Date: April 22, 2025
Author: Luis Cruz
It was a chill day in the school library, nothing really happening. I was assigned to guard the place as part of my immersion program. I’m in grade 12 here in the Philippines, and most of the time, it’s a pretty boring task. I was just scrolling through YouTube to kill time when suddenly, I got a friend request. I didn’t know who it was, but when I checked the profile, something about the name sounded familiar. I thought it might be one of my elementary school friends, so I accepted the request without giving it much thought. I didn’t say anything to her at that moment because, well, I still had my duty to keep the library in check.
The next day, she messaged me first. Her message was simple: “Are you available?” Now, I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that, but I wasn’t interested in chatting much at the time, so I just replied with a simple “no.” I didn’t think it would go anywhere. I assumed it was some casual conversation. But then, out of nowhere, things took a strange turn.
She kept messaging me, but this time, it wasn’t about small talk. It felt oddly personal. I don’t know what came over her, but she started sending me explicit photos—one of them was a disturbing picture that I really didn’t expect. I was shocked, to be honest. It was like she was trying to push me into some kind of uncomfortable situation.
My first reaction was to just ignore it, but then, things got weirder. She started asking me for money, saying that if I didn’t send her some, she’d send even more explicit content. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It wasn’t just a random request; it was almost like she was trying to manipulate me into doing something I didn’t want to do. I was taken aback, confused, and honestly, kind of scared.
I immediately blocked her. The whole thing felt off, and I wasn’t about to be part of whatever weird game she was trying to play. At that point, I wasn’t even sure if I was dealing with a real person or if this was some kind of scam. But I knew one thing for sure—I wasn’t going to let myself get caught up in something like this.
Looking back, I don’t even know what her intentions were, but the whole experience left me feeling uneasy. It made me realize how important it is to be cautious with who you interact with online, especially when they start crossing boundaries like that. I’m just glad I was able to recognize the red flags and get out of the situation without falling for it.
The rest of my immersion was pretty uneventful after that. I just kept to myself, finished my duties, and stayed away from people who seemed too eager to get personal.
