More Than One Online Chat Partner

Jedediah had been feeling down.

It seemed like the universe was conspiring against him. Everything was going wrong. Worse, he ended up in the hospital yesterday.

Looking at the cast on his leg, he let out a deep sigh, trying to calm the frustration bubbling inside him.

Bored, he scrolled through his phone until a message popped up.

Gigi: [I heard you were in the hospital? What happened? Is it serious?]

Just thinking about her gentle demeanor made him smile. He felt a little better, quickly typing a reply: [I hurt my leg. Have to stay in the hospital for a few days.]

As expected, Georgia offered some comforting words. Jedediah appreciated her kindness, and soon, he found himself typing more than he intended.

Jedediah: [It's a shame. I was supposed to go to Elisugate next week for a competition.]

Jedediah: [Can't go now. I don't know if our school will win.]

Jedediah: [I couldn't sleep last night. Didn't fall asleep until 5 AM. I'm so tired.]

Jedediah: [And the hospital food? Lol, it's worse than the cafeteria at school.]

He rambled on, hoping Georgia would keep him company and ease the gloom in his heart. But he noticed that her replies were getting slower, her words more perfunctory.

Eventually, the conversation ended with a simple: [Rest well.]

Jedediah felt even more irritated. Suddenly, he realized that Georgia wasn't as great as he'd imagined.

Then his mind wandered to me. If it had been me, we would have had a much more engaging conversation.

I always knew how to make him laugh, and I had a sense of timing. Conversations with me were always easy and carefree, making him happy.

Although he'd added me as a friend by mistake, he didn't regret it that much.

Sitting on the hospital bed, he nurtured all sorts of thoughts.

Maybe it was the loud snoring from the old man in the next bed or just his own restless mind, but Jedediah felt an urgent need to talk to someone.

Without thinking, he opened the chat with me.

He typed cautiously: [Are you there?]

A second later, a red dot appeared, followed by the prompt: [You haven't added her as a friend yet.]

Jedediah clenched his phone, while I looked at Georgia's latest post, bursting into laughter.

The caption read: [Refuse to be an emotional trash can.]

I liked her post, and she started a chat with me.

Gigi: [Ugh, I'm losing interest in my crush.]

She shared her issues with Jedediah, full of disbelief.

Gigi: [So much negative energy. How can anyone be so bad at conversation?]

I teased her a little, and she seemed to cheer up.

Gigi: [I've got a certain guess. Are you Monica Lovell from the Department of Statistics?"

I: [Wow, you figured it out?]

Gigi: [Your nickname gives it away.]

That was true. Only someone like Jedediah, who was a little scatterbrained, would mistake people so easily.

Gigi: [I heard you've been close to Bruno Johnson lately.]

I: [Yeah, I'm chasing him.]

Recently, I had been visiting Bruno a lot—sometimes bringing him water, other times taking pictures of him. I didn't hide it, and plenty of people had noticed.

Gigi: [Maybe you should find someone else?]

I: [Why?]

Georgia paused, then sent a long message: [I heard that he has some psychological issues. My friend's roommate saw him by the lake one night, killing a cat.]

I was shocked.

Over the past year, there had been several reports of dead cats turning up on campus. But the person responsible was careful—always choosing areas with few people, using blind spots where the cameras couldn't catch him, and never leaving any trace.

I wondered if Bruno was really the culprit, but things didn't add up.

I: [Are you sure it was him?]

Gigi: [There's no solid evidence. That night, it was dark, and she only saw him crouching by the dead cat. She didn't see him do it, but he's still a prime suspect. You should be careful and keep your distance from him.]

Georgia was being kind, so I didn't argue with her. Instead, I replied with a few simple words and exited the chat.

Then my eyes caught the barrage of comments.