CURVED: The Post-it Note

CURVED%3A+The+Post-it+Note

Natalie Maloy, CURVED

WTF? Okay I know I’m super tired and out of it, but why is there a post-it note on my forehead? 

I wake up to feel really light headed and feel like I need to throw up.”I need food.” So I went into the kitchen. “Hey,” I said to my roommate Ava as I put my oatmeal into the microwave. “Hey, what’s up with your forehead?” Ava asked. “What are you talking about?” I said as I pulled out my phone camera. “What the hell is this? Who the hell put a post-it note on my forehead saying “WAKE UP THIS ISN’T OVER YET” I yelled. None of my roommates answered except Ava. But all she said was I don’t know but I gotta go.

I called into work today. This post-it note thing is bothering me. I mean seriously who came into my room in the middle of the night and put that on my forehead? I had to figure this out. I don’t even remember what I did last night. All I remember is having plans to go out with Ava for her birthday, but where did we go? and why don’t I remember? That oatmeal didn’t set very well I need to go to the bathroom. On the bathroom mirror was another post-it note saying “Look at what I made you do, hint it’s permanent.” Okay, I’m freaking out. Like what? this is now post-it note number 2 and both have been weird and creepy clues. What’s permanent? Then I think! A tattoo?! No freaking way! I look everywhere on my body and finally found a tattoo on my hip saying “You’re never alone now”. No this can’t be real. I scream. My roommates tell me to shut up, so I did. Mostly because I didn’t want anyone knowing about what’s going on except me. There’s already a lot going on right now with bills and my bad break up with my ex-boyfriend Damien. This feels like a dream. 

So I had a feeling Damien was behind all this so I got in my car to go to his house, even though I have a restraining order against him. In my car was another post-it note saying “You think you know but you really don’t and you never will”. I crumbled the yellow post-it note up threw it on the passenger seat of my car. I’m here. I haven’t been here since well the breakup. I get the guts to go to his door, and what do you know another post-it note. It says “Go to the last place you remember you were last night. Don’t be wrong”. The last place I remember I was last night was my car, so I went back to my car. When I got into my car I saw another post-it note written on the back of the old one. It said, “Its the bar dummy, go to the bar.” Wait how did this get into my car when it was right behind me. Whoever is behind all this just must have quickly put it in here I guess. Okay, I’ll go to the bar. I sit down and just order a glass of water since I have a headache and drinking alcohol will do anything but help with that. I finish my water to find out there is another note attached to the bottom of the glass. I thought it was a coaster. It had numbers on it, 91015 Remember Me?” I sat there just staring at that not thinking about what those numbers even meant. Was it a license plate number? A price? What is it? Then it hit me, it’s me and Damien’s date that we started dating. He’s gotta be the one doing this there’s no doubt about it now. I took this to the police. They did nothing because there was no proof. So I was all on my own again. I decided to tell ava about this so I could have some help. I didn’t get much help because half the time she was on her phone texting her new “un-named” boyfriend but she was there for moral support I guess. I didn’t know what to do next. So I just went home. When I got home I went to my room to just think. While Ava went on the computer talking to her new boyfriend again, that she’s so private about but I don’t care. I feel like crap, why is it that no matter what I do Damien always shows back up in my life again. I made sure he was out of it for a reason. He mentally and physically abused me for no reason. Why is he continuing to do this to me? Ava came in with my mail and said “you only got this” then walked out. It was a letter stating the restraining order has been lifted. What! I never said this was okay! Attached to that was another post-it note saying “I will get you back. Come find me.” I immediately went to my car, to find another note saying “No need to fear, get into your car and put it into your gear” so well I did I put my car into drive, not thinking to put my seatbelt on. All I could think about was figuring out why he was still after me.

I didn’t find anything that night I just wanted to give up. A few weeks later Ava said she was moving out. I was sad but I understood why she was because she was getting older and just wanted to be on her own. But I came to find out she was moving in with her new secret boyfriend. She moved out very quickly. Ava has been very distant lately. I had a funny feeling about her now. Why wasn’t she telling me who her boyfriend was I mean seriously here moving in together I think I should know. I asked my other roommates Dee Dee, Tracy, and Jessica if they knew what was going on with her. They all said no except Dee Dee. She told me she found something weird on the counter yesterday that might help. It was an old receipt from OfficeMax, oh her buying 5 packs of post-it notes. I immediately flipped a switch. No fricken way! This can’t be real. Ava is helping Damien with all this? I called Ava but there was no answer. I searched everywhere for her. As I was driving I found another post-it note hidden in my purse while I was trying to find a piece of gum. It said, “I’m sorry but it’s only fair for us.” I fumed, how dare they do this to me especially Ava. I need to find them. I put my car in gear and speeded down Picklemore street where Damien lives. No one was there but there was another note saying “Meet me at the town park near the fountain.” So I did and there they were sitting there kissing. They both acted surprised to see me when I walked up to them. I know what you guys are doing to me and it needs to stop now! Damien was confused but Ava was not. “Yeah, you’re upset now sweetie. Are you feeling betrayed? Yeah well, that’s how he felt when you broke his heart.” Damien is still sitting there confused as hell. “I knew it,” I said. “But wait Damien aren’t you in on this too?” In what?” he asks. “This post-it note crap.” “No what are you talking about?” Damien asked confusingly. “Of course he doesn’t know Aura. It was all me I did it. I did this because I was sick and tired of Damien complaining to me about you, so I got revenge on you.” Ava explained. FOR WHAT?! I screamed. He abused me mentally and physically for nothing. I ended things for a reason.” “You’re lying,” Ava said. “No, I’m not. Ask him yourself.” 

Ava turned her head towards Damien slowing and he nodded his head in shame. Ava was shocked. I walked away, just trying to soak in what has all happened these past two weeks. It all came together. I went to the bar for Ava’s birthday. She drugged my drink to make sure I didn’t remember anything that happened that night. She got me to get that tattoo and the morning after she acted like she had no idea what happened and she wanted to help me try and find out who was behind all this. She tried to make me think it was Damien so I would immediately go to his house to find the post-it note to lead me away from my car to put the other note. She put me on this scavenger hunt of fear and confusion to make me go crazy so she could feel sane. Damien told me he was trying to get better and he was telling the truth because Ava is the crazy one here. She has no clue what happened so instead she assumed and it all came back crawling on her. She lost everything close to her because of her crazy assumptions.

Because of Ava, my trust issues are even worse now. Why did she do this to me? And how didn’t Damien know? Was he lying? Was she pretending it was her while he was pretending it wasn’t him? Guess I’ll never know. All I know is I’m glad this post-it note thing is all over with.

I wake up to find a post-it note on my forehead saying “I’m sorry.” I cried.