| Four Years Later |

"Alion44, are you on that firewall? I feel like I'm masturbating here, why am I doing all the work? SkyFly, still waiting for you to unlock the fourth level, this isn't flappy bird, you can do it. Stop boring me."

I sipped on my BigGulp and let my eyes glide over the screen, watching the multiple different boxes I had opened. They blinked and rolled with encrypted numbers, my program tearing them apart and turning their firewalls and security programs into sudokus. A new box pop up and turned my eyes to it.

"Sky, come on, pay a little attention," I sighed and dealt with the tracker my program caught before we all went to jail. "You nearly got us on starchy food for 25 years to life."

"I'm sorry, man, I'm doing my best!"

I rolled my eyes and slurped on my drink again. Sugar at 7am in the morning perhaps wasn't one of my best life decisions, but it woke me up enough to deal with the candidates I was currently interviewing for my project. I had always believed in practical testing rather than theoretical.

Adjusting my headset, I picked up my grilled cheese sandwich and took a bite. Through chewing, I noticed another little warning on my screen pop up and rolled my eyes again. Fucking amateurs. "Guys, do I need to go over the fundamental principles of hacking and coding with you? You see, children, sometimes when 1's and 0's love each other very much—"

"Shut up, asshole!"

Smirking, I leaned back into my chair. "You have two minutes to get me there before I fake my orgasm and call it a night. Well, morning, since it's—"

"Caleb!"

A hard bang made the door to my room fly open. Glancing over my shoulder, I sighed. I turned my eyes back to my screen, only to abruptly feel my headset get yanked off my head.

"You sis is blasting music again. Get your ass out and tell her to turn it down before the neighbors come over and realize we aren't Mr and Mrs fucking Domestic."

"I don't know, man. I think you could pull off Mrs Domestic if you showed off your calfs a bit and—"

His hand smacked me upside over the back of my head before I could finish. "Go take care of your fucking sister."

"Okay, daddy."

The door slammed behind me so hard the hinges protested. I laughed to myself, knowing full and well that shit was gonna get me pulped. Eli's temper had always been on the shorter end...

Sighing, I pulled the headphones back up and adjusted the mic, cracking my neck. It was time to end this game.

"Time's up, guys," I smirked lazily when I heard them protest and howl for another chance. No such thing when you were playing with the best. "Ceynius out."

~~~

Pushing against the door, I stuck my head inside my sister's room and melted into a complete pantsy.

She was sitting on the floor with her Disney coloring book, filling in some drawing of the little mermaid on a rock. It looked like Ariel had opted for purple hair today. The raging boombox that played full blast stood right next to my little sis and vibrated on the floor, cranking her current favorite album by Muse. Any normal little girl (or just human in general) would've cringed at the loudness and the closeness of the stereo. But not my girl.

Smiling like a fool, I crouched down in front of my baby sister and snapped my finger in front of her nose. She immediately looked up and gave me a toothy grin.

Hi princess, I signed to her. Slept awesome?

She nodded eagerly and clumsily signed back to me while still holding her purple crayon. I had a unicorn! It was purple like this!

Really? That's so cool! I replied and gave her a surprised gape. Did it make rainbows and poop glitter?

Elana frowned weirdly at me, then shook her head as if I was absolutely crazy. No! It burped skittles, and if you ate them you became a unicorn as well!

Oh, of course. I forgot unicorns did that, I sympathized and then chuckled as she pursed her pretty pink lips better-knowingly. But hey, angel. I'm gonna have to ask you to turn your music down a little, okay? I know you like it, but our neighbors aren't as cool as you, I explained, giving her a little smile when she slowly pouted. I'm gonna turn it down and then we're gonna go get some breakfast, okay?

She sullenly nodded, but then signed; I'm not hungry, I want to draw!

Okay, I allowed. I guess she could eat later. I could tell Ariel needed her weave done. Then you just come out when you get hungry. I might have to go, but just pull on Eli if you need anything, alright, princess?

Elana nodded a last time, then stuck her nose back into her coloring book, rolling onto her tummy. I couldn't help but just watch her for a moment as she continued painting Ariel a feisty purple color. Her tongue got stuck in the corner of her mouth while she concentratedly tried to stay within the lines, her little hand clutching the crayon tightly.

My cute little princess.

As I reached for her stereo and turned it down a bit, I couldn't help but feel my heart ache when she put her free hand on the floor to pick up on the fading vibrations. She loved music so much, and this was the only way she could hear it.

She was diagnosed as a deaf-mute when she was only a few weeks old. As if that hadn't been hard enough, not weeks after, our parents... there was an accident. It was like a stake had been pushed through my chest, and today five years later, I was still picking the splinters out.

Back then when it had happened, I had been absolutely clueless about what to do. The system had threatened to take Elana away from me, and in the wake of our parents dying, I just couldn't bear that happening. She was just an infant and I had just turned fifteen, but damn it if I was going to let them separate us.

I was alone, and she would've gone into system, and even after I'd gotten emancipated, they still would've deemed my lifestyle unfit for a baby.

So I had said fuck them. They weren't taking my sister from me, nobody ever would. Elana was my only family and I had therefore fled the state and tampered with some online statements. We disappeared from the system and I relocated us to a place where no one would find us; Los Angeles.

In a city of crime, fame and fortune (wasn't that all the same though?), I had raised her on my own and tried to be the best damn parent in the world with a little help from kind strangers every now and then. Homeless people were the sweetest you'd ever find. At one point I was squatting at a place where the apartment next door had the dearest old English lady. She would babysit Elana from time to time whenever I needed a mental break, but even then, I found it hard to leave my sister alone.

Words couldn't describe what I'd do for my little princess... But maybe numbers could.

One drunken night, about two years ago, the epiphany had struck me. The most amazing idea had come to me while sitting in a club downtown, getting grinded like some pepper by a gorgeous, hardworking female entertainer. Thank you, Candy.

The project I had been working on for the past two years was born that night, and it was as if fate had wanted it to happen, because it was that same night I bumped into someone else as well.

And that someone... did not like getting bumped into.

He'd thrown a fist at me and fuck me I dodged at first, but when he came for me again, I hit back. Soon I was wrestling some idiot on the dance floor with an ego too large to fit the room, but then his friend had jumped to his aid and I had found myself outnumbered. My everlasting luck.

I'd been ripe for the picking until some jacked up dude with ink all up and down his birthday suit suddenly stepped into the ring and knocked the second guy out with one solid punch I could still sometimes hear cracking in my dreams.

Ten minutes later, I was sat in a corner booth with an ice bag on my face, drinking free drinks on the house and thanking the dude who had seemed eager to help, but not so eager to talk. It wasn't until I passed him my blunt the fucker finally warmed up, just an inch. The lap dance I bought helped, too.

While he had been getting his dick oiled up, I had pulled out my notebook. The one that contained all of my previous ideas. The ones feasible enough to try out on today's technology, anyway.

I had started scribbling down the idea I had gotten earlier, but just as I was getting to the coding part, whada'ya know, ink-fucker leaned over, glanced down at my notes and scoffed unimpressed; "That shit'll never work unless you up the crypto."

– The fucker had spoken hacker to me.

Fast forward about thirty seconds, I had closed my shocked mouth and tried him on for size. He thought he could play with this genius? He had another thing coming. Hashtag L.O.L.

But, as it turned out, the joke had been severely on me.

And so from three fat blunts, five pounds of liquor and one limber stripper, a precious and unique friendship had been born. And, more to the point, the most valuable invention of modern online hacking.

P vs NP who?

God gave me a brain, and boy did he give me a good one. I might waste it on weed a few times a week, but I wasn't going to let it go to waste. No, I had big plans.

Money had never been a problem to me. I could've easily hacked into daddy Trump's account and taken a small loan of a million dollars and lived a good life, but believe it or not, I wanted to do it the right way just this once. I wanted to earn my place in this world, and what I had on my laptop was going to be my first step into getting the recognition my invention deserved. It was everything I needed.

... And milk. Which I was currently discovering we were out of.

"Fucking—Eli!" I slammed the fridge shut and cursed the kitchen up. Fucking again.

It had been his turn to shop for groceries. Now what was I going to put on my cereal? What was Elana going to eat when she got hungry? Christ, she needed her milk so she could be healthy. She was losing her first tooth soon and I'd be damned if I was gonna get a complaint from the tooth fairy.

I stormed towards Eli's bedroom and found it empty, but heard the water running from the bathroom. Angrily, I walked over and slammed my fist against the door, nearly breaking down the wood. "Yo, ink trash! You didn't fucking buy groceries! We got no goddamn milk for Elana!"

A few curses and a minute later, the door got jacked open and a towel-clad Eli glared at me, his eyes piercing. "Fuck off, man."

The hell I would. "You went to Low Point again, didn't you? You keep fucking—"

"Mercy came up to me."

"And you took her into the lounge to have her milk you?"

Eli shoved me out of his way and walked up to the dresser we shared, grabbing his pants from his side of the drawer. "Shut the fuck up. She wanted to talk. Her boyfriend smacked her around again and she needed some goddamn comfort."

"And you're the walkin' talkin' zone of comfort," I drawled, but then sighed and evened my voice out. "...How's she doing?"

Eli dragged his pants on and threw the towel over his shoulder. "Got herself a new blue tan, but fine. Told her I'd fuck him up if he laid another hand on her."

"Good to know I'm not the only one receiving threats."

Neglecting a reply, he dug into the dresser and picked out a shirt. Donning it, he then wordlessly tossed away the towel and walked towards the kitchen, cracking his shoulder blades. I followed him.

"I'll pick up the groceries, but then you better fucking do it next time," I told him, stopping in the hallway where my shoes were. I grabbed them and started tying them on. "I'm also gonna hit up my P.O box to see if my letter came yet, so tell Elana I'll be back later."

I got a grunt as reply. I more than knew what he was thinking when I had mentioned the letter. He had on several occasions voiced his opinion about me applying to that school. Education was for sheep.

I slightly disagreed. I might've known almost everything I needed to know when it came to hacking, but the world, specifically the cyber one, was ever evolving and expanding. People constantly came out with new shit and... an education could do me good, if not give me a purpose in life or a goal. Or I could just teach some assholes how it was done.

Or maybe... I could give Elana a big brother she could actually look up to.

I grabbed my shoulder bag with my laptop and walked out of the apartment, telling Eli to watch Elana till I got back. I left the building and begun walking for the bus station, my mind whirling as I thought about the letter. The letter that could change my life.

I wasn't ashamed of who I was, but I also knew that most of the shit I did wasn't legal. I wanted to set a better example for Elana, wanted to clean up my act for her and show her there was a better way of living than this. A better life than squatting some place new every week.

I was good at my shit and they'd have to recognize that. The people at that school would be idiots if they didn't, and I knew they weren't. I'd done a full background check on the place and they were actually legit. They knew their shit, and fuck me if I didn't want in on that.

They were my shot in life. This school was going to be my reset button; the start of a new life for me and Elana together. I could feel it. This was the place where it all started.

The Alexandrettia.

~~~

"Fucking assholes! FUCK you! Fuck ALL of you!"

"Caleb, you need to calm the fuck down," Eli said behind me as I threw my beer bottle against the school's wall and roared. He put a hand on my shoulder, but I ripped away from him, tumbling towards the front entrance. "I told you they wouldn't fucking accept you. That's what they do," He drawled. "They're judgmental shits with no interest except for money. Stop acting like you didn't already know."

"I don't give a fuck!" I yelled, crumbling down on the ground.

They rejected me. They fucking rejected me.

My letter had come later that afternoon. I'd walked back and forth to check my P.O box four times during the day, hoping the letter would be there each time. And on the last try, it had finally been there.

Three weeks. Three fucking weeks I had waited for that reply, fucking hoping they would see more than just what society branded me, and what happened?

Dear Mr Montrell,
We regret to inform you that you did not meet the qualifications for the Alexandrettia's honorary student scholarship. The students admission board reviewed your application and evaluated you unfit for the grand and it's terms. We apologize and encourage you to reapply next year.

Regards,
The Alexandrettia Admission Portal
Administrator of Admission
Angelica Forde

– Fuck you Angelica Forde.

The crushing blow had led me to stumble to the nearest bar and drink the pain away. Eli had found me shit deep in booze and weed and followed me when my anger had started to broil over. The rejection in itself had been rough enough, but the words in the letter had spoken more than clearly as to what they had judged me on.

And it wasn't my intelligence.

Turning around and pushing myself towards the school, I fell to my knees in front of the glass door, anger shaking through me. "This wasn't for me. This was for Elana! For her future! This was going to be a new start for us, I was gonna do fucking right by her!"

"C..." Eli lingered behind me, watching me.

"Fuck them!" They hadn't even tried to give me a chance. All they saw was the boy on the paper, the papers I could've cleaned up nicely if I wanted to, but I wanted them to know where I came from. I wasn't ashamed, but apparently that also made me unworthy of their fucking scholarship.

All they saw was a criminal. So a criminal they'd fucking get.

I reached into my pocket and angrily ripped out my leather lock-pick set. I heard Eli curse behind me when he saw me frisk the picks out and bend towards the doors.

"Caleb," He snapped. "Caleb, don't. You're drunk as shit, don't even think about it. Just go home to your sister. She's waiting for you—"

"Don't talk to me about my sister!" I barked, sticking the picks in and working on the pins with ease. I'd fucking show them... "Don't fucking mention her. This is their fault, rich goatfucking motherfuckers ruining her future."

"For fuck's sake." I knew Eli was running his hand through his hair and was grinding his teeth to dust at me. He cursed the second the lock clicked and then followed me inside as I with an enraged push stepped inside and went straight for the alarm box. "Caleb, stop. We can't do this, we can't get caught. Screw this shit, find somewhere else and get a degree there if that's what you fucking want in life. Just don't do this."

"Shut up!" I whipped my head around and glared at him for a hard second before turning back to the alarm. "This was it, Eli; this was thee place. They were the only fucking school that had a program that even remotely interested me—that fucking challenged me!"

I made quick process with the alarm system and ignored the burning in my chest. I rewired the alarms and turned off the sensors.

"Caleb—"

"They don't fucking want someone that could challenge them. You were right, all they want is sheep. Well fuck that. I'll show them what I can fucking do."

"Caleb!" Eli shouted when I closed the alarm box, then set my backpack down and pulled out two cans of spray paint. "Put that shit away, you are not fucking doing this!"

"Watch me."

"God...damn it!" Eli swore, then ran after me as I begun running down the hall, shaking the cans. Watch me be a fucking criminal now.

I pressed down on the mussel and aimed for the walls, the floors—hell, everywhere. I painted everything a vibrant yellow and black, following no particular pattern, just spraying the shit everywhere. I hit everything; photographs, paintings, displayed artifacts on the wall—even a bust of fucking Aristotle.

"That's enough!" Eli barked behind me. "You did it, now let's bail before your stupid ass gets us both caught!"

"We won't get caught, I fixed the alarms. And I'm not done here," I told, now looking at one of their expensive exhibitions in their glass cases. I sized it up, and then with a hard hand, I hurled my spraycan after it, breaking the glass into a thousand pieces.

"Fuck!" Eli shouted, now gripping onto my arm and yanking me away when I was about to throw the second can at another case. "That's enough, man! Let's go!"

"Get off me!" I shoved him off, but he kept fighting me, trying to haul me out. "Eli, let me fucking go! Run if you want to, this is my shit! I'm staying and I'm doing this, I'm showing these motherfuckers how much they're fucking worth—"

"You're not thinking straight!" He yelled when I managed to throw my second can, hitting a larger case down the hall that shattered and actually fell over. Unstable leg, apparently. "Fuck, you goddamn shit, get out of here! This doesn't change the fucking fact that you didn't get in!"

"No, but it feels fucking amazing."

"You—"

"OY! You two, stop right there!"

Me and Eli both whipped around to the sound of voices behind us. What...? It wasn't possible...

"Fuck!" Eli's voice tore through me like a bullet.

"But I... I cut the alarms," I said, feeling my pulse speed up for the first time in my life as the two police officers advanced rapidly, Eli pulling on my arm, yanking me to move. "I-I fixed them... I—"

"Don't move!" The police officers shouted, now running after us as we begun backing—as Eli begun backing away and dragging me along.

"I don't give a fuck, just come on!" He hollered at me and yanked me harshly once again.

I just couldn't believe it. I had never not been able to handle an alarm before. And I wasn't even that drunk. "But I—"

"Run man, just run!"

• • •

- And we all know what happened next.
(...Unless you didn't read Genius first)
(Then you don't know)