The Freak

Orange halos of light would sneak in between the small slats of the Venetian blinds that covered the windows of the room.

Pablo took his laptop out of the black case and placed it on the professor's table. He inserted the pen drive into one of the USB ports.

The window emerged immediately, showing five videos stored inside.

The boy sat down in that comfortable office chair in front of the computer and clicked on the first one, thus starting a chain play of all the following ones.

 

VID_0001

He was moving slowly on the sidewalk, shortening the distance between his house and the school. The camera lens recorded the worn-out toe of his white sneakers, emerging in the image one after the other as he walked.

A voice broke the monotony of the sound. The camera turned 90 degrees and focused on a tall, thin, athletically built boy striding down the same sidewalk in his direction.

It caught up with him at once. The camera recorded his perfect, biting smile.

-Hey, freak! -he exclaimed as he gave a resounding pat on his forearm. - Why didn't you wait for me?

-My name is Pablo," he reproached the shy voice behind the camera lens.

The other man's smile turned into a mocking grin. He frowned.

-Hey, don't you think you forgot something?

Paul hesitated and said in a choppy voice, "No."

His interlocutor remained watching him for a few milliseconds with an expressionless face. Then his gaze became enraged and gave a strong jolt to the bearer of the camera, causing the image to sway.

-Are you serious, stupid? Do you know what that's going to cost me? If I don't submit the paper, I'll fail. You better have that job stashed in your filthy geek bag if you don't want me to wait for you on the way out.

-It's your job! -Why do I have to do it for you? You're a bum!

A quick punch knocked Pablo to the ground and the camera was pointed at the pavement.

 

VID_0002

The class was packed. Everyone was talking to everyone. Paul was recording sitting at his desk. The teacher had not yet arrived.

The boy stood up and went to the corner where three girls were chatting happily and laughing with each other. They looked at him with distrust when he reached them.

-Alicia," said Paul, "did you see my WhatsApp?

The alluded one of the three, with dark, wavy hair, scrutinized him with her big green eyes.

-WhatsApp, you sap? -she asked reluctantly.

-The one I sent you yesterday afternoon where I asked if you'd like to go to the cinema with me on Saturday. I know you saw it because the ticks turned blue.

Alicia wrinkled her lips. Her two friends started laughing, covering their mouths. The girl, irritated and embarrassed, turned red.

-Do you think I'd go anywhere with you, you fat fuck? -Get out of here and go to the movies with your freakazoids!

Then she looked at her friends, trying to see that she had fixed the humiliating situation that that wretch had thrown on her perfect person.

 

VID_0003

Break time. All the students are grouped in different areas of the very large playground. They talk, laugh and joke.

The camera captures various daily scenes of this time of day, covering, from a distance, several of these groups of unsuspecting young people.

However, no one seems to approach it. Pablo, camera in hand, enjoys a forced solitude. No one laughs with him, no one jokes amicably about his hair or that T-shirt that has become too small for him. No one shares a snack with him or gives him a conversation about the last match of Real Madrid.

 Pablo is alone.

A boy with coppery and curly hair passes by him. He has a ball under his right arm and a sandwich in his hand. He doesn't seem to see him despite the fact that they are a few centimetres apart.

-Hey, Mario! -Pablo says hello.

Mario stops and hesitates. Finally he turns on his heels and analyzes him with an averted look.

-What do you want, freak? -He answers with apathy.

-Do you need another player?

The other one looks at him from top to bottom before answering his question.

-I'm sorry. I think you should lose weight to play. You'd be in the way...

And that boy runs off, towards another group of impatient students who are waiting for him on the rink.

 

VID_0004

Music Room. Sitting at his desk, Pablo extracts a Spiderman comic from his backpack. He places it on the table and opens it to the first page. Not even five seconds have passed when a sturdy boy with half a blond hair approaches.

-What are you reading? -asks with a sneer.

Pablo closes the comic immediately.

-Nothing. -Answer.

-Aren't you a little old to be reading those kids' comic books? -No.

Pablo doesn't answer.

-I have something more interesting," says the blond.

Then he takes out a magazine from his backpack where a naked woman in a suggestive position stands out on the cover.

-Why don't you take a look? It's much more entertaining than that trash.

Pablo tries to move the magazine away from his table when the teacher enters the class. The blond man laughs uproariously.

-Teacher! -Teacher! -the flame. She focuses her attention on him. -Paul has brought a porno magazine to school!

And Pablo covers his face with his hands. He doesn't try to defend himself. He seems to know it's useless.

 

VID_0005

Walk down the hall, towards the dining room.

Again, he seems to be going alone. On both sides, small groups of students can be seen chatting happily among themselves, oblivious to everything.

There's a redheaded girl leaning against the wall by the dining room entrance.

-Hello, Elena-wave.

-Hello," she says, "how did your English exam go?

-Much better, and you? -I'm fine.

-What do you think? -she exclaims dryly, as if the question had offended her. -Do you think you're better than the others, you freak?

-What? -No! Why do you say that? -Answers Paul in a hurry.

She smiles maliciously.

-It was a joke. Let's go eat.

The girl slaps him on the back.

Pablo enters the dining room and many begin to laugh as he passes by.

-Hey, freak! -Elena calls him from behind. Let's wash the shirt.

Pablo runs to the service and focuses his image in the mirror. As he turns around, he notices a big stain of something brown and slimy on his back.

 

Pablo took his cell phone and opened the camera app. He stood up from that office chair and slowly turned around.

Behind him, on the polished floor of the classroom, five bodies lay side by side, creating a macabre, symmetrical picture. A work of art.

He approached their faces, covered by shredded sacks, and uncovered them one by one.

The camera moved slowly over them, stopping at their now lifeless, static features.

When it had finished its tour of the five dead faces, it returned to the desk and plugged in a cable from the mobile to the computer.

He transferred the last video as the sirens of the police cars began to burst through the cold silence of the room.

The Chapter Hunter