I Told You, Eli Oxley

Chapter Sixteen

David came over to my workstation and pecked at the keyboard and began simulating time in the program. Problems began surfacing on the sixth day of the simulation, and by the end of the month, the townspeople were in a frenzy. Both the bank and the townspeople noticed the missing money. As the bank's money had disappeared, so had theirs. Their bank accounts were significantly smaller, and they weren't going to stay quiet about it.

My insides began panicking, protesting the situation as much as the townspeople. This was it. The end. Might as well have been chucking milk again or grabbing the drumsticks with both hands, because I would never fit in anywhere no matter how many times I risked embarrassment, risked myself. I was a failure.

After an official investigation, the bank suspected my avatar of foul play and notified the authorities, who had also lost a lot of money, and I was promptly arrested. A jury of my peers found me guilty on all counts of fraud and embezzlement, and the judge sentenced me to 10 years at Silverdale, the state prison. I thought this simulation was a little overkill, but I was more worried about the sentence the other hackers were about to give me.

***

"So what happened?" Al said. "Did they let you in?"

It was Saturday morning and we were eating at Aretha Frankensteins – a unique-to- Chattanooga hipster restaurant that had recently been discovered by the general public. So naturally, it was packed with people thinking it was sooooo cool to eat there, including us. But we/they were actually right – it was a pretty cool place. Minus the 30-minute wait and incessant attacks by flies out on the porch where we sat.

I was having my usual – a stack of their mighty thick pancakes. Al, who chose something different every time, was having the Super Dave Scramble – four scrambled eggs with onions, mushrooms, potatoes, garlic and jalapeños all smothered in cheddar cheese. Al special ordered it with extra jalapeños.

"The first thing JT said was, 'Wow, ten years at Silverdale. Hope you have soap-on-a-rope."'

"Jerk," Al said.

"Then they convened for a few minutes, arguing with each other, actually. It seemed like Brett was on my side, David was for some reason against me––"

"Jealousy, no doubt. Or he felt threatened," Al said.

"And Brett was kind of in the middle. He kept looking back at me with this weird look in his eyes, like he, I don't know, wanted to hurt me. But I could hear him defending me at the same time."

"Strange," Al said. "So then what happened?"

"They turned back around and walked toward me. Brett had this downcast look to him, so I knew what was coming. 'We've decided,' JT began, 'that, though what you did was pretty creative––"'

'"It was cheating,' David said."

"'We feel that you lack the crucial elements of hacking – patience and oversight. You overlooked potential mistakes during your planning and execution, which also shows that you don't have the patience required of a dedicated hacker."'

"I hate to say this," Al said, "but those seem like legitimate points. But it also seems like those are mistakes you could easily learn from – so I don't know why they wouldn't give you another chance."

"Yeah, I guess," I said.

"So you didn't get in?"

"Well, not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"Before an official decision was made, some guy from upstairs, who had apparently been monitoring me the whole time, too, shows up."

"Plot twist," Al said.

"It was Gabe, the sort of president of the group they had told me earlier that I wouldn't meet."

"Ooh, does that mean he has veto power?"

"Yup. And he flexed his presidential muscles and let me in the group."

"In?!"

"In."

Al grabbed my hands and squealed. "Great job, babe!"

Babe? Maybe I was reading too much into her word choice again, but I was caught off guard and my senses became overwhelmed by everything that was Al. A flicker of grandness in her hazel eyes; her wonderful smell that was just moments before concealed behind the fry-cook kitchen; her lips and smile extending to her high, blushing cheeks.

"So what now?" Al said.

"My first 'meeting' is next Friday where I will be officially inducted into the 14:21 crew."

"What's the 14:21 stand for?"

"No idea."

"I wonder if it's like a Bible verse or something that has a hidden meaning."

"Yeah, maybe. I did google it and about a hundred verses came up. I didn't know what any of them meant. Ok, I didn't really read them. But I'm sure I wouldn't have known what they meant."

"I'll take a shot at the verses. See if I can crack their code," Al said.

"I don't think they're a mystery to be solved. I could just ask them, you know?"

"What if they lie to you? What if they're up to something diabolical?" Al said in an octave lower.

"Or what if they just wanted to have a cool and mysterious name."

"Nah, I'm going with evil. But don't worry, I've got your back."

"Thanks."