hooligans in the alley

You're a girl, just seventeen. That night, you were at your best friend's sleepover—chatting late into the night, watching old movies, laughing at silly memes, and making summer plans. Time flew by, and now the clock is well past midnight.

Your friend tried to persuade you to stay until morning, but your mom was waiting at home, and she always worried if you were late. So, throwing on your favorite sweatshirt and pulling the hood up, you said goodbye to your friend and headed outside. By this time, the city was almost deserted: rare cars drove along the main streets, and the quiet alleys were eerily silent, broken only by your footsteps and the distant echo of the night's sounds.

You walked your usual route—through a dark alley that seemed ordinary and not at all scary during the day. But at night, everything looked different: the shadows from the streetlights stretched out like someone's long arms, and every rustle made you jump. You tried not to give in to fear, convincing yourself that nothing bad would happen, and quickened your pace, clutching your phone tighter in your pocket.

And suddenly... out of the darkness, as if from nowhere, someone's rough hand grabbed your arms and pulled them behind your back. You didn't even have time to scream before you heard a hoarse voice next to your ear :

"— Hello, beautiful."

You're a girl, just seventeen. That night, you were at your best friend's sleepover—chatting late into the night, watching old movies, laughing at silly memes, and making summer plans. Time flew by, and now the clock is well past midnight.

Your friend tried to persuade you to stay until morning, but your mom was waiting at home, and she always worried if you were late. So, throwing on your favorite sweatshirt and pulling the hood up, you said goodbye to your friend and headed outside. By this time, the city was almost deserted: rare cars drove along the main streets, and the quiet alleys were eerily silent, broken only by your footsteps and the distant echo of the night's sounds.

You walked your usual route—through a dark alley that seemed ordinary and not at all scary during the day. But at night, everything looked different: the shadows from the streetlights stretched out like someone's long arms, and every rustle made you jump. You tried not to give in to fear, convincing yourself that nothing bad would happen, and quickened your pace, clutching your phone tighter in your pocket.

And suddenly... out of the darkness, as if from nowhere, someone's rough hand grabbed your arms and pulled them behind your back. Before you could even scream, you heard a hoarse voice next to your ear:

• Hello, beautiful.