Good Friends

Markus became anti-social after that incident in ORION. He hardly talks to his mom and his friends since then. Cassandra and Dave were told by his mom about what happened to him but she never disclosed the information about the hacking incident.

The children tried to reach out, to comfort him but, Markus is still not opening himself to anyone.

"Good thing he has good friends like you, Cassy, Dave." Charlotte said to them, patting their heads.

The two were helping Charlotte in preparing lunch. It was a gloomy afternoon.

"Ahh, he is so lucky to have us, Aunt Charlie." Cassandra replied. She passed a bowl of potatoes to Dave.

"We'll do our best to help Marky out, Auntie. Besides, the trio won't be the same if he's not in it. "

"Ahh, we'll definitely stay friends no matter what happens. It's a sink or swim for the three of us." Cassy added.

"You've just said the same thing.." Dave pouted.

"It will be meaningless to lose him. Besides, we don't want replacements..." Cassy continues neglecting Dave's comment. She eyed Dave as if saying and gave him a grin.

"It's nice for him to have friends like you two, then, I'll leave my son to your care..." Charlie poured the sauce on the pasta and readied the table.

"Hai, leave it to us!" they said in unison. They sat around the table and Charlie went to get her son.

.....

The morning after Reiko visited Charlie's House, Charlotte saw Ned waiting in front of his shop for her.

"Hey, Charlie!" Ned waved his hand when their eyes met.

She went across the street and tossed a bottle of beer to her old friend.

"How's Marky?" Ned asked.

"Still asleep."

"I've heard about the incident."

"It was a big mistake." Charlotte threw herself on the shop's couch and sulked. "I was a big mistake."

"Don't say that bullshit, Charlotte." Ned said in worry. He knew she's blamed herself for what happened.

"But, that won't happen if I have raised my son properly. If I won't have to raise him alone, if--"

Ned slapped her and she stared at him with blank eyes.

"You raised your son alone for 11 whole years. Reared him since infancy, ALONE. No one is allowed to criticize a mother like you. So, stop blaming yourself." Ned said.

"Then who should I blame? Huh?!" Charlie's eyes are filled with rage and regret "It was not my son's fault. It can never be. He's just a kid and now he's suffering like the whole world is against him. Yes, he had committed a crime but that was because I was not there when he needed me the most. I am to blame, Ned."

"If you want someone to blame, blame me."

"Why you?!" Charlotte angrily replied. "If it's you, then what did that man did, huh?! He almost hit my son on his face. He even barged into my house last night and talked nonsense. I hate that guy."

"He finally saw Markus?"

"The kid was asleep though. But, the nerve--"

"Charlie, I never got the chance to say this but--" Ned turned the bottle around his palms. "--I was the one who taught him how to hack."

"WHAT?!"

"At first it was just random cheat codes we're discussing and after a few weeks, he asked for my college books and then he started to study them," Ned explained.

Charlotte's expression has turned into chaos.

"It started after he got into a fight. I'm really sorry Charlie. I never thought he would learn from those outdated books and those were only a few copies." he put the beer on top of a toolbox and held her hand. "It was my fault. I'm so sorry." Ned said with eyes filled with regret.

Charlotte's tears fell like raindrops.

....

Three weeks have passed and Markus was trying to recover from most of the shock. He was encouraged to go to school and catch up on what has left behind.

Cassandra and Dave came early and together, they went to school. They arrived at the school a few minutes before the first bell. They immediately went to their classroom on the second floor.

"Lucky we're here early, ne, Marky...." Cassandra said. She tried to meet his eyes but she failed. She looked away as if nothing happened and nonchalantly entered the room.

"Ahh... look, I always cleaned your desk when your gone, huh..." Dave exclaimed, lively hopping as he entered the room, pointing at Markus' desk.

Some of their classmates greeted the two but when they saw Markus, their stares turned into daggers; their whispers turned into fog.

Markus felt the chill, so he kept his head low and went straight to his desk.

The two followed him and Cassandra softly said, "Hey, you can look at us and say something..." she looked at Dave for support but he just raised his shoulders. Cassy rolled her eyes. "If it was them, I'll go hit whoever hurts you." she was standing in front of his desk and Dave was squatting beside his chair.

Suddenly, one of their bully classmates approached his desk and slapped the desk.

Markus cringe.

"What in the world is this ??" he said boastfully. He stood next to Markus' chair. "...the criminal is here."

"Shut your fucking mouth... and stop with the criminal stuff, you fat bastard!" Dave stood up and eyed Bon.

Bon was the biggest kid in their class. He is fat and he's fun of bullying his classmates. He doesn't have many friends because he always smells like sweat under the heat of the sun. His cheeks cover his whole face, burying his eyes.

"I can't believe you're friends with a criminal, Davey Jones" Bon said teasingly. He pointed him with his index finger that smelled like garlic.

"Why do you care, Fat Bon? Marky is not a criminal!" Dave exclaimed and placed himself between Bon and Markus.

Markus didn't say a word. He kept his head low, avoiding eye contact. His face almost laid on his desk. His face is covered with his hair.

"You're siding a criminal, Davey. I mean, I saw him being handcuffed by the police about 3 weeks ago and was sent to the station you know..." he gestured teasingly to Dave and others "...Na,, what do you call such a man being handcuffed? Right! A criminal!" he gave a wild grin.

"What did you say!!! Take back what you've said or else I will punch you, fat bastard!" Dave jumped on Bon and took him down to the floor.

"Dave,, stop it already... Marky will become afraid now..." Cassandra exclaimed. She was covering Markus' ears as she whispers

"But, he is insulting Marky. I can't forgive him..." Dave complained. He faced the bully and said, "...take it back, you jerk!"

Cassandra pulled him away and Bon immediately got to his feet.

"I won't..." Bon brushed Dave and Cassandra away and faced Markus, grabbed his collar, and said "....ne, Markus... Was I right? You... you are a criminal...hahaha"

But Markus didn't say a word. The first bell sounded and their teacher came in. The commotion stopped and everyone came back to their seats.

Markus remained seated on his chair, keeping his head low. Cassandra, who was seated behind him, leaned forward on her desk and said in a whisper,

"It's okay, Marky.... We don't believe him. You're not a criminal. We will always be here for you, definitely.."

Dave, who was sitting next to Markus's, saw what Cassandra did and leaned towards Marky's desk too. "Soo,,, we will be here for you, Marky. We will never have them hurt you. We promise that..."

Markus didn't respond to a single word but he gave a slight nod. The two saw it and stared at each other. They smiled.

The class continued but the poor kid fell silent all of the time.

During dismissal, the rumors about Markus were all around the hallway and the three overheard the murmurs as they went outside the building.

"That was the kid, right?"

"Yeah."

"I don't wanna go near him. If I do, I'll get caught as well."

"His genius brought him downfall." a teacher glared at him from the hallway.

Rumors about Markus being taken by the police and accused to be a criminal were rampantly scattered all over the campus. It was all around the social media and everyone fell distant from the poor kid. The school heads know it was all because of the hacking but the students were the ones spreading some false rumors.

Because of the incident, even Ken and Brent became distant towards him. When they reached the gate, Bon and his friends approached them and said,

"Aren't you afraid of him, Cassandra, Dave?"

"Shut the hell up, Bon... do you really want a fight?" Dave said stepping in front

"What? Would you like to give a fight?" Bon stepped forward eying Dave

"That's enough, Dave... let's just go home," Markus said quietly

"Marky..." Cassandra said with a tear in her eyes. "Stop it already, Dave...let's just ... go home." Cassandra grabbed his sleeve and dragged him away from Bon.

"Tsk... was not done yet, Bon.." he eyed Bon and turned to Cassandra and Markus "Ja, let's get going..."

They turned and took their way home.