6 A totally different ballgame
2016 Words
Max felt his breath quicken, and his heart rate skyrocket as he looked straight into the eyes of a captivating young woman. His eyes took in every detail of this gorgeous co-student of his, as she began picking up her stuff, clearly annoyed with the situation. Even still, while she made this face of disdain, everything about her felt too beautiful, even when angry. Her red hair dropped just beside her cheeks and ended just barely reaching her chin. It was as if this bob cut was meant for her completely. Her emerald green eyes glimmered whenever her profile would be hit by the sun behind her. When she finally looked back at him, he was locked in her gaze, as every feature of hers seemed to be in perfect position. Her captivating eyes, her lips, the freckles on her cheeks, and even the way her mouth moved. He was completely under her spell, at least until he noticed that she seemed to be speaking to him.
“Hey!” she said, in a slightly raised voice.
Finally, he snapped out of it.
“Couldn’t you see I was running here?!”
“Ah, uh… God, I’m sorry!” Max managed to stammer back.
“Watch it, next time freshman,” she said while managing to pick up the rest of her stuff.
“Ah right, I will… and yes, I am!” he stammered. “A freshman, I mean. Yeah, right.”
“Yeah, you are. I can read IDs,” she said as she flicked his ID into the air using her fingers, causing it to bump into his nose.
“And you are? Your year I mean...” he asked.
“Well, I am late for class! So I will start running to class again. And I would be happy if you didn’t crash into me the next time we see each other!” she said as she started jogging in the other direction.
At the end of her sentence, she started sprinting in the opposite direction yet again. All Max could do was look on as she ran away. His eyes remained locked onto her until she turned the corner at the end of the hall. In a flash, she was gone.
“Wow,” Max said to himself.
It was silent for a moment, as he just sat there. Suddenly, he here some sort of coughing noise happening just next to him. He turned to find Trae, absolutely dying with laughter from the exchange that had just happened with his best friend and a stranger. Trae heaved so hard, tears began running down his cheeks, as his grin took up most of his face. He bent over and continued to laugh, almost looking as if he was in pain. Finally, he gasped for air and spoke to his embarrassed roommate.
“And you are?” Trae said, shoving Max as he giggled some more.
“Shut up man! People are lookin’!” Mas replied, desperately trying to calm down his friend, who at this point was starting to attract attention.
Without thinking, Max pushed Trae back inside and shut the door. He leaned on the door, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.
“Oh man, I think I’m gonna pee myself!” Trae said in between laughs. “Oh, bro! What the hell was that?!”
Max shrugged and started to flush red.
“I was nothing man! Shut up!”
“No man! It wasn’t! Do you wanna know what you looked like?”
“I really don't,” Max replied, wishing the earth would just swallow him whole.
Trae ignored Max and mimed the facial expressions of a lovestruck teenager in an exaggerated manner. His eyes widened and his cheeks softened as he looked at Max, while he bit his lip. After a few moments, he finally broke character and began laughing again.
“Man, I seriously didn’t look like that!” Max said as he sat on Trae’s half of the bunk bed.
Trae finally settled down and looked over at Max who looked like he was being eaten from the inside out.
“She real pretty ain’t she?” Trae asked, with a sly smile on his face.
Max covered his face and nodded his head.
“You wanna ask her out?”
Max, still covering his face, shook his head.
“You think she out of your league?”
Max nodded again.
“Wanna forget about it for now?”
Max nodded once.
“Aight man, let’s go. Get up!” Trae said as he started shoving Max off the bed. “So you don’t have any game. It’s cool! For now, as I said earlier, let’s get outta this room and forget about work, and her. Sound good?”
Max finally uncovered his face, which was still beet red.
“Yeah, ok let’s do that… yeah,” he said, mustering a smile to his best friend.
The two walked out of their dorms and explored the entire campus just as the day started to end. They visited the lawns which connected all of the buildings. They visited each building as well, which housed a different subject focus. They also went to visit the sports complex, where nearly all amenities were accounted for when it came to fitness. Finally, they stopped and rested on the benches just outside the dorm, and just chatted about most things that college students do. What subjects they would be taking together, what P.E. class they chose, any electives they had their eyes on, and everything under the sun. Without noticing, Max’s prior troubles had been washed away.
Trae had just finished telling a joke, which caused Max to let out a loud laugh. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he let out a long sigh. The two sat quietly for a little after that. Max realized that he had been experiencing a lot more emotionally ever since his shift into this new life. He felt feelings that he realized had been eroded since his days as a government hacker. Since he had been working for them since his own high school days, he realized that he had been forced to grow up at a breakneck speed. This growth deprived him of different feelings that normal kids get to experience. Feeling satisfaction after beating someone, namely Trae. The relief that an enemy turned into a friend. The thrill of going against the rules. The awe in experiencing a new place. The joy in laughing at an old friend’s jokes. Max couldn’t help but wonder if he's taking part in this new life was literally a chance for him to start over. He could potentially live a normal life, without the threat of being gunned down. At that moment, Max started to wonder if this life was still for him; if he wanted to live a quieter life. His thoughts were interrupted by a sentimental Trae, who began talking again all of a sudden.
“You know man, I honestly didn’t think we would get it this good,” he said, looking over at the sun which was starting to set, lighting the surrounding area is a wonderful shade of orange.
“What do you mean, man?”
“Well, honestly I think I’d honestly have ended up stayin’ in the hood for the rest of my life if it weren’t for you,” Trae said.
Max turned to him and stayed quiet.
“My ma’ she didn’t have much. And she barely made enough to pay for my high school tuition. So like, the college was not in the cards. So you teachin’ me about computers and how to hack, really opened things up for us. My ma’ can live comfortably now, and probably will be able to do a lot with the properties she invested in. And that’s all thanks to you man.”
“Nah man, most of that was you. I just helped at the start. Besides, when we get even richer, we will have enough leverage to unhinge the Wolfpack from their seat of power,” Max replied.
With that, for a moment, Trae’s expression grew dim. He forced a smile and shook his head.
“Regardless, man, I gotta thank you. It’s because of what you did that my Ma can live peacefully.” Trae said as he reached his fist over to Max.
Max tapped it lightly with his own.
“So I gotta be honest with you man… I’m not sure if I can keep going with your plan.”
There was a sudden silence as if everything else around them had lost their volume.
“I gotta know what the plan is from now. Because as much as I care about you man, I can’t be left in the dark when it comes to these plans regarding the Wolfpack. I wanna help you man, but I gotta know where we are going. Cos if these guys are bad, what if it ends up so I can’t take care of my Ma? I gotta know man.”
The mood instantly turned dark as Trae eyed Max without a hint of hesitation. Max sat silently and looked down at the floor, thinking of the next thing he wanted to say. Of course, Trae would choose family and security. It was only natural. But even still, Max owed it to Trae to tell him what the plan was, should Trae not want to continue. With a sigh, Max told him.
“Alright man, the Wolfpack is an undercover group that performs hits on people. They run under the guise of a security agency, funded by the owner of Banner and Bunny, the bookstore. My plan is, get rich, make connections in high places, and find out exactly how these people operate. Once I do that, I can find the person who caused all the problems for me in the first place. But I can’t do it as I am now. That’s why I need your help.”
Max looked pleadingly at Trae and yet knew somehow that there was still something that bothered him. Trae shook his head again and looked back at Max. The look in the eyes of Trae looked distrusting, which shook him to his core. It hurt him.
“Man, I don’t know if one day I wake up and suddenly I get shot. I don’t know if one day, this Wolfpack is gonna find me too, and make me disappear. I don’t know man. I gotta take care of my ma, my family man.”
Trae stood up and looked Max dead in his eyes.
“Why do you wanna get back at the Wolfpack so bad?”
Max paused and gulped down on the saliva that was building in his throat.
“Let’s say… they killed someone very close to me.”
Trae turned away instantly and started walking back to the dorm.
“Sorry man, but you gotta give me some time to think about it, right? Come back to the room, whenever.”
As Trae left, Max sat in silence, knowing full well that Trae was within his rights to retire. He is aware that this is a dangerous situation that they were facing.. This left him with a very difficult decision. He could either push to recruit Trae and risk Trae’s life in pursuit of his revenge. Or, he could leave Trae be, and let him live his life peacefully. Whether or not he would continue this plan with his best friend or not, was all up to Trae. With a sigh, he sat up from the bench, turned, and walked back to his dorm. He would decide whether he would try and convince Trae to stay, or not, tomorrow.
----------
Just outside of New York International University’s main gates, outside of the glow of a street lamp, a man sat in his car with the window slightly open. A cigar’s smoke was exhaled from the crack of the window. He picked up his phone, which had been vibrating for a few moments in the passenger seat.
“Mr. Jasper Locke?”, said the voice from the other end of the line.
“What is it?”
“We found the heiress! Do we eliminate her right now?”
“Not yet. Let’s wait and see if she has any kind of protection in there first. Only until we determine that, will the Wolfpack move in.”
A wicked smile cracked from his lips, as he blew out more cigar smoke.
- Writer
