Chapter One: ASL?
2759 Words
Chapter One: ASL?
"Physics assignment, check. English activity, check. Test for math, done reviewing. Ah, what a day." I murmured to myself. It's never easy to finish all home works within an hour. One thing's for sure, I missed my computer and I wanted to open it again, that's why I finished my works early. Courtney told me to try Omegle because she was really addicted to it. I didn't know what site it was but I might at least try, especially how Courtney kept on persuading me. She would say, “Jessamine, your life is boring, go try!” With her using the word “boring” to describe me, it triggered me to try whatever that website was. Maybe it was a dating site? But part of me hoped it was a site that provided free brain training with facts and logics.
"Jessamine! Dinner's ready!" My maid, Ate Mina (Pronounce as ah-teh. Ate is a term to call someone that is a girl, older than you. Can be a sister, maid, or a saleslady. In this case, Ate here is maid.) ,was calling me to join my family for dinner.
"Yes Ate!" I replied.
I hurriedly washed my hands and ran to the dinner table. My step-mother never wanted me to be late. Never ever.
"Good evening." I swallowed hard as I helped Ate Mina set the table.
"Good evening Jessamine." Ate Mina smiled, but I knew that she could feel the uneasiness I was feeling.
My parents and I ate for a while. My step-mother never asked me about how I do in school and such. My father on the other hand, was always busy looking at the newspaper. Did I mention that my dad is a Chinese?
Yes, I am half Filipino half Chinese. My mother died when I was 10. My father remarried two years later to this woman in front of me, a rich Spanish-Filipino. My father is a rich man too, so this woman in front of me agreed to marry him. Note that I called her woman, to show disrespect. I hated her so much for not being a mother to me despite not being related biologically.
For four years, they tried having a baby but failed. But now, whatever miracle they had pulled, they're suddenly successful. My step-mom's pregnant now for 8 months and she needed extra attention.
After I ate, I waited for my parents to finish their food before I go back to my room. It's a sign of respect in Asian culture. I quickly kissed my dad’s cheek before heading back to my well-arranged teenage room.
I excitedly opened my computer and went to omegle.com, expecting it to be either a dating site, a Khan-academy rip-off with Indians discussing mathematical equations, or gaming. But when I clicked on Omegle, all signs pointed to it as a chat site. Wow, I never knew that it was a chat site!
Video chat? Should be 18 and above? This is monitored? But Courtney was just 16! So was I! Should I go for it?
Before I tried chatting, I logged on first in f*******: to ask Courtney if I really should try it. The front page looked like as if it was a p**n site or something because of the 18+. So I chatted with Courtney but she told me it's fine as long as I don't really give out my exact location.
Me: What's the fun in chatting with strangers? I feel iffy about this.
Courtney: Just try it. You'll see!
So I went back to the site and tried the text chatting. How could I use the video chatting? I was like, 16. Plus, who would ever like looking at my hideous face anyway? Not that I would appreciate looking at someone else’s hideous face either. Also, if dad or mom found this out I would surely get killed. I went to the “chat” option, at least with the chat option, my face would not be revealed.
"Looking for someone to chat with..."
"Now you're connected! Say hi!"
Those words just made me nervous. Omegle probably wanted to package itself as an innocent chat site but it’s obviously not.
I typed "Hi" and pressed send.
Stranger is typing...
Stranger: asl?
What the heck did asl mean? I went back to f*******: and asked Courtney. She took a while before replying.
Courtney: Asl is age s*x location silly.
Age? s*x? Location? Should I give out?
I went back to Omegle but it said that the stranger has disconnected. How cruel are these people? Couldn't they wait?
I typed again to Courtney. "This is such a boring site. That stranger disconnected me immediately!"
Courtney: You'll get used to it.
Me: ugh
Courtney: And there are a lot of bots there, so don't be frustrated!
Me: bots?
Courtney: Yes. Try it and you'll see!
The usual Courtney, who loves saying try it instead of just directly saying what the heck bots were. She could have defined what “bots” actually meant, right? In my mind I was thinking, robots? Would they give me unnecessary ads?
I clicked the start another chat button. I got connected again.
Me: hi
Stranger is typing....
I waited for a while.
Stranger: Add me on Skype please alyannaroxxx321
Stranger has disconnected.
Oh come on! Why should I add her?
I clicked again.
Me: hi
Stranger is typing...
Stranger: hi
Oh finally! A decent one!
Me: how are you?
Stranger: Good. Got Kik?
What the heck was Kik?
Me: No, sorry.
Stranger has disconnected.
I was pissed off. Super pissed off. Just because I did not have Kik, whatever Kik was, the stranger stopped chatting with me. But then again, I tried having a new conversation.
"Now you're connected! Say hi!"
Stranger: asl?
Wow. This was the first time that the stranger was the one who chatted first. Should I lie?
Me: 16. Female. USA.
Well, at least the first two information were the truth.
Stranger: Cool. I live in Arizona. You?
"Shit." I whispered to myself.
Me: New Jersey.
Stranger: Can I have your number? We can text.
I didn't know why but I clicked on the disconnect button, but I regretted it immediately. He/She was a decent person. Wait... Shouldn't I also ask the person's asl?
I started another chat.
Me: Asl?
Stranger: add me on Skype hannahlove_kitty
Stranger has disconnected.
Wait... Now I finally understood, these are bots that Courtney was trying to tell me a while ago. They probably created some algorithm or programming language that would repeatedly ask people to add them on Skype. I wondered if anyone actually got fooled for that.
I started another.
Me: asl?
Stranger: 17 F Canada
Me: Wow. How are you?
Stranger: Are you having difficulty in this site?
Stranger: Want to try a better one?
Stranger: Go to chatous
Stranger has disconnected.
Was that an advertisement? Probably another type of bot. I tried to connect to another. I was getting pissed off but I didn't know what was pulling me to try. Maybe because I wanted a decent chat mate.
Me: asl?
Stranger: 16 M California. You?
Me: 16 F Minnesota
Stranger has disconnected.
What the heck!?
Me: asl?
Stranger: 21 M India.
Me: how are you?
Stranger: good. Wbu? Asl?
Me: 16 F Philippines
Oh why did I give out my real info? I immediately regretted typing that.
Stranger: Asian! What's your name?
Me: Jill. You?
Stranger: Lakshay
Me: wow.
I was starting to have a decent chat.
Stranger: Describe yourself?
Me: short. Long hair. Black eyes. I love books.
Stranger: I love books too. I am tall. With glasses.
Me: oh.
Stranger: Do you want to meet? I can go there.
My hand suddenly trembled. I would never meet anyone at all. I then disconnected it. Damn me. Just when I thought conversation was getting more decent now.
I started another.
Me: asl?
Stranger: 16 F France.
Oh. A French girl.
Me: I'm 16 F Philippines
Stranger: Kik?
What's with the Kik that people like?
Me: no, sorry
Stranger: oh, okay
Me: how are you?
Stranger has disconnected.
Why stranger? Why?
Me: asl?
Stranger: 19 M Australia. You?
Me: 16 F Philippines.
Stranger: Great.
Me: hmm?
Stranger: horny?
What the-?
Me: Never in my life. You're disgusting.
Stranger has disconnected.
After a few more chats, there are a couple of bots again, people who asked for Kik, and also horny people who wanted to have a cam s*x. This was getting ridiculous.
I chatted with Courtney and told her the website sucked. Although I also wondered to myself to why I repeatedly tried chatting when I did not like it. Maybe because the thrill of landing a decent chatmate pushed me to do it, but so far none of them were okay. I then promised myself to chat the last time. Good thing I didn't have to study anymore. I tried to change my message.
Me: I'm lonely...
Stranger: You too?
I was shocked that this person felt the same thing.
Me: Yeah. Asl?
Stranger: 18 M New York. You?
Me: 16 Female Philippines.
Oh no, I gave out my real information again by accident. I thought I would be more careful already. My gut was telling me it would be fine as long as I did not give out any other real information.
Stranger: How are you?
Me: I'm good, but a bit pissed off because of bots and horny people here.
Stranger: Yeah me too. They tell you to add them on Skype and shits like that.
Wow.. This stranger's so...awesome. At least he understood me.
Me: I know right! It's hard to find a decent chat mate here. Can you please not disconnect?
Stranger: I won't. I'm Finn by the way.
Me: And I'm Jessamine.
Oh my god Jessamine, why did you send out your real name? How many girls were there with the name, “Jessamine”? Just few. Just few, Jessamine. You were an i***t for giving out lots of information to a stranger.
Stranger: Nice name. Finally I got a decent chat mate. I'm not lonely anymore.
Me: Yeah. Me too.
Stranger: So what's up?
Me: To be honest, this is just my first time.. Trying Omegle. Haha.
Stranger: You too? I thought I was the only one.
Oh. I could feel my face blush, just because someone had the same experience as I did.
Me: We're the same. This is cool. We have so many things in common?
Stranger: Yeah, but we're miles away.
Me: D:
Stranger: Can you describe yourself to me? Jessamine? So I can imagine you.
Me: 5'3" Long black hair. Half Filipino, half Chinese.
Welp, I guessed this was it. In my mind I hoped that this Finn guy wasn’t a psycho or a creep. I already gave out almost all my info. It was scary to think how a chat site would allow me to do this. What was I thinking?
Stranger: Chinese eh? I love Chinese food.
Me: Haha. How about you? Describe yourself?
Stranger: 6 footer. Blue eyes.
Me: You have blue eyes? Wow.
Stranger: That's what people say. Haha.
Me: Interests?
Stranger: Books. Food. And you. Hahaha. How about you?
Wow...this stranger sure is flirty.
Me: Shut up. Haha. I like food and books too!
Stranger: Cool. You missed something.
Me: what?
Stranger: You like me too. Just the way I like you.
Me: Who says I like you?
Stranger: ....
Me: Kidding I like you. You're nice.
Stranger: That's what I thought... So you have any social media websites which we can interact in?
I hesitated for a while. Should I? He's a nice person, but how can I trust him? I then realized I had a Twitter account that was really inactive. Well, I gave out almost all of my info enough for a psycho to break in my house and kidnap me anyway. Giving out my Twitter account would not make any difference anymore/
Me: Twitter
Stranger: Good. Your username?
Me: nerdy_jessamine
Stranger: I will follow you. Just wait. Nice to meet you.
Me: You haven't met me yet!
Stranger: Fine. Nice talking to you.
Me: Yeah. You're the first decent one.
Stranger has disconnected.
Why?
Stranger, you're the first decent one I swear! Why did you disconnect? My heart shattered a bit because I was expecting him to stay longer, especially the conversation we had seemed genuine. Disappointed, I closed the Omegle tab and quickly opened my Twitter.
No new followers, nor messages.
I felt stupid for trusting this stranger. Maybe he did check out my Twitter page and found me ugly. Well, the icon in my Twitter was me in my uniform, smiling. What the heck. Every now and then, while I was reading an Ebook in my computer, I constantly checked for my Twitter, if there were any messages. What surprised me was that I was never that type of person. Such a fool was I for believing that the stranger might really add me. The truth was, I was only curious on what he looked like. Blue eyes? Blond hair? Maybe the typical American I saw on TV.
Yes, if being stupid for trusting strangers was an award, I would win it.
After finishing four chapters of my book, someone knocked on my door. As I opened it, I was surprised it was my step-mother.
"Aren't you asleep yet? Do you realize it's 10 already?" She tried hard on not to be angry, after all, she's pregnant.
"I will." I swallowed hard. "Mom."
"Go to bed." She then slammed the door, shut.
One thing I hated about her was her strict rules. She never owned me. Why should I follow her? The worst part was, dad seemed to love her very much. I didn't know if dad still cared about my real mother. Ever since my step-mom started living with us, my life had turned into a miserable hole. As much as possible, I wanted to stay away from her because every time I saw her face, it would make my blood boil. Not only was she mean, she would treat me as if I was an outsider. Enough about her… thinking about her just made me feel angrier than a Karen demanding for the store manager.
I closed the Ebook and shut down my computer. My whole body started to feel like it was going to shut down. After, I checked my phone for the Twitter app; I guessed it was my lucky day. There's a notification so I clicked on it.
Finn_Andersen21 started following you.
My heart then started racing, because I had been waiting for this. While it was stupid of me to give out my details, I shrugged that thinking off since he did not bail on me anyway. This time, I just hoped he wasn’t a stalker or anything.
Must be him...
Must be him... But the icon was just a dragon. Finn Andersen huh? I wished you'd change your icon to your picture or something. It was unfair that my icon showed my face while yours showed an imaginary specie. I got disappointed because I was excited to see his face, but turned out I was the one who was an i***t for putting my real face as a picture. The thrill inside me disappeared since my main goal was to see his face. Wow, what happened to me? Wanting to see the face of a complete stranger that I accidentally met in omegle? You had got to be kidding me, right? If people did not know me well enough, they might as well think I was a thirsty hoe or something. But in reality? My school just had no hot guys. I was too deprived.
I then shrugged and decided to chat with him tomorrow, since I should get some sleep, if he would chat with me. Big IF. Although I would try to chat with him just so I could see his face, or else it would be unfair. Tomorrow's a school day so I need enough sleep.
I was about to shut down the lights in my room but the message icon then pop up, one new message. My heart beat faster as I clicked on it. What would he say? A hi? How did he disappear a while ago I waited for the message to load.
Finn: I can't believe how cute you are, Jessamine. ;)
- Writer
