The Technique

Chapter 25: The Show

"Aren't you wondering why there is a lot of cameras in this school?" I asked Kylie and Mike.

Mike looked up and counted the cameras in the cafeteria. "I don't think most of them are necessary."

"For stringent security, I guess," Kylie answered.

"They're just making me uncomfortable. It's like someone is looking at me everywhere." I said.

Mike joked, "Maybe, you're just a camera-shy, buddy."

I scowled at him. I looked away and found Greg walking around while burying himself in his phone. It wasn't usual since Greg would always walk with his head high up. I secretly followed him, trying to take a peek at what he was looking at. I was a foot away from his left, but he didn't notice me. I was sure he was watching a video, maybe Night at Jackville.

I didn't talk to him for days. But whenever he saw me walking down the hallway, he would always remind me of the next Tuesday night. I fully decided that I wasn't going and would not let him ploy me again.

I closed in on him. The phone's screen was showing a room with white walls. There was a bed for two, a bathroom on the right side, a small study table, and a bookshelf full of books. I noticed a guy standing by the window, probably looking at something outside. His hair was familiar, especially his clothes. The camera didn't shift at different angles. It was as though there was only one camera in the room.

The guy in the video faced the camera but wasn't actually looking at it. He was breathing deeply, probably nervous about something. And just then I realized that it was my face.

It was me.

My eyes opened widely and finally walked over to Greg to get his attention. "What are you watching?" I asked loudly that I caught someone's attention from behind.

Greg was taken aback by my appearance. His hands were shaking. His phone almost fell out of his hands. "Nothing!" he denied.

I quickly blocked him and stole the phone from him. I walked a little bit away from him.

I looked at the screen and stared at it. I was putting on a jacket and pulled the hood up. I got out of my room until I was out of the screen. The camera shifted to another place, to Greg. Greg was standing behind a wall, probably hiding. He kept looking from left to right.

A shadow from the left side of the screen appeared. It went on walking and caught the director with a phone on his ears. Greg quickly hid on a tall plant and stayed there for a while. There was no other sound, but some thrilling foley.

"What is this?" I asked. 

I clicked the back button, and it showed an unknown website. Other videos also seemed to be recorded from CCTVs. It looked like congeries of thriller shows. One of the thumbnails showed a girl being stabbed in the neck. The other thumbnail was a guy chucking up lots of blood while there was a larger man behind him.

My heart started to race. I looked back at Greg, who was standing right next to me, looking at the screen too. "What is this?!" I asked again.

Instead of waiting for his answer, I stared back at the screen. The episodes were uploaded every Wednesday at three midnight. That was when I realized that someone had been editing these videos and waiting for us every Tuesday night. I scrolled up and down only to notice that it was entitled, 'The Technique'. I whispered a cuss.

Greg shook his head. "I don't know either. I was looking for some websites when I found that."

"What?" I looked back at the screen. I clenched my teeth and gazed at him. "Do you think I would believe you? You knew all of this! I'm being watched! The whole time and I had no idea!"