Ko returned to the restaurant and rejoined the others at the table. In front of him, his bottle of alcohol still had a quarter left, while the others had already finished theirs. Most of the food was gone too, and the group had been there long enough for everyone to start wondering when Ko was finally going to wrap things up and leave.
That was when two men walked through the front door.
"Welcome, how can I he—" Sam's mother stopped mid-sentence the moment she saw them. Both were dressed in uniform: black body armor over white shirts, with the word POLICE clearly displayed on the front and back.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced toward the table.
"Looks like the report was accurate after all," one of the officers said. "Ma'am, are you the owner of this establishment?"
Sam's father rushed over, joining his wife. The two of them looked like they had just seen a ghost.
The officers explained they had received an anonymous report that alcohol had been served to minors. And it didn't take much investigation, the teenagers were still sitting at the table in their school uniforms.
Still, the officers had taken each of the children aside, making every single one of them give statements about what had happened, as well as additional details to confirm their ages and identities.
After that, the students were free to go while the police remained behind to speak with Sam's parents.
"It's a shame about what happened," Ko said as he turned to Sam. "It's a shame this had to be our last visit… I look forward to seeing you tomorrow and hearing all about it."
With a casual wave, Ko walked off, followed by the other two, acting as if nothing had happened at all.
'Did Ko plan all of this?' Sam thought. 'I'm such an idiot. The police have never come here before, it had to be him. He must've been the one who called them.'
As minors, they'd only get a slap on the wrist for something like this, it wasn't a big deal for them. But for his parents…
Just as Sam finished that thought, he saw the officers walk past him and exit the restaurant.
"What are we going to do?" he heard his mother say softly from behind.
When he turned around, he could see his father sitting at one of the tables, both of his hands pressed against the sides of his head.
"Mom… Dad," Sam called out. "Is everything okay? What did they say?"
"It's over," his father replied. "The police said we're going to lose our license. We're going to have to shut down. And on top of that, there's a fine, ten thousand dollars."
Now Sam's head was spinning. It was far worse than he had imagined. Losing their license… what was his family going to do for income now?
On top of that, how were they even going to afford to pay the fine? One small act of kindness had cost them everything.
Walking over, Sam wanted to say something, anything that could help, something that might ease the situation.
"Sam… go to your room," his father said. "I know this isn't your fault, but I can't help but think—if your friends hadn't come here today, all of this could've been avoided…"
"They're not my…" Sam couldn't get the words out. What was the point of revealing that they weren't his friends now? The damage was already done, and saying that wouldn't fix anything.
"Please, Sam… please just get out of my sight."
All of the emotions hit Sam at once, and he ran straight past his parents, up the stairs, and into his room. He didn't turn on the lights. Instead, he climbed onto his bed and curled up in the corner, wrapping his blanket tightly around him.
Why… why is my life like this? Why? I don't care what happens at school. I don't care what happens to me! Sam screamed in his head.
Why did they have to come to my home and ruin my family's life? What did I do to deserve this?
Sam continued to rock back and forth, thinking about his life, thinking about everything that had happened.
It's my fault. It's my fault that now my family is suffering too. If they never had me… if I wasn't here… then they would've been fine. Everything would've been fine.
His emotions swirled endlessly, back and forth, but the worst part of it all was knowing that it wasn't over.
And when I go back to school tomorrow… they'll laugh. They'll hit me and beat me, and do it all over again. This pain… everything… it will never go away, Sam thought, as he remained curled up in the darkness.
The next day, Max arrived at school just like he normally would have. Although this time, he came a little later than usual. He had realized that arriving early only gave the others more opportunities to bully him.
My training's been going well. This body's been adapting to my workouts quicker than I thought, Max smiled to himself. I guess Max must've had good genetics, he just never worked out a day in his life.
Entering the classroom, Max looked over at the three troublemakers as he took his seat in the corner. As he glanced around, he noticed something else, right next to him, the seat was empty.
Oh? Is Sam sick today? Max wondered. Or maybe they beat him a little too hard last night, so he's decided to take a day off. I wouldn't blame him. But if that's the case, it might put a bigger target on my back... no one to share the pain with.
Just then, the teacher walked in and shut the door behind him. He strode straight to the podium and slammed his book down on the edge, silencing the room instantly.
"Listen up, everyone. I have an announcement to make, and it's important that you all hear it," the teacher said, his voice more serious than usual. He looked up from his notes, adjusting his glasses as they slid down the bridge of his nose.
"It's unfortunate, but I have to inform you that our fellow classmate, Sam Churn… has passed away."