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Home Alone This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine.

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The sky was pitch black, the house was creaking, and I still had four hours until my parents got home. Locked in my parents’ room, I turned on the TV full blast so I wouldn’t hear the creaking house.

I barely heard the phone ring. I picked it up and said, “Hello … hello …?” but there was no response. I knew someone was on the other end. Finally, I hung up. A minute later, the phone rang again; still no one was there. I became more frightened as time passed; the same ­person called five more times.

At this point I didn’t bother picking up, but the ringing continued. To get my mind off this prank caller, I called my friend. She told me not to worry and to turn the phone off. As we talked, I heard someone pull into the driveway. When I peeked out the window, I saw an unfamiliar car.

Thirty minutes passed and the car was still in my driveway. It drove up and down the drive as if aware I was watching. My friend told me to call the cops, but I refused.

Soon the phone calls started again. I heard noises in the background, but I couldn’t tell what they were. I really didn’t want that person to get out of the car and start toward the house. If they did, I didn’t know what I’d do. None of the doors were locked, and I would have no way of protecting myself. The only thing I could do was hide, which wasn’t a very good plan.

At this point I was considering calling the cops, but my friend offered to drive by. “Maybe if they see me pull in, they will leave,” she suggested. By the time she arrived, the car had left. The phone rang again and I picked up, thinking it might be my friend. Someone on the other end said “Bye-bye.”

At that point I wasn’t as scared as curious. Since then I have not stayed home alone and I probably never will.

This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.




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This article has 288 comments. Post your own!

Aduke9This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
May 6 at 8:09 pm:
I love non-fiction pieces and this one is one of my favorites. What a surreal experience.
 
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KennaLynn14 said...
Apr. 25 at 9:18 am:

Wow, you are a very lucky girl! Im really glad that your friend pulled in the driveway, so that he left you alone, and im really glad that your okay! If i was you in that situation, i would have been scared out of my mind!

 

 
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xxDarkAlleyxx said...
Apr. 19 at 3:58 pm:
I  love this story! Its one of my favorites and that is really scary!
 
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Grace S. This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 19 at 1:28 pm:
I really liked this story. I can relate to the on edge feeling of being home alone. The only complaint i have is the sotry ould be more eery if you ended with the words "bye-bye", nad not added the comment about curiosity. But i did enjoy it!
 
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JMugliaThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 17 at 5:26 pm:
I loved this non-fiction piece! It was captivating and really kept my attention throughout the entire piece. The only thing I would change would be the last two sentences. Ending it with "Bye-bye" would be a better ending.
 
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selenafan1This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 14 at 11:30 pm:
Wow really good... I think you should have ended with the bye bye line as well. It really creeped me out though makes me happy i have an alarm system haha! Please check out some of my work my page name is selenafan1 and rate and comment please. I have two poems as well as two photos that are still pending though!
 
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Writer_JordanThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 14 at 10:47 am:

I stay home all the time!

Turn on a light to ward off potential burglars. Lock your doors, all of them! Close the curtains. CALL THE COPS. Just be happy that you got to write the story! Some people don't get so lucky.

 
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livelaughloveeatsoupThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 30 at 10:46 pm:
Well-written and very interesting, but it seemed a bit anti-climatic. 
 
TTTeeSSThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Apr. 14 at 9:12 am :
I agree. It just...ends. I don't think the conclusion was necassary though.
 
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RavenneThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 23 at 2:37 am:
Creepy... but lacking. Some grammatical errors here and there, and overall- too leading. The plot wasn’t captivating and as it should have been and the character was shallow- more description please! The conclusion wasn’t necessary- best if ended the piece with the "bye bye" line. Consider utilizing more periodic sentences and visual imagery next time
 
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TaurusGalThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 21 at 9:57 pm:

 

Yup... It is creepy =]

 
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dgeigs said...
Mar. 8 at 7:02 am:

so good...

 

 
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scared said...
Mar. 8 at 6:58 am:

Such a good story!

 

 
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NinjaRizzo said...
Feb. 6 at 4:13 pm:
woah. Great story.
 
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ElkieLionThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Feb. 4 at 10:03 am:
Wow, seriously creepy!
 
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obsesser said...
Jan. 22 at 5:36 pm:
omg, this happened to me once when i as home alone but i heard the stair creeking and the oven started beeping. I havent even been in a room alone since
 
CandyGirl replied...
Feb. 11 at 9:35 pm :
ikr! i HATE staying home alone!
 
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thatpersonwhosalive said...
Jan. 21 at 9:38 am:
Just yesterday some 60-70 year old woman was at the door. I didn't look who it was right away, but I did 2 minutes later when she was there still. She was there for another 5 minutes and then she finally left (it's like -30 celsius outside so it was weird that she was there for ten minutes).
 
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Odyesseus said...
Jan. 17 at 9:18 am:
Maybe it was your friends
 
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bubblesrfunThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 26, 2011 at 11:43 pm:
Wow, I loved this story. I was home alone when I read it, and I was looking out the window constantly! :) What I loved so much about this was it was almost like a story starter. The ending is open, so you can kind of just paste yourself into the story and what you would do in this 'situation'.
 
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TherearemanyAnnasbutIamtheORIGINALThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 19, 2011 at 12:59 pm:

I would never be able to stay home alone again. :0

I had a similar expirence, I looked out the window when I was home alone and big black car was infront of my house. I ws sick, and could barely move. It eventually went away...but still. 

 
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meowers5This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 18, 2011 at 6:15 pm:

wow...talk about creepy

 

 
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swcricket98This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 10, 2011 at 1:09 pm:
This was a good piece, althought I feel it could have been longer. I also feel that because it wasn't as long the ending was sort-of abrupt when you said "At that point..." Interesting though!
 
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ReadWriteBreatheThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 6, 2011 at 6:45 pm:
This gave me the chills! I can't stop looking behind me. Great job!
 
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ninja17This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Dec. 4, 2011 at 10:37 pm:
I am in my room in the dark when I read this. It was so scary! Oh my you've done well. Next time you should call the cops!
 
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:K:B) said...
Dec. 4, 2011 at 10:59 am:

I loved this story but right now i very scared. you should tell your parents immedialty if you didnt and always be sure when your home alone to have a cell  phone or something to call someone in case of a danger and to lock all the doors and windows and to have something to protect your self or a plan. but the best way to be safe is too NEVER be home alone especially at night. was this story true??

Me i used to stay the night with my made and sister alone but one night a car stopp... (more »)

 
KatsviewThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Feb. 20 at 12:18 pm :
Yes, it is . . . or at least, it should be, as it's in the nonfiction section. I'm scared too, as right now, incidentally, I'm home alone and I thought I heard the door open, but nobody was there.
 
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TouchOfARoseThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 29, 2011 at 8:10 pm:
Oh man! This was blood-chillingly amazing! This really happened?!?! I probably would have done what you did too...
You did a good job capturing your fear/curiousity in this! (: You gave me goose-bumps! ><
 
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pretty rimsha said...
Nov. 21, 2011 at 5:52 am:
interesting!
 
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ksaurus200This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 14, 2011 at 8:22 pm:
i wouldnt either the closest i ever came to somthing this scary is the time i was watching my sisterwhen she got home from school and waiting for my mom and we thought that we heard foot steps up staries. so i grabed one of my text books and searched upstairs no one was there though
 
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Fangstorm_The_Vampire said...
Nov. 12, 2011 at 10:25 pm:

Yeah, scary stuff..

One time my family was driving home from a movie and we saw this GIANT pickup parked straight across our front gate, and my mom honked her horn and a guy sat up in the seat fro mwhere he'd beeen LYING DOwN and he was smoking a giant cigar, and we asked what he was doing, and he said "waiting for a friend"

He drove down the road a few minutes later without waiting for his "friend."

 
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lrshapThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 12, 2011 at 4:54 pm:

OH MY GOD! WOW! Scary!

that's crazy creapy but i am glad ur ok and you did an amazing job writing this peice!

 
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HonorThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 2, 2011 at 2:25 pm:
Did you ever find out who called and/or who was in the drive way?
 
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loKita :) buenita said...
Nov. 1, 2011 at 11:59 pm:
I literally couldn't stop reading the passage because i was so into it! :) This is so suspensful that i wish it could be a book because if it was i wouldn't let go of it :)
 
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TheWriterGolfer said...
Oct. 24, 2011 at 10:27 pm:
That was really suspensful. I was literally at the edge of seat while reading this piece. You sure know how to attract an audience!
 
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PumpkinscoutThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 24, 2011 at 1:16 pm:
Oh my gosh I would've been soooo scared and creeped out...
 
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BrokenBreeThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 23, 2011 at 6:41 pm:
Oh my! I would have been so scared! This totally gave me chills and I'm amazed that this was more of a thriller to me than the books I've read! Great job recreating the suspense.
 
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zee11This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 23, 2011 at 10:51 am:
gosh!i would have been so freaked out if it was me...by the way,you've got great writing skill ..:)
 
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she-is-a-strange-duckThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 22, 2011 at 3:11 pm:
Wow! gave me chills! great writing, don't stop!
 
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ImperfectlifeThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 21, 2011 at 10:17 pm:
Dude, this was really dangerous! What if it turned out like this ending? Banish that thought away. Anyway, I'm glad you're safe. This writing is good, it built up suspense and I couldn't stop reading it.
 
ImperfectlifeThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Oct. 21, 2011 at 10:18 pm :
I meant what if it didn't turned out like this ending.
 
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ThePeaceDaisyThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 21, 2011 at 2:47 pm:
Wow, that freaked ME out, and it didn't happen to me! I think I understand why you didn't call the cops. Maybe you were afraid if the person found out, they would try to get revenge? Anyway, Great writing!
 
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keziahseverything said...
Oct. 17, 2011 at 8:49 pm:
why didnt you call the cops that could have been seriously dangerous
 
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zebras13This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 13, 2011 at 11:12 am:
I love this!!
 
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trelly-trell said...
Oct. 13, 2011 at 10:09 am:

this story was alright ,it was kinda creepy but i like it!!!!!!!!!

 

 
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carlya14This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Oct. 11, 2011 at 5:53 pm:
wow seriously creepy!
 
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C Swaqq said...
Oct. 10, 2011 at 9:26 pm:
Woa , This was the best ! I was creeped. It makes me re-think about staying home alone to ! :]
 
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Alexa Schottin said...
Oct. 10, 2011 at 4:26 pm:
I really liked this! That is a very scary situation. You should be more cautious and not be so against calling for help! Keep up the writing:)
 
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Victoria.SThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Sept. 24, 2011 at 7:47 pm:
OMG! that would creep me out! Good Writing though! Keep it up!! :)
 
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SirenaLove670 said...
Sept. 19, 2011 at 11:41 pm:
OMG! I'm glad you're alright! But your friend is right, you should always call the police or else something worse would've happened.
 
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