I had the kid pinned. One hand on his throat, pressed to the cinderblock wall, feet dangling just enough that he knew he was powerless. A low growl built in my chest, the kind that came from somewhere deeper than lungs. Gabriel stood at my side, arms crossed, calm as stone but ready if I gave the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThane Kieran Conriocht!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The shout cracked down the hall like a rifle shot. I turned just enough to see Mr. Edwards, face red with fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s enough<\/em>! You and Gabriel \u2014 detention. Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I dropped the kid. He crumpled, coughing, glaring at me like he\u2019d get his revenge someday. Gabriel smirked as we walked away. Detention dragged. Erasing chalkboards, stacking chairs, pointless busywork meant to grind us down. By the time we were cut loose, the halls were quiet and the evening light had turned the windows gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHumvee\u2019s out back,\u201d Gabriel said as we rounded a corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s when we heard voices \u2014 not kids. Adults. Curious, we followed the sound to the glowing doorway of the computer lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, the room buzzed with chatter. Rows of beige IBM PCs sat humming, green text glowing on black screens. And at the front of the room, standing beside Mr. Reynolds, was Mark Harcourt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He didn\u2019t look like the timid, out-of-place kid we\u2019d seen shoved into lockers earlier. Here, he moved with calm authority, walking between desks, answering questions with a patience that made grown men and women nod like disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s Mark. Our<\/em> Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned against the doorframe. \u201cDamn right it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We slipped into the back row, unnoticed at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Mark was saying, leaning over a woman\u2019s desk. \u201cSo, if the screen freezes, you don\u2019t need to hit the power button. Just press Control, Alt, and Delete at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman gasped when it worked. \u201cOh! Oh, thank you, Mark. I thought I broke it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark smiled shyly. \u201cYou can\u2019t really break it just typing commands. Promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He moved to another desk. \u201cMr. Dalton, remember \u2014 every line in BASIC ends with a semicolon. Without it, the computer won\u2019t know the instruction is finished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An older man in a suit grumbled but typed as told. \u201cIt works now.\u201d He looked at Mark like the boy had conjured fire from air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel leaned over to me. \u201cThey worship him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDamn near,\u201d I said, grinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I noticed him \u2014 the same kid I\u2019d had pinned to the wall earlier. Sitting hunched at a terminal, scowling at the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He raised his hand awkwardly. \u201cUh, Mark?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole room stilled a little. Even the adults seemed surprised to hear him<\/em> asking for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark walked over, soft-spoken as ever. \u201cWhat\u2019s it doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt won\u2019t\u2026 it won\u2019t run my program. Keeps saying \u2018Syntax error.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark crouched, peering at the code. \u201cYou missed a semicolon here.\u201d He pointed gently. \u201cRight there. Add that and it should work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bully actually did it. And when the screen blinked and his program ran, he looked up at Mark with something close to respect. Maybe even fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel stifled a laugh. I just smirked. Tables turned.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n After class wrapped, the adults filed out, thanking Mark as if he were their professor. Mr. Reynolds clapped him on the shoulder. \u201cCouldn\u2019t run this program without you, son. You\u2019ve got a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it was finally just the three of us left, Mark turned, startled to see us still sitting there. \u201cYou guys\u2026 saw all that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel grinned wide. \u201cSaw it? We were impressed as hell. You had them eating out of your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark\u2019s ears flushed pink. \u201cI just\u2026 I\u2019ve always liked computers. They make sense, you know? Rules that never change. If you get something wrong, it\u2019s just because you missed a step \u2014 not because the computer hates you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned forward on my desk. \u201cYou realize one of those guys hanging on your every word tonight is the same punk who tries to shove you around in the halls, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark blinked. \u201cYeah, I noticed. He was\u2026 polite. Weirdest thing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel chuckled. \u201cThat\u2019s \u2018cause in here, you\u2019re the one with the teeth. He knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark looked down at his shoes, embarrassed, but a little proud too. \u201cI just want to help people understand computers. They\u2019re not scary once you get to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I clapped him on the shoulder. \u201cNeither are wolves, Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He gave me a strange look at that \u2014 puzzled, curious. But he didn\u2019t ask. Not yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had the kid pinned. One hand on his throat, pressed to the cinderblock wall, feet dangling just enough that he knew he was powerless. A low growl built in my chest, the kind that came from somewhere deeper than lungs. Gabriel stood at my side, arms crossed, calm as stone but ready if I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cTotally worth it,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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