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Catherine opened her eyes to find lucid sunshine filtering through the violet drapes over the window. She yawned and stretched, basking in the glorious promise of an ordinary but pleasant day. Hauling herself out of bed, she slipped out of her sleeping gown and into a simple, flower-patterned dress. She flitted around the house, opening windows and brushing curtains out of the glass so that the fresh breeze swept into her home. She loved the morning breeze. It lifted her spirits even in the gloomiest of times. She reveled in the light perfume of her garden: the delicate flavored roses; the soothing yellow daffodils; she could even find a trace of her freesias in there, all concocting the vivid perfume. 4
A little later, she sat on the kitchen counter with a batch of freshly made oatmeal pancakes and her brand-new laptop. Only recently had Catherine realized a joyous pastime: the internet. It was filled with all kinds of wondrous things and wondrous people. Not only that, but it was highly addictive. She found herself, day after day, spending more and more time hung in front of the screen, clicking away on the keyboard.5
Catherine turned the power on and waited, bubbling with excitement. Then she lightly clicked on the Firefox icon. Double-click, she reminded herself. I am such a noob. She giggled. She had recently found out it was slang for a novice. 6
The page loaded and shy typed the address for MatchMake.com. Despite that fact that it rather embarrassing for her, she loved the site. It gave her a wonderful outlet. Catherine had an odd history with men, none of it quite charming. Her first boyfriend, at tender sixteen, had left their first date with a poke in the eye after he had leaned over for a kiss. The second and third had suffered a high-heel in between their legs. She sighed. It never went well. She was always too reluctant, her boyfriends simply not enough. 7
"Poemlover16," she said aloud, as she carefully typed in her username and password. "And iloveallenpoe, yep."8
The page took a minute and loaded. She hummed to herself. 9
"Oh, six messages!" Catherine exclaimed, as she flicked through her posts. All of the messages were from one man, a man she was quickly attaching herself to. She had first accepted coolguy09 or Yakov, as he later told Catherine was his name, as a friend earlier this year, and through the months their friendship had blossomed. Yakov was an intriguing man, witty and loving and exceptionally caring. Often, when she would not come online for a day, he would bombard her profile with a hundred messages. He and Catherine seemed to have quite in common with one another and one similarity certainly excited them both: their love for English literature. Yakov loved Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe and Catherine worshipped Poe, although she was on the fence about Dickens. They loved debating and discussing books. So far, they had had a conversation about every novel they had both read. 10
Catherine opened her Message Book and looked at latest message. 11
Laura Tuning is as inept as a mouse with a writing pad. 12
She laughed out loud and typed: She certainly is not! Her book, The LOL Man is a stunner. You should read it. 13
A minute later, she got her reply. 14
The LOL Man is OK but she just got lucky. And everyone loves debuts. Read the other stuff - trash!15
He's online! She thought happily. She quickly typed:16
Gary Smith Goes to Town is good! So is Kettle Monk, and Friday - the book is wonderful! 17
Absolute gibberish. I'm thinking I don't know you! The woman practically abuses adverbs in Kettle Mnk! Bad taste, Cathy.18
*Monk19
Says the man who liked Peter Pan! 20
I was small back then and I loved flying around.21
Oh, please! You were nineteen! 22
Why aren't you at school?23
Don't change the subject. And it's Saturday, silly! 24
Really, I forget.25
So, how is the weather?26
Russia is always chilly!27
Oh, poor - digjlhiiifkmvn28
"Toby!" Catherine scolded her stubborn Siamese that had run across the keypad. "Bad Toby, how many times must I tell you!" The cat purred happily, having gotten her owner's attention. It jumped off the counter and wadded over to her food bowl and meowed. 29
Oh, my cat is hungry! Be right back. 30
Oh, I have to go now, anyway. 31
So soon!32
Yes, I have a meeting. Urgent.33
OK34
Bye!35
Bye!. 36
Catherine unhappily turned the power off and went over to fill Toby's food bowl. Afterwards, she tried to focus on some chores. She cleaned the dishes, ironed out the bed sheets, put her dirty clothes into the laundry, graded her students' homework and then finally relaxed herself into an armchair with a cup of tea. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. 37
Sighing with exhaustion, Catherine peeked through the peephole on the door. 38
Two men in black uniforms suits stood outside. Curious, she opened slightly and poked her head outside. 39
"Yes?" she asked, in what she hoped was a polite tone. 40
"Miss Jane?" 41
"Why, yes? Who are you?"42
"Miss, we are from the CIA. We need to see you immediately."43
Catherine felt her eyebrows fly into her hair. The CIA! On my doorstep! What in heavens name? She opened the door to let the men in. One was a short, stocky figure and a big belly that was almost succeeding in ripping his shirt off. The other was tall and dominating, with a french moustache and a long nose. They made quite a daunting couple. 44
"Miss, we need to ask you some questions," said the tall one. "Is there a place we may sit down?"45
"Why - uh - yes, there is, of course," said Catherine and led them into the den. 46
Once they sat down the tall man said: "Miss, we need to ask you if you are currently a member of MatchMake.com, an internet service that -"47
"Yes, yes I am," said Catherine feeling the redness creep into her cheeks. 48
"Have you been into contact with a certain identity coolguy07 aka Yakov." 49
"Uh - yes, I have been in contact with Yakov. Why? Is something wrong?"50
"Miss, we have been monitoring this situation carefully for the past six months -"51
"What? But why would -"52
"Miss, I'm afraid that coolguy07 aka Yakov is actually Yakov Esimova Nitkin, the President of the Russian Federation."53
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Adding your comment:
when you finish it tell me!!
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
