There was once a moment where Luke wanted to thank the girl in the black coat for helping him cure the itchy hands. But not anymore. Not when he threw a rock at Luke's window and broke it. Not when he suddenly appears (again!) next to Luke. Not when he held Luke's arm and threw a little slander. And not when I saw the psychopath standing next to him with a strange smile.
" Shit! "
Luke tried to get away by walking to the carriage ahead and when he looked back, the girl was still trying to catch up with him. Luke didn't know what exactly he wanted to talk to me about or how urgent the information was, Luke really had no idea. But, could she act a bit normal by not stalking a guy?
Luke saw a stool occupied by an old man holding his level while straining his eyes and three young women who were chatting. Between them is a gap. So, he immediately sat there. Stuffing himself to make the two women frowned annoyed. But Luke didn't care. He won't let that crazy stalker girl be able to reach him. If-one more time the girl tried to pull Luke like before, Luke vowed to put him in jail.
One thing Luke didn't consider was that the girl could sit on the empty seat in front of him. Face to face with Luke. The girl was just silent, indeed. But, this was more terrifying than during the chase just now. Her eyes, which were half hidden from the hood, continued to stare at Luke. As if calling out, 'Hey, Luke! Look at me. Don't look away like that!' But… Oh my God! It's been a while. The train had gone through the tunnel twice and he was still glaring at me. There were about six minutes she remained in position while emitting unbroken glances. He even bet she didn't blink for a second. Until then, maybe, the woman next to me felt suspicious of the girl in the black jacket who kept staring at us—even though technically, she was just looking at me—without preamble, one of the women rebuked her.
"Hey, what are you looking at? I'll tell the officers if you keep looking like that," said the woman sitting right next to Luke. Meanwhile, the old man sitting on the other side also observed the girl.
Then, because several pairs of eyes in the carriage were on her, she immediately put her palms into jacket pockets, shook her head, and leaned back to pretend to be asleep. Even so, the three women still whispered to each other in alarm.
"I think he's stalking us. We'd better change seats. If he stalks us again, we can alert the officers at the next station."
Together, the three of them moved to occupy the empty seat at the end of the carriage. Luke didn't say anything, but he got up too and moved near the entrance where three men were congregating. Luke also leaned on a nearby train pole without saying much. The advantage is that from here I can watch the stalker girl's movements freely. She was still in her seat, still pretending to be asleep. Luke hopes she is still like that even though the train has arrived at the destination station.
***
Luke had always thought that boys stalking someone was terrible, but in reality a girl stalking a boy was even more terrifying. Because a girl doesn't arouse much suspicion and can play innocent roles well.
Luke doesn't even know that little things like being followed by a stranger can create such trauma in no time. The reason is, even after one foot step he got out of the carriage, Luke turned his head. Make sure the girl doesn't get off. As he walked towards the exit, Luke turned his head again. Hope she's not being followed. Even when Luke walked on the pedestrian way to the house, he was still haunted by anxiety about the possibility that he would be chased like that. Then even though the residual winter wind was still enough to freeze a toddler's snot, Luke still felt very hot. His sweat was pouring, his hands were shaking. So Luke turned to Geraldy Tan's shop.
"Hey Lu…"
"Give me one cigarette, please ."
While Gerald turned to reach for the cigarette case in the glass drawer behind his back, I headed to the fridge for two cans of beer. Then put it on the counter.
While checking the price on the cash register, he asked. "How dare you come home early? 18 bucks all. I already gave you a discount."
"I mean," Luke said trying to correct himself, "I want one of your cigarettes. Not that I want to buy a pack of cigarettes."
Gerald narrowed his eyes, looking sullen for a moment. Even so, he pulled back the cigarette sleeve and returned it to the glass drawer. So, before he grumbled about how much he lost because Luke canceled his purchase, he explained something to Gerald. More precisely, begging for a request.
"I'll treat you to a can of this beer, as long as you accompany me to walk home."
Luke tried to speak as quickly as possible so Gerald had no room to interrupt. Gerald was silent for a moment. Then without asking much, he nodded. Locking the cash register drawer, grabbing the cell phone, and while guiding my back to get out, Gerald locked the shop door. Don't forget to rotate the sign from ' OPEN' to ' CLOSE' . They walked to the Bright family's house while sharing cigarettes and beer. Occasionally, Luke looked back and it provoked Gerald's question.
"What's wrong? You're being followed by someone?"
"Erm… yes," even Luke could hear my own nervous voice. Inhale deeply. "A strange girl has been following me since at the station."
"Girl? Who? Do you know the person? Is she your ex-boyfriend?"
" No, no. Not Val. This person… I mean this girl, actually she was the one who gave me some kind of itching medicine for my hands. You know, don't you, that my fingers have had quite a bad itchiness. Well, she just appeared, then gave her the medicine. But lately, she seems to be trying to stalk me."
Gerald shook his head.
"Sorry, I don't think I understand. Let me confirm first, okay? So this girl, suddenly appeared and gave you medicine. Right?"
"Yes."
"What kind of medicine?"
"Powder."
"How many times have you drank it?"
"The medicine? No, no. The powdered medicine is not drunk, but when you mix it with water and dip my hand in it, it doesn't take long for the itching to go away."
A moment of silence. Both of them sipped their beer.
Gerald continued, "How much is it?"
"She gave me for free."
"Ah, that's the point, Luke! "
"What?"
"Now think about this possibility…" his sentence was cut off.
Quick as a flash, Gerald looked back at the sound of hoofs behind them and Luke was relieved that it was a grown woman in a long coat who looked to be from the '60s, walking hastily on the phone. Passing Luke and Gerald indifferently. Relieved, they returned to their previous topic.
" Well, " said Gerald, "where have I been?"
"Think of the possibility..."
"Ah, yes. Now let's think about this possibility; she gave you drugs for free, but then she tailed you. She … yeah, this is just my guess. If you have another opinion, feel free. But in my opinion, she's a drug dealer. "
***