I just turned 17 last month, and I’m going into my senior year in high school. This year I decided to go to summer school to take an extra two classes before the semester begins.

Class starts at 10, and I live about 2 miles from my school. I always take the public bus, but since it doesn’t drop me off directly in front of my school I have to walk the last few blocks. I got off at the corner, walk into a store to buy some snacks, and while I was in there I notice a man staring at me. He was looking through some magazines and when I walked in I notice his gaze on me. Even as I walked through the aisles he was staring at me, and even followed me to the back. I brushed it off, paid for my things and started walking the last few blocks to my school.

As I’m walking, a car pulls up to my side. Immediately I’m scared without even seeing who’s in the car. The car honks at me, and I hear a man say “excuse me”. I keep walking but look from the side of my eye and see it’s the man from the store. He looked to be in his late 30’s early 40’s and had a suit on as if he was in his way to work.

When he sees I’m still walking he pulls the car in front of me so that his car is blocking me. I’m scared, but I’m on a busy street in front of some stores so I think at least if something happens someone is bound to see.

His car is blocking me, he has his window rolled down, and he asks me directions to a street. I told him sorry that I’m not good with directions, and that I was late to school. I hoped if he knew I was expected somewhere he wouldn’t try anything. Wrong. He keeps asking for directions. I tell him i couldnt hello and to just look it up in his phone. Then I turned around to walk away. I planned to go inside to a store and wait for him to be gone.

As soon as I turn around I hear his car open , and his footsteps walking toward me. My heart was pounding, and next thing I knew he’s by my side. He’s asking me to put the street he’s looking for into his phone because he doesn’t know how apparently. I told him sorry but I couldn’t help him and i tried walking away. This time he grabs me by my arm and starts pulling me to his car. I yank it away and try running , but he grabbed my backpack and I fell to the floor. I started to take my backpack off prepared to just leave it when he grabs my arm again, and forces me up. He started pulling me to his car again, and that’s when I started yelling for help. I yelled that I didn’t know him, and no one came. There were people there walking by, on their morning jog, or even in the parking lot of the stores and they didn’t bother. I was crying. Finally I hear someone else yell “aye man” and then again “what’s going on”. The man was clearly homeless, runs to my side, and starts pushing the man that tried pulling me to his car. I run into the store while he’s distracted and call the police. By the time I’m off the phone the homeless man had already scared off the guy and he was gone. He comes to me to ask if I’m okay, and if I knew whoever that guy was. I tell him that I didn’t know him at all, and that I had called the cops if he wanted to help with questioning.

The cops came, thought the homeless man was the one that harassed me so I had to explain he was the one that helped me. I gave him a description of the man in the suit and the car, and the cops offered to take me to school since they had to let the school know anyway about a possible child abductor in the area. Before I left I gave the man that came to my rescue a hug, I cried as I thanked him, and told him that I’d come back to help him with anything as much as I could.

When my parents heard what happened they went back with me to find that homeless man, but he wasn’t there. This was two days ago and I haven’t seen him since but I’ll forever be so grateful to him.