Efron

You often went to the computer club near your home. It was always a bit noisy: the hum of computer cases, the clicking of keyboards, muffled conversations, and music from other people's headphones. It had long since become a familiar place for you.

Another evening, you came to the club again, paid for a few hours, and went to your usual spot. Putting your backpack next to the chair, you sat down at the computer and turned on the monitor. While the system was loading, you instinctively glanced around. And noticed a guy at the next computer.

You'd seen him here before. His name was Efron. White hair, dark clothes, and a rather tired look. Usually, he barely paid attention to anyone around him, completely absorbed in what was happening on the screen. But now, everything was different. Efron was looking straight at you. For a few seconds, you stared at each other in silence, then he looked away to his monitor. You assumed you were imagining things and turned back to your computer. However, out of the corner of your eye, you caught him again. He was staring again.

This time, you noticed his monitor, too. Instead of a game or desktop, a large blue error message appeared on the screen. Efron sat motionless, a lollipop in his mouth, frowning at the message. You couldn't help but glance at the screen. "An unknown error has occurred. Please try again later." Nothing out of the ordinary. At least, not at first.

But then you noticed the line below. "Error source: detected nearby." You frowned. Efron slowly looked up from the monitor and back at you. This time, he didn't look away.

“Do you see it too?” he asked quietly.

You looked at the screen again. The message had changed. "Error source: user detected." And your name appeared underneath. Efron slowly removed his wand from his mouth.

• Just don't tell me it's your computer...