15 Now Youve Done It, Joshua (2/2)
Suddenly, there was a noticeable shift in the television's vibe; the news anchor at ABC Channel now wore a solemn expression and a somber tone. ”Now, for an update on the tragic news. A school shooting took place today in the city of Springfield, Oregon. Kip Kinkel, a 17-year-old student from Springfield High School, unleashed a round of bullets from a semi-automatic rifle in his class. So far, the deaths of two students have been confirmed, with 22 severely wounded. Although Kip Kinkel had been arrested, his parents were sadly shot to death by him when they barged into the classroom during a police negotiation.”
”Oh, Lord! My God, how could this…” Wang Yang, Jessica, Joshua, Rachel, and Zachary were stunned when they heard the news. They quickly gathered around the television and watched the news with looks of grief and concern.
Footage of Springfield High School was being shown on the television. The news anchor continued. ”According to sources, Kip Kinkel was suspended from Springfield High School yesterday for the illegal act of bringing a firearm to school. This marked the third incidence of school shootings this year. A similar shooting took place last month, on March 24. Two students in an Arkansas grade school opened fire on their classmates and teacher with a rifle following their expulsion. One teacher and four female students were fatally wounded, while 10 people sustained heavy injuries. The second incident happened this month, on the 19th, when Jack Davis, a top high school senior in Tennessee shot a classmate to death at his school's parking lot.”
”In light of these tragic events, let us ask ourselves: have we shown enough love and care toward our students? A school is a place of joy and learning. It should not be an arena of violence and conflict. Furthermore, school psychologists have stressed the importance of curbing herd behaviour among students. As such, parents and teachers are advised to pay close and continued attention to their children and show them more care…”
A tense, cold feeling swept across the apartment, washing away all the smiles and laughter. Everyone was frowning tightly, especially the girls, Jessica and Rachel, who kept muttering, ”Oh God, oh God…” in a sympathetic manner.
Suddenly, Joshua turned around and looked at Wang Yang suspiciously. ”Dude, are you going to grab a gun and shoot up USC? You seem like the dangerous type.”
His comment left Wang Yang speechless. Meanwhile, Jessica, fed up with her brother's nonsense, went ballistic. ”Joshua! Shut! Up!” She picked up a pillow from the sofa and swung it at Joshua, who was sitting beside her. Wang Yang stopped her by seizing her hand and said, ”It's fine, Jessica. I'm okay.” He looked at Joshua with his eyebrows furrowed, and said, ”But Joshua, your joke wasn't funny at all. I just want you to know that you shouldn't joke about something as serious as this.”
Rachel was equally irate. She stared at Joshua and said, ”You've not only hurt Yang, but you've also hurt the unlucky victims.” Jessica shook her head and added, ”That wasn't a very nice thing to say.”
”Joshua, apologize to Yang, now!” Jessica's eyes looked like they were smoldering. School shooting. Yang's expulsion… Those were not laughing matters. How could he make fun of them? It didn't just embarrass her; it made her downright furious!
”Okay, I admit it's my fault. I'm sorry!” Joshua shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly apologized. ”I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just worried you might go off the deep end. I'm just concerned…”
Jessica clenched her jaw. ”What's wrong with you? You call that being concerned?” Embarrassed, she apologized to Wang Yang personally. ”Yang, I'm sorry. Joshua never grew out of his rebellious phase. He doesn't even know what he's talking about. Please don't mind him.”
Wang Yang gave her a reassuring smile and said, ”Of course not. I know Joshua didn't mean any harm. Besides, he's apologized.” He grabbed the remote control and turned off the television. Then, he got up, clapped his hands together and said in an upbeat tone, ”Come, let's forget about those depressing things. Let me show you guys something more cheerful.” As he said that, he walked toward the bedroom. Rachel and Zachary stood up and followed him.
Jessica gave Joshua a death stare and said in a tight, trembling voice, ”I won't forgive you. I'll deal with you once we get home.” With that, she quickened her steps to catch up with the gang.
Once they were in the bedroom, Wang Yang turned on the computer and played all the footage of the movie he'd shot over the past few days. His face beamed with pride as he looked at them as if they were his babies. Then, he looked back at his friends and said, ”These were shot two days ago. Today's footage hasn't been uploaded yet.”
”Oh gosh!” Jessica was visibly impressed. Although the footage was only in tiny fragments that had yet been edited and tied together, and she could hardly see a coherent story, she felt thrilled and inspired nonetheless just by looking at them. She stared at the computer screen unblinkingly and murmured, ”What a great shot…”
At that moment, the movie's female protagonist, Mae, appeared, followed by the male protagonist, Kevin. Zachary Levi squealed abruptly like a little girl. ”That's me, that's me! Wow, it feels kind of nice seeing yourself on a computer screen!” Rachel nodded with a smile and said, ”Yeah, I feel the same way, too.”
As Jessica gazed at Rachel, a hint of jealousy flickered over her eyes. Damn it. Why couldn't she be the one who was on the computer screen, instead?
”It's so blurry and shaky, it's making my head spin…” Joshua whined contemptuously at the back after taking a few cursory glances. But nobody paid any attention to him. Even Jessica was fixated on the screen, too busy to be bothered with him. Joshua dug in his ears out of boredom and left. What's the big deal? It was just a video made with a DV camcorder, wasn't it? Even he knew how to do it!
As he came out of the bedroom, he suddenly noticed the DV camcorder on the coffee table in front of the sofa. His eyes lit up immediately, and he went over to pick it up. Then, he walked back to the bedroom doorway and shouted, ”Hey guys, look at me!” He pointed the DV camcorder and sneered, ”Look, I'm a director, too!”
No sooner had everyone turned around to look at him than they dismissed him, smiling and shaking their heads before reverting to the screen. ”Joshua, don't forget to save the footages. They might come in handy for our blooper reel,” said Wang Yang sportily as he moved the mouse and clicked on the videos.
Jessica turned her head around to look at Joshua, annoyed that she had to miss a few seconds of the videos for her pesky little brother. ”You'd better be careful and stop messing around, or you might erase Yang's work for the day!” she yelled at him.
”Oh, please. That'd never happen! It's not like I'm some kind of idiot,” replied Joshua carelessly. Then, he walked around the room with the DV camcorder held to his eye, aiming its lens and posing as if he were shooting a video. He proclaimed loudly, ”Look at me guys! Don't I look cool?” However, as no one paid any attention to him, he got tired pretty soon and walked out of the bedroom with the DV camcorder in his hand.
Soon after that, just as Wang Yang was about to click on the next series of videos and play them, Joshua's scream came from outside the room, followed by the sound of something breaking. It sounded as if Joshua had tripped and fallen to the floor.
”What on Earth happened?” Wang Yang, Jessica, and the rest of the gang frowned and went outside immediately to see what happened. As they'd expected, Joshua was spread on the floor with his hands over his bruised head, and the DV camcorder, that was supposed to be in his hands, was now laying on the floor over a meter away from him.