Sara Shepard - Toxic

Spencer sat back. It was an interesting perspective. Years ago, she and her friends had stood idly by as Ali tormented kids, too. Sometimes, Spencer had even actively participated. She remembered laughing at Mona’s askew glasses or Chassey Bledsoe’s ubiquitous Razor scooter. She’d helped write teasing missives on the sidewalk outside Mona’s house and, one time, filled her locker with tampons with their tips painted bright red.

She started to write a response. Dear Greg, Thank you for your letter. Like you, I was passive around bullies, too. In fact, there have been many times I’ve wondered if what happened to me is karma. We all make mistakes. I’m just glad the site is helping people.

She sent it off. Within a half a minute, Greg replied. Hey, Spencer, Thank you so much for writing back to me. Don’t kid yourself: You’re awesome. The best thing you can do is admit your mistakes and try your best to help others. You are truly an inspiration.

Tingles ran up her spine. It was such a nice thing to say. But then she set her jaw. No more boys. No falling for someone on the internet. No freaking way.

She continued to scroll down the list of stories, taking time to read each one. Then she got to one written by someone who called himself DominickPhilly. Not him again.

You think you’re so awesome, but you’re not , the message read. You’re nothing but a poser, and pretty soon, people are going to figure you out.

Her head started to pound. DominickPhilly had sent her messages practically since she’d set up the blog. He’d said that the site was pathetic. That Spencer didn’t know what she was talking about. That she used her fake bullying story as a stepping-stone to fame, and that she didn’t know what real pain was. In this latest message, he’d included a thumbnail photograph of himself. Spencer clicked on it, leaning in close to look at his square, angry face. If his profile details were to be believed, he lived in the city of Philadelphia, and he was her age. Why did he hate her so much? Why was he trolling this site? He hadn’t included a tale of being bullied. Maybe he was a bully.

Pots and pans clanged in the kitchen, followed by the soft sounds of the family’s two Labradoodles, Rufus and Beatrice, drinking water from their metal bowls. The sun had sunk lower in the sky, and everyone’s front lights had snapped on, casting a warm golden glow along the circle. Spencer stared out the window at the neighborhood she loved and hated. Her gaze drifted to Ali’s old bedroom next door. For a split second, she thought she saw Ali standing there, smirking at her.

She blinked hard. There was someone at the window. Someone blond.

But then she looked again. The window wasn’t even lit. The St. Germains, who had lived there for almost two years now, were on vacation in the Outer Banks. Of course Ali wasn’t there. You’re supposed to forget about her , Spencer thought.

Beep.

It was her computer. Spencer turned away from the window and moved the mouse to wake up the screen. There was a new email for the bully site from someone called BTH087. Please Read , read the subject line.

She opened the email, grateful it wasn’t from DominickPhilly. A new bullying tale was written in swirly pink font, each sentence on a separate line like a poem. For whatever reason, the author had bolded the first letter of every sentence. Still a little freaked out, Spencer began to read.

Iwant to tell you my story.

All my life, I have been persecuted, and

My heart breaks every day.

Why people are after me, I don’t know, because

Anyone will tell you I am a nice person.

Try to get to know me is all I ask.

Can you do that? But no. You won’t.

Help me, please!

It’s getting too much to handle!

No one seems to listen, though.

Get over it, everyone says.

Yet they’re sometimes the ones tormenting me.

On and on it goes.

Until one day, when I’ve had enough.

—And then it’s over.

Spencer felt even more uneasy when she got to the end. Something about the message struck her as strange, maybe even cryptic. She looked at the signature at the very bottom of the email. It wasn’t from BTH087. Instead, it said Maxine Preptwill.

Her stomach dropped. That was the alias Ali and Noel Kahn used to contact each other when Ali was at The Preserve.

No , she thought, backing away from the computer. It was a coincidence. Maybe someone else did know about that stupid Ali-Noel code name.

She looked at the bolded letters at the beginning of each line again. Was it a code? She wrote each one on a separate sheet of paper. They began to make a message. I am . . .

She kept writing, then sat back to look at the whole statement. She clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a scream.

I am watching you. —A

On Friday, Emily sat in the chemistry classroom, fanning herself with a notebook. Rosewood Day must have forgotten to turn on the AC, because the room felt sticky and closed and smelled like feet. Several kids had already walked out, complaining about the heat. Others were asleep at their desks. Flies buzzed noisily around Ms. Payton’s head.

A long swim would be wonderful. Emily needed to keep up with swimming anyway, in case UNC wanted her for the team next year. But her parents didn’t belong to a summer club. Last year, she’d swum on a summer team at the YMCA, but that was miles from here. If only she could use the Rosewood Day pool. It was right down the hall.

Dear Jordan, I’m thrilled to be in summer school, don’t get me wrong. But this room couldn’t smell any more like BO. And I swear someone has the worst gas ever. Help!

She’d been writing letters to Jordan in her head ever since she heard from her on Tuesday. Not that she’d even written them down, but knowing that there was someone out there she could talk to, someone who might listen to every stupid little thing she had to say, lifted her spirits. A few more days until I see you in New York , she thought, smiling to herself.

As Ms. Payton languidly drew diagrams of ions on the board, Emily’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and peeked at the screen.

Need to talk, Spencer had texted. I think Ali sent me a message through my bullying site last night .

Emily looked around, almost as if Ali would be standing at the door, glaring at her. Hanna seeing Ali in a crowd on a movie set was one thing—they chalked that up to Hanna being confused and overwhelmed. But Spencer wasn’t one to cry wolf.

Emily texted Spencer back for details. Spencer explained what had happened. I tried to trace the IP address to see who sent the note, but the details were hidden. I looked into the email it was sent from too, but it’s an alias . A fourth text said the alias was so protected she couldn’t get any details there, either.

So someone is really trying to hide their identity , Emily typed back, growing more and more nervous. Ali and Nick had configured all their past A messages to reroute back to their own phones, making it look like they had sent them to themselves. Maybe Ali was doing it again.

We should take the note to someone who knows more about computers , Emily typed, her fingers flying. We need to take this bitch down.