Creepy Teens in the Woods

I regularly walked alone between home and school along a wooded path. The route crossed a shallow creek with steep banks. After rain, my footsteps were quieter than usual.

As I reached the creek, I heard two boys talking nearby. I stopped and pressed myself against the muddy bank, trying to understand what they were saying. They came all the way to the edge of the creek but did not climb down. Fortunately, an overhang hid me from view.

I listened as they discussed waiting for a girl who used the path. One of them said that she should be arriving soon. I realized they were waiting specifically for me because I was the only person who regularly used that route.

The boys walked around, smoked cigarettes, and became frustrated when I did not appear. One asked where I was, and the other suggested that I might not be coming. They then left because they had somewhere else to go.

I remained hidden long after their voices disappeared. Eventually I ran from the creek bed toward home without looking back. I told my mother what had happened, and she contacted the school. She would not let me use the wooded path alone again for a long time.

I never learned what the boys intended to do. I only know that they had been waiting in a secluded place, had identified my routine, and had planned around my arrival. The quiet footsteps that day may have been the only reason I heard them before they saw me.