Control

Jackson

"No freaking way!" Mrs. Brooks whisper-shouted.

"Shh! He's right there."

"Oh, right," she looked behind her at Yoongi who, for some reason, did not suspect at thing. I'm surprised he came back so quickly, although I reckon he didn't participate much in the fight aside from carrying me to Mrs. Brooks' room. He did have one black eye, but otherwise seemed fairly normal.

When I walked in the room, he did not say anything to me or give me any dirty looks. In fact, he paid no mind to me at all, and I certainly wasn't complaining.

I told Mrs. Brooks everything about what happened with Mrs. Gray, and she told me everything about her 'resistance'.

She somehow managed to convince everyone in her drama class to join the fight against the establishment, and everyday she begged me to join as well. They needed me, she said. Each time, I respectfully declined, saying that I will follow the rules.

We both knew it was just a front, but the truth is, I want to be on Bangtan's good side when it all goes haywire. Plotting against them is not beneficial for me right now. I'm not stupid. I know that they're going to find out one way or another, so I'll stay loyal for now, until I have the opportunity to surprise attack.

However, I'm not going to tell Mrs. Brooks. We both made a nonverbal agreement to not talk about things that could very easily get us in trouble with Namjoon or Hoseok.

Other students shuffled into the room, and Mrs. Brooks beckoned us to sit in our seats. She typed on her computer for a few minutes while Yoongi got some papers together and walked up to the front.

He cleared his throat and announced, "Okay, today we will be taking notes. You can just write these in your notebook."

He went on to explain all these brainwashing techniques: subliminal messages, controlling access, isolation, etc. The fact that he could describe these in such great detail truly disturbed me. I wondered, what was he using us for?

He disclosed this piece of information about the role of government: "The government wants everybody fighting with our neighbors because they know that if we get along, we'll probably go against them."

Yoongi then made us write this set of notes:

Step 1: Train the people only to consume.
Step 2: Infiltrate adults with the news.
Step 3: Indoctrinate the children through the schools and the music and the apps on the phones that they use.
Step 4: Separate the right from the left.
Step 5: Separate the white from the black.
Step 6: Separate the rich from the poor. Use religion and equality to separate them more.
Step 7: Fabricate a problem made of lies.
Step 8: Put it on the news every night.
Step 9: When people start to fight and divide, take control.

"This is called situational design," he said.

[A/N: Sound familiar?]

Simply put: I was shook. Everything he had us write down is true and therefore can be used as a weapon against the general population. He's using us for the government's advantage. We're guinea pigs, pawns if you will, that are being utilized as test subjects for the greater evil.

No, that's stupid! That's just conspiracy talk.

I assured myself that I was merely being irrational.

The next morning, I was walking down the hallway to first period. I glanced in all directions every few seconds to make sure that no one was following me. I was paranoid, mainly because I had a feeling that something was off. Something was going to happen today, happen to me, and that I wouldn't be able to stop it-

I jumped as someone latched onto my arm. I whipped around, hand forming into a fist, when I realized that it was Jackson Wang.

Jin wasn't here to protect me. Bangtan wasn't here to protect me. Nobody was here to protect me. I didn't know what he was going to do. At this point, I'd rather be alone with creepy Jimin than him.

He showed that sick, twisted smile and gently said, "I need to speak with you."

I ripped my arm out of his grasp but stayed in my spot out of fear that he would chase me if I tried to run away. And so I followed him through the front office into an office in the very back. It was very dark in there, the only light being a small, failing lamp.

He closed the door behind me, and I went ahead and sat in a chair. He walked around me and sat in his chair, with his insidious smile fading into a scowl as he studied my features.

At the same time, I swiftly realized that the note he left on my desk wasn't just a note. It was a subliminal message, as Yoongi explained, words or images presented below our level of conscious awareness used as a brainwashing technique. I'm glad I was smart enough to recognize that, or he just might have been able to manipulate me.

However, right now I have a greater problem. He was sitting right in front of me, and I have no idea what he's going to say or do, and I can only hope that he doesn't somehow get in my head. Although, he's already living there rent-free.

[A/N: Disregard the last sentence, please and thank you. I will forever stay loyal to Kim Taehyung.]

He hummed an off-key tune while staring straight into my soul. I gulped and started fidgeting. At this point, my hands were really sweaty and I was shaking.

"Don't be nervous," he whispered ever-so-delicately, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I started to relax just a bit; something about the way his voice sounded made me feel at peace. It was like I was in a trance. I looked at him, and his eyes and face were so enchanting-

I snapped out if it like a dream. He was doing this on purpose. Not only was he trying to get in my head, he was trying to rewire my brain. And I let him in just like that.

"Do you know why I brought you in here?" he said, using that same sweet tone.

I shook my head no.

He chuckled softly, "You've caused a lot of trouble, Alice, since I have been here. I don't think you know what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" I asked, completely lost in his eyes.

"We're here to help you, but you have taken it upon yourself to destroy us. Why would you do that, darling?"

WAIT - darling?! What the heck is he talking about?! I'm not his darling!

I quickly stood up and yelled, "You're sick!" and ran towards the door but was blocked by him catching my wrist and pulling me back.

I swung my fist at his head. He easily dodged but unfortunately for me wrapped his arm around my neck, but not enough to block my airway. I could tell by his heavy breathing that he was furious.

He gritted, "You're going to regret this, little girl!"

I elbowed him as hard as I could in the stomach and he stumbled back. That gave me the chance to bolt out of the room and run as fast as possible down the hallway. Class had already started, so there was no one monitoring the hallway.

I sat down and just stared at the wall, shaking and fearing for my life. I was terrified he might chase after me, but at the same time I couldn't move. I was numb to the world, completely baffled by what just happened.