Neighbour diaries

Jojo wasn’t amused by my stunt. I didn’t expect she would be pleased, but neither did I expect that much anger! I mean, it wasn’t like we had planned to make the journey together in the first place. Well, I got to town and had one day of bliss before she thundered down on me. So, I got this phone call the next day at 6 am. I was still trying to squeeze out a few more minutes of sleep before I had to go to work. Then I got a phone call from an unidentified number. Wondering who it could be calling me at such a time, I answered the call, and immediately regretted it. I recognized the voice immediately, but what was most obvious was the anger in the voice; Jojo wasn’t shouting, she was talking quietly, the fury underlying every word she pronounced. She asked me, “Shem, why did you leave me behind?” I didn’t remember us making plans to leave the village together, but that’s not what was on my mind. The question was; where had she got my number from. I hadn’t given it to her. Instead, I asked her where she was, and she answered, “I am in town” She was using a local number so that meant we were in the same town. Danger there! But then, she couldn’t possibly know where I was staying... that was a relief! Then she asked, “Where do I find you?” I laughed out loud. It was too much for me now; this girl I hardly knew, some girl I had met in the village, had followed me all the way back to town, and she was here demanding that I tell her where I was. I told her that I was really sorry, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. She went silent and then said, “Never mind, I will find you”. Then she hung up. I got out of bed, very wide awake now, and went to work. In the evening, just as I was preparing to leave work, the last person I expected to see walked into my office; Jojo. Ok, she looked pretty, but I was already repulsed by the immense dislike I felt for her. She sat herself down, and said, “I told you I would find you”. Now, I have absolutely no idea how she got to know where I worked in just seven hours. She might have got my phone number from my granddad, but very few people knew where I worked. It was creepy! And there she was seated, looking at me like I had offended her. I got my laptop, and told her I was leaving. She stood up too, and followed me out of the building. As I walked out, I was thinking fast; the last thing I needed was this girl knowing where I stayed, so I wasn’t going to go home directly. When we exited the building, she halted behind me. I continued walking, headed for the street. Then she called me and said, “Hey I have a car”. In my mind, I was like “so what?” Then she added, “Please let me drop you”. Maybe it was the word “please” that got my attention. It was the first time she had used that word. We went back towards the parking, and there was a big black car I had never seen in the parking before. Then she flipped out the car key, and deactivated the alarm. She drove me to my friend’s place, all the time one eye on the road, the other eye on me… dangerous driving, but everything about this girl was dangerous, so I wasn’t surprised. She didn’t even stop for traffic lights. Later that evening, she sent me five different messages, all telling me what she was currently doing. Slowly, it was dawning on me; I had got myself a stalker! Ends