While I was at school a former roommate followed me for months — pretending the meetings were chance, never quite crossing the line. I doubted myself the whole way through. One winter evening I went to my lecturer Andy for help; he and our dean Jeremy called him in and made it stop.

I chose the eye as the subject because watching is the common thread — in life and online. Most of us haven't been stalked, but every one of us has watched someone we shouldn't have. The piece is meant to sit between unease and a small private joke.