The Lost & Found Read Online Free PDF

while, but I still logged on to TILT daily. I mostly just used the messaging feature, because the one good thing to come out of TILT was my best friend.
    Whose real name I didn’t know. She went by the screen name TheMissingNib.
    It was kind of weird but I don’t know—it also kind of worked.
    Besides not knowing her name, I also didn’t know exactly where she lived (East Coast somewhere. Maryland maybe? Rhode Island?) or what she looked like (it was against TILT policy to exchange photos). So for all I knew she could be an old, weird serial killer and not the teenager she claimed to be.
    But I liked talking to her, so to be honest, I didn’t worry that much about anything else.
    I was planning on telling her about my acceptance to the University of Texas, but my password kept failing. I was terrible with passwords. I tried a variety, one after another:
    Bucker
    Buckerisacat
    Buckermcbuckerson
    Nothing worked.
    I had them email me a reset code.
    When asked to pick a new password, I typed in
Buckerisnowmypassword
.
    The site labeled my password
weak
but accepted it, so I was feeling fairly triumphant as the home screen popped up.
    I had one unread message from TheMissingNib.
    It’s six in the morning over here. I’ve just spent the past five hours reading every letter my mother’s written me over the past five years. You know, my mother who moved to Florida? Except—and here’s a fun new fact I recently learned—SHE NEVER MOVED TO FLORIDA. She’s been living in my town the whole time, IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION. WTF. Except now she’s dead. Are you awake? Message me when you’re awake.
    I checked the clock. It was about seven in the morning. Nib had sent the message four hours ago. I hit Reply and typed back:
    I’m awake now. Are you?
    I hit Send.
    Her response popped up a minute later.
    I’m awake. Instamess?
    TILT didn’t have instant messaging. I opened up the Instamess application on my computer. I was still signed in from last night, so I closed my away message and opened a chat box with TheMissingNib.
    BuckerMcBuckerson // Hi.
    TheMissingNib // Hi.
    Bucker // Hi. I’m so sorry about your mother.
    Nib // I thought she was in Florida. This whole time.
    Bucker // I can’t believe your grandparents lied to you for so long.
    Nib // You and me both. I thought they were benevolent, but it turns out they are evil old people and must be destroyed.
    Bucker // She wrote you letters?
    Nib // Like a ton of letters. At least once a month for five years.
    Bucker // What do they all say?
    Nib // They’re mostly crazy. Unintelligible. I mean, she was in the nuthouse. She didn’t really have all her faculties.
    Bucker // Do you mind if I ask you something . . .
    Nib // She hanged herself.
    Bucker // That’s terrible.
    Nib // Hanged is the correct verb, btw.
    Bucker // I know.
    Nib // You live in LA, right?
    Bucker // Yup.
    Nib // Guess who my mom says my real dad is?
    Bucker // Who?
    Nib // Wallace Green.
    Bucker // The actor? For real?
    Nib // I mean, we must take that with a grain of salt. She spent the last five years getting lobotomies, probably.
    Bucker // Well he doesn’t even live in LA. He lives in Texas. I think I read that in a magazine.
    Nib // All the movie stars are moving to Texas.
    Bucker // Yeah. Isn’t it 4 AM where you are?
    Nib // We’re three hours forward, not backward. You’re not very good at clocks.
    Bucker // Oh, yeah. I knew that. Have you slept yet? Maybe you should get some sleep.
    Nib // Trying to get rid of me?
    Bucker // I have to drive my sister to the doc.
    Nib // Everything OK?
    Bucker // She’s getting fitted for some new legs. She wants to be taller.
    Nib // Really?
    Bucker // Ha. No. She doesn’t really fit the old ones anymore. These will probably be the last pair, though.
    Nib // Forever legs.
    Bucker // That’s a snappy name. I might call her that.
    Nib // Don’t tell her it was from