I knocked on the door – too softly, probably.  Sounding afraid.  Laser's voice called out after a nano.  "Yes?"

"C-cadet Matrix, Sir.  As ordered."

"Wait please, Cadet.  I'll be with you shortly."

"Yes Headmaster.  Thank you."  I hated the quaver in my voice – to my ears I sounded about 1.0 – but it was what it was, there was nothing I could do about it.  I leaned back against the wall to wait, and heard muffled voices from inside the room.

I don't think he kept me waiting very long, maybe a micro or two, but it felt like about an hour.  Half of me longed to hear him call me in and get it over with, the other half hoped he never would.  Inevitably the moment came.  "Enter please, Cadet."

"Yes, Headmaster."  I opened the door and, to my shock, Zip and Calisto were sitting on chairs facing the desk.  I stared at them for a nano, but they didn't look at me.  They didn't look happy, either, and Zip's left eye was swollen half-shut.

"Sit down, Cadet."  I whipped my eyes over to Laser – I'd forgotten he was there for a nano.  He was studying me intently with those piercing brown eyes of his, like Bob's but Bob's eyes always look like he just told a joke and he's waiting for you to laugh.  Laser's did not look like that.  He studied my face and looked away to the other two guys as I sat down.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

There was silence for a few nanos, while I looked straight at the top of Laser's desk.  "Cadet Matrix, is there anything you'd like to say to these two gentlemen while we're all together?"

I glanced over quickly.  What were my options – and the consequences?  I panicked and took the safe route.  "Uh…  No, Sir.  Not really."

"Do either of you gentlemen have anything you'd like to say to Cadet Matrix?"

"No Sir." Zip said softly.

"No Headmaster." Calisto echoed.

"I see." Laser said calmly.  "You've had your say, Cadets – now I'd like to allow Cadet Matrix to have his.  You are both dismissed – for the nano."

"Yes Sir.  Thank you Sir."  They both got up and shuffled out, Zip casting one quick, hate-filled look at me as they did.  Then I was alone in the office with Laser.

I expected him to say something right away, but he didn't – he sat there and turned those eyes on me and I looked up at him and couldn't look away, and he still didn't say anything and it went on forever and ever.  "Please don't expel me, Sir!" I finally blurted out.

He raised his eyebrows a little, and I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.  "No one's getting expelled today, Cadet."

"Sir, I…  I-"

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me just what, exactly, prompted you to flaunt the rules of this Academy so soon after your arrival?"

"S-sir?"

"I'm waiting, Cadet.  Well?"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.  Maybe it'd be better if I couldn't see him…  "I'm very sorry, Sir.  I didn't intend for it to happen, but I got into a fight.  With Zip.  And Calisto, sort of…"

"A fight." Laser sighed.  "Do you enjoy fighting, Cadet?  Do you think it's appropriate to be fighting other Guardians when the net is still under a dire threat from Daemon?"

"No, Sir!  I…  I didn't start the fight, I was defending myself."  It sounded lame, even as I said it.

"Was it in reprisal for what Zip and Calisto did to you in the showers, Cadet?"

"Sir!"  My eyes popped open.  "How-"

"I'm not a fool, Boy!  I'm well aware that you were the victim of a hazing incident last minute, and that you refused to identify the perpetrators.  I'm also aware that you were involved in a fight this minute-end with Zip.  It doesn't take a genius to reach a conclusion, does it?"

"No, Sir." I whispered.  "But it wasn't like that, I wasn't getting even.  I just wanted them to leave me alone, and I was playing a game in the rec room and Zip hit me and told me to leave and never come back…"

"Enzo-"  I could see Laser pulling back from the nano, thinking about what he was going to say, when there was a tapping on the door and he looked annoyed.  "Yes?"

A very weak voice called from the other side.  "Headmaster?  This is, uh, Cadet Patch Sir.  May I speak with you for a nano?"

"I'm in a meeting, Cadet.  Come back tomorrow, after class, and I-"

"Sir, I-  I know you are, Sir.  That's what I want to speak with you about." 

Laser frowned, and I just sat by, stunned.  "Cadet, I'm handling this.  You can come back tomorrow."

"Please, headmaster – I really think it's important.  Please?"

Laser sighed and shook his head.  Patch had guts, I had to give her that – although maybe more guts than brains.  Still, to interrupt and not give up like that – wow.  "Very well.  Come in and say your piece."

The door slowly opened.  "Thank you, Sir.  I'm very sorry to interrupt-"

"All the way in please, Cadet!  And close it behind you."

"Yessir."  She walked in and looked over at me, smiled a little.  "I'm awfully sorry, Sir, it's just that I was worried that Enzo was in trouble and I thought there's something you should know."

"Whether anyone else is 'in trouble' is hardly your business, is it Cadet?"

"No Sir – it's just, I saw Calisto come out of here and I thought I should tell you something I saw, in case he lied about it."

Laser squinted and pursed his lips at her.  "Very well.  Go ahead."

Patch looked up nervously, shifting from foot to foot.  "Only, Sir…  Enzo – Cadet Matrix – and I were in a game last minute, with Calisto.  It was a role-playing game, with orcs and warriors and we had to destroy a golden ring-"

"The shareware version, Cadet Patch?" Laser sighed, the corner of his mouth twitching again.  "I haven't got all cycle."

"Sorry!  It's just, like, Enzo was totally awesome in the game, Headmaster – he knew exactly how to go about beating it while the older cadets were just going around hacking orcs and not getting us anywhere."

"Your point?  No one is accusing Cadet Matrix of being unprepared for games."

"I…  I know Sir.  But see, Enzo was really great in that game and he won it, and even though he didn't brag and act like a jerk Calisto got really mad because he won the game and I think because Enzo's kinda little.  And then when the game was over Calisto waited until Mr. Tracer left and he hit Enzo in the head and pushed him down and threatened him.  For no reason, Sir!"

"I see."

"I thought you should know, Headmaster.  Calisto totally had it in for Enzo – and Enzo never did anything to him!  He was brave and like, he really helped me 'cause it was my first game but Enzo showed me what to do and he was really smart and nice and I don't think it's fair that he's in trouble just because Calisto is an output!"  She stopped then, panting like she was out of breath.

"Well.  I'll take all that into consideration, Young Lady, when-"  There was another knocking at the door now, just as soft as the last one.  "By the User – now what?  Yes?"

"Sir?"  A faint voice.  "I'm very sorry to disturb you-"

"Then why are you?"

"S-s-sorry!  I…  I wanted to talk to you.  About Enzo Matrix, Sir.  I thought-"

"Why not?  Come in then, everyone else is!" Laser scowled.  The door opened and Linux' head peeked around it.  "Yes, come in.  Join the party.  Close the door."

Linux slipped into the room, stumbling slightly, frowning when he saw Patch and going pale when he saw Laser.  He stared at him, trembling a little.  "Yes, Cadet?  Speak up – what is it?"

"Sorry Sir!  I'm, uh…  I'm Cadet Linux."

"I know who you are.  Please continue."

"Er – yeah, sorry.  I'm Enzo's roommate-"

"Again, I am aware of that.  Was there a reason you interrupted this meeting?"

Linux went, impossibly, paler.  "Sorry, Sir!   I, uh…  I wanted to tell you what happened in the rec room, Sir – I was there.  In case there was any dispute."

"I see.  Interesting.  Go on, then."

"Uh…  The thing is, Sir, Enzo was minding his own business – he wasn't bothering anybody at all.  And Zip came in and hit him in the back of the head and started insulting him, Sir.  And he picked Enzo up out of his chair and pushed him and told him to leave and never come back and he even told him he wasn't a real cadet, Sir."

"Did he, now."

"Yes, Sir."  Linux looked like he would have liked to crawl into a hole and disappear, but I met his eyes and smiled a little to encourage him. 

"Anything else?"

"Yes, Sir.  He challenged Enzo to a fight, and I know Enzo didn't want to fight him, Headmaster, because he was-  He was, you know, afraid.  Because Zip is such a big guy and Enzo… isn't.  But Enzo stayed and defended himself, Sir, and it took him a while but he was even winning the fight and he punched Zip hard.  That's when Calisto held Enzo down so Zip could punch him."

Linux looked at Laser, and Laser nodded a little, silently.  Linux got an angry look on his face.  "It's not right, Sir – Zip started the whole thing and he's bigger than Enzo is, and when he couldn't beat him fair and square he got another big coward to hold Enzo down!  I…  I wish I'd helped Enzo then, Sir, but I didn't.  And there was another-  I…  Anyway, I just wanted to say something because it's not right that Enzo gets blamed for any of this.  He didn't start it."

Laser sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.  "Thank you for coming forward.  Both of you.  Of course you know it's not appropriate to interrupt me in the course of a disciplinary meeting-"

"Sorry, Sir!" Linux and Patch said simultaneously.

"I'll let it slide, this time, since both of you felt you had important information to contribute.  Rest assured, I'm a fair man – I'll take what you've said into consideration.  I'd like to continue my interview with Matrix now – run along to dinner, both of you."

"Yes, Sir." Linux said.  He looked over me and nodded, then shuffled out of the room.

Patch followed immediately behind him.  "Thank you, Headmaster.  Sorry to interrupt, Sir.  Bye, Enzo."  She grinned at me and left, closing the door behind her.

"Looks like you've made yourself some loyal friends already, Cadet."

"I guess so."  I was still a little amazed that the both of them had done that for me – I know I would've been scared to barge in on Laser.

"I'm not surprised.  Some men can inspire loyalty, some cannot.  It is not a quality that can be taught."  He leaned forward on the desk and stared at me.  "Back to the matter at hand, Enzo.  Do you disagree with anything either of those cadets said, or do you corroborate their recollection of events?"

"Uh…  Not really, Headmaster.  That's basically how it happened."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

I wrung my hands and stared at the desk.  "I really wanna be a Guardian, Sir.  I'm doing the best I can and I've never, ever started a fight in my life.  I just wanted those guys to leave me alone – honest.  I didn't wanna fight and I still don't."

Laser folded his arms.  It occurred to me that he really wasn't a guy who said a whole lot – mostly he just looked at you and thought about stuff, and then said just a little bit.  "Enzo, I won't pretend I'm not especially fond of you – I am.  You're an extraordinary boy – I've seen that about you from the beginning."

"Sir?"

"I'm the headmaster here, Enzo – of every cadet.  I have a responsibility to them - all of them.  I can't protect you at the expense of that, no matter how fond I am of you – I want you to understand that."

"I…I know, Sir.  I'm sorry I let you down-"

"You didn't let me down, Enzo. I just wonder if I've put you in harm's way by bringing you here."

"No, Sir!  I want to be here – I know I can do it."

"Enzo-"

"Please, Sir!  I can take care of myself.  I know I'm small and all that but I'm not weak – Bob's taught me all kinds of stuff.  Matrix too, and Mouse-"

"I know, Cadet.  But it's not easy being in your position – I guess you're finding that out."

"Yes, Sir.  I guess so."  I kicked my feet under the desk, like I used to do when I was a little kid.  "Sir?"

"Cadet?"

"You said you were the youngest cadet when you came to the Academy, didn't you?"

"I was." He smiled slightly.

I met his eyes, and now I was looking at my grandfather, not the headmaster.  "What should I do, Laser?  I don't want to fight – I know it's against the rules.  I don't like getting hit, either, and I don't really want to hurt anybody.  But I can't just let big guys push me around, can I?  Don't I have to stand up for myself sooner or later?  If I run away all the time I'll run out of places to run eventually and I'll get beat up anyways!"

"Enzo-"

"Was what I did wrong, Sir?  Did I really have a choice?  I'm sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful-"

"You could never be disrespectful, Enzo – I know that.  I just wish I had an easy answer to your question."

"Sorry, Sir."

Laser looked really pained then, like he had sometimes when he was talking to Bob three hours earlier and they just weren't connecting with each other.  "Enzo, is it true that Calisto held you down while Zip punched you?  Is that how it happened?"

"Yes, Sir." I nodded.  "Until Quantum came in and made them stop."

"Dear User." He whispered.  "I'm sorry, Son – I'm sorry something like that could happen on my watch."  He stood and walked around the desk with his hands behind his back.  "You'd think that as the headmaster of this place I'm in a position of power – but I'm not.  In the end you kids will do what you want to do, and there's not much I can do about it.  No more than I could with my son.  At best I can give a push, sometimes…"

I could hear him standing behind me, hear his slow, even breaths.  I turned in my chair and looked up at him.  "Was it wrong, Sir?  What I did?"

"No.  It wasn't wrong, Son.  Sometimes a fight will find you, no matter how much you'd rather avoid it."

"What should I do, Sir?"  I know I sounded pretty pathetic, but that's how I felt.  Deleted if I fight, deleted if I don't.

"Your best, Enzo." Laser said softly.  "If I didn't believe in you I wouldn't have brought you here.  I hope I'm not asking too much of you – it might have been better to wait-"

"No, Sir.  Please – this is where I want to be."

He smiled sadly.  "Don't expect everything to be fair, Son.  Being smart and decent and courageous should be enough, but sometimes it isn't.  Some people will never accept you – all they'll see is that you're small and you're the son of a Guardian and they'll assume you couldn't succeed on your own.  Under better circumstances I'd have never asked this of you – you'd have been training with children your own age.  But this is war…"  He gently put his calloused hand on top of my head and left it there.

"I'll be all right.  Maybe they'll leave me alone, now.  Quantum scared them pretty good."

"Perhaps.  I'll be watching, I promise you – but I can't be watching all the time.  Be careful."

I nodded.  "Uh, Sir…  May I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Just so I know – what did Zip and Calisto say happened?  Did they lie about it?"

Laser grunted.  "Zip denied hazing you – he said they had nothing to do with it.  He said you wanted to play a machine he was using and you punched him in the face while he wasn't looking."

I gasped.  "No!  That's not true!"

"Enzo-"

"Look!"  I pulled up my uniform and showed him the bruise on my stomach.  "I didn't do that to myself, Sir.  I know, we-  we're…  I know we know each other but I promise I'm telling the truth!"

Laser didn't say anything right away, he just stood there with his hand on my head and staring at the bruise on my stomach and he looked older all of a sudden.  Feeling silly, I let my shirt drop and looked down.  "It's funny – in all the time I spent with Bob, growing up – not nearly as much as I should – I don't ever remember him lying to me.  Not even a silly little boy lie about stealing a cookie or something…"

He stroked my forehead with his thumb a few times, and slowly took his hand off my head and sat behind his desk again.  "You're Bob's son.  I know you're telling me the truth – and the loyalty of your friends does you credit.  And I'll tell you man-to-man, in your position I doubt I'd have reacted differently."

I smiled and he smiled back, a little.  It was nice to hear him say 'man-to-man', not to mention 'Bob's son'.   "That's Laser telling you that, Enzo.  As Headmaster, I'm telling you that fighting is against the rules – period.  As the evidence supports your claims of self-defense we'll consider this a verbal warning and I won't note it on your permanent record."

"Thank you, Sir."  I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"And now I'll tell you something, both as Headmaster and as Laser – if Quantum hadn't walked in on you, you could have been beaten badly – seriously injured.  Do you understand that, Son?"

"Someone else might have stopped them, if they saw what was happening.  There were other cadets there-"

"Maybe.  Maybe not.  Not much to hang your hopes on, is it?"

"No." I said softly.  "I know it could have been really bad."

"Just be careful, all right?  Please – be careful."

"I will, Sir.  What will happen to Zip and Calisto?"

"Their punishment is none of your concern, Cadet."

"Sorry, Sir!"

Laser sighed wearily.  "They'll be punished, I promise you.  Hazing is a very serious matter, and as for the fighting…  There are limits to what I will tolerate.  I can't punish cowardice, but cowardice is it's own punishment, in the end."

"Yes, Sir."  I knew then that we – both of us – were in a similar bind.  He had to punish them, but punishing them would bring a set of problems all its own.  I knew it would make Zip and Calisto hate me even more.  And Laser knew he couldn't protect me, any more than Mouse or Ray or anyone else.

"That's all for today, Enzo.  Go on and get yourself some dinner, now – you're a growing lad."

"Thank you."  I stood up and saluted and he saluted back, and even though I know it wasn't appropriate I smiled at him.  I couldn't help it, I still saw a little of Bob whenever I looked at him and besides, he looked miserable.

Laser chuckled and slapped me on the shoulder.  "Go on, then.  And be careful – keep your cool, whatever happens, and you'll be all right."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, Son.  Dismissed."  I saluted again and left him on his office, and it was weird but right then I kinda felt sorry for him.  He seemed like he had a lots of things he regretted.  And a lot of doubts in his processor.  Maybe I just understood him a little better than I had.

When I got back to the main entrance hall Zip and Patch were waiting for me.  I smiled when I saw them and waved.  Patch immediately ran over to me, looking worried.  "Enzo!  What happened, is everything OK?"

"Yeah – I guess.  Crash, you guys – thanks!  What happened?"

"After we talked I thought maybe I'd wait for you – see if you were OK." Patch said softly.  For some reason she was blushing.  "And then I saw Calisto come out of Laser's office and I got worried."

"Thanks." I grinned.  Linux was sort of leaning against the wall, silently.  "You too, Buddy – that was awesome!"

"Oh, uh – thanks."

"Why'd you do it, Dude?"

He shrugged.  "I dunno.  I felt really bad about what happened…  You know.  And I wanted to make sure someone else backed up your story.   You're a really good guy and I owed you big time after-" he looked over at Patch.  "I owed you."

I held out my hand.  "We're even now.  That was totally high density, walking into Laser's office like that.  Both of you."

"Maybe." Linux smiled awkwardly and shook my hand.

"You were so great to me in that game – I guess I owed you, too." Patch said.  "You were so nice to me, and Calisto was such a jerk…"

"So – you're not expelled, are you?" Linux asked.

"No.  I got a warning."

"What about those two nulls?"

I shrugged.  "Dunno.  Guess it's not up to me – whatever happens, they'll be even madder than before."

Linux paled again.  "I hope they just leave you alone."

"Me too!  I don't wanna fight 'em again, I know that much."

"You shouldn't even have got a warning!  None of this was your fault!"

"I know, Patch.  But it might've been even worse except for you guys.  And Laser's just doing his job – I broke the rules."

"Dude – you call him Laser?"

"Um – no, 'course not!  I call him Headmaster, but Laser's his name so I guess I say it sometimes when I talk about him."  The last thing in the net I needed was sprites finding out I was Laser's 'grandson' – being Bob's kid had gotten me in enough trouble already.   I was eager to change the subject.  "So, uh…  You guys know each other?"

"We just met in the office." Patch shrugged.  "We decided to wait for you."

"Right." Linux said softly.

"You wanna go get some food?  I'm starving!"

"Good idea!" he nodded eagerly.

"Let's do it."  There was only one mess where we could all eat together, and we were already in the building so it was an easy choice.  I was still a little amazed that Linux and especially Patch had done what they did – it was amazing what you'd do for a sprite you hardly knew, sometimes.  We were bonded, now – when you put yourself on the line for somebody that says more than any words can.

Once we'd all gotten our food and sat down at one of the round tables I finally found myself starting to relax after the meeting with Laser.  "Thanks again you guys.  You might've saved my butt in there."

"Laser wouldn't have come down too hard on you." Linux said.  "I bet he's smart enough to know it wasn't your fault."

"He's smart – but it would still have been my word against theirs.  You guys are both totally alphanumeric."

"Thanks." Patch said, blushing again.  Maybe it was just a redhead thing.

"I owed you.   After before."

I punched Linux in the shoulder.  "No way, Dude.  We're buds now – gotta stick together, right?"

"Sure." He smiled tentatively.  He turned to Patch and now he started blushing, too.  "So, uh…  Where are you from?"

"We lived in the Supercomputer, before Daemon."

"Really?  That's so cool – us too!  We-  Oops!"  Linux knocked his energy shake over, and it spilled all over the table.  "Crash!"

"No biggie."  I dashed over the counter and grabbed a handful of napkins.  "No problem, I got it."

"Thanks." He sighed.

"Wanna get another one?"

"Naw – I'd prob'ly spill that one too."

I giggled.  "You crack me up sometimes."  I turned and was a little surprised to find Patch was staring at me.  Kinda gave me the jaggies.  "Uh – what's up?"

"Nothing." She smiled.  "I'm just really grateful for how you helped me in that game.  I know I was basic-"

"Naw – you weren't basic.  You shoulda seen me in my first game – I was pathetic!"

"You're just being nice."

"No, I'm not!"

"You're always so nice…"

"Uh – thanks.  But it's no biggie – Bob was really nice to me when I first started going into games, and I know I wasn't very good either.  Not that you aren't good, I mean-"

"You're awesome."

"Uh…  Thank you.  But, uh, you really helped me out today, so..."

"I'd help you anytime, Enzo."

"Thanks."  She was still looking at me for some reason.  I looked over at Linux, just for a break, but he was staring at the table, stirring his food.  "Not hungry?"

"Hmmm?"

"You didn't seem to be eating."

"Oh!  Sorry."  He took a couple bites of food.

"You don't have to eat just 'cause I told you!" I laughed.  "I'm not your mother."

"That's so sweet – you're worried about him." Patch sighed.

"I'm not worried! I just noticed he wasn't eating, that's all."

Linux sighed deeply.  "I think I am gonna take off, actually – I'm not very hungry.  I'll see you back at the room, OK?"

"You OK, Dude?"

"Yeah – I'm cool.  See ya back there."

"Uh - all right.  Maybe we can go down and watch a quicktime if you don't have too much homework."

"Yeah – we'll see, I'm kinda tired.  C ya back there."

" C ya."

"Bye, Patch.  Nice meeting you."

She didn't look up.  "Uh huh."

"That's weird – he seems low-res all of a sudden.  I wonder why."

"You're a really good friend, being so concerned about him." Patch sighed, patting my hand.

I shrugged.  "Just weird, that's all."  I want back to my dinner, which was starting to get cold.  "So - how long did you live in the Supercomputer?"

"Till I was 1.0 – then we had to go away.  My Dad was a Guardian, but now he's infected."

"Mmmmf.   Man – I'm sorry.  We'll get him back some cycle…"

"I hope so.  I miss him."

"Yeah, I know how it is.  My folks are deleted."

"Oh!  Poor thing!  Was it Daemon?"

"Actually, no – they were gone a long time before Daemon."  There was a tap on my shoulder, and I spun and tensed, my processor spinning into turbo mode.  I guess by this point I was expecting the worst whenever anything unexpected happened.

"Hey." It was a cadet I didn't know, a smallish black-haired guy maybe 1.8.  "You're Matrix?"

"Enzo Matrix, yeah." I said, still on full alert.

He nodded.  "Just wanted to let you know – I heard about what happened in the rec room.  And I saw Zip.  Good job."

"Oh!  Thanks – I guess."

Yeah." The kid smiled.  "I know about what happened in the showers, too – and it took guts to stand up to that ouput Zip.  I've been wanting to hit him for the last hour."

"Dude – really?"

"He's a null – a real CGA display.  Like I said, good job."

"Thanks.  I didn't start it – he did."

"He always does."  The kid shook my hand and walked off.

"You're a hero, Enzo!" Patch grinned.

"If Quantum hadn't saved my bitmap I'd be a deleted hero."

"Crash that – you could take those nulls anytime."

"One at a time, I might have a chance.  Not two against one."  For some reason her talking about me like that was making me distinctly uncomfortable.  Still, it was nice to know I'd earned a little respect among the masses.

"You're so modest."  Patch smiled and squeezed my arm.  "I bet you would've kicked their asciis if you'd got really mad-"

"No!"  I said it louder than I expected and she looked a little stunned for a nano.  "Patch, I got real lucky – even Laser said so.  They were beating me up and if someone hadn't stopped it, I could've been hurt really bad.  As it is I got a bruise on my stomach and the next thing they were gonna pound on was my face."

I felt bad – she still looked hurt.  I stared down at my tray.  "Sorry – I didn't mean to yell like that.  But I'm a little guy, and even if I wasn't it's still not smart going around looking for fights.  Bob taught me that."

"I'm sorry…  I didn't mean to-"

"It's OK.  Sometimes a fight will find you, no matter how much you'd rather avoid it.  I guess that's what happened to me.  But I don't want to fight anymore – not outside of games, anyway!  I hope I don't have to."

"Yeah – I guess I hope so, too.  Maybe they'll leave you alone now." 

"Maybe."  I smiled and quickly wolfed down the rest of my food.  "I'm gonna take off – see if Linux is OK, he was acting weird.  See you tomorrow."

"Oh!  OK…  Do you, uh…  You wanna have lunch, maybe?"

"Can't – I sorta have plans for lunch."  She looked so depressed when I said it I felt sorry for her – maybe she hadn't made any friends yet.  "But I'll see ya in Game Sprite class, OK?  We'll talk and stuff."

"OK.  We'll talk."

"Cool.  Uh, Patch?  Thanks again for tonight – you really saved my bitmap, you were awesome."

She brightened a little.  "No problem – happy to do it.  I hope those nulls get what they deserve."

"Me too."  I waved at her and took off for the dorms.

Linux was in bed when I got back, staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.  "Hey." He said listlessly when I walked in.

"Hey."  I grabbed his desk chair and sat down next to his bed.  "What's up there that's so interesting?"

"Nothin'."

"Goofball."  I frazzed his hair up and laughed, but he didn't seem to be in a joking mood.  "Wanna go downstairs and hang out?"

"Naw – you go ahead.  I got a lot of homework to do."

He wasn't doing homework, but I decided to let that go.  "Nah – I'll hang out."  I leaned back and put my feet up on the bed, boots and all.  No sisters around to tell me not to.  "What's wrong, Dude?"

"Nothing.  Just tired, I guess."  He rolled towards the wall.

I knew exactly what his mood was, all of a sudden – I'd seen it often enough when I was in it.  Linux was feeling sorry for himself.  I racked my processor trying to figure out why.  "Thanks for busting into the Headmaster's office, Linux."

"Sure, no problem."

"Saved my ascii.  That took a lot of guts, Man – weren't you scared?"

He shrugged without turning back to me.  "Maybe a little.  But like I said – I owed you.  I screwed you royally before."

"No way."  Maybe he was bummed about not sticking up for me in the rec room, not letting me back in the room after the shower catastrophe.  I patted his shoulder.  "Don't feel bad.  Those guys are really scary – it wasn't your fault, they could have hurt you pretty bad.  Besides – you really came through in the clutch."

"Yeah.  Whatever."

"C'mon.  You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Thanks."  He finally rolled over and looked at me.  "So what'd you and Patch talk about?"

"Patch?  Nothing much – just about Zip and Calisto and stuff.  No biggie."

"Oh."

I frowned.  "Sure you're OK?"

"Yeah."

 "Cool.  Sure you don't wanna go down and watch a vidscreen or something?"

"No, I'm just gonna do homework.  I don't wanna fall behind."

"K." I sighed.  I grabbed my organizer and flopped down on my bed.  "You output – I don't wanna hang out by myself, so now I hafta do homework too!"

Linux giggled, finally, and opened his organizer.  "Sorry, nullface."  I wadded up a pair of dirty socks and beaned him with them.  "Hey!"

"Sorry – thought you were my hamper."

"You're really disgusting, you know what?"

"I'm devastated."

"Maybe if you washed your feet once in a while…"  The socks flew back across the room and I ducked them.

"Anyone ever tell you ya throw like a girl?"

"Byte me hard."

"Output."

"Tandy."

"Whatever."  We stared at each other for a nano, then both busted out laughing.  "Dude – you crack me up sometimes!"  Linux shook his head and fell back in bed, and we both did our homework.  Most of it, anyways.