033 Reach

Character: Patrick

Patrick stared at the circuit board on the desk in front of him. "I don't know, it seems like you might be reaching a bit too high." Patrick frowned at his friend, Trevor, who was sitting beside him. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Pat."

"If you don't want me mad at you don't question my dreams. I am completely capable of doing it, it's just I need a few classes in order to figure out how to finish it." Patrick placed his soldering iron down. "I can't believe you'd doubt me."

"Hey, you're great with stuff like electronics but AI are completely different. They're a completely different level of difficulty." Trevor sighed and put up his hands. "All I'm saying is programs and stuff are harder than circuit boards."

Patrick rolled his eyes. "I'm aware of that. I've been reading up on AIs and I understand the base programs and the creation of them. What I need are some programming classes to get it all to work," he explained.

"Yeah but where are you going to get the money for it? You don't really have the money for classes like that," Trevor pointed out. "I know you make good money from repairing things but it's not enough to be able to go to school.

Patrick tapped his finger against the desk for a couple seconds. "About that, I think I've found a way to get money for it."

"And what brilliant idea do you have?" Trevor asked. "You going to rob a bank with a virus?"

Patrick shook his head. "Actually I plan on joining the UNSC." Patrick could see the look of surprise on Trevor's face. "What?"

"You're going to join the UNSC? Please tell me that you're not going to join ONI. You know the kind of stuff they're said to do."

"I'm not joining ONI," Patrick assured his friend. "I don't want to be doing morally questionable stuff. Besides, when I'm done with my service I want to leave, go to school, not be stuck in the service like a ONI operative."

Trevor relaxed a bit. "Well then I wish you the best of luck. I don't know how well you'll do in bootcamp but I'm sure you'll be able to manage it. Though are you sure there's no other way?"

"There's no other option. Studying AI is expensive and I don't qualify for enough scholarships. When I graduate I'm going to have to join the military or give up on my dream." Patrick stared at the circuit board. "I don't like not having a choice."

"Sometimes you don't have a choice and being smart can't help you," Trevor said. "Most people have to give up on their dreams. You've found a way to avoid that, so at least you have that."

"You're really not making it better," Patrick pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not the smart one here. I'm just the streetwise friend of the nerd that teaches you pop culture phrases so you don't look like a fool." Trevor grinned, satisfied with himself.

"Yeah, you're kind of making it obvious which of us is the smart guy," Patrick teased.

"Watch it. I'm not great at verbal comebacks so I'd have to break your board," Trevor warned.

"Oh, so now you've turned into a schoolyard bully? Threatening to break the geek's stuff." Patrick grinned. He knew Trevor wouldn't actually do it. "Remind me why we're friends."

"Because I'm awesome," Trevor countered. The two teens laughed and Patrick returned to his soldering.