Diary of a Sociopath

Chapter 6

Nana's point of view:

"No please! Listen, listen to me Cam! You don't have to do this! CAM PLEASE.... NOO!" I whimper miserably.

"Say goodbye, Annabelle" He sneers as he drives a dagger through Mel's abdomen. "I told you....I gave you a chance...but you chose her over me...so now that she's out of the picture...you've no one but me" he laughs devilishly as he digs his finger into Mel's stab wound and paints over the walls writing something.

"Know your boundaries, before the boundaries suffocate you"

It's the note he sent to her...the note..I should've known..

"This is the mess you created. It's the mess you created. YOU. CREATED. THIS. MESS." Cam's voice echoes on and on before it transitions into my ringtone.

I wake up with a jump on my bed. My pillow is soaked with tears. I feel terrible and my heart aches, but I'm so relieved. A vivid nightmare. Haven't had these in a while. My phone. I grab my phone to find Mel's name on the screen.

"Hello?" I try to find my voice.

"Nana?! Where are you? We've been calling you forever now! We're at your movie premiere, waiting for you" Mel speaks loudly against the chatter of people in the background.

I glimpse at the time. I'm so late. "I overslept somehow, I'll be right there in a few."

I immediately rush over to get ready. I take a quick shower and find something to wear. I decide on this long sapphire blue dress that I bought last weekend. It fit my long slender body perfectly. My long brown hair fall on my shoulders in bouncy curls. I dab some makeup on my face. Are you ready? I look at myself in the mirror. I'm ready.

...

I park the car outside the main hall of our university. Plenty of other short movie creators are also here. They'd be nervous, but not me. I make my grand entrance just in time before the competition began.

"Annabelle, dear, there you are!" My Italian professor chirrups from a distance.

"Good evening, Professor Angela, you look dashing" I beam at her despite her calling me by my first name. I hate it. I prefer being called Nana.

"Not so bad yourself, darling, you look lovely." She compliments me. My eyes drift to the person standing next to her. She seems to have been noticing me for a while now. I grit my teeth when our eyes meet.

"Oh, you know Lara James, don't you?" Prof Angela says noticing us. "She is taking part in the competition too! And she played the role of the main actor herself!" She continued in her Italian accent.

I raise my eyebrows as I force a smile. When did this brat decide to join the competition?

"We have the same actors" Lara says coldly. "Annabelle was kind enough to share her actor with me, otherwise I wouldn't be here today." Her eyes fixed on me.

I feel my body weight collapse to my feet. I try to put myself together but Lara notices me flinch and an evil smile spreads her face. I try to keep my calm as I ask, "What main role did you play then, had you 'borrowed' another main actor?"

"A bully" she says slyly.

Her words shake the world inside of me. But I tried to keep my calm on the outside. I politely excuse myself. Another word from that mouth and I'd have punched that face back to sanity. Mel. I must find her and warn her. Lara must've recorded everything that day.

I find Mel standing beside the chocolate fountain. Ofcourse. Her white dress compliments her tan skin. Her long black hair fall in layers on her small shoulders. Her green eyes light up when she notices me. She waves at me as I walk over to her.

"You made it just in time" She says dipping the strawberries in the chocolate fountain, before offering me one. "Hey is everything okay?" She says suddenly noticing my puffy eyes.

"Yeah I'm good as ever" I lie. I was feeling sick. I needed to tell her about Lara but I didn't know how to get to it. Before I could even open my mouth, Cam rushes to us. He looks neat in his suit. Pictures of the nightmare flash in my head as I try to shake it away.

"We have a problem." He croaks. He explains the Lara situation. "But you can complain and get her disqualified for videotaping you without permission."

Mel has been carefully listening to Cam. She looks at me, wondering if I knew about the situation. She shakes her at last and says, "Do not worry, I'll deal with it by myself."

Cam nods and leads us to the hall where our movies will be projected. We find our seats reserved with our names labelled. The show starts, different short films are projected on the screen. Lara's movie will be played after mine, since she submitted hers at the last minute.

"And now we present to you Annabelle's short movie, titled: the illusion of mind." The MC roars.

The movie plays on the big screen. A very panicked Mel is seen jumping out of her study chair and rushing for the main door. On her way she is seen observing the shattered mirror, the frames, the kitchen cutlery. The scene ends and my picture fills the screen. My voice echoes through the hall as I explain the concept. "The idea was simple. We had our actress feel she was experiencing an earthquake just by manipulating with the scene. We'll show you how." The crew can be seen busy preparing the set. "We are preparing broken frames and cutlery, before we film the main scene." The camera shows one of the crew members unscrewing the cabinet and letting it dissemble.
"All that's left to do give the perception of an earthquake--."

"What if I'd left the room and discovered the broken frames ?" Mel whispers jokingly into my ear.

"That would have never happened, knowing your sleeping schedule is a wreck." I whisper back.

She giggles. "I'll be right back, I've to go to the washroom."

The audience claps as my movie concludes. A small figure appears behind us keeping low on the ground. I spring to my feet. "What the hell?" I mumble. "Shshh! I'm looking for Cameron Gray." She whispers.
"Uhh." I point to Cam sitting two seats away from me. She finds him, they talk for a while, then he gets up and follows her out. I glance at my watch, should I stay and watch Lara's film? I'm contemplating the idea, when Mel returns back.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh nothing much, just another two movies. Do you want to stay till the end?" I ask hinting about Lara's movie.

"Well, we can come back after the recess during the award ceremony, can't we?"

"Sure." I say without hesitation.

Just as we were about to leave the hall, the MC speaks into the mic."Lara James' short video will not be played today, due to certain circumstances. That was the last video played today. We will have a short break, please enjoy the special delicacies prepared outside in the meanwhile."

I turn to face Mel. We both exchange puzzled looks.

I find Prof Angela outside, looking distraught.

"Is everything okay Professor? I ask.

"Oh Annabelle! Lara James was taken to the hospital! Apparently, she was poisoned!"

*******
Who do you think poisoned Lara ? Share your thoughts in the comment section! Please vote for my story if you're liking it so far!