Four:
At two in the morning she rang my doorbell. My chime was muted, so I heard nothing. When she saw I wouldn't answer, she went down the row and rang the entry buzzer for every single unit in the building.
She woke the whole building. And the neighbors knew about the war between me and Penelope Lawrence.
So of course they pinned it all on me.
"Teacher Edwards, isn't this a bit much on your part? Do you really need the entire building to lose sleep along with you?"
"What would it cost you to just open the door? It's summer break anyway. Worst case you nap during the day, right?"
"You get your peace and quiet, but what about the rest of us?"
I didn't respond at all.
They hadn't stood by me before, so I had no reason to spare them any thought. I waited until the next day and posted one line in the group chat: Every debt has a debtor. Take it up with the person who did it. Why come at me?
They were furious.
And once Penelope saw that turning the building against me wasn't working, she switched tactics.
She still rang my doorbell.
When it wouldn't sound, she started calling and texting me. When I didn't reply, she let herself out, came up, and pounded on my door.
I forced myself to leave it alone.
Figuring she'd get tired and go home.
Instead Penelope pulled out her phone and called the police. Called an ambulance.
And she explained it to me with a completely straight face.
"Teacher Edwards, I saw your lights on but you wouldn't open up, and you weren't answering my messages, so I worried something had happened to you."
"I was so worried about you. That's the only reason I did it. I did it for your own good. You wouldn't blame me for that, would you?"
"I mean, I never imagined you'd be so cruel, sitting at home and deliberately staying silent."
And it wasn't just Penelope saying it.
In the building group chat, one after another tagged me, blaming me for playing dead, telling me to be more considerate from now on...
All I could do was explain the situation to the officer.
Picturing the triumph in Penelope's eyes, I sat there dry-eyed until dawn again, and finally made up my mind to strike back one last time.
I bought tickets for my husband and daughter and sent them ahead to our hometown.
My husband wouldn't go.
"Forget it. Let's just sell the place and leave."
I shook my head.
"Have you forgotten what our daughter's preschool teacher told us?"
"Our daughter used to be cheerful and lively, and now she's like a startled bird. The tiniest noise at school terrifies her. If I walk away now, she'll be like this for the rest of her life."
"For her sake, I have to fight back."
There was nothing he could do but listen to me and get on the plane.
Once Penelope saw me send my husband and daughter off, she looked a little smug.
"Perfect. On your own you'll make an even better doorman."
"But watch yourself. Don't go bringing shady men home and keeping me waiting at the door."
"And if you still won't open up tonight, I won't just call the police. I'll call an ambulance, the fire trucks, the works. It's all for your own good, of course."
I just smiled.
"Ms. Lawrence, take my advice. Don't ring my doorbell tonight."
Penelope rolled her eyes and ignored me.
I went home too, and started getting ready for tonight's showdown.
Once I was ready, I took my medication and went to sleep. I slept straight through until half past one in the morning, a full nine hours.
I ate while I waited for the clock to crawl toward two.
At 1:59 I put in earplugs, then pulled on the best noise-canceling headphones I could find, and looked at Penelope on the video doorbell screen and smiled.
Penelope seemed to sense me too.
She smiled back at the camera, then reached out one finger and pressed my entry buzzer.
The next second.
A blood-curdling scream tore through the entire complex!
