Sector 13 High School
Metro City, Canada
April 29th, 2015
9:36 AM
"Heath "Oz" Ostreicher"
In my opinion, history class was good for one thing. Sleeping. My teacher's voice was literally like white noise to me. Even if I had gotten enough sleep the night before and didn't actually feel tired; even if I had a large travel cup full of coffee with me, I ALWAYS fall asleep in history class. He would drone on and on about god only knows what, and I would try my very best to stay awake, even if I wasn't paying attention. But, I was powerless to that voice. Ben Stein sounds chipper and ecstatic when compared to this old bloke.
"Operation Barbarossa was the codename given to Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941," said Mr. Garth, "The operation was the largest military operation in world history in both manpower and casualties. It's failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes."
It was amazing to me how boring he could make something as violent as war sound all because of that voice. It might help if he spoke as if he actually cared about what he was talking about.
"Children, I have just received word that Knox Nolan has returned to school," said Mr. Garth, without so much as a pause in his lecture, "Please give him a round of applause for his remarkable recovery."
My eyes opened wide. Had I heard him right? Knox was back at school? There was no way that could happen.
"Surprise, Ostreicher," whispered an angry voice in my ear, "Bet you never thought you'd see me again?"
With that, he took a seat at the only empty desk in the classroom. Which just so happened to be in front of me. I did my best to ignore him for now, but that was made difficult when he decided to glare at me constantly.
When class ended, I yawned and stretched as I made my way out into the hallway. I knew Knox was going to follow me. That was exactly what I wanted. I had the next period free anyway.
"You think that if you ignore me that I'll just go away?" asked Knox, "Sorry to disappoint, but I learned the hard way that that doesn't work."
"I don't know what you want from me," I said, "There's only so many times I can apologize."
"If that's all I wanted I wouldn't be here." said Knox.
"So are you going to tell me what it is that you do want, then?" I asked, "I hate guessing games and I hate having unfinished business."
Knox didn't say anything. He just laughed quietly to himself. It was almost like he was mocking me. I turned on my heels and grabbed him by the collar. He was surprisingly heavy.
"Listen to me you little punk," I said, "I'm sorry about what happened to you. Not a day goes by that I don't regret it, but if you think you can come back and haunt me for eternity, you've got another thing coming."
"Don't kid yourself," said Knox, "I've been given a second chance at life. The last thing I want is to spend it here with you."
I put him down carefully. Similar to how you would put down a vase that you had just glued back together.
"Will you at least explain to me why you aren't dead?" I asked,
"Sure, if you buy us lunch." he said.
Yes, I'm aware that you've been brought into the middle of this story. I was too. The last time I saw Knox Nolan, he was unconscious in a hospital bed with no chance to ever wake up.
It was six years ago. Mom and Dad were still together and Heather hadn't even been born yet. I had just started middle school. All my friends from elementary were coming with me.
We were all bullies, everyone else that was following us were still afraid of us. Everyone except for Nicholas "Knox" Nolan. He was sick and tired of being on the receiving end of our insults, beatings and pranks that he wanted to join us.
I told him he could only join us if he passed a test that we would create for him. The others pressured me into making it extremely dangerous as opposed to extremely humiliating. In the end, we decided to have Knox ride down a steep hill in a banged up old shopping cart. If he made it through in one piece, we would let him join us, but if not, he'd be a target like always.
I might have been a bully, but I never did anything so mean or dangerous as what Knox was about to do. I didn't feel good about it at all, but I knew that I'd get kicked out of the group and become a target too if I didn't play along, so I brought Knox a pillow, a helmet and a full set of protective skateboard gear.
The hill was steep, but not necessarily all that dangerous. These were all things that I kept telling myself to muffle the guilt. But when Knox went down, it was a prime example of worst case scenario. One of the others had secretly tampered with the wheels of the cart so that it couldn't be steered. Then, before Knox was able to get all of the safety gear on, they pushed him down much harder than necessary. Halfway down the hill, one of the wheels hit a rock and flipped over about ten times. As soon as they realized that Knox might be dead, the others ran away. I did too, but not until I called an ambulance.
I was the only person that came to visit him in the hospital. I didn't even know whether or not he was aware of me, but I apologized and stopped associating myself with that group anymore. That's when I met Brody and my other dumb friends. I was still a bully, but I made sure to never cross that line again.
I later learned that Knox's spine took some serious damage. It was one of those situations where the was no genuine good news. Even if he did wake up, he'd be paralyzed from the neck down.
That's why I was so shocked to see Knox walk into History class. He was a living, breathing miracle. One who had every right to hate to me. What's worse is that I had no way to prove my innocence to him. Maybe innocence is the wrong word? I had a major part to play in his accident. If it hadn't been for me, he'd been fine. But all the same, it wasn't really my idea to push him down that hill. I even tried to help him. I know that doesn't mean much, but it made me angry that Knox was blaming everything on me, when I was technically on his side during the whole ordeal.
"What happened to your gang?" asked Knox.
"We broke up," I said, "Shortly after your accident, actually."
"Cutting yourself while shaving is an accident," said Knox, "What you and your gang did to me was a step below torture."
"You say that like we forced you into it!" I snapped, "You begged and pleaded to join us! You told us you would do whatever it took!"
"You could've made me your own personal servant, painted me blue and dyed my hair pink or dressed me up like Pippi Longstocking," snapped Knox, "But instead, you set up a stunt worthy of Evel Knievel."
"That's exactly what I wanted," I said, "But the others wouldn't have it. They said if your challenge was too easy everybody would want to join us."
"All I wanted was friends," said Knox, "I would see you laughing together all the time."
"I was a stupid kid, Knox," I said, "I was afraid to be alone, so I just did what everybody else did."
"Right," said Knox, "Why be a nice kid with no friends when you can be an asshole that makes other people feel like crap?"
"I never said that what I did was right."
"Is that remorse I hear in your voice?" asked Knox.
"Of course it is!" I sighed, "Do you actually think that what I did to you made me feel good about myself!?"
Knox looked like he was about to say something, but now that he had got me started, I wasn't able to stop.
"If I hadn't been such a coward, I'd have stood up for myself. But I didn't. I was afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't go along with what the others wanted," I sobbed, "Why else do you think I gave you all that stuff before they pushed you down?"
"Oz..."
"I figured that you'd surprise everyone and come out fine," I continued, "I figured that once it was over, we'd all be able to look back on it laugh."
"You-"
"After the cart crashed, the others ran away and left me to take the fall," I wailed, "I never even thought of running. Not until I knew you that were looked after."
"It was you that called the ambulance?"
"I even came to see you in the hospital," I said, calming down, "Your folks looked me right in the eye. They had no idea that they were looking at the person responsible."
"Oz," said Knox, "I forgive you."
"What?"
"Everything you just said," he explained, "That's what I wanted."
"I don't get it," I said, "You said you didn't want an apology."
"And I don't," said Knox, "I've been harbouring all that anger for so long. I guess I just wanted to know whether or not I needed to keep it."
That felt incredible. Bearing my soul and actually being forgiven for the terrible thing I did all those years ago. I was afraid to tell anyone else about it. Even after incident, I was never questioned by the police. Knox was a vegetable and he hadn't told his parents about me and my gang. As a result, I never told anyone about it either. Eventually, a story was formed based on what seemed to be the most likely explanation for Knox's injuries. An accident. He was out playing with a shopping cart and lost control of it.
"So that's it?" I asked, "We can put it behind us?"
"Yeah," said Knox, "We're obviously different people now than we were back then."
He has no idea how true that is.
"This second chance of mine might not even be a sure fire thing," said Knox, "It's pointless to dwell on the past. Especially since it has no effect on the future."
"So, um, where do you want to go for food?"
Thanks to Silver, I was able to buy myself a new car. My old one got totalled by the Slot Machine Virus, and I didn't want to waste money a sports car that could easily end up sharing the same fate, so I just bought a bright yellow truck. It was a much newer vehicle, and had a bunch more features my last one even though my last one cost more than double what this one did.
"I haven't been to Cosmo's since before the accident..." he said.
Wait a second. Is this a good idea? What if something comes up while I'm out with Knox and he finds out my secret? Trojan has made it clear that he knows what we're doing at all times.
If I go anywhere with anybody, I might as well be wearing a shirt with a blinking target on it.
But, then again, the others could probably handle it without me for a little while. That would be more than enough time for me to take Knox back home and then join in the fight. Yeah, I'll bet that if all of us were to stop taking chances like that, we'd be playing right into Trojan's hands. He probably wants us to do that.
"Alright then," I said, "Hop in."
He did, and the truck's suspension dipped down low. How much does Knox weigh, exactly? He still looks the same on the outside, which means something must have happened to his insides. Well, he did say he was going to explain everything to me during lunch, so there's no point worrying about it now.
The drive to the restaurant was uncomfortably quiet. Knox and I didn't really know what to talk about yet, so we basically just sat there. I noticed that he was enjoying the view out of the window. The city must have changed significantly since he last saw it. By the time we got there, my stomach was growling. I hadn't noticed how hungry I was.
Once inside, I went up to place our orders, then sat down at the table Knox had chosen.
"Alright, let's hear it." I said.
"I woke up from my coma about a year ago," he said, "The first thing I hear is how I'm never going to regain the use of my arms or legs."
"Not exactly my idea of a wake-up call." I said.
"That night, someone came to me and made me an offer," he continued, "I didn't know who he was, but my parents said they were willing to let him do whatever he could to help me."
I didn't say anything. I was too absorbed in Knox's story. As he spoke, I could actually visualize everything. In my mind, this guy looked like some sort of shady drug dealer.
"By the end of the week, my parents heard back from the guy, who told them that he was taking me to a special treatment center," said Knox, "Someone already gave the center a generous contribution, so my parents didn't even need to pay for this operation."
Now I was picturing a generic secret laboratory. Knox hadn't described it yet, so at this point, it just looked like a mixture between a bunch of labs from various science fiction movies.
"I remember being wheeled down a long white hallway on a stretcher," said Knox, "The lights hurt my eyes. I guess that's what happens when you keep them closed for several years."
"They brought me into this massive chamber with a domed ceiling. It was bright like the hallway and had observation windows on all four walls," he continued, "Above me was some sort of contraption. It looked like those overhead lights dentists use, only with about a dozen arms, each with weird tools at the end."
It turned out that my mind ended up creating a mental image that nearly spot on.
"Then the guy that brought me there showed up in scrubs. He told me that they needed to put me into another coma, only this one would be medically induced," said Knox, "If the surgery worked, they would wake me up, but if it didn't work, I would die."
I stopped daydreaming when I heard our order number get called. I went to go get it. After I came back, we nearly inhaled our food so that he could keep telling the story. This time I didn't want to visualize it in my mind. I could tell that it was about to get graphic anyways.
"I told them I was willing to take the chance, and seconds later, I passed out." said Knox.
"Did you feel anything?" I asked.
"Did it hurt more than going down the hill?" I asked.
"A lot more," said Knox, "I barely felt anything during the accident. I was unconscious before I even crashed."
"Anyways, go on."
"That's where my memory goes blank," said Knox, "The next thing I can remember is waking up in a different room of the facility."
I noticed that he smiled as he said that.
"I felt incredible," he continued, "I sat up and heard a hydraulic hissing sound."
"You could move again."
"The guy entered the room and told me that the operation was a complete success," said Knox, "He said they were all surprised at how well my body accepted all the cybernetic implants they had given me."
"Cybernetic as in-" I began.
"Yeah," said Knox, "I'm a cyborg."
"Were you scared?"
"Oh yeah," he said, "I was scared shitless. But the doctor told me that my brain was mostly intact, so the technology in my body is still being controlled by me."
"As opposed to?"
"As opposed to it being controlled by a CPU that they would've embedded in my brain." said Knox.
"Then they told me that I'd need to undergo physical rehab," he continued, "Without it, I wouldn't know how to control the power that comes with the implants."
"I thought you said you were in control?" I asked.
"Of, my actions yes," said Knox, "Of my potential, no."
"Did they tell you how strong you were now?"
"No, they made me see for myself," said Knox, "They handed me a jar of pickles and told me to open it. As soon as I grabbed it, the glass shattered."
"How long did your rehab take?"
"About 5 months," said Knox, "As soon as I finished it, they sent me back home."
"And the first thing you did was come to the school?" I asked.
"Right you are." said Knox.
Just then, my Digitizer chirped at me. It had 3 different kinds of beeps. The "There's Trouble Nearby" beep, the "Incoming Transmission" beep, or the "Come to HQ" beep. This one was the trouble indicator.
"So, you're the Yellow Ranger?" asked Knox.
"Pipe down!" I gasped, "Do you want the whole store to hear you!?"
"I know because I can scan any type of technology and learn about it." he said, before I could ask.
"I guess there's no point in denying it now..." I said.
"Go deal with the problem," said Knox, "I'll wait for you here."
"According to this," I said, checking the radar as discreetly as possible, "There's a virus within about a yard of my position."
"Cool," said Knox, "Why don't we look for it together?"
"Because you're not a ranger," I said, "You're a civilian."
"That happens to be a cyborg." said Knox.
"Fine."
We left our half eaten food at our table for now and scurried outside. My radar seemed to be leading me... To the very same hill that Knox went down. This was either some sort of fucked up coincidence, or a deliberate ploy by Trojan to mess with me. Either way, thanks to Knox, it wasn't going to bother me anymore.
"It should be right up here." I said.
"Be careful, Oz," said Knox, "I'm sensing some sort of booby trap at the top of the hill."
"Are you able to get more specific details about them?" I asked,
"No, whatever is up there isn't in my database."
"Then I guess I'll just have to tread carefully."
I knew I shouldn't have said that. I must have jinxed myself, because on my next step, a giant cage erupted from underneath me. I was trapped.
"Oz? Are you okay?" asked Knox.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just pissed off," I said, "Come here and see if you can get me out."
"Why would I do something like that?" asked Knox.
What looked like a bolt of lightning hit the ground behind Knox, and in its wake, was Trojan. Or at least a hologram of him. Uh, what I really hope is a hologram of him.
"Well done," said the Hologram, "That was Oscar-Worthy acting."
"That's because I wasn't acting." said Knox.
"I knew I made the right choice by taking you under my wing." said the Hologram.
"I'm sorry Oz, I meant everything I said," he moaned, "I don't want you dead, but the only way they'd let me walk again was if I agreed to use their technology to destroy the Power Rangers."
"I can't believe you trust a hologram more than me." I said.
"I did trust you, Oz," said Knox, "I trusted you and all your friends. I've always tried to see the good in people, and what do I get? Pushed down a hill in a shopping cart and then left to rot in a coma!"
"The world doesn't revolve around you, Knox," I said, "You can't judge people because of one stupid mistake they've made."
"You can if their mistakes are as big as yours."
"Like you've never done anything stupid?" I asked, "You made the mistake of trusting people that you hated because you were so desperate to fit in! You also made the mistake of thinking that it was worse to be an intelligent and kind-hearted loner than it was to be an arrogant, insecure jerk that make themselves feel good by treating other people like crap!"
"Heath, should I send backup?" came Silver's voice from my Digitizer.
"Ixnay!" I whispered, "They'd be walking into a trap."
"I think I can disarm the traps from here," said Silver, "Just keep them busy so they won't notice what I'm doing."
"Can do."
Knox was staring at me, thinking of what to say next, when I noticed that his eyes were glowing red. Maybe the reason he sided with Trojan so easily was because the technology they implanted in him was designed to make obedient robots?
Maybe Knox was a victim? It seemed like he was trapped in his own body. But was there a way to free him without destroying him? The others might look at Knox and see him as a run of the mill virus, but I had a feeling I was right.
When I first saw Knox back at school, my immediate reaction was to punch him, because I felt like I didn't deserve to stand in his presence. I thought he was some sort of higher power that had come to haunt me. But as we talked, he helped me open up until ultimately, I got some closure. I don't think all of that part of his plan. I think Trojan took over his mind after that. Maybe when I wasn't looking?
"Go on, Knox, kill him," said the Hologram, "Kill him and I'll be one step closer to destroying the Power Rangers!"
"Then you'll let me go?"
"I never said that." said the Hologram.
"But we had a deal!"
"I know," said the Hologram, "The deal was that I'd make it possible for you to walk again, if you help me destroy the Power Rangers!"
"I did help, Oz is trapped and vulnerable," said Knox, "So once I kill him for you, we'll be square, right?"
"Wrong!" screamed the Hologram, "Even with Yellow gone, there'll still be four more rangers left."
"You lied to me!" shrieked Knox.
"I might be a lot of things," said the Hologram, "But I'm not a liar. If the deal had been for you to just destroy the Yellow Ranger, then that's what I would've said."
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't." said the Hologram.
A surge of electricity burst out from the back of Knox's neck. As this happened, his eyes flickered between red and well, not red. It's not like I've ever really looked deep into his eyes to see what colour they are.
Either way, what I saw definitely seemed to prove my theory right. Only now it looked as though the real Knox just got permanently locked up, whereas before, he had been fighting for control of his body.
"The cage that you're trapped in remarkable," said Silver, "It's almost like some sort of anti-codec."
"Which means what, exactly?" I asked.
"That as long as you're in there, you won't be able to morph," said Silver, "However, their major design flaw seems to be that they function like Christmas lights."
"I'm confused," I said, "Did you just try to make a comparison and fail?"
"On the contrary," said Silver, "I assume your family doesn't decorate a tree?"
"Well, we'll be able to this year, thanks to you."
"In most Christmas lights, if one bulb is burnt out, then all the other lights won't work until you replace the burnt out bulb." said Silver.
"Oh, so you're saying that if you destroy one of these cages, all the others will go with it?" I asked.
"Precisely," said Silver, "Whoever set up these traps must've set up dozens of them in case you weren't alone, or in case you climbed up a different side of the hill."
Knox was still writhing in pain on the ground, but the electricity seemed to be gone.
"Now," said the Hologram, "Let's try this again. I command you to kill the Yellow Ranger!"
"As you wish..." said Knox, whose voice was now much deeper.
"Sometime today would be good, Silver..." I moaned.
"Got it!" he exclaimed.
The cage I was trapped in disintegrated, just like defeated viruses. Knox had transformed his right arm into a lethal looking blade and was inches away from slicing my head off when rolled out of the way. As I got to my feet, I saw four coloured streaks of light land on the hill.
"No, no, no, no!" roared the Hologram, stomping it's feet with rage before vanishing into thin air.
"Nice try, Trojan." I muttered under my breath.
"Oh good," said Marcus, "I was afraid we'd missed the party."
"Everybody, this is Knox," I said, "Knox, this is everybody."
Knox retracted the blade and then transformed both of his arms into what looked like nozzles.
"Please tell me those are confetti cannons." said Chloe.
In response to Chloe, Knox revealed that they were in fact flamethrowers by spraying fire out of his hands while rotating the upper half of his body 360° although, as creepy as that was, we didn't have time to react to it, because we were too busy reacting to the fire. We all leapt back just in time.
"Did he just twist his upper body around?" asked Rachel.
"I was hoping it was a trick of the light." said Marcus.
"Rangers, I know Knox isn't technically a virus, but you're no match for him unless you morph." said Silver.
"Ready?" asked Riley.
"Ready!" we said.
"CYBER POWER, ACTIVATE!" we shouted together.
I morphed with them, but I had no intention of fighting Knox. The only reason I did it was so that he didn't kill me while I tried to talk sense into him. I could endure many more attacks this way.
"Come on, Yellow, let's go." said Red.
"I can't do it," I said, "Knox is my friend."
"Exactly, that's why we're fighting him."
"But if we destroy him like he's just another virus, then he'll die trapped inside his body like an innocent prisoner." I said.
"In case you haven't noticed, he tried to kill you several times today," said Orange, "He's as innocent as O.J. Simpson was!"
"That's not his fault." I said, "He's not in control of his body, Trojan is."
"You don't have a choice, Yellow," said Blue, "Even if you don't fight him, he'll still kill you."
"There has to be a way to get Knox back in control without hurting him!" I sobbed, beating my fists into the ground in frustration.
"If there was a way, Silver would've found it already." said Red.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do it!"
Knox's left arm transformed again, now it looked like a bazooka. Without even aiming, Knox fired a large missile that ended up locking on to Blue. She zigged and zagged frantically, but couldn't get it to stop following her. Just then, Red leapt in and punched the missile, which detonated, sending both of them flying.
"Blue, are you okay?" asked Red.
"Fine thanks to you." she said.
Those two have such an incredible bond. I knew that even if they hadn't been morphed, Riley still wouldn't have hesitated to protect Rachel. Not because he wanted to, but because he knew he had to. Even if it had been Rachel who protected Riley, it would've played out exactly the same.
I think I finally understand what it means to be a true friend. You have to be willing to do whatever needs to be done, no matter what. Which means that if I'm really Knox's friend, I have to do whatever I can to help him, even if it means destroying him. Because I'm sure that Knox would much rather die and be at peace, than live on as prisoner in his own body.
"Knox, this hurts me more than it hurts you!" I screamed as I leapt through the air to land a devastating punch in the face.
"Alright, Yellow! I knew you'd figure it out!" called Red.
"Download weapon!" I shouted.
My weapon materialized in my hand seconds later.
"Everyone back off for a minute or two," I announced, "I want to try something!"
I charged forward at Knox, who switched to his blade arm again.
"I'm sorry Knox, I wish there was another way!"
He blocked my attack and as our weapons clashed, something sprouted from Knox's back. I didn't have to wonder what it was, because it propelled us high in the air. It seemed to be some sort of jetpack. I was now only being held up by our interlocked weapons.
"Why do you fight for this world, Oz!?" grunted Knox as he struggled to break free, "Do you really think that by saving the world you'll makes amends for what you did to me!?"
"No, Knox!" I grunted, struggling to stop him breaking free, "I fight because I'm not a coward! I fight because I was chosen to be a hero in spite of all the terrible things I've done! I fight to protect the people I care about!"
"You're not a hero, Oz," said Knox, "You're a bully."
"With a heart of gold!" I said.
I overpowered him as I said the words. I snapped his arm so that the sharp end of his blade was now facing towards his heart and before Knox had a chance to react, I stabbed him with own weapon.
He gasped and made a sickly gurgling sound as we fell back down. I let go of Knox's mangled body and felt myself well up, but held back the tears.
"Power down." I said.
The others did the same. They could tell it was over.
Another surge of electricity burst from the back of Knox's neck. His eyes flickered back to normal and met mine.
"I'm finally free... Thank you, Oz," he said, "The world is lucky to have you."
Hearing him say that made me feel so much better. I mean what if Riley and I had been wrong? What if he would've preferred to live as an evil cyborg? It does sound kind of cool.
"Oz?" asked Chloe, tapping me on the shoulder, "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," I said, "I think so."
"You don't look so good." said Marcus.
"It's just been a fucked up day, that's all," I said, "You guys worry too much. I mean, with friends like you, how is it possible for me to NOT be fine?"
"So what are you going to do now?" asked Chloe, who for some reason had put her arm around me. I assume she felt I deserved it, who was I to question it? I mean really, if I someone as hot as her put their arm around you, even you felt you didn't deserve it, would you do anything about it? Of course not.
"I still have a half-eaten burger back at Cosmo's with my name on it," I said, "Not to mention a whole burger that Knox never touched."
"Don't you think that's in bad taste?" asked Marcus.
"No," I said, "Why would it be? It's not like he's going to be able to finish it anymore."
"I meant, leaving Knox's body there." said Marcus.
"Oh, yeah, well, I'll get to that after I eat," I said, "Just because I killed my friend and learned about the power of friendship doesn't mean I've gone soft."
Later that day, I went over to Knox's house intent on telling his parents what had happened. They knew who I was before I even told them. They must have recognized me from all those times I secretly visited him in the hospital.
They had no idea what had happened to their son after they paid that mysterious man to help Knox. It just now occurred to me that that mysterious man was probably a hologram of Trojan disguised to look different.
I told them the streamlined version of what happened, but left out the parts about him being a cyborg and all the ranger business. I told them that he died on the operating table when their machine went haywire. I told them that his death led to the company's decision to stop trying to replace doctors with robots. I figured it would make them feel better if they thought Knox's death meant something.
"Don't feel too bad about what happened to Knox," I said, "He died a hero. He was willing to undergo dangerous surgery, and because he died, nobody else will ever die that way again. I'm sure he's in a better place now."
They really seemed to believe it. I think it was easier for them because they already knew that if Knox hadn't gotten the surgery, he would never been able to walk again. They had probably already accepted his fate a long time ago. They hugged me and thanked me for telling them.
Before I left, I told them that I wanted to bury Knox under the tree near the hill where it all started. It was the least I could do.
I'm an even better person now thanks to Knox. If it wasn't for him, I never would've learned what it meant to be a real friend. That's a lesson that I'm sure will change my life for the better.