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It'd just started, probably two seconds ago, less than that. Even less than that. He'd been tasked. It was up to him, at that very moment, to undertake that task. The task... Sit still. And don't zone out.
He picked up his phone and put it back down.
It seemed like, as they did so often, his eyes were already glazing over. He didn't zone out, though. He didn't. But he didn't sit still either, because who can sit still? He can sit still, though. He can square his shoulders and level his chin and straighten his back and sit tall and unwavering. He can. Because he'll be a soldier one day. He will. He can... He can...
He picked up his phone and moved it to his lap.
He bounced his right leg and drummed against his thigh. He didn't bounce his left leg, because that's where his phone was. If he dropped it and it cracked his mom wouldn't be happy. So he was careful not to drop it. "Careful" for him meant balancing it on his lap, and not bouncing his left leg while he bounced his right. His success rate was TBD. It hadn't fallen yet today. TBD, TBD... It was a catchy phrase. TBD.
He picked up his phone and wedged it under his leg.
He nodded at what everyone else was saying. He cracked sporadic jokes with the person next to him. The person next to him... they had the comments pulled up on their phone. So he didn't need to check his own phone. Not this time. He didn't need his phone, but he felt against his pockets out of habit anyway. It wasn't there, because it was under his leg. He ran a finger along the charging socket. It was there, his phone. He leaned over the person next to him and read the comments. He rested his chin on their shoulder. He crossed his legs, and then uncrossed them, then he stretched and messed with his hair.
He picked up his phone and looked at his lock-screen. And he put it back down.
Someone was walking by, behind the camera, into the next room. He watched them go. They were wearing a green sweater. One time he'd found a frog up in the mountains with his friends. He'd caught it, because he was young and didn't leave things alone back then. He hadn't held it for long. They'd let it go by a tree that was split into a Y-shape. When was the last time he'd seen that tree? When was the last time he'd seen a frog? Oh. He'd zoned out...
He picked up his phone and rubbed it between his hands. Then he put it back down.
Someone was speaking, so he looked at them. He leaned forward and nodded and parroted some of their words. He laughed when they said something funny. He acknowledged every other sentence. Mmm... Right... He looked at them and then at the camera that recorded them all. It was a phone, another phone. It was, maybe, two meters away from them? He looked tiny on that screen.
He picked up his phone and unlocked it.
Pulling up the stream was easier than breathing. He read the comments. And then he looked at whoever was speaking. He was listening, that's the thing. He liked listening to them speak. They made him laugh. He also liked reading the comments. And when someone moved in the background he liked seeing what was happening. And he liked reading the comments. He read them. His neck itched, and he scratched it. Then he stretched from one side to the other. The person next to him had a zipper on their sleeve. He stared at it. Then he fiddled with it.
He looked back at his phone.
He looked at the person next to him.
He looked back at his phone.
He looked behind the camera.
He looked at his phone.
He looked at the camera.
He looked at his phone.
He looked at his shoes.
He looked at his phone.