The Ludicruos League

Pen drive

You cannot escape your destiny.

You know the feeling when you feel someone is watching you. The goosebumps behind your neck. Invisible eyes following every move you make, to every place you go. Your senses are heightened. Your skin tingles. You stop breathing just to smell the air. To listen with greater intensity. You blink your eyes and take a deep breath before slowly turning around, expecting to see something or someone. Yet there is nothing there. Nothing but shadows and a lingering unease.

It is like living daily in the set of Big Brother's reality TV show.

Those were the exact same feelings Inang (pronounced Ee-nung) had to endure every waking moment of her life. Not that she was aware of it sooner, though. It only happened a few months earlier.

When she was five years old, her parents left her in the care of her twin paternal aunts whom she called Mama and Mummy, who became her legal guardians. They were always there for her. After nearly ten years, her memories of her parents were mostly blurry.

Inang was homeschooled during the first twelve years of her life. She never felt the need to have friends. She had everything she needed. They lived in a large house, surrounded by forested hills. They had unlimited Internet, the latest gadgets and games, a soundproof room where they had their own cinema to watch the latest film, and where she practiced her drums. And they travelled a lot, due to her aunts' jobs.

Inang couldn't wait to get her driving licence. In the meantime, she went to school on her ride-on electric-scooter with handle. The half hour journey was really fun, especially with her classmate and bestie Aliança Wahyu Aydarus, but her house was nearer to Mutiara International School (MIS).

Mama and Mummy did everything to ensure Inang's happiness and well-being. She was never in want of anything. They talked about everything, and they openly encouraged her to express herself and explore her sexuality, something she was very reluctant to discuss yet.

She never told them about her feeling of being watched. It could be just a false alarm. Maybe it was the result of watching too many sci-fi and horror movies.

To give her a more rounded education, her aunts let her join in as many clubs and extra-curricular activities as she could muster. Inang enjoyed photography and taekwando the most.

One afternoon, while in her taekwando class, she became aware of someone observing her. She, a blue belter, was in the middle of sparring with another girl who was a rank higher, a blue belt with red stripe, when she became distracted. The sabom-nim, their instructor, kept shouting for her to focus. In the end, Inang lost her footing and fell flat on her face.

It was the same old feelings but it was intensified a hundred times.

That day, she decided to walk to the gym where she had her lessons. Ali had gone back to Timor-Leste to attend the funeral of an important family member.

Inang enjoyed the hour walk to her house after gym as she got to walk home with her club mates. There was this particular boy that she wanted to get to know more. He wasn't at MIS so she only see him at the gym, although he wasn't a student. He only came to observe. Then he would leave without talking to anyone.

Inang once followed him home, up a lane leading towards a fishermen's village. From where she stood, she could see the turquoise water of the Celebes Sea glimmering in the sun. She didn't mind that he was from the less affluent neighbourhood. Besides being quiet and observant, he was also very cute. He made her young heart flutter for the first time. She decided she liked him and wanted to talk to him.

Unfortunately he didn't come to the gym that day. She looked for him outside the gym, but he was no where to be found.

Disheartened, Inang took out her AAA battery-powered hand held miniature fan and switched it on. She sighed. It had been a particularly hot day. The gym had air conditioning, but outside, the humidity made her sweat profusely.

She resumed her walk home, taking the long way, hoping to stop by a pre-loved shop she and Ali found a few days earlier.

All the time, she was aware of being followed. Nonetheless, there were many people around them. Groups of protesters holding up placards, silently walking along the street in front of the Municipal Hall. The signs read, Save our rainforest. No to mining. Save our future, Save My Home, etc. She felt less threatened. However, after a few more minutes of that uncomfortable feeling, she made a decision. She could not ignore those feelings forever. She halted and turned around.

A tall woman and a slightly shorter man continued walking leisurely until they stopped in front of her. Their faces were partially hidden by the baseball caps they were wearing. There was something military-like about them. Inang had seen army parades and war films before. There was no mistaking them, especially once they got closer to her. They stood with their backs straight and chests out. They wore a hoodie over their black and grey overall uniforms. Despite their attire, not a single bead of sweat dripped off their tanned faces. Their expression was unreadable.

Inang bent slightly with her feet a few inches apart, her arms raised, ready to throw a punch if needed.

"I know you've been following me. What do you want?" Inang asked rudely. She was irked and wanted to let off steam.

The woman smiled and asked casually. "You are Miss Kilates, right?"

The man muttered under his breath, "The similary is uncanny."

Inang demanded, "What do you want from me?"

"We need your help."

"Sorry, Ma'am and Mister. You got the wrong person."

"We are a hundred per cent sure we're not," the man said. His smile was genuine. There was nothing threatening about him, yet Inang knew she must not let her guard down.

"You know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, right? If you truly know me, you should visit me at my home and talk to my guardians."

They exchanged looks. The man shrugged and muttered, "I told you so."

The lady took a deep breath and look Inang in the eyes. "Look here, girl. We don't want to put your family in danger. There are things we shouldn't involve them. If you help us, it'll bring the world much good."

Inang took a step back. The lady before her must be over six foot tall. She felt a midget in her five foot one and a half. "I'm not interested. Besides, you got the wrong person. I don't have any ideas what you guys are talking about."

"Here." She took something from the inner pocket of her jacket. A pen drive. "We found this is your late mother's belonging—"

Inang's eyes grew wide. "Wait. You knew my mother?"

The lady's face remained unchanged. "Read what's written here. She must have been trying to write a sort of autobiographical story. Who knows, maybe she meant to give it to you."

With a trembling hand, Inang accepted the pen drive. The two people before her seemed genuine enough. She couldn't detect any maliciousness around them.

"You may want to contact us after you read them." The lady produced a business calling card, which again, Inang accepted. She looked down to read the card.

B & B Florists

"Where do I—"

When she looked up, they were gone, swallowed by the throngs and the looming darkness.

With the thuds of her heart hammering in her temple, she jogged home. She greeted their housekeeper as lively as she could, said she wasn't hungry and wanted a shower, then went straight to her room on the top floor. She threw her sports bag on the floor, as she didn't want them on her bed, knowing it contained hundred of germs from the gym floor. She switched on her notebook and inserted the pen drive. Taking a deep breath, she pushed enter.