Watch and learn
Chapter 1
It was a fine line between curiosity and being an insensitive jerk, Nora thought not for the first time these past ten minutes. Kailyn on the other hand did not seem to share her concerns. “C’mon, just a little peek won’t hurt anyone!” Her friend tapped on the sleek plastic case that laid on the table between them. “I know you’re dying to see what he’s been up to. The answer is right here.” “One answer! And even that is just our assumption. We don’t really know what this is all about. For all we know this could just be a nice little memory from a trip they took!”
Kailyn smiled to that, but it had a mocking air to it. From the start, her friend had been out to find some dirt on Harold. And the DVD case suspiciously stuffed into a pile of books seemed like just the kind of thing he never wanted anyone else to find. Even Nora could hardly deny that it looked a bit questionable for just the video of a past vacation. But still, it was simply not right. The one thing she was fairly sure about was that whatever this DVD contained, it was supposed to be private.
“How about this,” Kailyn kept pushing, “we check the first three minutes. And if nothing unusual happens up to that point I will agree that my intuition was wrong.” Nora made a feeble attempt to wipe the argument away, but from the start she knew Kailyn wouldn’t be willing to budge even further. She wanted to get some dirt on her brother and would most likely keep at it, with or without Nora’s help. She was here as a witness, as well as to keep her friend in check. Or so the ther girl had said, anyhow. But they both knew that sooner or later she’d aim to dig up something, even if she’d have to do it alone.
For the umpteenth time she mustered the box that rested between them both on the table. Harold had taken care to leave little trace of the contents on it. Nora couldn’t help but wonder if he knew that his sister was going through his stuff? The only thing that gave a hint about it was a small letter scribbled on it. ‘A’. This could literally mean all or nothing, though given the most recent events it brought something to mind. Ava, his ex-girlfriend. To gain time she asked: “What are you going to do if this is really harmless? Obviously you are not going to just apologize to him for disrespecting his privacy. So?” “Really? You start with that now?” Kailyn pouted, but gave the matter some thought. Or at least looked like it. “You know as well as I do that ever since his breakup he’s changed. Constantly some girl coming over—” “It’s the same two girls. And they are both working with him on that project that is due next month. You were the one who told me that, remember?” “Oh, well… That could be the case. But we’re talking about Harold here. Why the heck would to gorgeous girls like them work with someone like him if he didn’t do something shady?” “Now you are just fabricating excuses.”
Nora wasn’t going to say so, but honestly she herself found Harold quite nice to look at. Admittedly, he was far from model material. He wasn’t working out or anything, either. But still he at least tried to keep in shape and had a certain… reliable air to him. Even beyond that, however, when he talked he was clearly talking with her instead of down to her like she were some dumb little thing. Which she found to be a very pleasant change after her more recent hook-ups. From his sisters’ point of view, however, she had to accept that it looked different. Reasonably so, too, since Kailyn herself was blessed with good looks. After getting that new pixie cut she was barely ever not out on dates. Tall and slender as she was, she was used to drawing attention and had developed an almost uncanny confidence from it. She was used to getting her will one way or another and Nora suspected half the reason why Kailyn was so suspicious of her brother was the simple fact that unlike most guys he wasn’t completely smitten with her.
When standing next to her friend, though, Nora had always considered herself rather plain. Not like she was dissatisfied with her looks, but from her girl-next-door-face to her tastes in fashion there was just nothing really setting her apart from the rest. It went to the point where she considered trying to dye her sand colored hair green just to get some reaction out of people. Still, she had to admit that Kailyn had never actually made her feel bad about the differences between them. If anything, it had been the ever so popular girl that expressed she was envious of how patient and level-headed Nora could be. Those qualities should have been the reason why she had invited her today before deciding whether or not to look through her brothers’ room. And yet, right now, it didn’t matter what Nora would advise her to do. Not really.
“Three minutes. We absolutely stop there if nothing weird is on it. No matter what else might have come after.” “Sure, su—” “And! I will hold on to the remote! I’ll set a timer on my phone. And if nothing at all suspicious was on here, you apologize to your brother for finding this.” That startled Kailyn. “What? That isn’t fair! He’ll know I looked through his belongings then! It’s like telling him straight to the face I don’t trust him!” “Which would be the truth, right? I mean, how long exactly do you make me listen to all your weird theories about him now? Three years? Four? He’s bound to know something’s up, either way. Time to move on from that, I’d say. Or you put this back right where you found it and don’t tell him anything. Your choice.” The girl had made her choice long ago. With a resigned grin she pointed a finger at her. “Fine. But none of your usual annoying ringtones, at least. They are seriously irritating! How come you can even stand listening to those every day?” “Fair, I’ll make it a silent alert.” She switched the setting on her phone to vibrations under her friends gaze. She had a pretty good guess as to why Kailyn insisted on that but as she slid the phone into her pocket she couldn’t help feeling amused. There was no way she’d miss the time when her phone would buzz away right on her body.
She looked up to see her friend had already slid the silvery disk into the DVD player and was about to hit the button when with a guilty cough handing over the remote. Nora knew better than to say anything about that and just waited long enough for Kailyn to flop down onto the couch next to her before starting whatever movie clip might be on there. She honestly couldn’t say exactly what she expected. But hearing a soft, melodic humming noise even though the first few seconds were nothing but a black screen was kind of nice. So nice, in fact, that she was surprised when a small, pulsing dot appeared in the middle of the screen. Pulsing in sync with that humming. It changed colors too. “What’s this? Some kinda meditation soundtrack?” Kailyns question sounded like the girl was almost pleased by the sight. “Dunno,” Nora replied even though she felt like even just forming words was suddenly quite the chore and not worth the effort, “but I like it.” “Yeah,” Kailyn agreed, “it’s good.” The dot began to move which cut off all further talking. It began to swell and fade at the same rhythm as earlier before almost seeming to sway from side to side. Nora found her eyes trying to keep looking at it almost without her decision. It was just that important to look at the dot. Until a second one appeared. And moments later a third one. The dots moved and blinked so that even just wanting to look at them got confusing. Yet Nora kept trying. She didn’t know why, but it was really important that she tried to look at all those lights without getting distracted.
Something began to buzz in her pocket. She felt the vibrations being transmitted into her skin but all it did was coax a slow, surprised moan out of her. Next to her Kailyn sighed happily and from the sound of clothes rubbing against leather slumped a little deeper into the soft couch. There was something. If she just listened a little closer she almost thought to make out a voice—or were there several?—woven into the soft humming sounds. But no matter how much she focused on them, she could not understand a single word. The buzzing sensation seemed to stop every now and then, but she found that each time it resumed her body felt it a little more. Even though she’d long stopped moaning because any sound she made ultimately was just a distraction from the melodic video. She had to keep watching. Had to keep learning.
Nora didn’t know why she thought she was learning something. But she knew she was. The video was teaching her something very important. So important that she knew her brain would forget all about it as soon as she stopped watching. But her body would remember. And that was good. That was exactly as it should be. So she paid no attention to anything around her and just continued to learn all the video was telling her. In between waves of sound and light she occasionally thought to hear Kailyn mumble something next to her. And at those times she felt her own lips moving. But what the girls were saying wasn’t important. The only thing that mattered right here, right now was to watch and learn. Until it was time for her brain to forget all about the video and what it told her so that her body could easily remember. Just like it should be.
She felt her body burn with pleasure at the idea. Or was that the vibrations from her pocket? Whichever the case, she found herself so very eager to learn more and more. Everything that the video deemed fit for her body to learn. Everything that the video deemed right for her brain to forget. Watching the dots move and flicker and dance over the screen made learning so very easy that she only wished to stay here even longer and absorb even more of what the video chose for her. So much so that when the lights slowed and faded into the black once again she almost felt regret welling up, wishing for a moment that they’d stay and keep telling her things. Before as soon as the last dot faded and the humming stopped she blinked, puzzled. She felt a bit wobbly, but aside from that wonderfully refreshed as if she’s just spend the night deeply asleep.
Nora glanced to the side to see Kailyn wearing a dazed grin. “That was interesting.” She couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah. Too bad the three minutes are over.” She pulled the vibrating phone from her pocket and stopped the alarm. “I know, I know. We had a deal and all that shit.” Her friend got up and put the disk back into its plastic case. “But I still don’t like the idea of walking up to that guy and admitting I tried to spy on him.” “You know, ‘that guy’ happens to be your brother. If you can’t be honest with him, then really, when will you?” She thought that over for a moment before adding: “I think he’ll appreciate if you honestly tell him you watched the video. It’s completely harmless, so I don’t think he’d mind. In fact, he’ll appreciate the feedback.” Kailyn blinked, so as if that was a completely new thought for her. But instead of the sharp reply Nora secretly expected she just nodded somewhat perplexed: “Yes… Yes, I think you are right. The video is completely harmless, so it is a good idea to tell him I saw it and what I think of it.” “If you want, we can even go and tell him together. You know, just to get it over with faster.” In the nick of time she kept herself from adding that she would also love to give him her opinion on it. It did’t take a genius to figure out that would just rouse Kailyns finally waning suspicions all over again.
“Thanks, but I suppose that would be a bit overkill. Also, no need to let him know you helped me in this!” “Suit yourself,” Nora shrugged as she gave the screen a last pondering look. A part of her wanted to compromise on the promise she made. Three minutes felt too short. Would it not be a good idea to watch the entire thing again? But then she shook her head. Apparently Kailyn’s paranoia was much more contagious than she had realized! The video was completely harmless. And so enjoyable to watch. She’d wait a bit and then tell Harold how much she liked it. He would be happy about that. And that, she resolved herself, was all there was to it.
Her phone buzzed again at the exact moment when Kailyn asked from the kitchen: “You want a coffee?” “No time,” she yelled back, “I gotta run. My boss called just now!” “You still have that job at the café? I keep telling you they treat you like a gofer.” “Yeah,” Nora sourly nodded, “A gopher who can pay bills.” The familiar discussion was quickly put to rest as Nora grabbed her stuff and headed out. Not without warning her friend to finally come clean to her brother. Even though she thought with a chuckle as she hurried to her bus stop, the chances for that were slim. In the few moments before it arrived, however, whenever she closed her eyes she thought to see lights dancing across the black canvas of her lids. And each time that happened she felt a fluttering, vibrant certainty. She would let Harold know she saw some of that video. As soon as she could. And maybe, she found herself hoping as the bus carried her off to work, that might be sooner than she ever expected.
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