Endangered by Lamar Giles Read Free Book Online Page B

flashing.
    SecretAdm1r3r wants to chat. Do you accept?
    I do.
    I click the YES button and a new window opens.
    It’s the messenger program that came with my computer. I never use it, had forgotten it existed. My default username, PandaD , occupies the chat window next to an impatient flashing cursor. My parents’ caution voices whisper across time, warning my eleven-year-old self never to chat with strangers, in person or on the internet. I won’t let this go anywhere skeevy.
    PandaD: Hello?
    SecretAdm1r3r: Hi.
    PandaD: Hi? That’s it?
    SecretAdm1r3r: Sorry, I’m a little starstruck. I’m talking to *GRAY*
    PandaD: Who are you?
    SecretAdm1r3r: You know I can’t tell you that, Panda. If I did, I’d be in the same predicament you’re in.
    PandaD: What you’re doing is creepy.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Says the girl who follows people, takes picture of their most private moments, then pimps them for retweets.
    PandaD: That’s not the way it is! If you knew what they did you wouldn’t come at me like this.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Oh, I know. Joshua Amell, number 5 on Gray’s Hit List. He switched little Larry Marsh’s chocolate milk with something that was almost totally ex-lax. That kid only drank half, but the explosive diarrhea—which hit during, and ended, a school assembly—still put him in the hospital for two days. And earned him the nickname “Shittermission.” You posted pictures of Joshua stealing from the Salvation Army’s overnight drop box. How low is that guy?
    Joshua is a sleaze. That bit of petty larceny got him a few hundred hours of community service, which included him apologizing to a bunch of underprivileged kids. Nowhere near Keachin-gate level, but good enough.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Simone Presley, number 9. She befriended a lonely, unattractive transfer student on a dare, then invited the girl to her birthday party where all the other pretty people brought unattractive guests as part of some narcissistic competition where the climax of the night is embarrassing all the clueless victims. A “Pig Party,” I hear they’re called. You got a picture of Simone scoring some Molly downtown, right?
    PandaD: Actually, it was coke. She’s old school. That photo got her a stint in rehab.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Forgive me. I might be fuzzy on the specifics, but I see the theme of your work.
    PandaD: Do you go to Portside?
    SecretAdm1r3r: I’m not judging, Panda. I want you to know that.
    PandaD: You’re just dodging my questions.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Those I don’t want to answer. Ask better ones.
    PandaD : Okay. Why aren’t you busting me?
    SecretAdm1r3r : I understand you. Better than all your little website followers, better than the people you’re avenging. Better than anyone.
    PandaD: How do you figure that?
    SecretAdm1r3r: I’ve got a camera, too.
    PandaD: Old people on dinner cruises have cameras. What gear were you using that night?
    SecretAdm1r3r: Canon 20D with a EF50mm lens. Gives me great shots in low light.
    PandaD: Interesting. I used something similar when I first started. That’s a good beginner’s rig.
    SecretAdm1r3r: It’s a lot less bulk than what you’re shooting. Was it a Nikon? Hard to tell because your massive lens distracts me so.
    PandaD: Oh, whatever! It takes a lot of skill to handle high-quality zoom lenses, thank you very much. One day, if you’re ever comfortable with pro gear, you might see.
    SecretAdm1r3r: Pick the right spots and you don’t need zoom. Case in point, me shooting you. But, you know, I’m not a pro or anything.
    PandaD: Okay, okay. Truce. Tell me about that room you shot. Dante .
    SecretAdm1r3r: Awesome, right?
    PandaD: How did you get that fire?
    SecretAdm1r3r: What?
    PandaD: Was it a set? Did you need a crew? What sort of prep did you do to stage it?
    SecretAdm1r3r: I lit a match.
    PandaD: Oh, come on!
    SecretAdm1r3r: I answered your question. Now, I have one for