Mr. Ballin

And as they did, even though she couldn't quite hear what they were saying, she began to feel her face get red.

Because even though she didn't know if they were talking about her, if they were, it certainly would not be the first time.

People talked about her a lot.

So Barbara just did her best to try to ignore them.

And then as soon as the teacher said they could go, she jumped up and shoved her books into her bag.

And then she hurried out of the building to where her car was parked.

She got in and pulled out of the lot.

And as she made her way down the street, she actually felt a wave of excitement.

She couldn't wait to sell this necklace and finally get out of this place.

About three hours later, Barbara's best friend Jerry walked up the sidewalk to Barbara's house.

He thought they had plans to meet up that afternoon, but Barbara never showed.

And Barbara did not usually just blow off plans without calling, so now he was actually at her house just to make sure she was okay.

And now Jerry noticed that her car was not in her driveway.

So he just stood there for a minute, wondering if maybe he should go in and ask her roommates where she was.

but he ultimately decided against it and just instead headed back to his place.

But after beginning the walk back to his place, he passed by an apartment complex down the street from Barbara's place and he stopped because he could clearly see Barbara's car parked in the lot, which was definitely out of the ordinary because Jerry was sure she did not know anybody who lived there.

And so now really starting to worry about Barbara, Jerry walked up to her car to check it out.

And when he looked inside, he saw there was a note.

And so he just opened up her car because he found it was unlocked and he grabbed the note and he began to read it.

And as he did, he felt his heart rate start to pick up.