The boy inside the matrix box

13

And you can do what you want to do

But please don't keep me waiting

Tired Of Waiting For You – Green Day

The four friends celebrate Sam's sixteenth birthday over burgers and fries. After a vote, they start a superhero film which Nessie and Paul, true to themselves, keep commenting. When the film is over, they give Sam their presents while stuffing their faces with ice cream cones, even though it's the first week of December.

"It's too much," Sam groans as he sees the four gift packages.

"Your last birthday in high school," replies Nataniel with a shrug. "That's something worth celebrating!"

With a grunt, Sam starts to unwrap his presents. In the end, he is a mixture of joy and indignation at the amount of money spent. He runs his hands through his frizzy hair several times, then, finally choosing joy, hugs his friends.

"You're awesome, guys," he smiles, returning to his gifts.

"No kidding!" exclaims Paul, shaking his head. "Shall we have a smoke to celebrate?"

Sam bursts out laughing, but beckons Paul to go with him to get something to smoke. Taking advantage of the fact that they are alone, Nessie approaches Nataniel.

"What do you want from me, young lady?" he asks with a laugh when he sees her coming.

"To ask you how you are. Have you heard from Seven?"

The young man shakes his head gently. "No, I haven't. Not since the 'Wait for me, Nataniel' episode!"

"Hm... I see... What an idiot."

Nataniel lets out a deep sigh. "I'm completely out of touch, Ness."

"Are you suffering from it?"

"I don't know... Like, really not. I don't know if I'm angry, sad or just plain jaded. All I know is that I keep thinking about it, trying to figure it out, but the more I think about it the more I feel like there's nothing to figure out. Maybe I should have expected this from Seven. He's... fickle."

"Don't give up too quickly, Nat."

"I'm not giving up. It's just... what would I have to do? Run after him? Pester him with questions until he answers? That's not my style..."

"No, he's not. You can find an in between."

"What do you mean, in between?"

"Send him a message again."

"So that he can blow me off like he did with the last one?"

"At least you'll have told him what you had to say."

"I don't even know what I have to say."

"Yes, you do. Tell him the truth. That you'd be willing to wait for him if only you knew why you should wait, or what you should wait for. That you think about him every day. That you'd like to know if there's anything wrong with you... Tell him things like that."

Sam and Paul return, several spliffs in hand. "Let's move outside, kids," Sam tells them. "I don't want it to smell like weed when my parents come home!"

"Oh, I'll stay warm," protests Nessie. "I don't smoke, after all."

"There's no way you're staying alone, love. You're coming with us," retorts Nataniel, pulling her up by the arm.