The Facebook Stalker

Monday.

Kate Anderson felt a surge of exhilaration as she packed the last of her belongings. Months of applications, late nights studying, and dreaming had culminated in this moment: an acceptance letter to the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Glendale, Wisconsin, her small farming hometown, was fading into her rearview mirror. It was a good town, for some, but not for Kate. She craved more, dreamt bigger, and tomorrow, she would finally embrace the bustling energy of a city she’d only ever imagined.

Her father had already left with the U-Haul, carrying the bulk of her new life ahead of her. By tomorrow afternoon, she would officially be an adult, standing on her own two feet in a vibrant metropolis. The thought of it was almost too much to contain; sleep felt impossible with the hum of anticipation thrumming through her veins.

The next afternoon, as the cab pulled away from the curb, a wide, unstoppable grin spread across Kate’s face. She was free. She was on her own. Her new life had officially begun. Nothing could stop her now. Or so she thought.