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NINETEEN
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Blurred Lines TWENTY
Note: This is a past-day event, (continuation of even-numbered chapters time span: 2,4,6, etc.)My mouth was hanging open when I saw how well my father and Gregory get along during the holidays. By now Gregory probably thinks I'm exaggerating when I say what a thunderer my father could be. But maybe Gregory is just taking extra care of him. Like an Indian snake charmer who hypnotizes his snakes with his flute.Gregory and my father talk and think for a long time the night before we leave for the holiday home in Cape Point. My father laughs at his jokes! Maybe he is just more relaxed because the holidays are coming up for him too. My father sat back on his chair at the dining room table. "Sarah," he called to the housekeeper, "bring us that bottle of GS Cabernet Sauvignon '66, please."We drink and eat the night away. My father tells Gregory about the Gemstone corporation he owns. Gregory chats together. Ask questions and seem interested. Curse the snake.I only listen to their convers
Blurred Lines TWENTY-ONE
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)The RAT is loaded and I'm on Doc Paterson's computer. Everything on my laptop's screen is displayed as if I were sitting right in front of his computer, in his office. A shiver runs through me, the moment feels so unreal. When I drove through the big gates of Blackwood College earlier this year, I never imagined that the year, this last senior year would turn out like this. I try to ignore the vague sense of guilt that still calls to my conscience from the upper world. It's all or nothing now. I know that. I will never be able to follow in Daniel's footsteps, no matter how I try. I was stupid to think that I could ever do that. And my father - I will never be able to satisfy him.The RAT will now give me access to Doc's computer at any time, even if he changes his password. I will also be able to enter the school's other records. Even programs can install. And now that I think about it... It might
Blurred Lines TWENTY-TWO
Note: This is a past-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)Back at school after the June holidays, with my father's instructions for the upcoming rugby season still fresh in my mind, I start training myself in the afternoons after school. Meanwhile, the accumulated school work is turning into the Maloti mountain itself."Relax, man," said Bill in his calm voice. "Everything will be okay. Senior year is a poop in a blizzard. Nothing!"Easy for him to say. He does not have to explain to my father at the end of the year where the expected distinctions have gone.Fortunately, the rugby practice keeps my mind off the schoolwork. The sweat and endorphins make it easier in a way.These days Gregory teaches me about war dialing. How you can set up a computer to call a bunch of phone numbers and see if it sets up a computer modem somewhere. A place where you can break into.After that, we move on to TELNET. An abbreviation for Telephone Network."TELNET works almost
Blurred Lines TWENTY-THREE
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)I watch the mouse move across the screen. My body is frozen cold. I hope Doc didn't see I was working on the computer. But I don’t think he would have noticed anything. G-4ce's blog said so.Doc is busy on Outlook at first, blissfully unaware that I'm sitting in my room peering over his shoulder at his computer screen. I see how he opens and reads some emails. How he answers it. He even makes a spelling error! Oh no, he's fixing it now. He answers the parents who complained about their child dropping out of school after feeling so ostracized. The standard BS-type answer that doesn't really mean anything. After that, more emails follow. It's just boring.I get up and get myself an Energade from the fridge.I See a pile of school books laying on my bed. I haven't opened any of them yet tonight. It takes willpower to think those thoughts away. I shove the books quickly into my bag. Will get up early
Blurred Lines TWENTY-FOUR
Note: This is a past-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 2,4,6, etc.)I lay awake all night thinking about Isabella. Every terrible minute that a call can bring. Bad news. Or perhaps she wasn’t being serious? Did she just say that because she was discouraged?Early the next morning I called her. No answer. It's Saturday, she might still be sleeping. I call the home phone. Her mother answered. "Isabella isn't up yet.""Can aunty call her for me?""She's sleeping, Erick.""Please."I am waiting. Minutes pass by, as I continued to listen to the faint sounds of the speaking tube. If there was something...what would her mother do? Finally, there is the sound of someone arriving."Izzy?""Erick?""Are you OK?""Yes.""Thank goodness!"At the breakfast table, Gregory asks if I feel like going to the mountain. "We each get a horse at the stables," he suggests.“That would be nice,” I said. "I feel like getting away from this place for a little while."We dress comfortably, ask
Blurred Lines TWENTY-FIVE
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)My father will go off his rocker if he finds out how many times I've been called out of class. It's Wednesday and I'm already on my way to see Inspector Kumar and her crony, Sergeant McCallister. This time not to the almost empty classroom, but to Doc Pienaar's office.The Butcher.Is he back again? I wonder. I don't know if I will be able to face him. Not after what I found out about him last night. Nasty man. In my mind I see his head glowing under a single light bulb in a dark room, like in a typical interrogation scene from a Hollywood movie. Shadows which monstrously disfigured his face. A sadistic pull around his mouth."Just wait here a moment, they will be done in a minute", said Dale when I entered the reception area. I wonder if he has figured out that he was the victim of social engineering. Probably not. I also wouldn't be surprised if those passwords from him and Doc are still pinned
Blurred Lines TWENTY-SIX
Note: This is a past-day event, (continuation of even-numbered chapters time span: 2,4,6, etc.)"Did you know that a famous hacker lived near here?" asked Gregory one day as he walked back from rugby practice with me."What?" I said trying to put on my tracksuit top in the process."Yep, here in this area. His hacker nick was Kokey. He taught himself electronics and computer programming from books he found in the library. And when he was fifteen, he built his first computer himself for just $170. He managed to guess other guys' Telkom Beltel passwords and was able to get on the net at their expense. That's how he got to know hackers in other countries. Later he also did blue-boxing.""What is that?" I ask"You still remember Capt'n Crunch?""Yes?""Now with blue boxing, you also send tones through the phone. Kokey managed to make free phone calls by exploiting Telkom's toll-free numbers. And he has places like the government, CSIR, weather bureau, Pick 'n Pay, Olivetti and Standard Ba
Blurred Lines TWENTY-SEVEN
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)Isabella calls early Wednesday morning. I wish the whole time while ay was talking sat she would finish. I have other things to worry about now than the silly things that happen at her school. I must tell her what happened here. No. I still have to sort myself out."Izzy, I have to go now," I stopped her mid-sentence."Student Council meeting." Strange how the lies come so easily now.I'm sitting in my room. Just look at the wall across from me like it holds the answer to the mess I've gotten myself into.The police then found nothing in the stormwater pipes. Not that I know of. If there was anything, the story would already be circulating in the dorm corridors.A knock at the door. Cedric."Cedrick, I can't right now.""Just give me a moment." He is stuck in the door."Come in," I sighed."There are lots of rumours going around." He takes a deep breath. His face looks serious. "I don't know what
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