Screen of Secrets

Chapter 3

Fredric

"Hello? Is anyone there?" My voice trembled with desperation, echoing into the void. "My name's Fred—Fredric Elevanz. Can anybody hear me? Is someone watching?" The silence was oppressive, punctuated only by the sound of my own ragged breathing. "Please, I don't want to be alone. Somebody, please respond." And then, a low, gravelly whisper: "Fred." My heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I'm Fred. Who's there? Can you help me?"
But the response was not what I expected, "Fred, wake up. You're having a nightmare."
"Fred, wake up!"
I screamed, the sound tearing through the night. I struggled for breath, but then air rushed into my lungs, and I felt alive again.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"You're in your room, Fred. What's wrong with you?" Evan replied, concern etched in her voice.
"Yeah, man, you were having a nightmare. But you're okay now," Nathan added, handing me a glass of water.
I downed the water in one gulp and tried to calm down. I must have fallen asleep after Mom's long lecture yesterday.
"W-what are you both Doing here?", I asked them.
Nathan answered, "I was worried about you after yesterday, so I came to cheer you up and I called Evan over too."
I looked at Evan, "Did my mom see you?"
Evan nodded, "She probably did. I had to come through the front door."
I groaned, "Oh, great, Evan. Yesterday, Ms. Sam caught us in the corner and told my mom about it, she gave me a long lecture for it, and now to make it even bad you came straight in front of her."
Evan apologized, "Sorry for approaching you at school yesterday ", guilt was evident in her words.
I waved it off, "It's fine. Let's forget about yesterday. What are you guys doing here?"
Nathan smiled, "Let's chill out for a bit, what about watching a movie together on your TV."

"My TV? If my mom catches me watching a movie after yesterday, she'll kill me," I said, with anxiety creeping inside me.
Nathan chuckled, "Well, when we got here, your mom said to wake you up and let you know that she and your dad are going in a wedding. So it's just us now."
I breathed a sigh of relief, "Wow, that's a relief. I guess I can live a little for now."
Evan suggested, "You might feel even better after a shower. Then we can start the movie", sounded more like a taunt me.
I nodded, "Okay, I'll be back in about half an hour. And, please, don't get all couple-y in my house."
Nathan rolled his eyes, "Alright, we won't. Just hurry up."

__________________________________________

Nathan and Evan just left my house, and my parents will be back in a few hours. We watched a movie together, and it was fun—until Evan and Nathan started kissing in the middle of it. It was awkward to watch, especially knowing they kissed each other on my sofa. Gross.

Still, after everything that happened yesterday, I needed a break. Speaking of yesterday, did I forget something? I came home from school, greeted some guests, cleaned my room, and then there was that website. Oh yeah, the website! It wouldn’t close on my laptop no matter what I did. If I have to, I'll format the whole thing to get rid of it.
I clicked at the power on button and it began to start. After waiting for A few seconds my laptop starts, and I began to look at it.
There is nothing displayed in the Desktop.
It's gone. The website finally disappeared. Maybe my laptop was just lagging yesterday, that's why the site was not dismissing. Never mind. I’ll watch another movie until my parents return.

Let me see what’s available. Titanic? Seen it. Parasite? Watched it. Jurassic Park? Already watched.

Then suddenly a notification popped up: 'It's study time.'
Study time? I don’t remember setting a timetable.
Hold on, it's not an alarm. It's a message from the 'Be With Me' program. I clicked on it, and it says: 'WELCOME TO THE "BE WITH ME" PROGRAM. WE ARE GOING TO BE WITH EACH OTHER THE WHOLE TIME. YOU DOWNLOADED THIS PROGRAM FOR STUDY HELP, AND IT'S DESIGNED TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK. SO LET'S NOT WASTE ANY TIME AND START STUDYING.'

Oh right, I downloaded it yesterday after my mom scolded me. It looks like it's a decent program, although I don’t understand how it’s running. I didn’t launch it, and I don’t have any programming software installed.
Anyway, I shouldn't go into technicalities.
I click on the began which was at the right upper corner of this message and it again displayed a message:
'THANK YOU FOR AGREEING WITH THE PROGRAM. LET'S START OUR JOURNEY. I HOPE YOU WILL BE WITH ME TILL THE END.'