Pirate Assassin

Chapter 2

"Due to the unequal distribution of wealth, and the subsequent abuse of power, a massive outcry arose from the lower and middle classes of the people. The legend of a crew led by a pirate by the name of Wobyn Huud, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, was the catalyst of a new era within the UGG and Plands beyond: the era of Space Pirates."

-article in the SpaceWord Daily titled, 'The Other Side Of Things'

As the days went by, Zack felt a little more fulfilled in his life. Wayne and Mikaella slowly evolved from mere rooftop buddies to his ever present posse. A few of Mikaella's friends even began to warm up to him. Since Wayne and Mikaella were by Zack's standards genii, his grades also began to improve with their help and encouragement to the point where Zack's parents absolutely dumbfounded about what to say to him when he came home late which gave him no small amount of satisfaction. He, of course, would never be a straight A student but being a strong-and-steady B achiever wasn't so bad. Things, he thought, were finally looking up and even he, as pessimistic as he was, though that was also on the decline, had no choice but to accept his good fortune when he was shortlisted for an award for english in the entire state. If it weren't for the fact that Mikaella was continuously slapping his back and Wayne was shaking him when he saw the notice, he would have thought it was all some kind of dream. Just to make sure, he pinched himself for good measure. He winced at the pain while Mikaella and Wayne laughed. It was a few days after receiving the award when the three were once again on the roof, this time watching the sun set when Zack made a decision. "You know what guys?" he said, "I think I'm not gonna hold myself back anymore. I think its finally time to take my own advice like what you said, Wayne," Wayne looked at him with one eyebrow raised, "I'm just going to live the way I really am, no posturing, no 'cool' acting; just be myself!" Wayne snorted, "Tch, its about time you realised," but amusement was plain on his face, "Took you, what, 10 years for you to figure it out?" Mikaella smacked him playfully on the shoulder, "Come on Wayne, this is a monumental moment in his life! Don't make fun of this once in a lifetime experience," she exclaimed and grinned at Zack. "Oh haha, very funny guys," he said as he rolled his eyes but joined them in laughter. "But really Zack, I'm proud of you. You finally have enough confidence in yourself and that's not easy," and she became sober as she said that. Zack looked at her with an eyebrow raised but she dismissed with a wave of her hand and a smile that was slightly forced. He left it alone. It was in Zack's firm opinion that if anyone had a secret, he wouldn't pry into it. Better to let a person share a secret to him at his or her own free will rather than he push for it. However, Zack couldn't help notice that as he found his happiness in every day, Mikaella seemed to slowly but surely lose hers. When Zack reached home, he forgot all about it. Rather, he was emboldened by his success so far and he was now going to let the last part of his life open for all to see: his interest in sci-fi, specifically spaceships. He had signed up for a woodworks competition a few days before and he had taken the runner up position with a detailed model of a spaceship of his own designs, complete with every sci-fi fan's favourite add-ons: arnaments. He looked at the same piece of beautifully carved wood taking up an entire shelf on his display cabinet and took it in his hands. This is it, he thought, its do or die time. Once this was let out, he would either be branded as a weirdo for life, or finally accepted into society. He let out an enormous breath, put the ship back in the cabinet and went to sleep. He woke up the next morning feeling as if he never slept at all. Still very much nervous, he made quite a few clumsy mistakes on the way to school but luckily, not in front of anyone who would affect his newfound social life. As he arrived in school, he literally broke out in cold sweat, and when he was asked to stand backstage as the principal was announcing the reason of the assembly, he was trembling. The worrisome bit was what he revealed to the principal about his hobby; how it had endured from when he was but a child to the present. "And now I present Zack Ying!" As Zack did the motions of getting his award, he knew that the polite applause of the crowd meant nothing and his mind was full of images where people were snickering and making fun of him. As the assembly was dismissed, he slowly made his way back to his class, dreading every moment. He paused at the door with a hand on the handle and tried to listen in on what he could hear, if it was bad or good. It was fultile as the jumble of conversation was too hard to make out, even when he strained to hear. He opened the door, and there was silence. He walked to his seat and that was when the clapping started.