Blackmail

Chapter 1

"Hey, Veronica!"

I turned in my seat to see Paulo weaving clumsily through desks, waving a small black piece of paper in his hand. When he reached the row behind me, he tripped on the leg of Claudia's desk and fell flat on his face in the center of the small aisle. The few students in the room burst into loud howls and applause.

"Nice going, klutz." I said, giggling at his failure.

"Shut up." Paulo replied, frowning as he got to his feet. "I rush over here to bear you gifts, and this is how you treat your delivery boy? Remind me of that next time you want something."

I laughed. "Like you could find an actual excuse to restrain yourself from doing what I want. Keep trying, though. It's hilarious."

Paulo blushed. "Again, shut up! Stop using your female powers of manipulation on me! I thought you only did that to jerks." He pouted. I opened my mouth for a witty comeback, but he stopped me with a simple 'talk to the hand' gesture. "Don't bother saying what I know you're going to say. It's insulting. Anyway, some guy in the other class gave this to me and told me to give it to you" Paulo explained as he handed me the black paper. "I have no idea what it is or what it's for, so don't ask."

The paper felt thicker than I originally thought it was going to be. I turned it over and discovered it wasn't simply a flat piece of paper, but a black envelope. It had no writing on it, or so I could see. It was sealed shut in a perfect, clear cut line. There were no wrinkles or folds on the envelope. I was shocked at how well kempt this little message was.

"I can see you're more interested in this unopened envelope than my presence, so I'm just going to go flirt with some dumb chick. Preferably one that isn't in our class and can't glare at me constantly. Trust me, that sucks. See ya." Paulo said, cutting me from my trance. He walked away, hands in his pockets, this time being more careful weaving through the maze of desks.

"I doubt some dumb chick is more fun flirting with than me!" I yelled over to Paulo, smiling.

"At least she'll know how to flirt back!" He yelled back, waving the back of his hand to me without turning.

I turned back to my desk to the odd envelope. I felt bad opening it because it would tear and ruin the utter perfection of the envelope, but it had to be done. I tore through the top and took out a smaller black sheet of paper that fit perfectly in the envelope. I searched the sheet, but there was nothing written on it. I turned the paper, and the back gave me the same result. I flipped the paper again and again, but I could see nothing on this black paper. It was a pointless message!

I threw the paper on my desk, falling back into my chair. You would think something so trivial wouldn't bother me, but even though it looked like an empty message, there had to be something. Something to give it meaning. It bothered me because for the life of me, I could not figure out the puzzle behind this stupid 'gift'.

2 Days Later

No clues. No new message. No help from Paulo. Nothing. This envelope gave me some sort of message, but I had nothing to help me figure out what that message could possibly be. What was the point in going through the trouble of sending someone something in such perfect condition that had no purpose?

I sat with my back against the school wall in the shade, away from the roaring crowds of teenagers going home. God, they could be so loud. How was a person supposed to think? I pulled up my knees to my chest, hugging them tightly, and let my head fall on my arms. I stayed that way for the few moments I had undisturbed.

"Hey." A voice said. I looked up, but all I could see was a silhouette in the dark shade. "It's me. Paulo." He said in a rushed voice. Must've realized I couldn't identify him. Smart boy.

"Hi. Look, I really don't want to be mean, but I really don't want to talk to anyone right now." I replied, resting my head on my arms again.

Paulo sighed. "Ever since I gave you that stupid envelope, you've been acting strange. I'm worried. I don't think you should be shutting yourself out like this. I…I miss talking to you. Please. Talk to me, Veronica." He really did sound sad. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I ignored him, not moving from my position for about a minute. I heard him sigh again and walk away from me. Good riddance.

About 5 minutes later, I heard footsteps approach me again and stop by my side. "God, Paulo. Didn't you get the message the first time?" I said without looking up.

I heard a high pitched laugh from the figure beside me. That was definitely a girl. Definitely not Paulo. "Well, there are messages involved in this conversation, but not the one you're referring to. I actually don't know what you're referring to, not that it matters."

I looked up quickly, but again, all I could see was a silhouette, this time of a girl with one hand on her hip. I could see the whites of her teeth as she smiled menacingly at me. "Who are you?" I asked the girl. Her expression, or what I could see of it, gave me the chills.

"I'm sure you'll figure that one out soon enough. But again, irrelevant at this moment in time. I'm here to check if you got my message and if you understood it. Because if you did, I will gladly applaud you." Her smile got wider, creepier, as she said this.

I thought for a minute. "Do you mean the black envelope and paper was…your message? There was nothing written on it. And Paulo said he got it from some guy."

"Ah, yes, Derek. He was of good use to me, did his job quite well. And yes, the black message was mine directly to you. Have you any guesses to what the message was? Because you don't seem to have figured it out yet."

"Well of course I have no idea what it means! There's nothing on the envelope or the paper inside it. I know. I've checked time and time again. What does it mean?"

The girl laughed again. "Why, it's me blackmailing you, silly. Don't you love my play on words? And for your information, there is writing on it, if you have the brains to decode it." She said in a very cute tone of voice. I knew that voice. But who's was it…

This time I laughed. "How could you have anything to blackmail me with? If I can't even recognize your voice, how could you possibly know that much about me?"

"You may not know me, but I know you better than you would ever wish me to. In fact, you can't even remember you telling me everything you would never want anyone to know. Well, except me. If you're wondering what exactly I'm blackmailing you with, you're going to have to figure that out yourself because I really don't feel like spoon-feeding you everything." The girl yawned, almost sounding like out of boredom. "Oh, and if you're wondering what I want, we'll have that talk when you figure out what I'm blackmailing you with. It will make a hell of lot more sense then. Anyway, I have places to be, lives to ruin. See you around." The girl turned on her heel and walked away. When she left the shadows, I saw her black ponytail swish back and forth as she walked through the yard.

Surprisingly, I actually felt somewhat relieved that she had told me what the message was. The mystery that boggled my mind had gotten more complex, yes, but the original puzzle was solved. I couldn't help it, but it put my mind slightly at ease. Now the problem was who was that girl? What did she mean I couldn't remember? Did I have holes in my memory? I thought back, searching for holes in my memory. How far back should I go? I decided the last 2 years, since this girl couldn't have known me before high school so…

I turned back to look at the girl, only this time, she was turned toward me, smiling menacingly once more, evil written all over her face, fire deep in her eyes. Claudia. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. A challenge? I was about to yell out to her when all of a sudden, a raging headache hit me with a terrible force. I gripped my temples fiercely, gritting my teeth. I had never felt a pain so horrible in my life. It was worse than a migraine. I looked up for Claudia, but she had disappeared. Gone in an instant.

The headache raged on. I grunted in pain, dug the heels of my hands into my head, but nothing helped. I tried to figure out what could be causing me all this pain, and as I delved into my head, I realized I could feel the holes in my memory. Large craters of black nothing corrupted my memory. How had I never noticed these gaps before! The headache amplified its power as I had this revelation. I screamed out at the top of my lungs, and just when I thought I was going to die of the pain, I blacked out.