, no matter how far apart they are, communication can still happen whenever they had time.
Susan: "Happy college day starting tomorrow Monday, Melanie Dear! Luckily for me, I can have a bit more time than you ;P"
Melanie: "Thanks, Babe! I'm so excited but also nervous to see what it's like to be a college student."
Theodore: "Congrats, Mel! Sorry but gotta go guys! Entering the dessert, don't want my phone to overheat! See you guys later!"
Abraham: "Why be nervous? It's no different except it has 'college' in front of 'student'. And I hope you don't become a mummy too soon, bro."
Melanie sighed and lay back on her bed. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, filled with a million thoughts and speculations about what awaited her tomorrow Monday. Her first day as a college student.
As she thought about refreshing herself with cold shower, her phone vibrated again, signaling an incoming message. However, this time it wasn't from her friends. It was an unknown number. An unregistered number, to be exact.
Unknown: "Nice to communicate with you, Melanie Thanes. I am your admirer. Looking forward to your nice behavior."
Melanie instinctively jumped up from her bed, reflexively throwing her phone to the other side of the room. When she realized what she had just done, Melanie hurried over to her phone, which luckily had only cracked on the side. She sighed deeply. But it wasn't long before the same number haunted her again. As if reminding her that what she had seen earlier was not just an illusion.
Unknown: "Do not worry. Maybe you do not know, but your type of phone is nicely built so the materials cannot be easily damaged. I know this because I adore tech so much that I can track your number even without your permission."
After reading the message from this anonymous sender, Melanie realized that her privacy was now threatened. Someone with a sweet disguise had invaded her privacy, making her feel uncomfortable. Even worse, this person seemed to know exactly what she was doing and had just done. How did he know? Had he hacked into her phone's functions entirely? Or was there an invisible camera in her room? What if she had made the wrong choice when she decided to move into this dorm?
Unknown: "I barely managed to control your phone, not your room. I know that it is not ethical, but I would not go further to monopolize your room until you make me really angry."
"Then how could you know I'm searching every nook of my room if you don't see me?!" Melanie shouted, unsure of what to do, realizing she couldn't outsmart the person behind the unknown number that was bothering her.
Unknown: "I thought you were smart, Melanie. Then, how about you check your phone first? Does it have a camera on it? How much? One lens? Two?"
Melanie sighed, admitting her own foolishness in her panic. With a deep breath, she rubbed her face with both hands and let her face sink into darkness for a moment.
"Why shouldn't I make you angry?"
Melanie sat upright with a neutral expression, staring directly at her phone's front camera lens. "What do you wanna do if I make you angry? Will you punish me and install a hidden camera in my room? And then what? Threaten me? Kill me?"
For a moment, Melanie waited for a response from the anonymous. But her phone remained silent until, finally, after ten minutes, the device she had placed on the floor vibrated again.
Unknown: "No. How could I? You are like my life core. If you die, I will die too. No worry. It is just a little punishment, I assure you. But still, do not try to make me angry if you do not want to see it."
Melanie sighed, "What a bullshit."
Unknown: "Melanie, let me tell you that I love everything about you. But maybe from now on, you can reduce your swear words. For your own good."
"Who the heck triggered me to say that, huh?" Melanie replied emphatically. "Also, you're not my teacher nor my parents."
Unknown: "Indeed. But I will be the one who knows you best."
~until tomorrow~
Melanie walked behind a line of seniors and her new friends with tired eyes. The excitement of her first day had faded away since yesterday when she received terror from the anonymous number. Until this morning, the person behind that number still kept reminding her that what happened yesterday was not just a nightmare.
Unknown: "Always keep your phone close to you, Melanie. If not, I cannot control myself from putting a camera in your bedroom as its replacement."
That message made her morning even worse, making her feel like digging a hole and burying herself there would be more enjoyable than anything else. In the end, not wanting to further erode her freedom with camera in her room, Melanie reluctantly followed his orders.
This afternoon, after receiving a tour and other knowledge as a new student, Melanie joined her new friends for lunch in the cafeteria. Together with them, she tried to divert her attention from thinking about silly things and focus on her new path in life. Her future.
Unknown: "A little advice from me. Avoid the blonde beside you. She sounds toxic, trying to make you spill your bad side from your kindness. Also, the guy who is so chatty from the beginning obviously has an eye on you. Go away from him. I hate it."
Without a warning from this anonymous, Melanie could also tell that the girl next to her had a certain motive for asking her several questions even though it seemed like a normal curiosity. But what about her male friend? Why should he dislike it if he had an interest on her?
Holding back her annoyance, Melanie replied to the anonymous, "So what if you hate it? You want to lock me in so I can't go outside anymore? Then how about the other male friends I just befriended? And my old friends? Do you want me to avoid them too?"
Unknown: "To be truly honest, I do. But just say I try to spare you until I see one of you go overboard. You still do not want to encounter any hidden camera, right?"
Seeing Melanie's silence, her new friends asked her if she was alright. Ignoring the anonymous' threat, Melanie felt touched by the concern of her new friends. For that, she pocketed her phone and focused on her friends, at least until she returned to her dorm room.
~later at night~
After returning from her first day at campus, Melanie collapsed onto her bed. Not because she was too exhausted from her activities throughout the day, but rather something else that was making her mind chaotic.
The vibration of her phone in the coat made her groan. Pointing to her main frustration today, or even since yesterday. If only she could outsmart this anonymous stalker, by whatever means, Melanie would do it. However, with her limited advanced knowledge on tech, unlike her opponent, she reluctantly admitted defeat even before entering the battlefield.
Unknown: "Freshen your body up first, Melanie. Do not go to bed immediately with your dirty clothes. Take a shower. Eat. I sent delivery to you, already on their way."
"I'm really not in the mood," Melanie murmured tiredly. She buried her face in the pillow. "Also, I don't wanna be poisoned with whatever your delivery gives me."
Unknown: "I told you before, I would not kill you, Melanie. And it is your favorite. Lasagna. The big sized one. Are you sure you want to skip it?"
"Argh, you–!"
Melanie instantly stood up straight, glaring at her phone which already dark. With reluctant steps, she went to the bathroom and started wetting her head with cold water to calm her anger.
After refreshing her body and mind, Melanie stared out the window at the end of the street, watching the night begin to take over from the evening. Many people were still bustling about under the light of the street lamps in several spots in front of her dorm building. A calming atmosphere. At least until she heard a knock on the door from the outside.
With food in hand, Melanie turned on her laptop and searched for a movie to accompany her dinner. When she hoped for no interruptions, her phone vibrated again.
Unknown: "How? Is it good? If so, I suppose the restaurant deserves a good review. Anyway, are you okay watching horror at night? You sure are brave, huh?"
Melanie scoffed, almost laughing out loud if she hadn't realized there were still bites of food in her mouth.
"I even kept my calm when I knew there's a crazy stalker bugging my privacy. What? You can't handle horror? Shame on you!"
Her phone went silent, not showing any signs of a new message from the annoying anonymous. For a moment, Melanie thought that person was too embarrassed, upset, or insulted because she had managed to guess that he really couldn't handle horror. However, the message appeared after ten minutes.
Unknown: "You make me laugh so hard, Melanie. That was cute, Pumpkin. Well done. But me? Scared of horror? Seriously? Try harder next time, yeah?"
"Don't you dare give me a nickname!" Melanie yelled while pausing her movie. "I don't even know your name or your identity! That's unfair!"
Unknown: "You do not need it, yet."
"Ha! So you're fine if I call you Mr. Unknown Number? Mr. Anonymous? Mr. Freak? Or Mr. Stalker?"
Unknown: "I did all that only to you, so I guess I do not really mind it. For now."
Melanie let out a heavy sigh. Her emotions were overflowing to the point that she felt her head was steaming and just waiting to explode.
"You're nuts!" Melanie retorted in rage. "Have you ever gone to psychiatry?"
Unknown: "People said I have extraordinary intellect. So, no. I never met one."
"Idiot and mental are different, you fool!"
Her appetite was gone. Melanie stared blankly at her food, which she hadn't even eaten half of. She sighed, then wrapped it up and put it in the fridge. Melanie turned off the lights in her room, took her laptop back to the desk, and then lay down on the bed.
Unknown: "Worry not, Pumpkin. I will tell you my name, but not now. Patient. Until the time comes."
Melanie clicked her tongue, "Just–why pumpkin? I'm human. Are you perhaps addicted to all food with pumpkin as its ingredient?"
Unknown: "Adorable guess, but no. Have you never looked in the mirror? You have gorgeous ginger hair. Pumpkin. Magnetic field of green eyes. The leaf."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes, starting to feel nauseated and beginning to guess where this conversation was headed. "Alright, stop that. You're starting to act like a pervert if you still insist on continuing."
Unknown: "I want to, but now I will obey. Also, I prefer to hear that directly, not by text, when you call me that again until we see eye to eye."
Melanie shook her head which starting to ache. She felt the needed to rest or her head would truly explode soon.