Writers 
THE MESSAGE SHE NEVER SENT
At exactly 11:58 p.m., Zara received a message from her best friend, Amara. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID. Zara stared at the screen, confused. What are you talking about? she replied. There was no answer. The next morning, Amara did not come to school. By lunchtime, everyone had a different story about where she was. Three days later, Amara suddenly returned. Zara ran to her. “Where have you been?” she asked. Amara looked at her strangely. “Sorry, do I know you?” Zara laughed nervously. “Stop joking.” “I’m not joking,” Amara replied. That evening, Zara received another message from Amara’s number. MEET ME AT THE OLD LIBRARY. COME ALONE. Zara went immediately. Amara was already there, looking frightened. “Someone has been pretending to be me,” she whispered. She showed Zara her phone. Hundreds of messages had been sent from her account, exposing secrets and destroying friendships. “I didn’t write any of these,” Amara said. Suddenly, footsteps echoed outside. The library door opened. Zara froze. Standing there was another girl who looked exactly like her. Same face. Same uniform. Same necklace. Amara grabbed Zara’s hand. “That’s her.” The girl smiled. “You finally figured it out.” The library doors slammed shut. Every screen in the room switched on, revealing cameras pointed directly at them. A voice came through the speakers. “Let’s see which one of you is real.” Zara’s heart pounded. The other girl stepped forward. “Ask her something only the real Zara would know.” Amara turned toward Zara. “What did we promise each other on our first day of school?” Zara answered immediately. “Never to lie to each other.” The other girl laughed. “Then why did you lie about remembering me?” Zara stared at her. “I don’t even know you.” The lights suddenly went out. When they returned, the other girl had disappeared. Amara was gone too. Zara stood alone in the library. Her phone buzzed. One final message appeared from her own number. YOU WERE NEVER THE ORIGINAL. Zara slowly looked toward the dark window. Her reflection smiled before she did. Then another message appeared. RUN BEFORE SHE WAKES UP NOW.
