Lost Connection

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Contains adult language, sexual content, and violence.

“I am going home,” Mona said, staring at her French textbook. “Je…”

She glanced at her phone

She looked back at her textbook.

“Je…”

Back to the phone.

Stared hard at it.

Back to the textbook.

“Je…damn it!”

She reached for her phone and brought up a search app.

It rang, causing her to yelp and drop it.

“Shit!”

She looked at the caller ID, which read ALICE, and then picked up.

“Hey bitch, what’s up?” she said.

“Not struggling with my French homework, that’s for sure.”

“Says the girl with the French grandmother she visits every summer – and yet somehow still hasn’t scored with any cute French guys.”

“Says the girl who can’t keep a boyfriend for more than a month. What’s the current one’s name anyway?”

Static was the response.

“Hey Alice, you still there?”

“Yes. Now I believe you were about to beg me for my help?”

Mona gritted her teeth.

“Yes,” she said, and moaned.

Mona frowned.

“Mona, you okay?”

“Yes,” she said, and moaned again.

Mona said, “Hey, whoever’s on the line, this is a private call, hang up.”

“Mona, are you…”

“Am I what?”

“You know.”

Mona giggled.

“No, I don’t.”

“...Touching yourself.”

“No.”

“Then–”

“Someone else is.”

“Who?”

“Guess.”

“It’s not Danny, you just broke up with him.”

“Mm hm.”

“Then I don’t know.”

“I’ll give you a hint. You know him.”

“I know a lot of guys. I mean, I don’t ‘know’ them, but–”

“You know him…ah…really well.”

“Derek?”

“No…ahhh…”

“Henry?”

“No…ahhh…oh Mark!”

Mona’s smile dropped and her eyes widened. “Alice, it’s not me! Hang up!”

“No. No, you’re lying!”

“As he’s…ahhh…between my legs…ohhh…I can see…yes, baby, right there…that tattoo on his shoulder blade…”

Mona yelled, “Alice, that isn’t me! They’re fucking with you, don’t listen to them!”

“No,” Alice sobbed.

“Haven’t you heard? Virginity is out this year, and sex is in. Speaking of in…Mark honey, fuck me, will you…ohhh…have you seen his dick? It’s sooo big, I’m not sure it’s going to fit…ahhh…gotta go.”

“Alice! ALICE!!!”

“Mona!” a male voice called out, followed by a knock on her door.

She rolled her eyes as she answered it.

Her father peered in. “Everything okay?”

She smiled. “Me and Alice were, uh, arguing about, uh, makeup.”

“Uh huh. It’s time for bed anyway. Hopefully the cold light of day will help you both see how silly you’re being.”

She smiled wider. “Of course Daddy.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She closed the door and tried calling Alice.

“The number you are trying to call–”

“Damn it!”

She paced for a few seconds, then tried texting.

Three dots appeared, letting her know it was trying, but then stopped.

UNABLE TO SEND. TRY AGAIN?

“Shit!”

She opened her messaging app and tried that.

UNABLE TO SEND.

“Fuck!”

She opened her email and tried that.

UNABLE TO–

“Shit fuck!”

She paced for several seconds, then opened her contacts, scrolled to one named Brenda, and tried calling. “Come on, pick up, you gangly Chinese bitch.”

“Hey Mona, what’s up?”

She sighed with relief. “Thank God.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Quick favor, call Alice for me. We were talking, my call dropped, and I can’t get her back.”

“Sure, Whaddaya want to say?”

“Just call her, will you?”

“Okay, unwad your panties already.”

She paced.

“Hey, couldn’t get through, the network is down.”

“Shit!”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Sure don’t sound like nothing.”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, all right?”

“Whatever. Later.”

“Later.”

She hung up and paced some more, then picked up her phone, scrolled through her contacts until she reached Mark, and called.

“The number–”

“Fuck!”

***

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” her father asked as he drove her to school.

“Nothing, Dad, everything’s fine.”

“Uh huh. Is that why your knee is bouncing at 100 miles per hour?”

She covered her leg with her backpack.

***

He pulled up to the school and she pulled the door handle.

“Mona, wait.”

She looked at him.

“You don’t want to tell what’s going on, fine. When I was your age, I didn’t tell my parents everything either. But whatever’s going on, I hope you sort it out, I really do. Good friends are hard to come by.”

“Okay, Dad,” she said, and pushed against the door.

“But…if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll make other friends, maybe even better ones.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. Love you.”

“Love you too,” she said, and made her escape.

***

Once inside, she made her way to the bathroom, where a tall Asian girl was putting on makeup.

“Hey Brenda, seen Alice?”

Brenda said, “Good morning to you too. I’m fine by the way, thanks for asking.”

“Come on, seen her or not?”

“Tell me what’s going on first.”

Mona sighed. “Last night, as we were talking, some jerk hacked into the call and made it sound like me and Mark were fucking.”

“Damn, that’s fucked up!”

“Yeah. Let me know if you see her, okay?”

“Sure thing. How do I look?”

“Great,” Mona lied.

Brenda nodded and left, and Mona leaned in, checking her own makeup.

“How long?” said Alice.

Mona yelped and turned.

Alice stood there, dressed in black, her usually elegant red hair in tangles, and dark circles under her eyes. “How long have you been fucking my boyfriend?”

“Alice, listen, that wasn’t me, that–”

Alice surged forward and punched her in the stomach.

Then she did something odd: she left her fist stay pressed against Mona. When she did pull it away, Mona saw something bad.

Gleaming steel.

Red smears.

“Oh shit.”

Alice punched – no, stabbed – her three more times, and Mona felt like she had pissed herself.

“Looks like a heavy flow day for you, bitch,” Alice hissed, and stabbed her again.

Mona looked at her friend, but saw only a stranger’s face twisted with hate.

“You’re…better…than this,” she gasped, and then her legs gave out.

Darkness closed in on her.

Alice loomed over her, her lips moving, but Mona couldn’t hear her.

Her last thought was, Damn it, I’m dying a virgin.