Lurker by Stefan Petrucha Page B

blind messages like I have?”
    â€œNo,” Laurel said. “But they only talk about a few of the service problems people have with these. See, a hacker doesn’t know anything about you, but he’s groovin’ on knowing that he’s messin’ with your life and everybody else’s. It’s like I was sayin’.”
    Mandy read another paragraph of the article, butevery third word was tech slang that she didn’t understand, so she gave up. She’d take Laurel’s word for it. After all, it made perfect sense. Neither of the messages, when taken out of context, was threatening in the least. One was just hahaha , and the other CUL8R , one of the most common phrases she’d come across. She used it herself.
    â€œGod,” Mandy said. “What jerks.”
    â€œTrue enough,” Laurel agreed. “But before you call customer service, let’s check out one more thing.”
    â€œOkay. What?”
    â€œKyle.”
    MC9010025 : Missed u lst night
    Kylenevers : Sorry. Parents dragged me out.:—( What’s up?
    MC9010025 : At a friend’s 2night. Saw u online.
    Kylenevers : It’s my life LOL
    MC9010025 : LOL. Can’t chat long. She’ll be back in a minute.
    Mandy turned to Laurel with a smile and winked. Laurel nudged her with a shoulder.
    Kylenevers : b home l8r?
    MC9010025 : Probably stay here
    Kylenevers : Oh. Drag. Hoping we could chat.
    â€œAsk him,” Laurel said.
    â€œCheck your meds. I’m going to.”
    MC9010025 : Me too. Hey! Friends and I are getting together at Corey’s that restaurant by the mall tomorrow. U should come.
    Mandy felt Laurel’s arm snake around her neck as her friend leaned in close to read Kyle’s reply. Mandy waited anxiously, but it was taking Kyle a long time to answer.
    â€œHe’s going to bail,” Laurel said. “Boy has got glitches.”
    â€œJust wait. Let’s see what he says.”
    Kylenevers : Ugh. Can’t…
    â€œWhat did I say?” Laurel asked, tapping Mandy’s shoulder.
    Kylenevers : Remember my brunch last Sun?
    MC9010025 : Sure
    Kylenevers : Got an early acceptance to Stanford. Have a campus tour on Wed and a meeting with counselor on Thurs. My parents are making a vacation out of it. Ugh. LOL. I just found out we’re leaving Mon morning, so my weekend is kind of screwed. What about next weekend? By then, I’ll need to recharge. Sat night?
    MC9010025 : k. Sounds good.
    Kylenevers : Awesome. It’s a date.
    MC9010025 : Kewl. Chat l8r. Friend coming back. TTFN
    Kylenevers : BFN
    â€œDoesn’t mean anything,” Laurel said defensively. “He’s got all week to bail on you.”
    Oddly enough, Mandy was thinking the exact same thing.

9
    The next morning, Mandy sat at a gleaming white table across from Drew. Most of the dread of the previous evening had faded, and Mandy felt a sense of calm sitting with her friend. They were in Corey’s, the restaurant Mandy mentioned to Kyle the night before. Corey’s was a modern diner with a floor tiled in black marble and high-tech light fixtures that looked like little Chinese hats. The place reminded Mandy of her own house, all slick and polished. As a result, she didn’t usually like Corey’s much, but this was where her friends gathered to drink coffee, gossip, and as was now the case, download information.
    â€œWe had the best time,” Drew said, sounding like it was the most unexpected thing to ever happen. “He’s just so cool, and did you see his car?”
    Mandy was going to remind Drew that the BMW belonged to Jacob’s father, but decided to let her friend enjoy the fantasy. “Yes. How cool was that?”
    â€œI know. My God. Everyone was looking at us. I couldn’t believe it. It was like a fairy tale.”
    As Drew spilled out the details of her date—the restaurant where they had dinner, the movie they saw, the coffee place they