Hacker Academy

Celebrate

As soon as I place a hand on the door to my room, my phone rings. The voice cuts to the chase.

"What did Tag want?"

"Nothing. She just offered me a job," I say.

There's only breathing at the other end of the line. Then he breaks out in a chuckle. "That's great. It's not easy getting a job at Hacker Academy, you know."

"I know. But I wonder if it'll be any good."

"You mean if it's going to make more dough for your family? It will."

I want to make a snappy remark of why he makes it his business to know so much about me, but I hold back.

"So, you said yes?" He asks.

"Yeah."

"Great. We should celebrate."

"I don't think a celebration is-"

"Tadaimaaa!"

Unix's voice reaches my ears as the door clicks open. I turn around to see Unix soaking wet. Her yellow raincoat is dripping wet and creating puddles in our room. Not to mention her hair is so wet it looks like she just got out of the shower.

"You're going to get a cold like that!" I yell as I run to the bathroom to get towels. Unix simply takes her raincoat off and skips to her side of the room.

"Did I hear someone say celebrate?" She says.

"Dry your hair with this. And don't leave your raincoat like that." I throw her a towel and snatch her coat from the floor. I'm like her mother.

"I was just asking."

Even though I nag her, really, I'm just scared she'll catch a cold. I remember sister getting so sick with a dangerously scorching fever. When mom and I took her to the hospital, I couldn't help but cry under my mom's arm. That's how scared I was. We waited for days. Sister looked lifeless, and I thought I'd lose her at any moment. It felt like forever when we were able to go home.

In a way, Unix has become my family. So that makes her my responsibility. I'm about to tell her to go to bed when she skips across the room and picks something up from my bed.

"Who are you talking to?" She puts the phone to her ear. "Hellooo?"

"Unix," I snap. She pouts and stomps back to her bed.

I sigh as I hold up the phone. "A celebration is out of the question."

"Sounds like your friend would like one," his deep voice sounds amused.

"I dooo!" Unix says from under her covers.

"I'll pick you up at your dorm in one hour. Bye, Ada."

"Wha- wait!"

Beep.

Damn. He can't take no for an answer. I ruffle my hair in agitation. Why does he have to be so persistent? A thought comes up in my mind. But if I don't open the door, there's nothing he can do about it. I smile smugly. He can celebrate by himself for all I care.

With fewer worries on my mind, I hack for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep.

A clunk from the door makes me freeze in terror. It brings me back to the times when I feared the police would come to demand us to pay back our debts. They never came, but the shuffle of footsteps near our door always put me on edge. I wipe my drool away. How long did I sleep? On the other side, Unix is sleeping without a care in the world.

With another clunk, the dorm door flings wide open to reveal an old granny and...

Cyber.

"Thank you, ma'am." Cyber turns to her and puts something in her hands.

"Oh, you shouldn't."

"Token of gratitude, ma'am."

With a nod, the granny turns and disappears.

Cyber stands in front of my dorm with his hands in his pockets and a lopsided grin. There's only me, him, and a sleeping Unix.

"Did you miss me?"

I point a shaky finger at him. "Y-you bribed her!"

"I simply told her you haven't been answering me for days. Perhaps you disappeared or..." he raises his finger and pretends to slit his throat. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean." I fall back on my bed. "Close the door and don't show your face again."

He laughs incredulously. "I came to pick you up, remember? We're going to celebrate."

"Yayyy celebrate!" Unix jumps up, wide awake.

"I am not doing anything I don't want to do. So," I get out of my bed and push Cyber out the door. "Please get out of my dorm or this will be the last time you see me."

"Awww, after everything I've done for you?" He puts a hand on his heart.

"Get out."

His smirk is like the Cheshire Cat. "After you."

He grabs a hold of my wrist and tugs me out the dorm.

"Cyber!"

He only laughs as he presses the button. I try to wriggle out of his grasp, but he holds my wrist tightly. Behind me, I hear a door closing.

"Wait for me!"

Unix slips through the tiny gap between the closing elevator doors. I look at her incredulously.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'd never miss out on free drinks." She grins at Cyber. "Especially with Hacker Number One!"

I quickly glance at Cyber to see if he gets irritated when someone calls him by his rank. Even though I've done it countless times, it feels different for someone else to say it...

His face is unreadable, only a stoic mask.

A beep from Unix's phone comes up and she quickly takes it out. "Domain said he can come!"

"Wait, you invited Domain?" I asked.

"Yeah, he'll be off work in a few minutes."

There were 3 things I feared:

1) Domain getting drunk

2) Unit getting drunk

3) Both of them getting drunk

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Some celebration this would be.