Capturing Them

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen
Victor

We don't pass Sang on the way home from school and I wonder what way she walks. Something inside me hates that she's walking home alone, but what can I do when she's refusing our advances to be her friend. The moment we're parking our cars outside Nate's house, Gabriel is on me. "C'mon Vic, use those fucking skills of yours and get me that damn number."

I roll my eyes, getting out my car and pressing the key fob to lock it. Nate let's us into his house and I immediately go to his bedroom to collect the laptop I keep here. Returning to the family room, I find I'm alone but I can hear the others talking and banging about around the house, most likely getting ready to do some swimming with it being a nice day.

Logging onto my laptop, I bring up the software I need. My fingers start flying over the keys at a speed I'm used to. The screen is in front of me, but I'm not really seeing it. I know what I'm doing and could do it with my eyes closed if I had to.

When I get into Doc's phone, I go to his contacts and finds Sang's number under 'Miss Sang'. Pulling out my own phone, I type the number in and save it simply under 'Sang'. I also take a note of her email address, noting that she has sent him two emails; one saying thank you which was sent from a computer or laptop and the other was sent from her iPhone.

Coming out of the software, I think about hacking into her computer and the curious person inside me doesn't let me think for long.
Before I even know what I'm doing my fingers are tapping away and I have her laptop screen up on my system. I go through the files seeing random homework pieces saved, nothing special. There's some music, a good mix of everything; rock, classical, pop. Clicking onto photos, my eyes widen when I see folder after folder of photos.

Someone drops down onto the sofa beside me as my eyes wander over the file names: When In Love, The Best Of Friends, Nature Is Beautiful, The Best Of Views, Before Now.
The Before Now folder  catches my attention and I double click on it. "Dude, what are you doing?" Looking to my left I find Silas sitting beside me, bare chested and in swim shorts. "That's her private life."

"But are you not curious?" I ask, turning back to the screen. Photo after photo loads up and I click on the first one. It's a young Sang and a woman that looks exactly how Sang does now, just older. They're sitting in front of a Christmas tree with wide smiles; Sang is wearing a red squinted jumper and the women, who I'm guessing is her Mom, is wearing a matching one. I press the arrow key and go the next one.

It's a picture of a young Sang sitting at an old fashioned wood piano, her eyes closed with a soft smile as her fingers sit on the keys. She was clearly playing as I recognise that look. When I want to play because I want to play and not being forced to, I'm sure my face looks like that. It's one I've seen on many people throughout my life.

Suddenly, I realise I am in fact invading her privacy and guilt hits me hard. This isn't for our eyes, it's hers so I click off the photo and go back to the folders. There's so many with hundreds and hundreds of photos in each of the them.

"Hey, what's the one?" Silas asks, pointing to a folder. I look at the name and feel my eyebrows go up and into my hairline. 'Capturing Them', is what it's named. I click on it and when the photos load I'm looking at us. "Holy shit." Silas breathes. "Guys, come here." Silas calls and not even a beat later the room is filled with everyone trying to huddle around me.

"Fucking hell, it's us." Gabriel says.

"No fucking shit, Sherlock." North grunts.
"She has pictures of us, loads of them." Kota says. "Why though?"

"People watcher." North says. "I've said this."

"But we have our own folder." Silas says.

Luke shuffles on his feet, a nervous gesture. "Look guys, I need to tell you something." All eyes are on him and he lets out a nervous laugh before saying, "I went into her house. Not only does she have all those photos of us and others on her laptop, but she makes them into scrap books. She is a people a watcher, but she notices things that not many people would."