Unclutter, page 26
“We were just about to have lunch. Why don’t you join us?” Rory offered.
“Here, serve yourself some set dosas,” Jai said, placing a plate of pancakes on the table. “I’ll be right back with the curry.”
Jai brought a glass bowl of piping hot lush green curry and set it on the table. “Let’s dig in.”
For the next few minutes, we ate in silence, enjoying the savory pancakes that were crisp on the outside but soft and spongy on the inside, dipped in a flavorful curry filled with veggies.
“What’s this curry called?” Rory asked, licking his fingers. “It looks like Thai green curry but tastes a little different.”
“It’s saagu,” Jai replied. “Thai curry has coconut milk, but this has fresh coconut. Saagu has cilantro, while Thai curry has, uh, Thai herbs.”
“I absolutely loved it. And I will get the recipe from you later,” I said. I turned to Rory. “So, what’s up with you?”
“I’m taking two weeks off and going on a trip,” Rory answered. “To Hong Kong. To curb my mobile addiction.”
Jai frowned. “What mobile addiction?”
“Haven’t you seen my face buried in my phone all the time? Well, it’s time I stop that.”
“Good luck, R,” I wished him. “Enjoy your trip.”
“You deserve a break,” Jai agreed. “When are you leaving?”
“Next Friday.”
“I’ll drop you at the airport,” I offered.
“Thanks, T. And I’m not planning to tell anyone else.”
“Our lips are sealed,” Jai and I said in unison.
“Great, I’m going for a walk now. Jai, I’ll wash the dishes when I’m back.”
I got up from my seat. “No, I’m doing the dishes.” I added after a moment, “Oh, by the way, I’m dating Ekon.”
Jai chuckled. “Ah. Finally.”
“Who’s Ekon?” Rory asked. “That chef from Recharge Café?”
I nodded. “That very one.”
“I’ve heard stuff about him. Be careful,” Rory warned. “He has a criminal record.”
I scowled. “It’s not right to judge anyone without knowing the truth.”
“I’m just looking out for you, T.”
“I appreciate that. But I really like him and don’t want to hear anything against him.”
“Point noted. See you on Friday,” Rory said and left.
“So, when did you start seeing each other?” Jai asked. “After our squad meeting last week?”
“How did you know?”
Jai laughed. “Why do you think I left Recharge Café early that day? My errand was just an excuse. I wanted you lovebirds to work things out. There was an intense chemistry between the two of you.”
I blushed hard. “Stop it, Fellow Monster.”
“When you said no to Ekon’s hot chocolate, your favorite, I knew something was up with you two,” Jai continued. “Tina Lauren saying no to hot chocolate is otherwise impossible.”
I shoved him playfully. “Ha ha ha. Very funny.”
“Seriously though, I’m happy for both of you. Ekon is great.”
I smiled happily. “Thanks. He is.”
After washing the dishes, Jai and I sat in his living room, waiting for AA and the others to join the conference call.
“Guys, it’s Sunday. I was sleeping,” AA complained.
“At four-thirty in the afternoon?” Ekon asked.
“I repeat. It’s Sunday.”
“Strollfield High has decided not to participate in SCF this year. So, Amanda’s band can’t perform,” I said, getting straight to the point. “Unless the public demands it. Do you all know any influencers who can help promote their music?”
“Sorry, I don’t know anyone,” Winona said.
“I have no personal accounts on social media. Only the one for the squad,” Nate said.
“I’m a part of a plant lovers group with a lot of followers. If their music is soulful, I can post it on my account,” AA offered. “But only if the sounds help my plants grow.”
“That would be fantastic. Thanks, AA. I’m sending you their clips right now.”
“Cool,” AA replied. “Anything else or can we all get back to Sunday mode?”
“Uh, I found something,” Nate said. “Tina, this might bring back unpleasant memories. I’m sorry about that. But this is really important. Is it okay if I continue?”
I felt my heart pace quicken. What now?
“It’ll help us with the case against Nicholas,” Nate prodded gently when I didn’t say anything. He added after a pause, “And I’ve made sure that what I’m about to show you will never be viewed online by anyone else ever again.”
I nodded reluctantly. “Alright. Let’s continue.”
“Thanks,” Nate replied. “Can you get your laptops for a screen sharing session please? I have to show you all something.”
When all of us were ready, Nate spoke again. “This is one of the videos I found online. It was the same one that was played at Duckville High graduation ceremony. We all know that Tina’s face was swapped with the original person’s.”
“Nicholas’s face has been blurred here,” Winona pointed out.
I clenched my fists under the table while Jai placed his hand on mine in a comforting way. Even though I knew that it wasn’t me in the scandalous footage, it was hard to see my face there.
“That’s right, Win. The asshole protected himself before making it public,” Nate replied. He shared another video on his screen. “Now, look at this other one I found. Nicholas’s face is not visible in this either. This one’s really hard to watch, but try to examine it closely as I zoom out and zoom in again.”
I gasped out aloud, shocked and looked at Jai. He mirrored my exact expression.
“It’s Affy,” AA finally spoke out loud. All of us knew that too but were too tongue-tied to open our mouths. “That’s Affy in both the videos. The one with Tina’s face has Affy’s body with the birthmark under their neck.”
“When you zoomed out, it was clear that Affy’s hands were tied. And they were screaming,” Ekon said. “It’s obvious they were forced into this.”
Nate switched back to the first video. “In this, since it’s a close-up, the tied hands are not obvious.” He paused to zoom in the screen. “But now, you can faintly see the rope.” He placed the second video next to the first one and pointed to the similarities one by one. “See, Nicholas’s hand positions, the clothes, and everything else is the same.” Nate closed everything and stopped sharing his screen. “Sorry for making you watch that. But that was the only way I could prove my point.”
“Nicholas Parker has stooped to the lowest depths possible by raping a minor and recording it,” Winona stated. “This is disgusting beyond limits.”
“So have Laila and Harriet,” I added quietly. Their betrayal still hurt me like crazy. But it was much worse that they tampered with a ra-rape footage.
Jai pounded his fist on the table, startling me. “We need to report this immediately to the police.”
“But Nicholas’s face is blurred,” Ekon pointed out.
“And the sicko’s lawyers will try to prove it’s not him,” Winona reasoned. “If this ever gets to court.”
“I could try to snoop around a little more and find the video which shows Nicholas’s face,” Nate said. “Besides, it would be a piece of cake to unblur his face.”
“Evidence sought by illegal hacking won’t be admissible in court,” AA pointed out. “And you do not have the authority to unblur anyone’s face. Affy will need to file a police complaint against Nicholas Parker.”
“But Nicholas and his underlings have threatened them not to press charges. If they do, the video will be used against them to ruin their reputation and a chance to be adopted by a decent family,” Nate explained.
“How do you know this?” Ekon asked. “Did you hack—”
“No, I’ve witnessed Affy being followed by Nicholas’s underling,” Nate justified. “Tina, they were there at the café that day when you met the Soul members.”
“Did I end up making things more difficult for Affy?” I asked.
“No. They seem to look up to you,” Nate said. “Check out their thank you note on your Soul post.”
I opened the post and read the comment out loud. “Thank you @tinaaaLauren for your support. We promise you we will not give up. #SCF, here we come.” I added in a voice barely above a whisper, “That’s why Affy backed out of going to the police station with Amanda and Yash. Nicholas was threatening them.”
“Nate, you implied you corrupted all the online copies of Affy’s video. You wouldn’t have done that unless you’ve already located the original, knowing it’s solid court evidence,” Winona pointed out. “You wouldn’t have stopped at guessing it exists.”
Wow, soon-to-be Attorney Winona is sharp.
Nate sighed. “Fine. You got me. Affy has the original. I know this because I hacked into Nicholas’s phone and found that he sent it to them. That’s why they’ve kept mum.”
“You’ve got to stop doing this,” AA scolded him. “AA Squad doesn’t do illegal stuff like hacking.”
“Alright, alright. I promise never to hack into or track anyone’s phones again without permission. Except Nicholas’s. I will continue tracking his device. That’s nonnegotiable.”
“Fine. But please be careful,” AA and Winona said in unison.
“I promise I will,” Nate replied.
“Tina, can’t you add defamation in your charges against Nicholas now that you have proof?” Jai asked. “That’s a huge offense. And you can file a complaint against Laila Yusuf and Harriet Shelby as well. They, too, committed a crime against you.”
“I will, only if Affy goes to the police first though. It’s not right for me to pull them into this without their knowledge,” I insisted.
“No, the right thing to do is report it to the authorities,” Winona replied. “You’re putting away a criminal and helping Affy. Why don’t you look at it that way? Besides, it is our duty to report abuse against minors. The police will take action even if the victim does not press charges. That’s the law in Strollfield.”
I thought for a moment as Jai squeezed my hand reassuringly and whispered, “Win is right, Little Monster.”
“Okay, it’s decided then. I’m going to the police station again tomorrow with these videos to file more complaints against Nicholas, Harriet, and Laila. Thanks, squad.”
***
When I got back home, I was exhausted from the events of the day. I ordered a pizza for dinner and ate it groggily on my futon, staring at my phone, willing it to ring. Ekon had texted me earlier this evening that he had to go out on some personal work but would call me after he was back.
When my phone rang, I greeted the caller. “Hello?”
“Hey, Tia, you sound sleepy,” Ekon said.
“Uh-huh,” I replied. “But I want to talk to you.”
Ekon laughed. “It’s fine. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“Five minutes, Eko,” I replied. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to speak with you about Soul,” Ekon said, and I sat up straight at the band’s mention. “They just booked a gig for this Friday at Recharge Café. And I thought I could help them in another way.”
I was totally alert now. “I’m listening.”
Ekon sounded shy. “Um, this is a secret, though.”
“My lips are sealed,” I assured him. “Go on.”
“Do you know the influencer JustCooking?” Ekon asked.
“Sounds familiar. My father mentioned the name once or twice,” I said.
“That’s actually me,” Ekon revealed.
“Wow! That’s awesome.” I shrieked in delight. “Will you share Soul’s music then?”
“I was planning to use their instrumental music in my next video, providing them a shout-out,” Ekon suggested.
“That’s a brilliant idea,” I exclaimed, jumping up and down. “You have our full permission.”
“Tia, no one can know my social media identity,” Ekon repeated. “If anyone else finds out, I’ll be in trouble with my family. They don’t approve of me being a full-time chef. They only agreed to let me work at Recharge Café part-time temporarily until I graduate.”
“You can trust me,” I reassured him. I added in a light tone, “I can’t believe I am dating an influencer.”
Ekon chuckled. “Would you have agreed to go out with me earlier if you had known?”
I laughed. “No way. Ekon Okoro is much more special to me than the world-famous JustCooking chef with almost a million followers.”
“Tia, stop saying things that make me want to run to you right away,” Ekon said.
I blushed at my boyfriend’s heart-fluttering words. “I can’t wait to see you again in person.”
“Me neither,” Ekon replied. “And Tia, I’m glad I trusted you with my biggest secret.”
Chapter 41
On Monday, I pulled over at the university parking lot, excited and nervous about the launch of our new app for “Are you okay?” formerly called “Court Us.” My name probably wouldn’t even be there on the flyers, but knowing my work was going to be available for people to use very soon made my heart soar. I felt proud of finally overcoming my fears and launching my first coding project in months. My phone beeped in my pocket. It was a text from Jai. He had sent me a picture of the full app poster near his classroom and another one with my name in extremely small print at the bottom.
I called him right away instead of texting him back.
He picked up on the first ring. “I spent an eternity searching for your name on this thing. Finding a needle in a haystack would have been easier.”
I laughed. “I’m just happy it’s there. You know, it’s actually good that it’s not that apparent. I won’t get unwanted attention again then.”
“Congratulations, Coder Queen, you’ve done it again.”
I smiled. “Thanks. But what do you mean again?”
“You’re going to knock the socks off Sharon with the Recharge Café games you’ve developed. I’m not even into mobile games, and I loved them. Aren’t you presenting them to her tomorrow?”
“Yes, after my classes in the evening,” I replied.
“I’m so glad you’re coding again, Little Monster. I wish I could at least sit in the cafeteria with others. I chicken out every time.”
“You will, Fellow Monster. I promise. And I will be with you when you do. Whenever that is.”
“Thanks. My professor is here. I will catch up with you at lunch.”
I ran my fingers over the letters of my name on the photo of the flyer gingerly.
Well done, Tina. Good job.
***
Still high from my success earlier that morning, after classes, I drove to the police station to press more charges. I filed complaints against Nicholas, Harriet, and Laila, and submitted the video evidence. It was the same gray and gloomy room with the annoying, ticking clock as earlier, but I answered Officer Hussein and Officer Lee’s questions confidently.
Since it was confusing, I explained to them that there was a vulgar video with Nicholas and someone else. Laila and Harriet had worked with Nicholas to replace the other person’s face with mine. Then they had played this during the Duckville High graduation ceremony to humiliate me. I wanted to report it earlier, but I never found the footage. Recently, I had found it online while searching for “Duckville High graduation video” and was shocked.
“And here’s the original non-fabricated video,” I said, submitting another flash drive to the officers. “I know the survivor. They’re a minor.”
“You did the right thing by reporting this to the police,” Officer Hussein said.
“Yes, it was really brave of you to come to us,” Officer Lee agreed. “It must have been terrible to see illegal videos of yourself and your friends online.”
“Thank you.”
When I left the police station, I hoped that this would expedite the investigation and the perps would pay for their crimes soon.
Though it was not my fault, I couldn’t help but worry about the number of people who had watched the video online. I knew it was fabricated but the thought creeped me out. The fact that Affy was being threatened for no fault of theirs sickened me further, and I started getting nightmares again with Wilbur Lauren chanting, “Princess, you asked for it.” My inner voice helped calm me down every time, but it was hard to get a full night’s sleep.
To make things worse, nothing had changed at the university either. I wasn’t expecting an applause for developing the revolutionary “Are you okay?” app, but I definitely did not want to be removed from the committee. But there it was, the cancellation of future meeting invitations on my calendar with the note: “Since your work is done, you don’t need to be on this anymore.” I sighed and navigated to the app reviews, content that the students thought it functioned well and was a great initiative.
At the end of the day, what mattered the most was that if someone in the university was being wronged, they had a platform to report it and obtain justice.
But my other app presentation with Sharon at Recharge Café went extremely well. She was so impressed that she paid me a large sum of money for my effort though I wasn’t expecting anything. When I declined, she insisted, saying that I deserved it and earned every cent of it. It felt wonderful that my work was acknowledged, and I truly felt like a coder queen.
On Friday evening, I picked up Rory from his place to drive him to the airport. He had one bag, a book, and no phone. I was surprised to see him with a book, since he never read. He either listened to summaries of novels or waited for them to be turned into movies. I was curious to see the title, but he had covered it with his large hands. So, I decided not to ask him about it and drove.
