No Service

Chapter 1: A Normal Teenager

...All I could feel was the cold, hard concrete below me; nothing but silence surrounded me...

My name is Evelyn; I am a 20-year-old girl from Tallahassee, Florida. Some people call me lucky, some call me fortunate, but me? I call myself a survivor. I was 16 at the time of the incident.

My parents had always sheltered me, and by that, I mean I could not stay at friends' houses overnight, if I was taken to the park, one if not both parents watched every move I made, and I was not allowed to go to the mall with friends. Basically, the little things teenagers enjoy in their years I did not get to enjoy. But what bothered me most was the sole fact of my inability to have a phone. I did not get my first phone until I turned 16. I did not grow up with any electronics except for a singular gaming system; it had child protection on it. Of course, as a late age teen, I despised the idea of my parents always having tabs on me as my other friends always got to go out and do stuff, as well as just about every single one of them had some form of cell phone, and not just any cell phone but the brand new iPhones at the time. I remembered I had begged my mom to buy me the new iPhone 8 for my birthday. She was on the fence about it; she had told me multiple times no I could not have one for at least another year. I got so sad and told her it was the only thing I wanted for my birthday.

Staying up late one night, I decided to see what my parents would get me for my birthday. I snuck out of my room and went to sit by their door to hear their light chatter.

"But Marissa, I think it would be nice to get her this phone. She is getting older, after all."

"I know, Robert. I do not want her to get hurt. "You know the internet is a horrible place. You have seen the recent rise in sex trafficking, criminal activity, as well as the countless scams, right? I am just really concerned."

"I get it. At some point, though, she needs to have a little freedom. We can keep it as baby steps. We can install a tracker if it eases your nerves a little."

So as I am sitting outside their door, I am trying to decide if they are going to get me the phone or not based on the little bit of conversation I heard. The only thing is, I heard the word tracker. I suppose having a phone with a tracker is better than no phone, but I still do not count on them getting me this phone. I guess I will wait and see.

I heard footsteps growing closer to the door, and the door knob started to rattle back and forth. I moved back into my room silently but quickly and jumped into my bed to pretend I was asleep. My parents tended to check on me at least two times through the night. As I pulled the blanket over my head and rolled over, my bedroom door flew wide open. I could feel my mom's gaze upon me as she stood in my doorway. Suddenly, I heard the door close shut ever so gently. I rolled back over to stare at my door, thinking about whether or not I was going to get a phone for my birthday. I hoped so; I just wanted to be like normal teenagers.