Secret Admirer

  “Thanks,” Selena breathed. “But he knows where I live. He knows—”

  “Selena, do you think maybe you should quit?” Katy asked softly. She sounded very frightened. “If this nut is serious about his threat …”

  “Quit the play?” Selena gasped. “I can’t!”

  “You don’t have to give up acting forever,” Katy suggested. “Just the spring play.”

  “But this play is the most important one! It’s my only chance for a scholarship to Northwestern.”

  “Well, you have to tell Mr. Riordan what’s going on,” Katy insisted. “It’s too serious not to tell him.”

  “What if he calls off the play?”

  “Your life is more important than the play,” Katy told her sharply.

  “You’re right.” Selena sighed. “I’ll tell him.”

  “Good. Don’t forget. Tell him first thing tomorrow.” She paused. “Are you okay? Want me to come over?”

  “Thanks, but I’m okay,” Selena replied. “I feel better just talking to you.”

  Katy sighed. “Well, the more you can keep your mind off this creep, the better. Which reminds me—have you thought about which videos we’re renting for our sleepover on Friday?”

  “Oh, wow, Katy! I totally forgot we were doing that. I just made a date for Friday.”

  For a moment Katy didn’t speak. “Couldn’t you change it?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Selena replied. “Why don’t we do the sleepover Saturday instead?”

  “All right,” Katy agreed. “It’s not like I have any other plans. Who are you going out with?”

  Selena knew she was supposed to keep it a secret. But she couldn’t keep the news from her best friend. “You’ll never believe it. Eddy.”

  “Eddy, the intern? But he goes to college. Isn’t he a little old for you?”

  “Not really,” Selena replied. “I mean, he’s only two years older than me. And he’s so sweet. I’ve only talked to him a few times, but I already feel as if I’ve known him my whole life. And I feel as if he knows me.”

  “Well, you know what you’re doing,” Katy said dryly. “I’ve got to get back to my homework.”

  ‘Okay,” Selena replied. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “No problem,” Katy told her. “But, Selena, please be very careful. I really think you’re in danger.”

  Katy’s last words lingered in Selena’s mind as she hung up the phone. Even if it’s true, she decided, I can’t think about it all the time.

  She propped the script on her pillow and dropped onto her stomach, studying the lines again. She couldn’t seem to memorize a single speech.

  The rain drummed against her window. The wind howled, making the window rattle. Selena realized she couldn’t concentrate because of the booming thunder.

  Selena remembered the night she and Katy had found the ladder out in the yard. She sat up quickly and looked out the window.

  No one there. No one is looking in, she told herself. But she stood up and closed the curtains, making sure they overlapped in the center.

  The lights flickered, and again Selena set the script down with a sigh. There was no way she could memorize any lines till the storm stopped. But maybe she could at least get a start on her history paper.

  She reached over to her desk and slipped her history book from the bottom of a pile of schoolwork.

  A deafening thunderclap shook the house.

  No one out there, she told herself. Stop scaring yourself, Selena. Stop it right now.

  But what if the stalker had returned?