Sep 22, 2026 · 41 min · 12 segments
Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf was walking home from school when a stranger appeared. He told her he was a police officer. He wasn’t. Within minutes, Elizabeth was being led away from the road…
A high-pitched squeal broke Elizabeth out of her daydreams.
The bus ride today had been longer than usual, and she had ventured in her mind.
All right, kids, this is the end of the road, their bus driver pointed her eyes up into the large mirror above her.
Don't gotta go home, but you can't stay here, she laughed as she opened the doors.
Elizabeth gathered her backpack and slipped out of the cheap leather seat.
She followed a group of her friends off the bus, taking the three steps quickly.
She was looking forward to the walk home today.
You guys go up ahead.
I want to talk to Elizabeth, Casey told the group.
A blush ran up her neck and settled in her cheeks.
Her heart thumped in her chest.
This is what she had been waiting for.
Her crush was finally going to ask her out.
As their friends walked ahead, she turned to Casey.
What's up, Case? She asked.
I've been wanting to talk to you.
He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers within hers.
Me too! She almost yelled.
I mean, never mind, go ahead.
She smiled at him.
Well, I was wondering if I could take you on a date.
He didn't look at her now, but she noticed red creeping up his neck too.
Of course I will.
She didn't even have to think about it.
Elizabeth had noticed him from the first day of ninth grade, just a few weeks earlier.
A high-pitched squeal broke Elizabeth out of her daydreams.
The bus ride today had been longer than usual, and she had ventured in her mind.
All right, kids, this is the end of the road, their bus driver pointed her eyes up into the large mirror above her.
Don't gotta go home, but you can't stay here, she laughed as she opened the doors.
Elizabeth gathered her backpack and slipped out of the cheap leather seat.
She followed a group of her friends off the bus, taking the three steps quickly.
She was looking forward to the walk home today.
You guys go up ahead.
I want to talk to Elizabeth, Casey told the group.
A blush ran up her neck and settled in her cheeks.
Her heart thumped in her chest.
This is what she had been waiting for.
Her crush was finally going to ask her out.
As their friends walked ahead, she turned to Casey.
What's up, Case? She asked.
I've been wanting to talk to you.
He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers within hers.
Me too! She almost yelled.
I mean, never mind, go ahead.
She smiled at him.
Well, I was wondering if I could take you on a date.
He didn't look at her now, but she noticed red creeping up his neck too.
Of course I will.
She didn't even have to think about it.
Elizabeth had noticed him from the first day of ninth grade, just a few weeks earlier.
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