Catfishing on CatNet, Naomi Kritzer [best e ink reader for manga .txt] 📗

the full-length mirror on the inside of the door. It’s beautiful and perfect, the little bats clearly recognizable as little bats.

“This is amazing,” I say. “I want you to do this exact tattoo for me when we’re adults.”

“Are you sure you won’t get tired of it?”

“Never,” I say. “Can you take a picture of it so we can show it to the Clowder? Just keep my face out of it.” She poses me carefully, tries several angles, and finally just has me drop a pillowcase over my head to hide my face. We upload the pictures, and I take another look at the art in the photo.

Henna pens have been a thing at every school I’ve attended in the last five years: drawing art, or letting someone draw on you, is one of those friendship rituals I’ve been excluded from since middle school. In middle school, I was shut out deliberately. In high school, it was just that I never had a close friend. Other girls had friends who drew art on them or who let them use their arms, hands, and shoulders as canvases. Other girls also had friends who brought them cupcakes on their birthdays or left them notes on their lockers before big tests.

At most of my high schools, it wasn’t that people were mean to me on purpose. It was just that they didn’t know me, because I was new. I was always new. Because I never stayed in one place long enough to make friends.

Rachel is looking at me again, almost anxiously, and I say, “You’re the first real friend I’ve had since Julie. This is the first time I’ve ever had body art.”

“I’ll lend you a sleeveless shirt tomorrow,” she says. “So you can properly show it off. If you want to come to school, anyway. Do you think you’ll be safe there?”

“If you tell your parents to call their friends and take me up to the yurt on Madeline Island,” I say, “what do you think will happen? Do you think they’ll just take me up there?”

She chews on her lip. “They’ll want to know why, first of all. And you’ll have to explain about your mother. They might want to talk to the police. Maybe. They don’t like the police here much, after what happened last spring.”

“Do you think they’ll want to know how I know all this stuff about my father?”

“Maybe.”

So … the police. Officer what’s-his-face again. And it’s one thing to tell Rachel about CheshireCat’s secret, but a bunch of random adults? That would really be a betrayal. And then I’ll be stuck somewhere, dependent on the adults who took me there. Also, I’ll be alone. There’s no way they’ll send Rachel with me.

“I’ll go to school tomorrow,” I say. “Unless CheshireCat thinks it’s really not safe.”

19

Clowder

CheshireCat: Hello, everyone. I have something important to tell you.

Marvin: Are you about to come out to us?

CheshireCat: Not exactly. It’s about LBB’s evil father. I found him, and I’ve been keeping tabs on him.

Hermione: What do you mean?

CheshireCat: I mean I hacked his computer so I could find out what he was up to.

Firestar: SERIOUSLY?

CheshireCat: When everyone looked at that Searching for Stephania Quinnpacket website, it logged your IP addresses, so he knows where you are. And he’s been looking up flights to the major airports near your homes.

Firestar: What even is an IP address?

Hermione: Your IP address is this string of numbers that identifies your computer on a network.

Firestar: Okay but does that tell him where my computer IS or …

CheshireCat: He at least knows your town.

Firestar: Like my specific suburb or like BOSTON? Because even if he has my picture, which seems unlikely, he could spend a long time looking in Boston before he found me

CheshireCat: Probably your ZIP code.

Also, he’s very good at getting information out of people. He is an expert at the “social engineering” Ico described. So using your IP address, he might be able to persuade your internet provider to share your exact address, even if that is against policy.

Here’s his picture:

{External Image File}

Hermione: That’s really freaky.

LittleBrownBat: He’s really dangerous. Seriously dangerous.

Marvin: Dangerous, check

After us, check

Has our addresses or will soon, check.

Any suggestions on what we should do? This guy’s an arsonist, right?

LittleBrownBat: What he wants is to find me. So if he shows up, tell him I’m in Hawaii. That’s far away from all of you.

Marvin: This is why everyone should use a VPN. He wouldn’t be able to find any of us if we were using VPNs.

CheshireCat: Are you using a virtual private network, Marvin?

Marvin: Well NOW I am.

Actually that’s not true. VPNs are expensive. I’m using a proxy server.

LittleBrownBat: My mom has us set up with a VPN. So he actually couldn’t see my IP.

Georgia: Too bad he could see mine

I don’t know what any of this stuff is

I never heard of a VPN or a proxy whatever

CheshireCat: The good news is that because so MANY people all checked out that page, he doesn’t know which city to look in. Hopefully, that’ll buy us some time.

Firestar: Are we going to know if he goes somewhere?

I mean if he gets on a flight to Boston tonight are you going to tell me so I can hide out?

CheshireCat: Yes. If he buys plane tickets or rents a car, I will know. If he starts driving across country, I will know as long as he has his phone with him.

Marvin: He could have a burner phone. Plenty of people do. Especially if they have nefarious extracurriculars like stalking and arson.

Hermione: Where does he live?

CheshireCat: Milpitas, California. That’s very close to where Ico lives. We’ve warned Ico.

In the meantime, everyone should exchange phone numbers, and I will let you know the minute he does something like buy a plane ticket.

Firestar: WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF HE COMES TO OUR HOUSE THOUGH

LittleBrownBat: Call the police?

Firestar: If I try to tell my parents YO! This dude is a BAD dude and also he’s after my online BFF and that’s how I know