Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Defy and Comply ❯ Lesson 5: Smile For The Camera ( Chapter 5 )

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Defy and Comply

Lesson 5: Smile For The Camera

By: Melissa Norvell

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Inside of the school, there was a small cafe. It was a quaint little shop with simple, yet elegant decor that consisted of lace and ruffle. The color scheme was a monochromatic pink. Metal chairs with elegantly curved legs were placed around rectangular tables with frilly, pink table clothes. Waitresses walked around, clad in white cat ears and tails, each wearing frilly white aprons with short, lolita-type dresses and white, thigh-high socks. This gave the already girlish atmosphere a sense of fantasy and playful whimsy.

Around one of the tables, in the middle of the cafe sat three people, one of which was Sunoma. The other two were good friends of hers, a male and a female.

The male student was in a wheelchair and dressed in the male uniform of Shinjinku Academy. It consisted of a high collared, long-sleeved jacket with tassels on the shoulders and gold star buttons on the neck and black pants. The boy was pale in complexion and very thin, but good-looking. He had dazzling dark blue eyes and long hair pulled into a low-pony tail with a lavender ribbon. He was very frail and confined to the chair due to his special condition.

The female student beside of him contrasted him in appearance. She had long, black hair with red and yellow streaks. Part of her hair was pulled into two ponytails set high on her head that stuck out like poofy pom-poms. The girl was clad in the waitress uniform and wore her trademark cat-ears, which she even wore off of the job. Her eyes were large and her pupils small and of different colors, one red, one yellow just as her streaks. She wore a line of spikes that started at the tops of her ears and ended in the middle, and pearl earrings below and on the corner of her mouth, just below her lips on the right side, she wore two silver spikes that stuck out like curved claws. The girl also had a tongue ring and long, yellow nails that were manicured into points. A series of different bracelets adorned each wrist.

Sunoma smiled at her two friends as her lunch was sat before her. "I'm glad you could attend lunch with me, Tsukimi. It must be hard finding time when you're running a cafe'."

"We only open at odd hours and we just sell sweets for the most part. We're more like a bakery than a cafe', the cat-eared girl now known as Tsukimi informed her.

"It's true; we don't get many lunches together. You're usually off with Kiyomaru." The boy in the wheelchair added to the conversation as he shoveled a piece of cake into his mouth, enjoying the light taste of vanilla.

Worry crossed the lolita's face at the mention of her friend, "Kiyomaru has been worrying me lately."

"You've been worrying me lately, too. You looked really scared and sick yesterday, like someone died." Tsukimi stood, leaning over the table with concern etched on her face. She had remembered seeing her friend looking absolutely horrified and acting disjointed and despondent to her, but insisting that she was alright when questioned about it.

"You know, I haven't even seen Kiyomaru lately. Not since yesterday and I usually see him everywhere," the boy in the wheelchair noted with a thoughtful gaze. Kiyomaru was very social with the student body, despite his social awkwardness the blue-haired boy was very active and made certain things his goal like making sure all the student body was up and ready for class as well as making sure people abided by the school's protocol.

It wasn't like him not to be social.

"I felt a little sick. It's nothing to worry about. I'm feeling a bit better now. I've seen Kiyomaru around but he wasn't himself. He's been withdrawn and quiet. Usually, he's boisterous. He didn't even come by and wake me up this morning, and he usually does. He considers it his duty to make sure everyone wakes up on time." Just what had happened during that time he spent with Lamar? What did Kiyomaru learn from him? Sunoma couldn't help but wonder if he had been told something horrible, something dark about graduation that traumatized him. When she spoke to Taiga, she felt the very same way. That had to be it. Kiyomaru must have come to know what she knew.

"I saw him, but he seemed depressed. I said good morning to him and it was like he didn't even notice me and kept walking. I don't think he would have ever been that rude on a normal occasion," the boy replied. Kiyomaru was always polite despite being such an intense person.

Tsukimi looked thoughtful for a moment before an idea struck her. "That's really weird. I think we should talk to him and ask him what's wrong." She couldn't deal with her friends being in shambles, and the fact that Sunoma was the same way only made things all the more important to attend to. Kiyomaru was her friend and if something was bothering him, she wanted to know what it was and if she could help him feel better.

Sunoma felt herself become nervous, despite her calm facade. She couldn't let them pester Kiyomaru. She had to somehow persuade them not to do it. "What if he doesn't tell you?" The girl cocked her head, asking the question as if she would any normal inquiry. 'I know what's wrong. Lamar told him everything, and he's trying to deal with it, just like I am. It must have broken him down. He probably needs time to think but he's not going to sacrifice his perfect attendance to give himself a rest. Damned perfectionist, why is he such a workaholic?'

Kiyomaru wasn't making things easy on her at all.

"It's up to him whether or not he wants to tell us. We're not going to force him but we do want to express our concern." Who knew? Maybe that's what the student council vice president wanted. Some people just want their sorrow to be noticed. Some people sit back and wait, drowning in sorrow and waiting for someone to save them or at least offer them a hand in the darkness.

"Mishio's right, it would look bad on us if we didn't at least check on him. Besides, I'm really worried. He had such blank eyes, like whatever it was sucked his soul right out of his body. Whatever it was must have been super bad," Tsukimi noted. She recalled those eyes. They were void of any shine, as if he was just a shell walking around the school yard. It was haunting and to disregard it and his feelings was just cruel. There was no way that she was going to just sit by and let her friend be that sad.

"Maybe someone in his family died or something," Mishio thought that it was very probable. Kiyomaru's family was all high-ranking military and Japanese government members. They had very dangerous jobs where they risked their lives on a daily basis. It wasn't odd for people with those positions to die.

"Don't go assuming things until we've talked to him. That's how rumors get started." Tsukimi scolded her friend. The last thing Kiyomaru needed was to feel twice as sad as he already did, or have any more stress on him than he already did.

"I hope he's alright," Sunoma sighed to herself. She had a feeling she couldn't keep her friends from at least asking about it and to be honest if she was in their position she probably would have wanted to ask him herself as well. 'More importantly, I hope he doesn't tell anyone what he saw.'

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On a balcony high above the school's majestic fountain, Kiyomaru stood with his forearms resting heavily on the concrete railing. The cool wind blew through his blue spikes, making them dance around as downcast eyes watched the student body from high above. 'Soon, all of the students will be locked in here, trapped with no escape.' Kiyomaru backed away a couple of steps and held his hands in front of him, gazing at them as the cog wheels of his mind turned. 'Can I truly bring myself to commit such a ghastly act? Can I truly kill my fellow students? The people I've made such endearing memories with? The ones I eat lunch with, wake up every morning laugh with and confide in when I'm down? High school is supposed to be the best years of your life. It is your time to find yourself and share your dreams...I suppose none of that is really starting to matter to me now...'

From behind him, Prasuna walked onto the balcony, clad in a black dress with a plunging neckline that extended well past her breasts. It was tied with a white sash and had a split up the side all the way up her hip. The long trail that was trimmed in different layers and lined in gold fluttered as she walked and atop of her head she wore a large, black hat adorned with feathers, golden leaves, a tuft of flowers, lace and a white ribbon that went around it. She looked as if she were on her way to a fashion show, but Prasuna dressed to impress and took no opportunity to show off how lavish and rich her lifestyle was.

"Student council vice president," she spoke causing the boy to turn and face her.

"Prasuna..."

The white-haired girl frowned in genuine concern. There was something about that look of terror in his eyes that unsettled her soul. "Why the solemn expression? Are you not happy to see me?"

Kiyomaru looked to the side, "It's not about that."

"Is something bothering you?" Prasuna asked as she placed her hand, clad in a long, black, ballroom glove on his shoulder.

His void eyes glanced back to the beauty before him. "I've been contemplating lately about that rumor that's been going around." While he couldn't tell her everything he had heard, Kiyomaru felt safe revealing some information regarding what he had read in Lamar's book. After all, Prasuna was a member of the student council.

"You honestly believe such a thing? You shouldn't worry about that hogwash. You're going to mess up your perfect complexion on such things." Why did everyone take the rumors so seriously? Honestly, rumors were just that- rumors. The fact that Kiyomaru was taking it into consideration was concerning.

Kiyomaru's visage became serious. "Do you really not believe in them at all?"

Prasuna arched an eyebrow. "Should I have a reason to?"

"I feel like I should keep it to myself." He had already said more than he was willing to tell. Nothing would come of a conversation with someone who refused to believe that it was a possibility.

"You can talk to me, you know. I care about you a lot." Prasuna's voice softened. Even she knew that Kiyomaru had not been himself and it worried her more than it would most people. Prasuna wished that he would have trusted her enough to tell her about whatever it was that was troubling him.

"You would just think I'm a mad man." Not to mention she had already shown him what exactly she thought of Lamar's situation. There was no need to talk to someone who would only condemn him further.

The thespian placed a hand on her hip as a look of annoyance graced her features. "I don't understand why everyone is taking this so seriously. Did you find anything that claims the truth? Is there something I'm missing?"

Surely she wasn't the only one who still doubted the validity of this story. Surely, someone else in the student council wasn't completely immersed in some bullshit story that was going around the student council. Why was this such a topic of interest lately? She honestly didn't understand why everyone was on edge from something that could never be claimed as the truth.

Kiyomaru said nothing; he merely walked past the girl and back inside of the building. He wasn't going to tell her. He couldn't tell her. She was the biggest non-believer of the lot of them and telling her anything was just going to result in her laughing at him or taking it as some demented joke.

"Wait! Why won't you tell me? I demand an answer! I'm part of the student council, too!" He could hear Prasuna shout as she threw a fit and stomped her heeled shoe in anger. 'What's going on here? I feel like there is something not being said to me and I intend on figuring out what it is one way or another.'

There had to be something that they all knew to make them believe it like they did. People just didn't readily believe something so much that they would sacrifice time to study and research it if they didn't have just reason to do so. Not only that, but Kiyomaru notably hid something and withdrew from telling her. That must mean that he had something to hide. It wasn't like him to look that upset over nothing.

It was time for her to do a little detective work of her own.

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Kiyomaru walked through the hallways of the school until he reached the outside. He then walked down the long row of concrete stairs and turned the corner, nearly crashing into Tsukimi who was rounding the corner at the same time, going the opposite way. Kiyomaru recoiled and the cat-eared girl took a couple of steps back and blinked at him.

"Hi there!" She smiled and put her hands on her hips. Tsukimi had just gotten off of work and was now wearing her normal school uniform, a short, sleeved, baggy sailor shirt with black accents, trimmed in gold and a pleated skirt that had a single gold band around the bottom. Unlike the typical school dress she wore black stockings with a thick band of lace and black heels with a single strap across the top.

Kiyomaru said nothing and simply stood there.

This only caused the girl to look angry. Her cheeks puffed up and she folded her arms over her small breasts. "It's rude not to greet me back. You ignored me earlier, too."

"My apologies, I am not myself." The blue-haired teen looked to the side and placed a hand behind his head. He was disappointed in himself for not upholding his usual disposition and even more so that others were taking notice.

Mishio wheeled up behind him, causing him to jump at the sound of his voice. "That's for sure. We're worried about you."

Straightening back up, Kiyomaru tried to look strong. His voice took on its usual bold edge. "I'm sure it is nothing. I will continue to serve the student body as I always do. If you will excuse me, there are a few important issues I need to attend to. I will be in the library if anyone needs me. I have a free period since I worked ahead." With that, he walked away from his two friends, leaving the both of them very confused. 'Maybe I can find some things out about the graduating class beyond the scope of what Lamar could say. I've got to find some way of helping them...before it's too late.'

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The door opened to the dimly lit library as Kiyomaru walked inside. Glancing around, he saw multiple shelves of books and files. To his right there was a row of fully functioning, up to date computers, and along the opposite wall was something that looked like a row of computers that had been covered up by several white sheets.

'There are several books in here,' he thought to himself as he walked by a box of files on the floor. Several of the files had been gone through and some of them lay on the floor at his feet. 'It seems that someone has been down here, glancing through files. Were they seeking what I am? Do they also know about graduation? This information was only to remain within the mouths and ears of the student council.'

The boy knelt down and began to sift through the files. No matter how many times he looked, he couldn't find anything on any of the students. One file hit the floor after another as he went through every, single one in the box only to come up empty handed. 'There are just too many paper trails and I'm not coming up with anything. This is highly frustrating.'

Sighing, Kiyomaru arose after he placed all of the files neatly back in the box. He took the sheets off of the row of computers. They were all old desktops with large monitors. Some of them looked too old to even have internet capabilities. 'It seems there are outdated computers in here. Perhaps they will hold the records of the student body.'

He sat down at the first one, which looked more up to date than the rest and started the machine up. It whirred and beeped as the screen went through its many processes before it directed him to a crudely made black background that looked like something created on a paint program. In large font, the words 'smile for the camera, darling' were typed out in bold, blood-red font. It was very unnerving.

On the desktop were a series of video files in a sequence of numbers. They started from .001 and counted upward. This was sort of creepy and it shocked Kiyomaru as none of the computer's normal programming was there. Something was up with this machine in particular. 'What the hell is this? Surely this is some sort of sick joke. Should I really watch these files? I am unsure of what they are. It feels wrong to look at a video without the consent of the respective owner, but isn't that what I am doing? I am snooping around, sifting through school property in order to obtain information. I am deeply ashamed of my illegal actions! Later, I will make sure that I am punished to the most critical extent! This is wrong, but I wish to know. I feel I must, for the sake of the others.'

He clicked the first video and it began to play. It looked as if it was being shot from a webcam. He recognized the background immediately. It was one of the dorms. It was clean but empty for the most part. There was a bed in the background and some male student he didn't know walked up to the computer and sat down. Kiyomaru watched as the student clicked away, as if he was doing something at the computer, and the student didn't take notice as another male student entered the room. It looked as if the second student, who was wearing one of the black and gold uniforms, snuck up behind him.

'What's going on? What is this?' Kiyomaru was frozen in place, green eyes staring at the screen as he waited to see what would happen next. The student at the computer took notice of what was drawing in behind him and turned sharply, letting out a scream that came through the audio feed as a garbled noise.

The second student drew out a fencing sword and held it up to the seated student's neck, which kept him from making further noise. 'This is staged,' Kiyomaru thought in denial. 'Surely it's just a video for the drama club. It's purely for entertainment purposes, right? However, the fear in the seated student's eyes looks far too realistic for it to be a simple act.'

"Oh god!" Green eyes went wide with horror as the sword that was held so callously to the student's neck inched closer to drawing blood. The two males had a talk for a while but he couldn't make out what they were saying, due to the bad quality audio. It had been far too distorted to tell what exactly was going on. Then, the long-haired student with the sword took a couple of steps away and abruptly turned in a whirl and slashed his throat with one slice. Blood sprayed across the keyboard as the seated student's head hit the table. He gurgled and his body spazzed out like it struggled for life before he died.

Kiyomaru was absolutely horrified. He shook and his pupils shrank. "This...can't be real. Please let it be an act..." His voice shook. 'Part of me doesn't believe it is. I feel as if this is real. I need to call the police. I've found someone's murder footage. Something about this is wrong.' He felt bile come up his trachea and had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep from puking. 'I feel sick.'

He moved the cursor over to the corner of the window in an attempt to exit it, but nothing happened. The x pushed in but the screen didn't clear the window. The blue-haired boy hit the escape button, but nothing happened. The student whose throat was slashed just laid there, blood pouring from his neck as the long-haired student wiped off the sword on the dead boy's bed sheets casually and smiled at the other student.

"I..." Kiyomaru choked back a gag at his sickening smile. He willed the contents of his stomach to stay down. "I feel sick." Tears clung to the corners of his eyes as he felt anxiety slam into him. "I can't take it another. I can't watch."

The screen then flashed, indicating that .002 was playing. It cut scenes to a girl who was walking around in one of the large, open hallways of the academy. She looked scared out of her mind and she was clutching a kitchen knife to her bosom as she slowly walked down the poorly lit hallway. One of the lights flickered on and off and from behind her, a baseball player who wore the Shinjinku Academy baseball uniform crept up behind her.

The girl turned around in shock and screamed as she dropped the knife.

"Why didn't anyone hear her? Why isn't anyone coming form help? I don't understand. I feel like crying. My head is killing me." These videos were horrifying and birthed all too many questions. To be honest, the student council vice president wasn't sure why he was still watching them.

The baseball player took a swing at the girl, hitting her in the side of the face with great force as she falls to the ground. He continued to beat her viciously with the bat, over and over as blood sprayed over his uniform in a sick, airbrushed glory. Soon, the girl stopped struggling.

"I cannot believe I just witnessed that. Oh god, please forgive me." Tears streamed down his face as the boy held both sides of his head and hunkered over. It was all too clear to him that these were real murders taking place inside of the high school by the students who used to go there.

Soon, .003 began to play and there was a female student with braided hair lying on the ground, bleeding. She looked as if she had been stabbed multiple times and she was screaming on the ground but the film was completely silent.

'This is eerie. All I can do is focus on her emotional turmoil. What now?' Kiyomaru thought through tear-filled eyes as he watched another female student with shorter hair, wearing a winter version of the school's uniform walk into onto the screen and she began to stomp on the injured girl over and over until she didn't move anymore. She did this until the other girl was dead.

Kiyomaru was sobbing audibly. He wanted the senseless murders to stop. "I am so disgusted with this video, and with myself for watching it. Oh god! What have I just done?"

Just then, the screen of the computer showed him crying, sitting at the computer. He reeled back, staring wide-eyed into the screen, looking at his own eyes. The red light at the top of the screen glowed red even though he had never turned on the webcam. When he moved, the video moved. Kiyomaru felt a wave of dread move over his body and chill him to the core. His hair on the back of his neck stood straight up in terror.

"What's going on? Am I to be tortured and thrown away like trash?" His voice shook as he took on a hysterical tone. "I don't want to be next! I don't want to die! Please, don't kill me!" Flinging the chair to the side with a crash as he got up, the boy bolted out of the library as if he was being chased.

He flung the doors open and took off down the hall, slamming into something that felt like a brick wall. Kiyomaru's body was propelled backwards and he hit the floor, laid out on his back with tears streaming down his cheeks. "No! Don't kill me!" He shouted in pure terror.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The brash voice of Taiga filled his senses as he opened his eyes to meet the irritated expression of the yakuza.

"Oh, forgive me. That was loud and obnoxious! I am terribly sorry!" Kiyomaru apologized as he quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, hoping that he had not been seen crying. "I just saw the scariest horror movie and I suppose I overreacted. I freaked out. Nothing to worry about! I am such a disgrace for allowing you to see me in such a state! How could I have been so thoughtless and brash?" He dramatically turned to the side after getting up and held his hands out, doing a set of dramatic poses as he spoke unusually fast with a voice that was struggling to keep stability. "My apologies," he then bowed as Taiga eyed him skeptically.

"Hmmm..."

Sweat rolled down Kiyomaru's forehead as he stood bolt straight. "You do not seem satisfied with my apology."

"I don't have time for your shit, Isata. If you don't get out of my face, I'm going to be satisfied putting my fist in yours." Taiga cracked his knuckles menacingly with a demented smile. "Y'want that?"

Kiyomaru felt a new type of horror as he bowed quickly and bid him good day, then took off down the hall as fast as he could, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

'That was strange. I think he was lying about seeing a horror movie, but it's not like he's going to tell me what he saw.' Taiga sighed to himself. "Shit's going to hit the fan soon. I can feel it. I think it's already started."

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Kiyomaru and Sunoma sat at the same fountain they had their talk at. This was one of their familiar meeting places and one where they most often came to chat with each other and enjoy the aesthetics of the scenery to get their minds off of the stress of the day. The water flowed calmly behind them as the two of them talked. Blue eyes caught sight of the couple as black heels stopped in mid set.

Prasuna glared from beneath the brim of her large hat. 'What are they talking about?' The girl wondered as she inched around the fountain and ducked behind a dense row of shrubs that surrounded the monument. She snuck along the ground before she popped out on the opposite side and snuck over to the back of the fountain and sat down. Her ears picked up their conversation.

"Are you sure that's what happened?" She heard Sunoma ask.

"I don't know what to make of it. They were all wearing uniforms from Shinjinku Academy. They were killing each other...it's just like Lamar said."

'Lamar? I don't know of any students named Lamar.' That was odd. Who was this Lamar and what had they told Kiyomaru about the students killing each other? Also, what exactly did he see? Whatever it was sounded like it had a lot of proof of the past killings.

Sunoma's voice took on a serious edge. "That only means that all of the is all too real."

"When graduation comes, I-" Kiyomaru was so upset that he cut himself off.

'Wait...so does that mean that those rumors are true? The graduates really did kill each other? Why did Kiyomaru hide this from me? Is he just trying to save himself and that girl? How dare they keep this information from me!' Prasuna gritted her teeth and shook with anger as she balled her fist in her lap.

Sunoma placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You said the files were on a computer in the library, right?"

"After I watched them, the webcam turned on. I do not wish to go back in there. It was as if it was telling me something, that I would be next. The background on the desktop was black with red text that said 'smile for the camera, darling' on it." Kiyomaru didn't want to see that phrase ever again.

"If camera captured their murders, then that means there are cameras all around the school...or there should be." That could be just the evidence that they needed to expose the rumors as truth. All they had to do was find out where the camera was or where they hid the footage.

"I have never seen them. Perhaps they were taken down after the incident." It wasn't like he had looked, but there were no obvious cameras in the school that he knew of.

"Is this why you've been so upset lately?" Sunoma looked to the boy with concerned blue eyes.

"Yes, and I know it has been noticeable. Everyone has been asking but I have to pretend it is minor because I cannot cause chaos or things will be bad. I do not want them to die. The only person I can trust is you." Since she had stayed with Lamar, he felt most comfortable telling her his findings. Who knew how the other members of the student council would react if he told them what he found.

Prasuna was seething with anger. 'That bitch! She's merely reeling him into this bullshit! I can't even get close to him without her around. All this time...all this time I've spent just trying to get him to notice me. I am perfection and elegance, the wealthiest woman at this school. All of the men turn their gazes to me and yet...Kiyomaru sticks by her side, even when my life is at stake?' She felt the tears clinging to her eyes, threatening to fall and mess up her charcoal eye shadow and black eye liner. 'Would he really cast us aside to save her? Am I really seen as nothing but an acquaintance to him?'

"I think we should talk to Lamar about this." Kiyomaru wanted to know about the films and if the green-haired man knew anything about them.

"If anyone would know if the event was monitored, he would. After school, meet me in front of the gate and we'll head over there together." Sunoma instructed. They were going to get to the bottom of this. If the event truly was taped, then they should find an archive of old film or footage of some kind.

'I'm not going to let this die. If you think you can win over Kiyomaru then you have another thing coming, Sunoma. If this truly is more than a hoax and these files do exist, the other members of the student council need to be informed. I'll make sure the word is out. I don't plan on keeping beneficial secrets.' There was no way that Prasuna was going to let the two of them get away with hiding their little secrets. She had her own ways of getting things into the public, and she wasn't about to lie down and let her sworn rival get the heart of the boy she loved.

One way or another, Kiyomaru was going to acknowledge her existence.

...To Be Continued