Chapter 3: Quarrel

Night City.

A city of dreams.

A city of nightmares.

And like countless others, Gloria Martinez had a dream.

Her dream was for her son, David, to succeed—to climb the corporate ladder, to rise above the life of hardship she had endured, to stand at the top of Arasaka.

For this dream, she had sacrificed everything.

Long hours. Multiple jobs. Frugal living.

Everything was poured into David's education at Arasaka Academy—a golden ticket to a better future.

She believed in him. She believed in her struggle.

But today, that belief was shattered.

---

She had been looking for another part-time job in Haywood when the notice from Arasaka Academy arrived.

David had been expelled.

Her hands had trembled as she read the details.

He had installed a pirated black-market software into his Mewtwo Ring, attempting to upgrade it on the cheap.

The result?

A virus had infected Arasaka Academy's entire online education system, frying the Mewtwo Rings of other students and causing a total network crash.

It was a disaster.

By the time she arrived at the academy, she was begging the administration for leniency, promising full compensation for the damage.

And now—she was driving David home, the weight of her dream crushing down on her.

---

"Didn't I tell you to upgrade the Mewtwo Ring properly?"

Gloria's voice was sharp, laced with frustration.

David, sitting in the passenger seat, didn't dare look at her. His voice was small.

"It was my fault. I went to the prosthetist…"

Gloria's grip on the wheel tightened.

"You made your own decision, and now we have to pay ten times the money!"

David flinched. He knew he had messed up.

But he also knew why he did it.

They were poor.

He didn't fit in at the academy. His classmates—all wealthy corpo brats—mocked him for his cheap gear, his outdated cyberware, his second-hand clothes.

He had just wanted to level the playing field.

But instead, he had made everything worse.

He sighed, staring out the window as his foot bounced nervously.

"Sorry."

Gloria's frustration only grew.

"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have done it in the first place!"

David's hands clenched.

"I told you—I didn't have the money to upgrade properly—"

Gloria cut him off.

"Of course we didn't! It's not payday yet! Do you think we have money just lying around?"

Silence filled the car.

David felt trapped.

Everything—his mother's expectations, his classmates' insults, their financial struggle—was pressing down on him, suffocating him.

And for the first time… he said what he really felt.

"Actually… I've been thinking."

Gloria frowned. "Thinking what?"

David took a deep breath.

"Maybe I should drop out. Get a job or something."

Gloria's knuckles went white against the wheel.

Her heart pounded.

"What did you just say?"

David's voice was quiet but firm.

"Mom… we can't afford this. The debt, the repairs, the tuition… it's too much."

"Don't be ridiculous! This is your future!"

David sighed, still looking out the window.

"I don't fit in there, Mom."

"So what? You think the real world is any easier?"

David's foot tapped restlessly.

"No matter how hard I study, I'll never be like them. And I don't want to be."

---

Silence.

A heavy, suffocating silence.

Gloria's chest tightened.

She had spent years working, struggling, pushing herself to the brink so David wouldn't end up like her.

And now…

Now he wanted to throw it all away?

Her voice broke, trembling with emotion.

"Then what have I been working for?"

David turned to her, startled.

For the first time in his life—he saw his mother cry.

Gloria never cried.

She was strong, independent, unshakable.

But now, tears were slipping down her face as she drove.

"I work so hard because I believe in you, David."

"Because I know you're smart. Because I know you can succeed."

Her voice cracked.

"If you give up now… then what have I been doing all this time?"

David's chest tightened.

He had always known his mother worked hard.

But now… seeing her tears, hearing her pain…

He felt guilty.

"I shouldn't have said that."

"I'm sorry. Don't cry, Mom."

Gloria sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

She knew David was struggling. She knew the academy was hard on him.

But she needed him to understand.

"I know you don't fit in there, David. I know they treat you like an outsider. I know… because I went through the same thing."

She turned to him, her expression full of hope.

"That's why we have to prove them wrong."

She pointed upward, toward the neon skyline.

"I want you to become an elite. I want you to rise above them and stand at the top of Arasaka Tower."

Her eyes burned with determination.

"You have the talent, David. You can do it."

David sighed, leaning against his seat, exhausted by the conversation.

"You make it sound so easy…"

But before he could finish—

Something changed.

His eyes widened.

A dark shape appeared in the window reflection.

A machine gun.

Mounted on a car.

Pointed directly at them.

His breath caught.

"Mom—"

Before he could react—

Gunfire erupted.

A pink SUV opened fire—not at them, but at the black business car on the other side of the highway.

The sheer firepower shattered windows and tore through reinforced armor.

David could only watch, frozen, as bullets ripped through the air, sending glass and metal flying.

His stomach dropped.

"This damn gang fight!"