It wasn't just Archimedes who had his Eureka moment in the bathroom. It was Newton too. 

The shy gravity man may have masked the original discovery location from the confines of his loo - where the idea must have appeared while attending nature's call - to the enthralling greenery of apple orchards.

Self-conscious Newton, gifted the world the three laws of motion, the foundation stones of gravity. 

Throughout my schooling and even a whole year of Uni, his prominent work went unrecognized in my life. 

But the night after being saved from Andrew's spineless act, I saw the practical applicability of two of his laws. 

The doomed constant speed and track on which my life was leading were pushed off its course by an external force. In my case, the external force was Mia. 

One small role of defending me - a boy whom she met only once - created ripples in my state of being. 

In retrospect, I should have known that night and that eternal force would be the turning point in my existence. 

Yet, the stubborn arse that I was, I didn't want to accept it.

Even the hope of my existence might have fallen into question, had it not been for Mia. 

All my so-called acquaintances and friends and yet, it took one complete, unknown person to aid and abet my safety. 

One unfamiliar in the ocean of familiars and known, redefined my mindset. 

Why did she save me? 

Why risk something for a stranger? 

Why not be the onlooker like everyone else and gasp, like all others, had Andrew been successful in his attempt? 

There were unanswered questions, tugging at the corners of my brain, gnawing at me to find reasoning.

The third part of Newton's law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, didn't apply to Mia. 

She was driven into the security of the darker, camouflaged surroundings. 

I, on the other hand, had to support the gunny sack of an entity called Felix.

Felix's leg would give up at random places, dragging me under his weight while I struggled to walk him away from the gathering. 

The same set of people were more worried about a concussion on Andrew than a borderline lining act of aggression by him earlier.

The crowd dispersed in silence much like a swarm of flies, only to regroup moments later. 

At one point, I was worried for Mia. I had to think fast, if there came a situation where someone tried to harm my saviour.

 Yes, I was well aware of the near-passed-out Felix with me but he wasn't going anywhere and neither was anyone eying him. 

But many eyes were glued on the girl who did what any rational person might have done. Should have done.

I had tugged Felix to the safety of a wet, moss-laden wooden fence. 

My heart thumped into my ribs. 

The precipitation was heightened and statically charged air around me, pricked my skin. 

I could feel the silent chants of the students. The cowards were ready with their pitchforks to burn those who helped others. 

I wasn't contemplating my next moves. I couldn't. 

There were many, 'alcohol-induced', and 'need-a-reason-to-fight' prats surrounding her.

I wasn't even contemplating if I would fight for her before getting her to safety or barely get her off the voodoo hold of the others who surrounded her. 

I surely didn't estimate how Felix, my still unconscious friend would be taken. 

The centre of gravity had shifted. 

Mia was the focus, Felix, the background.

Call it the obligation to help the saviour. 

The sudden rise of humanitarian reasoning bellowed inside me, nagging me to do something. 

It squealed in my head - how wrong I was to detest a newcomer to the group merely because she didn't fit it. 

I was wrong in so many ways but majorly, I was erred in being threatened by Mia. 

With no prerequisite to help, Mia won me over when she decided to help us.

Her friends came to her rescue sooner than I could think and act. She vanished with them, just like she had arrived.

It was time for me to do the same.

I secured my package - Felix - and walked into the adjacent ally.

Unlike most boys our age, Felix got drunk quickly. I always assumed him to be underage, pretending to be older just to hang with me. 

Since our first meeting at age four, I was his only friend in school. 

Although we grew up to make many afterwards, our friendship stuck the landing on the concrete of being best friends. Brothers even.

I conducted my routine of nursing Felix back to consciousness. 

A hard smack on his head, bottled water stolen from the party, breath mints secured before leaving my place and gallons of abuse were the usual routine. 

It always did the trick. 

This time was no exception.

Once Felix had a semblance of sanity and the flickering bulb of consciousness glowed brighter inside the dark dungeons of his body, he smiled at me. 

He knew the impending process. His eyes blinked constantly, clearing the haze of the past and his face grew smaller.

"Did I do something again?" he asked with the innocence of a two-year-old who destroyed the walls of the newly painted house with crayons.

I donned the garb of silence, walking around him in circles. 

Felix leaned onto a streetlight post, skating his body to the base. 

His heavy head rested on the black metal pole, finishing the contents of the bottle and mustering the remnants of his energy to crunch the plastic. 

He closed his eyes but under the lazy light from the post, I could see his pupils dancing underneath its covers. He was assessing the damage.

That was Felix's task, every time he was sloshed.

"Guess." My monosyllable reply was enough for him to churn the last memory.

I made a mental note to take a video of his next plastered venture and use it at his bachelor party. 

That would be my ultimate revenge for all the unpaid services.

"Did I puke or..." He looked up at me, unable to piece the puzzle together. With a pout hanging on his lower lip, he held his head between his palms. "Please, tell me what happened."

I pulled the crushed bottle from his hand, crumpling it further. 

The soul of the plastic was left with an excruciating cry. 

My action was enough for Felix to assess my mood. 

The frown on his face deepened. He even tried bribing me with the last of his Wrigley's Hubba Bubba chewing gum.

Truth be told, I wasn't angry. 

My fuming ability diffused when I saw the broken beer bottle slide off Andrew's hand. 

It was then, that I faced the truth of life. The summary of all things I held dear. 

Felix and I had each other's back and that was the beginning and end of it. 

My so-called classmates were useless in the face of danger. To stand up to a bully. 

But my foundations of the rage-spewing fountains cracked and crumbled with the same flying rock, aimed at Andrew. 

Mia saved me from an Et tu, Andrew moment.

Felix's inebriated state reminded me of Andrew's capability. His nefarious act remained stuck in my mind. 

But for now, under cover of a desolated street, we were safe. 

Felix didn't deserve a bad trip after reeling out of his drunkenness but he was too grown up to go unpunished. 

Remember, I told you about mama bear instinct. 

This protective, punishing streak was a part of the package.

I lowered my body to match Felix's seated position. The moment our eyes met, his face cringed. 

Suddenly, I heard a sharp manly voice from across the ill-lit street. 

The neighbourhood we took shelter in was shabby. Dilapidated buildings stood erect, howling street dogs played watch and farther into the halo of clustered buildings, some drunkard was beating a wailing woman. 

The chaos of sight and sounds married, waving their hands at us as it moved closer.

I picked up Felix from the wet street. It had rained momentarily while we were at the party. 

The petrichor wasn't pleasing. It danced with the rotting garbage stench and invoked the ghosts of bad things that occurred in the neighbourhood. 

The tiny hair on the back of my neck spiked. Something bad was happening somewhere. 

In reflex, I checked Felix's pocket and emptied his wallet before doing the same to mine.

Getting mugged was common around this place. 

Polina's room had a large television that boomed news throughout the day. The defence techniques against mugging I heard once in passing, were to avoid an altercation and let them have what they wanted. 

Tossing an empty wallet and cash later might buy us time if we ran successfully. 

Neither I nor Felix were in the right state to get stabbed. And I wanted to keep it that way.

The distant voice boomed louder and clearer. It was approaching us. Distorted voices started making sense.

"...so irresponsible. You are bloody..." and then it jumbled up again. 

A man was admonishing someone. The silhouette of the one getting scolded didn't reveal the gender. Then the voice rose again. "Stupidity..."

Felix grabbed my sleeve, pulling me close. He was reeling from intoxication to be scared of loud, jarring voices. 

I tucked him underneath the safety of a streetlight post, fishing my phone. My thumb hovered over the emergency number.

Instilled with a newfound respect for the stranger who acted as my guardian angel, I walked towards the hooded figures. 

The closer I approached, the shriller the voice drew. 

Dogs whined at a distance, lights flickered with voltage flux and the streetlight dimmed to a low before illuminating. 

That's when I saw it.

~

And there is Maxim accepting he was wrong in assuming the worst about Mia

Now that he and Felix are safe, read and find out what lies ahead for them...

And will Mia make another entry in the cute mute boy's life

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