Hacker Academy

Fuzzy Thoughts

Speaking of drunk, I was getting kind of woozy. Even with the soft wind, my face still felt heated.

I put my elbows abruptly on the table. "You are not a lot of things people say you are, Cyber."

He sits up, with an amused expression. "And just what am I not?"

I think for a moment before saying, "You aren't a player. You don't show an interest in Celestia Python at all."

He scoffs. "Glad you figured that out."

"And, you're actually different than what I expected you to be."

At this, he perks up. My head is getting heavy, and I wish I hadn't gotten myself into keeping up talk with Cyber. Blurry visions of my dream reappear. Hacker number 1... Mom... Sister... Death.

Cyber leans forward from across the table. "What kind of expectation did you have of me?

"I-I... Nothing."

"Tell me, I'm curious now."

Looking at Cyber, his face showed genuine interest, like a friend who wouldn't tell secrets. His eyes were soft, and his cheeks slightly rosy from the wine. Maybe I judged wrongly of Cyber. Maybe I should give him a chance. The dream reappears in my mind but this time, I brush the thought away.

"Well... I dreamt that I was competing with Hacker Number 1. Which was you, but I didn't know it was you."

I pause. Cyber is taking this well. So far.

"If I lost, my sister and mother would die. And-"

My nose is stinging and I choke back tears. "I lost."

Cyber says nothing and looks off into the distance as I regain composure of myself.

"It was wrong of me to be so judgemental of you before I really got to know you. But I'm glad I had the chance to. So thank you."

Silence echos between the wind, and we say nothing at all. Then he turns around and looks at me with a slight smile. "There's that smile."

To my surprise, I was unknowingly smiling. It causes me to grin. Cyber slings an arm across his sofa chair. He's staring at me with a small smile, and it's relaxing and unnerving at the same time. What is he thinking of? I take a small sip of my wine.

At last Cyber speaks. "Since you've told me why you've been avoiding me since the first day I met you, I guess I should give something in return."

I'm curious as he takes out a metallic black box from his pocket. It's the size of my fist, and there's something glowing inside. Cyber passes it over to me. Gently, I open the lid, and there is the pearly white watch I looking at from H-Gear.

I look up at Cyber, shocked. "Y-you didn't have to."

He smirks. "It's the least I can do to say thank you for coming with me today."

"A deal's a deal, Cyber."

He smiles, ignoring my statement. "So, you like it?"

I unfasten the watch from the case and put it on. "I love it." Scrolling to the hacker charts, I see my ranking. "Now I can see how much closer I am in beating your rank."

He rolls his eyes. "You wish you were funny."

Under the dark sky, a nice dinner, teasing Cyber, what more could I wish for? An idea pops up, and I swipe to the camera app of my watch. The holographic screen shows the both of us, and I lift my watch up high.

"Say hacker!"

"Wha-"

A beep goes off my watch and the photo is taken. I laugh and look at the picture while Cyber is still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"What was that for?" He asks.

I shrug. "For memory."

After dinner, the two of us walk back to Hacker Academy. Turns out my watch has a flashlight, which illuminates the way as we walk towards the tall skyscraper. The inside is pitch black, with only a few wall lamps illuminating the place with a soft golden glow. We arrive at the elevators, and Cyber turns to look at me.

"Here is good, thanks," I say.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks for today."

He doesn't say anything for a moment and lets the silence of the dark envelop us. Feeling that we've stayed here for a little too long, I press the elevator button to go up. When the elevator comes, Cyber says I can go first. I walk into the elevator.

He's shuffling from one foot to the other, agitated about something. He puts a hand on his neck and finally speaks.

"I was wondering... Are we friends now?"

I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow, and I can't help but smile. "I don't know, Cyber. Are we?"

The elevator doors close and send me up to the dorms.

Sneaking back into the dorm, the room is dark and Unix is snoring. I change into comfortable clothes and slip under the covers, the soft puffy blankets inviting me to sleep.

Before I do, the last thing I see is my watch projecting out the picture of me and Cyber.