BEWARE! Texting. ~Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

"Stop texting! You'll have bad posture, like the Hunchback of Notre Dame," my mom yelled across the room while my finger swept across the wide keyboard on my phone. My phone vibrated again and I quickly opened the message to reply.

Yeah right. Like that would happen. She just wants me to get off the phone so I can pay some attention to her, I thought. I quickly replied to one more person and shoved my phone in my pocket to stop my mom from nagging me. I can feel the vibrations traveling from my phone through my pants to my legs. The vibrations are laughs, tempting me to reach for my phone, but I know my mom is watching me out of the corner of her eye. I can hear her thoughts, wanting me to take out my phone so she has a reason to take it away. I wait for her to be busy, and take out my phone, fingers running all over the keyboard.

I'm in my room listening to some music, and texting, of course. The many vibrations are bugging me so I set my phone on silent.

"Lily, come help with dinner!" my mom shouts from the kitchen, her voice trying to break through my walls and the music.

"Coming!" I shout back. I quickly text one last time and then run downstairs before my mom calls again. I help her chop some onions, and listen to every order she barks at me. I feel like I'm on the show Hell's Kitchen. Sure feels like it.

"Stand up straight. Stop slouching. It's not good, all because you are constantly on your phone," she says to me with a demanding tone. I stand as straight as a soldier would in front of their lieutenant. I pull my shoulders back and hold my head high. Minutes pass and I'm already back to slouching. My back already began to ache. Once I finish helping my mom, I walk towards the stairs, but my mom stops me and makes me sit at the dinner table.

Dad is out working late so dinner is just my mom and me. The dining room is filled with the smell of lasagna. Yum. I scoop some onto my plate and begin to stuff my face.

"How was school? Anything happen?" my mom asks, almost as if she is interested.

"Good. Nothing really," I reply, my usual answer.

"Really? Nothing happened?"

"Yeah, just a normal day, like usual," I quickly shoot back, desperately wanting the questions to end. I know if I answer, more answers will come. I just want to enjoy this dinner, I thought, but instantly regret it because it was a rude comment. Thank goodness she can't read minds. I quickly finish dinner and escape to my room.

5 unread messages appears on my phone. One from my crush Chace, three from my best friend Serena, and one from my cousin. I reply to each one. As I wait for a reply, I turn on some music and begin my homework. My mom always told me to leave the phone out and turn off the music while I did my homework, but I never listen. Music helps me focus. Well, I think it does.

I finally complete my homework with many breaks between checking my phone and changing the song. I hear my mom's calling for me to do the dishes. I take my phone with me downstairs to the kitchen and lay it next to the sink, turning on some music. My mom's sitting at her desk working on her laptop. I try to wash the dishes as fast as possible. I hate doing dishes. If my dad was home, he would be doing them.

My hands are wrinkly and smell like dish washing soap when I'm finally done. I go to the couch to relax and check my phone. I guess this is a daily routine. My mom hates that I waste my time texting. She says I can do more productive things like extra credit or advanced work or reading a book. Who would want to do that?

I feel a tingle travel slowly down my spine and I shiver. Immediately, it's gone. Weird, I think to myself, but instantly forget about it.

"Lily!" my mom calls from her room. I rush to her room leaving my phone on the couch.

"Come watch some TV with me. You should spend some time with me," my mom says. I have no other choice then to sit with her and watch the boring news. I would get my phone but she hates when I text right next to her.

An hour passes of the the anchor speaking like a drone. I'm not very interested with the stories. They all don't really matter. It's time for bed. I text "goodnight" to everyone and leave my phone in another room to charge. I climb into my chilly bed, trying to create as much body heat as possible and turn on my radio. I lay there until I fall asleep.

I toss and turn, messing up my hair and kicking off everything on my bed. I wake up to an annoying alarm, an aching back, and shoulders. Must be the exercises we did in P.E. yesterday, I thought, trying to figure out the reason for this terrible aching. When I'm brushing my teeth, I feel a weird tingle run down my spine again. Is this all in my head?, I think to myself trying to find an explanation for all of this.


All during my classes, my shoulders are aching. It feels like invisible weights are resting on both of my shoulders. I try and crack my back to lessen the pain, but it just makes it worse. I rub my shoulders inside my shirt, and everyone gives me weird looks. Mostly the guys.


I'm finally home. I rush to my mom's bathroom to get heating pads and slap them onto shoulders and lay down on my bed to give my back a rest. I fall into a deep sleep.


I look into the mirror. My shoulders are drooping, sinking as if the force of gravity is stronger than it already is. My eyes are bloodshot, and my hair is a bird's nest. I use some cover up to cover the dark bags under my eyes from many sleepless nights. I put some lotion on my back and feel a bump. Probably just a mosquito bite. Maybe the mosquito brought a sickness to me, I thought, making up something to answer what's going on. I want to just collapse onto my bed and sleep through the day. I go downstairs to get my lunch and text Serena that I'm not feeling well. She replies with her sympathy. I can't tell if it's fake. It's through a text. My mom sees me standing, hovering over my phone and tells me to stop, calling me a hunchback. I'm too tired to fight back and listen.

At school, the spot surrounding my mosquito bite throbs in sync with my heart beat. I keep feeling my bump, and it doesn't feel that big. Nothing to worry about, I lie to myself. I can't wait to get home and fall onto my  soft bed. It'll make my me feel better. That's what I hope.

I open the door, run to my room, and jump onto my bed. I try desperately to fall into a deep sleep so I can't feel the pain, but a buzzing keeps me a awake. I cover my ears with my pillow and shut my eyes, but I still can't sleep. I hear my mom calling for me but I pretend I'm sleeping. I don't want to get out of this comfortable bed. I'm as fragile as raw spaghetti. Once I move, I'll break into little pieces.

It's finally dark outside. I've been laying in this bed, sinking in my misery for what seems like forever. I'm not hungry enough to eat, but I do need to pee. Don't want to smell like my own waste. I drag myself to the bathroom and plop myself on the toilet. My bladder is finally satisfied. I wash my hands and look up.

Someone with pitch black bags under their eyes, hunched shoulders drooping towards the ground, a big lump on their back reaching past their head with frizzy hair stairs back at me.

My jaw drops and a loud scream runs out. I can hear my mom running up the stair. The thing in front of me is doing the exact same thing.

This dead, hunched shoulder and big back creature is me.