Chapter Two
The Filmmaker
Tyler Forrester framed the shot, hit record, and scanned his surroundings.
His camera lens—the lens through which he viewed the world. It was too difficult thinking of himself as an active participant in his own life. He definitely preferred the idea of being a director, a casual observer who got to call the shots. Then, if things got messy, he could just say “cut” and move on to the next scene.
Life didn’t work like that, though. Briar Grove Academy wasn’t a film set and there were no second takes. Still, putting a camera between himself and the world around him was comforting. It was a small barrier. A security blanket.
The courtyard at BGA rarely provided any interesting subject matter for his filming. Students rushing off, late to their next class, sparrows and chickadees fluttering about, Mr. Halsley eating an egg salad sandwich (and not doing a great job of keeping his mouth closed).
Tyler paused when he noticed two figures across the way. Vanessa Samuels and Charlie Holt. Widely considered the two most perfect specimens at school—it seemed right that they ended up together. They were wrapped in each other’s arms. Vanessa traced her fingertips along one of Charlie’s biceps while Charlie twirled a loose strand of Vanessa’s strawberry-blond hair.
Tyler sighed. Whenever he spotted couples being all lovey and adorable he couldn’t help but imagine how nice it must be to belong to someone. Absently, he zoomed in on them until a dark palm covered his lens.
“Aaaaannnnndddd cut!” his friend Oscar called out behind him. When Tyler turned to face him, Oscar was miming like he had a clapperboard in his hands, as if BGA were some sort of film set.
Embarrassed, Tyler closed the viewing screen on his camcorder. When he turned around he saw their friend Zoe was with him.
Oscar nodded toward Vanessa and Charlie. “So which one are you fantasizing about?”
Tyler had a crush on Vanessa since the fifth grade. It was in seventh grade that he realized he also had a crush on Charlie. He’d officially come out as bi during sophomore year, but even though everyone knew, Oscar and Zoe were still the only people he could comfortably talk to about it. It was lonely being one of only three out queer kids at a prep school in Jersey. That said, Oscar was good at empathizing, being one of only a handful of black students at the school. BGA was pretty starved for diversity.
Tyler shook his head. “Can we please talk about something other than my nonexistent love life?”
Zoe was quick to oblige, pointing to his camcorder. “That thing is looking a little beat up. You should see if Lydia will buy you a new one.”
Tyler scoffed. “The Evil Stepmother? Fat chance.”
“She may not be the most pleasant person in the world, but she’s definitely loaded,” Zoe said, running a hand through her cropped blond hair.
Lydia Forrester spent what was left of his father’s money on weekly mani-pedis, maids for a house way too large for just one person, oh, and that new SUV she’d treated herself to a few months ago. “I’m not exactly a priority expense on her budget. The only reason she’s still paying my tuition for Briar Grove is because it keeps me miles away from her. She’s even been trying to get me to trade in my camera for a football…or something like it…anything that’ll be more likely to get me a college scholarship.”
“What?” Oscar laughed. “You mean Lydia doesn’t foresee a lucrative career for you as the next Spielberg?”
Tyler shrugged. “Eh. More Spurlock than Spielberg.”
He was hoping that would get a chuckle, but neither Zoe’s nor Oscar’s face showed any sort of reaction. Tyler should’ve figured no one except him would appreciate good documentarian humor.
“Ah, yes, because the success rate for documentary filmmakers is so much higher,” Oscar said. “You do realize you basically just made my point for me, right?”
In spite of himself, the corners of Tyler’s lips quirked into a grin. His camera had become almost an extension of his arm at this point. Hell, before he met Zoe or Oscar, his camera had been his first and closest friend. Could he use a new camera? Of course. His was about three models behind, and most of the new gear and add-ons he wanted were only for newer models. Not to mention, the playback feature was slower than it should be for a digital recorder. Did he want to part with an old friend, though? Not a chance.
A warning bell echoed throughout the courtyard. After one more kiss, Vanessa and Charlie finally pulled their faces away from each other.
Zoe tapped Oscar’s shoulder. “Come on, Mr. Kent is gonna kill us if we’re late to Trig again this week.” She flashed her doe-iest of doe eyes at Tyler. “You didn’t forget about tonight, did you?”
Tonight…tonight… Oh, right. That flier Zoe had given him a few days ago.
“The thing at the historical society? That’s tonight?” It was hard to keep track of events like these. She was constantly dragging him and Oscar to museum openings, reenactments, lectures—if it had a historical bent to it, Zoe was there.
“Don’t tell me you made other plans.” Zoe sounded hurt at the idea of him blowing her off.
Tyler shifted. He hated the idea of Zoe being upset with him, and he wanted to be there for her as much as possible. But if he was going to get into NYU, he needed to stay focused. “I’m sorry, Zo. I’ve got my college application essays to work on.”
Zoe arched an accusatory brow. “Applications aren’t even due yet, you have plenty of time…not to mention it’s a Friday.”
Tyler bit his lip, shifting his weight to one side. He had been planning on spending the whole weekend perfecting his applications: NYU, Columbia University, Boston University, Ithaca, USC, Cal Arts…every time he checked, his list kept getting longer. Mainly due to fear of getting rejected by his top choices. Ever since he fell in love with filmmaking, getting into a good film school was all he wanted, all he could focus on. Sure there was the slight distraction of a crush here or there, like with Charlie or Vanessa, but as tempting as the idea of a relationship seemed, making documentaries—telling the stories that needed to be told—was higher up on his list of priorities.
Zoe knew how much this meant to him and how much work he had to put in until he would be satisfied with his essays. There was a sympathetic gleam in her eyes. But he could tell that she also really wanted him to be at this thing with her.
“Please?” she asked.
“Yeah, c’mon man,” Oscar said. “If I’m not getting out of this then neither are you.”
Zoe gave him a playful slap on the arm. “Hey! You guys, it’s going to be fun. I promise. The Victorian era was super cool!”
Tyler relented and gave a nod. He still needed a video submission for his NYU application. Maybe he could talk to some of the actors and hone his interviewing skills on-camera. “All right. I’ve got an open period right now. I’ll head to the library to get in some writing on at least one of my essays, and then I’ll meet you guys there later.”
Zoe did a little victory dance, punching the air with glee. Tyler laughed as they all said their goodbyes and parted ways.
He shuffled across the grass toward the old brick building that housed BGA’s library.
Inside, Tyler made a beeline for his usual spot in the far-left corner and slipped his MacBook out from his messenger bag. He opened up the Word document for his Columbia essay and cringed. The only words written so far were his first and last name in the top right-hand corner and the prompt he’d chosen from the application, centered and in bold:
It was such a big question…where would he even start? And how could he pick just one film? There were a bunch of different ones that had changed his life and were now shaping the course of his plans for the future. Like pieces to a bigger puzzle.
Rather than typing, he brought his fingers up to rub at his temples. He then checked his phone for a bit before folding his arms in front of his MacBook and laying down his head, without a single word written.
…
When Tyler woke up there was a noticeable shift in daylight. An orange glow streamed in through the long windows, highlighting the rows of books in an amber haze. There was also a noticeable shift in how many people were now occupying the library. Meaning none. He was alone, though the librarian was likely in the back office.
He checked his phone. Five forty-five p.m. Zoe was the queen of holding grudges and wouldn’t let him forget it if he was late tonight. He looked to the open Word document, annoyed at his utter lack of progress. He closed the laptop and shoved it in his bag, as if stowing it away would help alleviate some of the shame. He was about to start toward the main exit but stopped when he heard a soft thud.
From what he could tell, he was still the only person here. His chest tightened, and beads of sweat formed on his back. But he still had a strange urge to find the source of the noise.
Another thud.
“Hello?” As soon as he called out, he felt like a character in some B horror movie. If this were a horror movie, the person dumb enough to investigate would be the first one killed off. He should just keep packing his stuff and meet up with Zoe and Oscar.
But instead of doing what was logical, he let the inquisitive documentarian side of him, the one that always needed some sort of answer even if it was one he didn’t like, guide him as he walked alongside the rows of bookshelves until he spotted the culprit. Two books were sitting on the floor of one of the aisles. Tyler peered from side to side, searching for further explanation.
He walked over and swept one of the books off the floor, sliding it into an open slot directly eye level. After putting the other book away, he turned on his heels to return to his desk, but a low rumble stopped him dead in his tracks.
At least…it started low, but it took only seconds for the rumbling to turn into a tremor of earthquake-like proportions. The shelves around him rattled, books falling to the ground in heaps.
Any other person would have ducked or been more concerned with their safety. But Tyler sprinted toward his bag, pulling out his camcorder. An earthquake in Jersey? Something beyond bizarre was going on, and he would regret it later if he didn’t capture whatever it was on film.
He didn’t have a point of focus, so he aimed his video camera at the center of the room and hit record. An avalanche of library books rained down from their shelves along each of the aisles. But getting hit in the head was the least of Tyler’s concerns. Right there in the center of the space, a shadow was starting to form, seemingly out of nowhere.
Tyler’s heart rattled and sweat made his palms slick as he looked down at the viewing screen on his camera. The image showed that a strange black figure really was forming in the middle of the room. It wasn’t just in his mind; it was right there, being documented in real time.
He wanted to run, but his feet were frozen.
He wanted to scream, but no sound escaped his suddenly dry, aching throat.
Horror welled in the pit of his stomach as he watched the shadow become opaque, filling out in density and form, different colors painting the figure appearing in front of him.
It wasn’t a thing. He was a person.
And he was staring right at Tyler, blinking wildly.