time there was a picture and it was a teenaged boy she didn't recognize with a name she did not know. He too, had no friends. "Nice try," Cailyn growled as she stabbed the decline button. Clearly Aliah Joiner thought she was an idiot, and that infuriated her. She began to almost wish Aliah would confront her face to face. And then they would see who would eat whose heart.
Throughout the day, there were more random requests which she denied. Finally, a request came from her friend Jennifer Tide. A corresponding message accompanied it.
Hey Cailyn. I deleted my old account; this is my new one if you could accept me.
Cailyn smiled at her pretty friend's freckled face and moved to accept, but then she paused. Something told her to type Jennifer's name into the search bar. She grew angry all over again to find her friend's profile still intact and already on her friend's list. Along with being annoyed once again, she became uneasy for the first time.
For some reason, it unnerved her that the woman had chosen to impersonate one of her own classmates to attempt to ensnare her. She clicked back to the fake Jennifer profile. Of all the requests she'd received, this one was the only one with more photos than just a profile picture. She'd stolen many of Jennifer's pictures and created albums to create the effect of a real person. She'd also copied and added Jennifer's personal information. Most disturbing of all, there were actually a few friends associated with the profile. Her own classmates. People who hadn't had any reason to be suspicious and had accepted her.
Aliah Joiner was trying harder to connect.
She picked up her phone and dialed Jennifer Tide.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jen. It's Cailyn Pure."
"Oh, hey, Cailyn! How's it going?"
"Fine. Hey, did you by chance make a new Likebook profile and request me?"
"Um, no. Sure didn't, why?"
"I think someone's impersonating you. They have your pictures and a few people from school actually accepted this fake profile."
"Oh wow! Really? That sucks. Probably one of those Likebook scammers that try and get you to give them money or something."
Cailyn paused, frowning. In her mind's eye, she pictured her perky, freckle faced friend with the fiery mane of curls, innocent and oblivious to how truly dangerous false identities on the Internet could be. "Yeah probably. Well, I'll report it and let the other people that accepted it know to report it also."
"OK, great! Thank you!" Jennifer said cheerily.
"Hey, Jen, could you do me a favor?" Cailyn asked, feeling rotten that her completely uninvolved friend had now been inadvertently involved.
"Sure sweetie, whatcha need?"
"Change all your security settings, OK? So people that aren't your friend can't see your stuff."
Jennifer giggled. "I doubt it's that big a deal. But I will. Thank for worrying about me."
Cailyn hung up feeling much more worried than her bubbly friend could possibly know.
Chapter 7
C ailyn dragged her eyes open early on Thanksgiving Day to find her home already saturated by the aroma of fragrant herbs and a roasting turkey. For a moment her mind drifted back to Thanksgivings past and she forgot all the drama of the present. She recalled all the boisterous noisy family gatherings and the delicious foods and she couldn't wait to start the day. On the other hand, the warm comfort of her bed invited her to stay and drift back to sleep. Fun though Thanksgiving was, it also proved to be exhausting.
Nonetheless, she forced herself awake. Quickly she dressed and made her way to the kitchen where her mother hummed cheerily and busied herself about the counters mixing and chopping. Cailyn took a deep breath of the heavenly scents and her mom turned to embrace her.
Outside the sun had barely emerged over the horizon and a thick blanket of snow covered everything as far as the eye could see. "Do you think everybody will make it in?" Cailyn asked,