Blackmailed by a Bully
29

Freida cried herself to sleep. When she woke up, her eyes were puffy, red and sore. Through squinted eyes, she looked at her reflection in the mirror above her bed.

'I look like a hamster,' she thought, seeing her puffy face.

As she sifted through her wardrobe, trying to replace something to wear, looking good seemed like less of a priority. She ended up pulling on an oversized sweater and leggings and didn't bother to do her hair or makeup. What was the point? What was the point of anything?

Freida felt thoroughly depressed as she made her way to college. On the bus, instead of listening to music as usual, she sat and zoned out, worrying about what Ben might do to her next.

As much as she tried to think up a way out of it, the situation felt hopeless.

By the time she arrived, Freida was fighting back tears.

She entered the main corridor, the door slamming behind her in a gust of wind.

Tom, Felix and Stacy all turned to stare at her.

'Great,' she thought. 'You lot are the last thing I need.'

Frieda was not in the mood to take any shit, and she really did not want to start any, so instead of walking past them into the lecture hall, she went to the canteen instead. Maybe a nice hot drink would cheer her up a little bit. Miracles could happen, right?

"A hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows please," she asked the girl behind the counter.

As the barista turned away and busied herself with making the drink, Freida opened her wallet.

She flicked through the compartments, frowning to see they were all empty. No money. No cards. Nothing.

"But how?" she muttered searching each little pocket again as if she might have somehow missed it.

"Three seventy-five, please," the barista said with a smile.

"Oh, I, erm," Freida muttered, flustered.

"I'll get it," a familiar voice said from behind. She turned to see it was Tom. "Can I get a latte as well please?"

"Sure," the barista said.

Steam hissed as the woman made the latte, leaving Freida to stand there feeling awkward. She would have to sit with Tom now, and that meant she would have to talk to him.

"Thank you," she said. "I must have put all my cards and money somewhere... or it was stolen."

"You should contact the bank right away in case anyone uses your cards," Tom advised.

"I have a feeling he won't use them," Freida mumbled without thinking. She knew it had to be Ben. He was messing with her. Trying his best to make sure she had a bad day, even while he wasn't about to ruin it in person. "You know who took them?" Tom asked, leaning in with an interested frown. Freida sighed deeply.

Then told him everything. Everything that had happened since they last spoke.

"But please don't repeat any of this," she finished. "Especially not to Felix or Stacy."

Tom smiled at her, giving her an odd, sideways look.

"I'm sorry about those two and how they treated you," Tom said. "Honestly... I don't even see them outside of college any more. What they did really ruined my trust in them and I don't see them in the same way as I did before."

"Oh," Freida looked down. "I'm... sorry I ruined your friendship."

"They ruined it," Tom said without pause. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry for introducing you to them, in fact."

"You know... you can always hang out with me and Katie. We are kinda the cool kids now," Freida said with a grin.

"Thanks," Tom said.

They asked for a couple of take away cups and took their drinks back the lecture hall. Felix and Stacy were sat in their usual spots, and they looked up at Tom as he passed. "Where are you going?" Stacy asked when he did not stop and sit with them.

"Oh, I thought I might sit with Freida today. Change things up a bit," he said with a wide smile. Then he chased after Freida before they could question him further. "That was so awkward," he whispered from the side of his mouth.

"Hey, Katie, you don't mind if Tom sits with us, right?" she said once they reached the back.

"Your'e like... really good at this coding stuff, aren't you?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes.

"Errr, well, I guess so..." Tom said. He looked uncomfortable declaring himself 'really good' but it was the truth.

"Yeah, you're modest but you're good. I've seen your work," Katie said. "I get those pair of dingus's aren't happy to lose you."

Tom flushed a little and laughed. He scratched his head. "Well... yeah, they do tend to copy off me so I'm betting they aren't going to have a good day."

"Hah," Freida cried. "And they made out like they were the experts."

Tom's face at this comment made both girls laugh.

The day that had started badly didn't end up being so awful in the end. After hanging out with Tom again, Freida realised how much she had missed his company. He had been a good friend until the others had ruined everything. He even offered to try and help her with her Ben problem.

"I can see if I can access his computer system," he said. "I mean, you might have to plug something into his computer which is risky--"

"Oh, no, that will be fun. I can pretend I'm in a spy movie," Freida said.

Tom laughed at this.

"I've missed you're sillyness," he said.

"Missed you two, buddy," Freida said, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

After saying goodbye, she made it to the bustop and was overjoyed to see Ben hadn't shown up to torture her.

'Maybe he is bored of messing with me,' she thought.

Then she checked her messages.

Inside was a picture of an adorable, tiny kitten.

Freida smiled before she read the text underneath it.

"Come straight over after college. I've gotten another little friend for you to play with," it said, signed 'Ben' with a kiss.

"No," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Nobody would hurt a little kitten. Not even a monster like Ben."