The Technique

Chapter 9: Competition

Mike patted my shoulder. "You can do it, buddy." I gave him a thrifty smile. He stopped dead when his eyes turned to Stella and Greg beside me. "Well, I mean, you all can do it."

Stella flipped her hair and didn't give Mike the attention. Greg didn't look at him, too. He was smiling forcefully at the girls and guys in front of us who were supporting him, totally basking the moment.

I could almost hear them shout 'Go Greg', and the only thing they were missing was banners.

"Hey," Kylie whispered. "You look nervous."

I gave Kylie a who-would-not look. "Kylie, look. Students gathered around here to watch us get in the van. As if we are about to take off and go to the space. We're only going to a competition, you know. It's weird and crazy and scary and pressuring." I was always diffident in front of many people.

Someone tapped my back. I turned around to see Greg smiling like he was the purest person here. "Come on. This is what it is. You should get used to it."

I furrowed my brows for his great act. I knew he was just smiling for his supporters. But I'd never expected that he'd still be in character when talking to me. I noticed Kylie and Mike putting their gaze away from me. I turned to Greg and replied, "Thanks."

"Are you ready?" professor David asked behind us. He opened the van's door and waited for us to get in.

I nodded and got in the van quickly so that I'd never have to deal with the crowd. Stella and Greg followed me, and finally, the crowd's noise couldn't be heard anymore. Stella was sitting between Greg and me, but she didn't seem to care. She was enjoying living out her ultimate dream of sitting beside her crush. We didn't talk too much the whole ride. No one had ever initiated a conversation.

Mr. David, beside the driver's seat, was constantly talking about how the competition would go, then he'd look at me and give me an is-there-anything-wrong look. He might have noticed the anxiousness rippling all over my body now.

I only shook my head and smiled. I watched the mahoganies on the side of the road, and I suddenly remembered the moment when I was in the car with mom, her condition, especially. Until now, I wasn't sure if our family could be completed again. I tried to search for dad on every social media, but he wasn't there. But I never stopped looking for him. Every single day, I googled the name 'Neil Bruce'. And no matter how many times I tried, it seemed like he wasn't going to show himself up to us. When I was in first grade, I noticed every kid in our class going to school with their dads. At that young age, I knew that mom and dad separated their ways for some reason, but I wondered why he didn't at least support me.

Though everyone told me I shouldn't look for him or even think of him because he left us, I thought it wasn't the best reason why I shouldn't forget him. He was there when mom was still pregnant for nine months. He was there when I started to walk. I never disgraced not having a father because I knew he had his reason for leaving me. And I was still hoping he'd come back one day.

"We're here," Mr. David said. He looked at me when he noticed I was a bit surprised. "Nathan, are you okay?" he finally asked.

"I'm absolutely okay," I answered.

Stella looked at me concernedly. "We can do it. Loosen up."

I guessed she was thinking I was thinking about the competition. I just nodded and gave her a small smile.

Greg, on the other side, was in his normal resting face already. He opened the van's door and squinted when he came across the sunlight. The sun was beating down already this time in the morning. Mr. David gestured us to get out of the van quickly. We gathered around the small waiting shed in front of the competition hall. Some students from other schools came before us, and there were students still getting out of their cars.

"You can enter now," a man in a white suit told us. He ushered us to our proper seats.

There were five tables, each with three chairs, forming a circle in the hall. The audience seats were a floor up on the left and right, facing each other. We sat on the one with our school written on it. And just like the van's sitting arrangement, Stella sat between us. But unlike earlier, I noticed her being nervous for the first time. Greg stared at the other tables where the students were sitting. There were still two tables unoccupied, and I thought we'd have to wait until they arrive.

"You two," Greg said. Stella and I both turned to him when he talked. "Are you confident we're winning this?"

I waited for Stella to answer first, but her hands were shaking uncontrollably under the table. I was certain Greg noticed that too, and he gave her an annoyed look. "What? Are you nervous now?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm always like this whenever---"

"You're not confident?"

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I'll try my best. We can do it."

Greg shook his head in disappointment. "No explanation." His eyes were like sharp blades. "What about you?" He turned to me.

"Ah..." I trailed off. His expression was slowly scowling. I never liked that look.

"Fine," he gave up. "I thought I could trust you both. But you're incompetent I suppose. Now, have you forgotten everything we'd studied?"

Stella looked down her shoes before turning to answer Greg. "Well, you're the smartest among us here. And I believe it's going to be very easy for you, right?"

Greg suddenly looked at the surface of the table. In a moment, I thought he was going to bump his head on it. I knew we couldn't trust him as well. I knew for a fact that him being the smartest over the entire first years was a false belief. He was only good at memorizing the answers from the answer key. This place was a different place, and there was no answer key appearing in front of his eyes. After a few seconds, he looked up and turned to me. "Nathan, we need to talk." He looked at Stella, who was waiting for him to call her, too. "Boys' talk only." He stood up, and I didn't have any choice but to follow him.

We walked into the hall just behind the audience seats. It was a bit dark. The only light was coming from the restroom. "What are we going to talk about?" I asked behind him.

He continued walking and didn't answer me as if my existence was of no importance.

For a while, I thought we were going inside the restroom, but he walked past it. I suddenly felt strange about what he was doing. "Where are we going?" I asked.

But then again, he didn't listen. His steps went faster and faster.

I almost ran after him. I noticed him staring at the man at the end of the hall, the man in the white suit. His eyes were darker, and I remembered the night, the teachers. There was something in that look for sure. "Greg, don't---" I stopped speaking when he finally stopped walking.

He turned and looked at me seriously. He gripped my arms and pulled me. He made me face the wall. On the wall, I saw the protruding sharp wire. Before I knew it, Greg traced my right wrist on it, mauling my skin.

I shouted in hurt, but not too loud for anyone to hear. I felt the blood rushing out of my arm, and I leaned down against the wall. I looked at Greg. He was smirking. I felt my wrist pumping harder. It was getting numb. Blood and blood were flowing out. "What did you do? Why did you... Are you insane?" I asked, controlling my volume.

He didn't answer, instead, he turned around and ran towards the man in the suit. He said something to him, and the next thing I knew, they came running towards me. Greg's expression changed drastically. I suddenly felt like he was a concerned brother. His eyes were watering. For a second, I thought he was going to cry. His body was shaking like crazy. "Help us, please. He accidentally slipped and hurt himself," he said. When the man examined me, Greg's concerned look turned into his usual smirk. He looked at the back of the man and uttered, "Help us."