Safe Text and the American Teenager

About a month ago my wife and I were chillaxing at home watching a movie. Around 10:30 PM my wife receives an incoming text message on her cellular device. It's from a local Utah number that neither of us recognize. The text says:

"hi, this is kylie, from the party!"

I never thought my wife could have been a part of some secret lesbian party scene behind my back, and I was right. She confirmed that she didn't know any Kylie and hadn't been to any parties recently. Recognizing an opportunity for some mischief I nabbed the phone and responded:

"The one that puked on my shoes?"

It wasn't long before we received a reply:

"lol. no, i was wearing the red, yellow, and blue bikini, remember?"

Suddenly my little project got a lot more interesting. I know just what to say back:

"Maybe a picture would refresh my memory..."

At this point I was sure I'd pushed the envelope too far and Kylie would at last realize her mistake. The response came quicker than I expected:

"lol k hold on"

Kicking myself for not asking for her credit card number I waited patiently. Cassie was also involved with this as well, although I wasn't sure what her thoughts on it were. Maybe she thought it was funny, maybe she thought I was really immature, maybe she was awaiting the photo of the bikini clad minor with greater anticipation than I. Either way, I was past the point of no return.

Sure enough, a few minutes later we received a message, this time in picture format. The girl couldn't have been over 15 years old, clothed in the aforementioned red, yellow, and blue bikini, and seductively holding an Otter Pop to her mouth. At this point I felt it would be best to end my little project before it spiraled out of control and ended up with me in jail. I wrote back:

"Let me ask you a question. Who do you think you are texting?"

"adam"

"I think you've got the wrong number. Thanks for the picture though."

"who is this?"

"Nobody you know."

"oh, i'm sorry. will you delete that pic?"

"Sure, no prob. Better luck next time."

The picture was eventually deleted from Cassie's cell phone, but not before it it was transferred to a more secure location inside my Hotmail inbox. Some may think it was cruel of me to do what I did. I disagree, I think I was doing that young woman a valuable service. She could have gotten someone a lot worse, who could've gone a lot farther with her. Instead she got me, a caring teacher with unorthodox methods. Say what you want about my actions, but that little girl is going to think twice about texting pictures to strangers from now on. So yes, I do feel like I've made the world a safer place. Let this be a lesson to all.