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SIXTEEN
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Blurred Lines SEVENTEEN
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)Monday morning. It's probably stupid, but it feels like I wake up every day with a limp leg. Okay, not really a limp leg, but just that feeling that something is not right. My days always began with Gregory's knock at my dormitory door and then his shrill exclamation: "While Zeus, the ruler of Olympus, sleeps with folded arms in Hypnos' wings, his son Heracles' ship stands stranded again today on Kos."Then I knew I could sleep five more minutes before my ship stood stranded, or whatever that means.The dining hall is as busy as a shopping mall on a Saturday morning. Guys push in by the rows, others grumble unsatisfied, and bump into each other."Erick, just check what those guys are up to!" JT said disgruntled as another guy pushed his way to the front of the line. "Do something man, or we'll be in line until doomsday."My mind is on other things. By Gregory. By Doc Pat. And the mysterious visito
Blurred Lines EIGHTEEN
Note: This is a past-day event, (continuation of even-numbered chapters time span: 2,4,6, etc.)We take our towels and walk into the house. Get snacks in the kitchen and walk to the room. Gregory is with my laptop. I pull a chair closer and sit next to him. He logs onto the web and seems to be looking for something to work with. Something to show me what social engineering is. Then he got it. He is on one of the mobile phone companies' websites.CallCom.First, he reads up a bit and clicks on a link on the left of the site. It looks like CallCom is celebrating its fifth birthday with a special promotion. Prize money of 2 million dollars is up for grabs.After a while Gregory. "Alright, let's get started."He moves the mouse to the log in part of the website.Gregory clicks to register.The following screen appears. The fill-in fields are blank. To register, you must answer some personal questions. Name, surname, gender, date of birth, mobile phone number, and email address. If your re
Blurred Lines NINETEEN
Note: This is a present-day event, (continuation of odd-numbered time-span: 1,3,5, etc.)The school day is over. I hurriedly walk back to the hostel.After the interview with the police, I can't think of anything else. I'm in deep trouble. Okay, Inspector Kumar-them doesn’t know about the hacking. But what if they find out? I can't tell them everything I know without dragging myself into it too.But I have a plan. Plan A. It just has to work because there is no plan B.I have a quick lunch in the cafeteria. Later this afternoon there is also rugby practice. I can't miss it. Not now that, whether it suits me or not, I've found my place in the team again. I indulge my father's ass-crawling at Doc again. And immediately I feel guilty: I know I will have to correct myself. But it only remains with good intentions.In my room, I take out my mobile phone and the piece of paper I found on top of my suitcase from my jacket pocket.Don't let him mess with you like that.Who put it on top of my
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
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