The sound of the morning radio program permeated the house as Hanna sat in her room writing ideas in her notebook, waiting for Sam with a sense of dread. Not because she doesn't enjoy spending time with Sam. It's her harpy of mother is determined to meet the person who has managed to be her first real friend. She forced Hanna to invite Sam over. She doesn't know how, but her mother seems to know that the people Hanna considers her "friends" at school aren't really friends. Fortunately, her father remains ignorant of this so far.
It's been three weeks since Sam approached her at the library and ever since lunch on that fateful day, they've been spending all of their free time together. Hanna's been teaching Sam how to program in assembly and Sam is helping her with her keylogger. As they spend time together, Hanna observed that Sam doesn't have any friends either and that she doesn't seem to understand people well. She's more comfortable interacting with the computer than others, really shows how unusual for her to start their first conversation.
As the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house, Hanna tried to get to the door before her mother, but she was too late. Her mother greeted Sam as soon as she arrived. "You must be Sam! It is so good to finally meet you." The greeting startled Sam, and she froze in shock as her mother pulled her inside and said, "Come in, come in. It's cold outside."
Sam slowly stepped inside, still in shock. "Uh, hi Mrs. Frey. It's nice to meet you too."
Hanna's mother smiled brightly and led Sam into the living room. "Can I get you anything to drink? Some tea or hot chocolate?"
Sam's eyes widen at the prospect of hot chocolate. "I would like hot chocolate, if you don't mind."
Hanna's mother nodded. "Well, it's so nice of you to come here finally, Sam. Hanna has told me so much about you. I'm glad she finally has a friend she can rely on." Sam glanced at Hanna, who was standing awkwardly by the couch. "Uh, yeah. Hanna is a great friend."
"Well, I'll get you your hot chocolate." As her mother left the room, Hanna sighed in relief and said. "Sorry about that. My mom can be a little… enthusiastic." Sam gave an awkward chuckle. "It's fine. It's nice to see that you have a supportive parent. My mother is always…" Hanna doesn't know how to handle this awkward conversation is, so she does what she does best by ignoring it. "Come, let's go to my room. I wanna show you some things." As she reached her desk, she noticed Sam was no longer behind her. Looking back, she saw her by the door looking at my room weirdly and said. "It's pink."
Hanna rolled her eyes and smirk, "Why yes, it's pink, isn't it the best? Pastel colors are my favorite. Why don't you like it?" Sam quickly shook her head and followed Hanna to her desk, taking a seat next to her. "No, no, I like it. It's just not what I expected, that's all, and I see you wearing pink ever." Hanna leveled a dispassionate stare at her. Sam came by her side and, look at the table filled with electronics, boards, and a soldering station, asked. "Where did you get all this stuff?" Just as she was about to reply, her mother came in to give Sam her hot chocolate and left. "Thanks mom. Anyway, I got the electronic junks from my dad, he collects the computers that failed from work. That place goes through a lot of computers, so I tell him what to get for me." Hanna explained, while Sam was sipping her hot chocolate. "From the parts that I have, I'm building my very own home computer. That's where you come in. I want you to help me with it."
Sam's face brightened by that suggestion and replied. "Sure, that sounds fun." Hanna grabbed her bag and went to the door. "Come on, let's go." Startled by this, Sam quickly finishes her drink and follows Hanna out. "Mom! We're going out for a bit." Hanna informed her mother as she is exiting the house. "Be sure to come back for lunch!" Hanna could only give a grunt in response.
Sam quickly came beside her as they walk the road. "Why invite me to your home only to leave so soon?" She asked. Hanna could only groan. "Wasn't my original plan, but mother was very insistent that you come by the house first." Sam gave an unsympathetic nod and asked. "So, where are we going?" Hanna looked at Sam and replied, "We're going to the hardware store to get some soldering tools, so we can both solder at the same time."
Hanna can't help but feel a sense of caution as they walked to the center of town and chatted. She has the gut feeling that Sam could be the anchor for in this life. She knows from experience that she needs an anchor in this life, and she can't believe she found one so quickly. It's unusual for her to find one within the first few decades of a new life, and it's been at least ten lifetimes since it last happened. But she knows she can't let go of this opportunity, and she's determined to mold Sam into the perfect anchor for her. Even though she hasn't encountered any interference from that asshat yet, she's not taking any chances.
As they approached the row of shops, Sam asks. "So, do you have the cash for what you want to buy?" Hanna couldn't help but smirk. "Nope. We're going to redistribute those items into our care where it would be love." Sam stares blankly at Hanna but continued walking by her side. "You mean we're stealing stuff? That's illegal." Hanna chuckled at that response. "That's where you're wrong, my friend. It's not illegal if you're not caught." Sam let out an exasperated sigh at that and said. "That doesn't even make any logical sense, Han." They're approaching the hardware and electronic store. "Come on, Sam, think of it as an adventure. Where's your sense of excitement?!" Said Hanna.
"Alright, fine, what are we grabbing?" Something in Sam's eyes brightens, which only made Hanna more excited. "You won't be doing the grabbing. You're going to be lookout, but if someone suspects me, you need to cause a distraction, make sure no one sees you. Only start the distraction when I go to the counter to pay for some twinkies. Can I trust you with this?" Sam has this determined focus look on her, which only made Hanna proud. "Of course you can trust me, Han." Said Sam. "Alright, let's go in, and here's 2 dollars. Make sure to buy something. It's not an enormous store, so it would be suspicious if you just loiter around the store and not buy anything."
Sam nodded and took the money, following Hanna into the store. She noticed who was manning the cashier and greeted them. "Hello Mr. Rodriguez, I hope you are having a good weekend." The clerk greeted back with a smile. "Hey there Hanna, getting something for your dad again?" Hanna saw Sam moved on to the row of shelves and is observing something. "Yeah, you know how he is. He loves to tinker with things." Hanna quickly made her way to the electronics section and grabbed the items she needed, stuffing them into her bag. She kept an eye out for any store employees or customers who might notice her, but so far, everything seemed to go smoothly. Then went to grab some screws and needle-nose pliers to purchase.
Just as she's done, an idea formed in her head. She then grabbed a Twinkie. when she reached the cashier, she noticed Sam was beside her with a devious smile. Just as they were about to pay for their things, a loud bang sound appeared. "Ugh… What happen now? Thank you and come back again girls." The store clerk went off to check. "What's going on Ron?" They both then left the store, and she couldn't help but laugh. "What did you do, Sam? Did you see the look on his face? It's priceless."
Sam looked mighty pleased with herself and replied. "I might have loosened some latches, causing some shelves to fall when the other guy went to stack some items." Her face then went blank. "Oh god I just helped you broke the law. What if someone saw?" Hanna gave Sam a pat on her shoulder in encouragement. "Oh please, you did amazing back there. Trust in your abilities to sow chaos, you're a natural." Sam seems to calm down a bit from that, so Hanna continued, "Besides, laws are just social constructs. They are meant to be broken by us. Don't worry, you'll soon understand." Sam doesn't look convinced but shrugged anyway, and asked, "So what did you grab?" Hanna grabs the backpack from her back and opened it to show to Sam. "A soldering iron, some solder wire, flux, and some stands to hold the boards. Would be slow and inefficient if we had to share one iron."
As they left the town center in silence, that only made Hanna nervous if she went too far. Sam couldn't help but ask. "That wasn't your first time stealing, was it?" Hanna gave Sam a light shoulder bump and replied. "Nope, and it won't be the last. Next time you're going to do the lifting while I do the distraction. That looked way too much fun." Hanna was relieved when Sam chuckled at her words, showing that she wasn't upset about the theft. Sam then added, "Okay, but next time can I pick what to get?" Hanna nodded and grabbed Sam's shoulder to bring her close. With her other hand, she waves in an arch and said. "So here is where it all begins, the 'Adventures of Han and Sam' with all of the hijinks and mischievous acts that come with it." Sam burst out laughing at Hanna's ridiculousness.
"Let me tell you how to do it," Hanna continued. "You know how the store workers never suspect it's me who's been stealing stuff from that store multiple times?" Sam shook her head, but looked very engaged, like when they usually talked about computers and programming. "Well, it's because they perceive me as a trustful, gregarious, and dutiful child. No one suspects someone like that. Also, never do things in a pattern and never leave a trace."
Hanna continues to explain to Sam how to commit larceny as they walk back home and arrive home just before lunch. After lunch, they spent the day together on building the computer. As the sun began to set and the day came to a close, Sam had to return home, leaving Hanna at the doorstep. Despite the initial nervousness she had felt earlier that day, Hanna now felt grateful to have found someone so receptive and pliable as her anchor. As they said their farewells, Hanna couldn't help but feel a sense of luck and purpose for their future together.
Later that night, Hanna is sitting in the living room with her book about cartography while her father is watching TV. She wonders how far her father would go to meet her needs, so she asked. "Hey dad?" Her father did not stop watching TV, "Yes, sweetie?" answered her father. "Can I get an IBM PC for me to use at home?" That made her father look at her with curiosity. "Weren't you building your own computer out of the parts I brought for you? And aren't they quite pricey?"
Hanna gave her father a pleading look and answered, "Yes, I am building one, and with help from Sam, it would complete it soon! But Sam loves computers as well and I would love to have Sam around more. If we have two computers, we both can use it at the same time!" Her father's eyes soften at that, so she goes in for the kill. "You don't need to throw a party for my birthday or even buy me a birthday gift or Christmas gift. I could even pitch in some money to buy it. I'll work during spring and summer break!"
Her father let out a sigh and acquiesce. "Alright sweetie, I'll try." Hanna pretended to be excited as she jumped up and hugged her father. "Thank you so much, dad! You won't regret it, I promise!" Her father chuckled and patted her head. "I know I won't, sweetie. You always make me proud." Hanna smiled and kissed her father on the cheek before heading to her bed.
The cool winter school days soon gave way to a warm spring holiday. Hanna and Sam found themselves walking towards the downtown area of Kingsville, the larger town next door, enjoying the warm weather. The sidewalk is full of high school students enjoying their last days of spring holiday and adults spending time with their family.
For Hanna, it's a great opportunity for more adventures with Sam. "Tell me what you notice with these crowds of people." Said Hanna as they slowly make their way down the sidewalk. "No one's paying attention. Everyone seems to be in their own bubble." Hanna smiled at that answer. "Exactly. It's the perfect environment for us to practice pick-pocketing." Sam's only response was a raised eyebrow. She seems to have gotten used to Hanna's idea of fun. "You don't have to do it the first few times, just observe how I do it. The first step is finding a mark - someone who looks like an easy target. Who do you think would be our first guinea pig?"
Sam seems to think about it and nodded towards the old couple that's walking in front of us. "How about them?" Hanna shakes her head in disagreement and said. "Old people are easy targets, but they don't usually have a lot of money on them. What we want is an idiot looking high-schooler or an adult that seems full of themselves." She then nodded towards the prospective marks. "Like them."
The mars are two adults who're engaged in some conversation that she can't hear. Sam has an astute look on her and asked, "So, how are you going to do it? Need a distraction?" Hanna's heart bleeds with delight at that proactive suggestion. "No, they're quite distracted by themselves. I'm just going to use a good old sleight of hand to repatriate their wallet to our care. Because of the crowded sidewalk, bumping into them wouldn't cause any fuss, especially us being children."
With a deep breath, Hanna proceeds towards her mark. She hopes she kept some of her skills from her last life. Looking behind her, she saw Sam diligently observing Hanna's every move. She deftly slips her hand into one of the adult's pockets to retrieve his wallet without him even noticing. Hanna then takes out a few bills to pocket them and dropped the wallet. She then nodded to Sam, who understands what she needed to do without Hanna needing to tell her. "Excuse me, mister! You dropped your wallet." Hanna continues walking past them while the man thanked Sam profusely, completely unaware that he had just been pickpocketed.
"How much did you get?" Said Sam as she came back to her side. "Just 30 dollars. Nothing too bad that the man would notice." Despite the paltry amount of money, Hanna saw the excitement in her eyes, which only causes her to smirk. "So, who else do you see as our next mark?" Asked Hanna. Sam looks around and points to a group of high school students. "What about them?"
Hanna nods in agreement and approaches the students. This time, she uses a different strategy. She slips her hand into one of the student's pockets and takes their wallet, emptying it of its contents and dropping it back into the pocket without them even noticing. She and Sam walk away from the group, blending into the crowd once more.
"Took everything he had on him and only got 20 dollars." Sam looks contemplative and asked, "So why did you take everything from the high schooler but not all from the adult?" Hanna let out a thoughtful sound and answers. "Non adults tend to not report things to the police unless it's forced upon them. The less the police notice our activities, the better for us." Sam nods, a mix of excitement and anticipation. "So, when can I try next? I mean, this is our adventure, right? Can't have you do all the fun."
Hanna grins and puts an arm around her friend. "First you need to practice your sleight of hands skills on me before you go do unto others." Hanna continued her illicit activities while Sam observes, distracts, or occasionally tries to pickpocket her.
It is the afternoon when they're both resting in a diner that's in front of a nondescript warehouse office building in the middle of town. As they're eating their lunch, Hanna says. "In total, we gathered 256 dollars. Not a bad haul, here's your half." Sam seems surprised as she shoved the money towards her. "But you were the one that did most of the work. I just watched."
Hanna waved that comment away and said. "Come on, Sam, we do adventures together. I would be an ass to not give you your half." Sam seems content by the gesture and nodded. "Thanks, Han. So, what do you want to do with all this money? Do you want to save it for something?" Sam asked as she counted the bills.
Hanna thought for a moment before responding, "Hmm… I don't particularly care or value money, like these lemmings." Hanna gestures at the people in the diner. "That's something you should keep in mind too, Sam. Money has no inherent value, it's only valuable because people believe it is. Money like most things, is a tool for you to use and not something you should prize." Sam nods thoughtfully at Hanna's words. "I see what you mean. Mom keeps saying she has to work constantly to get money and to buy things…"
Sam has this odd look on her face whenever she talks about her mother. Hanna doesn't know how to react, so she does the best thing she can think of is to ignore it and continue as if nothing is going on. "Anyway, I brought us here to prepare us for our next adventure tomorrow. Which involves that building." Sam looks towards the warehouse Hanna is gesturing but said nothing, so she continues. "We're going to break into that building tomorrow and steal some goodies."
Sam's eyes widen in surprise at that suggestion, probably at the escalation of the crime we're going to commit. "What are we going to take? This is way more dangerous than anything we've done up to this point." It pleased Hanna that Sam did not say no and straight asked what they're stealing. But is quite reluctant about the consequences of getting caught. "It's going to be super fun because it's dangerous, Sam. There's nothing to worry about if you know what you're doing. Come on, let's finish eating and I'll explain outside."
As walk around the perimeter of the building, Hanna explains. "We're going to scope out the building for the rest of the day. Note everything you see: security guards, janitors, the buildings around this warehouse, what business, is it a coffee shop, a diner, etc." As they continue walking. Sam does as advice, she asked. "Okay, you still haven't said what we're stealing and how are we going to get into the building?"
"We're going to steal a new high-end oscilloscope, a Tektronix 2215. The building houses the local distributor for Tektronix. Their usual clients are contractors that service the machines of the Naval Air Station nearby. Luckily for us, the warehouse workers are unionized, and tomorrow is the last day of the spring holiday. Meaning that building will be emptier than usual." They stopped to sit on a bench. "As for how we're entering. Well, I made a lock picking tool and we're going to use that." Sam absorbed everything like a sponge, nodded and said. "We're going to commit burglary and grand larceny. So, what's the plan? You said tomorrow?"
Hanna couldn't help but be giddy by what they're going to do. "We're going to leave tomorrow early. At 6 o'clock we'll meet at the exit of bishop and bike here. I bet the security guard is on a 12-hour rotation. We'll go in 80 mins before the incoming shift comes in and the outgoing shift is tired. My task is to locate and collect the item while you have your own special task." At that, Sam looked excited, but said nothing. "Your task is to go to the back office of the warehouse and change the item inventory list and the item manifest on the computer. Then locate the physical copy and remove it."
"You're planning to make as if the oscilloscope never exists? Nice plan." Sam said with her little devious smile and Hanna replied. "The best 'crime' is one that was never committed. Remember what I always say, never leave a trace, and I trust you that you will do your task well." Hanan pulled Sam into a side hug and said. "It's going to be such a fun adventure!" The two spent the rest of the day scouting their target, making notes and planning. As they parted ways to go home and prepare for the next day, Hanna informed Sam to wear her normal clothes and bring a bag.
The next day, as they were approaching the warehouse, the sun was just about to rise, casting a faint orange glow over the area. Hanna and Sam walked side by side, each lost in their own thoughts. Hanna is confident everything will go according to plan, but looking at her side, she noticed Sam's shoulder is tense with nervousness. She puts her hand on Sam's shoulder to give her some encouragement and said. "It would be fine, Sam. I trust you with my life. You should trust in your skills, trust in yourself, and trust the plan." With that, confidence and determination replaced the nervousness as her shoulder loosen. Sam nodded and smiled. "Let's do this." Hanna could only grin at that.
They approached the rarely used door that's at the side of the warehouse. Hanna pulled out a set of lock picks from her pocket. She has years of experience in doing this, even if it's been decades since the last time she had to pick a lock and was confident in her abilities. She picked the lock within a minute, and they quickly slipped inside, closing the door behind them. "Set time." Whispered Hanna, as both of them fidget with their wristwatch and showed to each other.
The warehouse was dark and musty, with rows of shelves filled with boxes of electronics and supplies. With a nod, they both split up to do their tasks, with Hanna going down the row of shelves. As she turned the corner to go to the other side of the warehouse, she saw a security guard sitting in a chair, his eyes glued to a small TV. Hanna quickly sneaks past the security guard without the idiot even noticing her. She glances at her wristwatch and sees that she still has 25 minutes before she needs to go back.
She quickly approaches the shelves of newly arrived products and begins carefully search for her booty. As she searches, Hanna keeps an eye out for the security guard, making sure she isn't spotted. She knows she doesn't have much time before she needs to leave, so she works quickly and efficiently. After a few minutes of searching, Hanna finally finds what she's looking for: the box that contains Tektronix 2215. She hastily but carefully grabs the box from the shelf and put it in her bag. Looking back at her wristwatch, she saw she has 16 minutes left.
With her task completed, she makes her way back to the meeting point by the exit. Sneaking past the security guard and feeling her spoils straining her back with its weight. When she reached back to at the meeting point, she noticed Sam hasn't arrived. Glancing at her wristwatch, they still have 10 minutes left. Hanna kept a low profile as she waited for Sam and look out for potential threats.
As the minutes tick by and Sam doesn't appear, a feeling she does not know how to describe builds inside her. The weight in her bag feels heavier and heavier. She checks her wristwatch and sees that they only have 4 minutes left. At that point, Hanna decides that she's going to find Sam even if it's not part of the plan. Just as she was going to leave her spot, she saw Sam quickly made her way to the meeting point. Relief washes over her as she sees her friend, and the strange feeling disappears as they swiftly made their way out of the warehouse.
Hanna couldn't help but let out a breath as they made their way towards the park. Taking a quick glance at Sam, she saw she's quite high-strung but extremely pleased with herself. "Did something happen at your end?" Sam glance back with a smile. "The computer was easy, finished that within four minutes. Finding the physical documents, on the other hand was quite hard." They sat down on a bench to watch the sun continue to rise and the town waking up. "I had to go to the main office to find the documents and sneaked past three security guards but one of them was sleeping so on the way back I opened a twinkie and put it in his coffee." Sam said with a smirk plastered on her face.
She couldn't believe in Sam's audacity in her act. Both of them let out a rambunctious laugh at the silliness, draining away any tension that had built up from their adventure. Hanna grins and grabs Sam's shoulder to bring her closer. "Together we both can do anything; the world is our oyster. Nothing is beyond our reach or limit." Sam couldn't help but continue laughing at that, unknowingly searing this moment for the rest of their life.
Laughter stopped after a while, both content with each other company. "Let's go grab breakfast. You can get anything you want. I'm paying you deserved it for such a fun adventure." Later, as they walk towards the diner, Sam couldn't help but ask. "Why the sudden interest in getting an oscilloscope? Got anything interesting planned?"
Hanna lets out a thoughtful hum as they entered and answered after ordering their food. "I managed to get my hands on an 8086 & a 5150 BIOS chip a week ago. Since we already using both for our computer in my room, I thought why not experiment with them. Learn the raw electronic output for both chips. Reverse engineer the chips, find vulnerabilities in their architecture and program. Every system has its flaws, so together we will find it and exploit the computer for fun. To do that, we need the oscilloscope."
Sam's eyes lit up at the prospect. "That sounds great, but don't we need to get every computer's BIOS and the different CPUs? There're a lot of computers out there that aren't IBM PC." Hanna grins at her friend's enthusiasm and answered, "That's true, but all the others aren't Big Blue now are they? I bet you all these suit and tie businesses use it because you can never get fired by buying IBM. With high adoption rate of the PC by businesses, it will just snowball into a general adoption of it. Then the clones of the 5150 will soon flood the market." Sam nodded in understanding. "That's true. I've been seeing more and more of these clones coming soon in the magazines and it's getting cheaper. So you're saying that if we code a program that exploits the vulnerability of the 5150, it will easily apply to other clones. That's going to make your keylogger outdated." A small devious smirk from on Sam's face. "When do we start experimenting?"
Hanna couldn't help but be grateful to that asshat for giving her such an amazing anchor. "You mean our keylogger, and as soon as possible. This opens up so many possibilities for our future adventures. Banks, offices, the DMV. I have so many plans and so many more, and nothing can stop us." Sam looks like she can't contain her excitement as she grabs and squeezes Hanna's hand across the table.
They continue to spend the rest of the day lost to the outside world in each other company brainstorming what they would do, only to be disappointed that time did not wait for them and had to depart each other company. As Hanna lay on her bed with her today spoils already set up on her desktop beside their computer. She couldn't help but feel this might be the best spring day she had experienced in so long.
SAMANTHA GROVES POV
On a scorching hot summer weekend, Sam went on a trip with Han and her family to Corpus Christi. After visiting the Museum of Science and History, they split off from Mr. and Mrs. Frey and are now sitting in the park outside of the museum, enjoying the cool shade of the acacia trees. As they watch the families and groups of people going about their day in the park, Sam can't help but wonder if she'll ever do these kinds of activities with her mother. Hanna must have noticed her sudden shift if her mood to a more melancholic nature.
"You know we shouldn't aspire to want what these people want or have." Sam tears her eyes away from the scenery in front of her to look at her only friend. From the time Sam met Han and got to know her, she always seems to have a disdain for people, even for her own parents. On the other hand, Sam never seems to be able to understand people, they just never made sense to her. Though maybe not Han, she has no regards for rules or laws, never seems to be open with anyone, looks down on others, loves pink color and is motivated solely by the desire to be entertained. To her, Han is quite simple to understand.
"People are not so different from computer systems, as we both know now systems have flaws and vulnerabilities for us to exploit." Han has this sneer on her while looking at the crowd. "Unlike computers whose vulnerabilities come in binary and code. Human vulnerability comes from their emotions, motivations, greed, and pride. You just need to know what button to push to manipulate a person to your desires. Even sociopaths have vulnerabilities, it's just harder to find." Sam wonders what brought this monologue. Was it because of her melancholic feeling and Han wanting to cheer her up?
"I don't know why I would need to manipulate someone. Can't I just do what we've been doing? Computers are so much simpler." Replied Sam as she sees Han giving her a raised an eyebrow while glancing at her. "There're more people than computers, Sam. At some point, you will have to learn human vulnerabilities, maybe not now, but later. You know why I never show my true face and only my façade to people?" Sam shook her head, but her chest tightened at that question. What if Han has always worn a façade for her as well?
"I do it because it allows people to project what they want onto me and allows me to exploit their sense of trust they misplace unto me. It's one vulnerability of humans that's the easiest to exploit. People are just tools for us to use to get what we want." Sam couldn't help but asked. "What are my vulnerabilities?" Hanna gave a pause to think of an answer. "Your mother, you wish she would love you as much as u care about her." A sense of dread builds inside of her as she listens. Has Hanna been manipulating her this entire time? Was she just another tool to her? She had to know the answer.
"Have you been using your façade on me the entire time? Been manipulating me and using me as a tool?" She said with such emotion that she doesn't even know she had. Hanna's head whipped to look at Sam with a frown, shocked and discomfort etched into her face. Hanna placed both of her hands on Sam's shoulder in an attempt to reassure her, but her body continues to be tense.
"You are the only person in this world that knows me for who I really am. I've never worn any my mask for you, and you accepted me for who I am." Sam's body slackened a bit from that but her worry still persist. Han continues, "Sam, you're the only person in this world I care about. I would never lie to you or manipulate you. You are not like other people and a tool for me to discard with." She has never heard Han's voice waver like this before. She has always been confident. "You're my best and only friend. There's no one else like you in this world for me." Han then gives Sam a full body hug, something she has never done before.
Tension and the dread that built up in her quickly washed away, replaced by a comfortable feeling. "I'm sorry for doubting you. I must be a terrible friend." Han broke away from the hug and said. "It's okay, I understand, and you're not a terrible friend. I must be the terrible friend for making you doubt our friendship." Sam felt a sharp feeling in her and replied as she shook her head. "No, no, no. You're not terrible. It's just some traitorous thoughts that came into my head." Han gave her a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's get rid of this dour situation we got ourselves in."
As they stand up to walk towards the busy sidewalk just by, Han said. "I just know what to do to cheer us up. Shall we go pickpocket some unassuming people?" Sam could only smile at the suggestion and said. "The last one to get 100 dollars pays for ice-cream?" Sam baited Han, knowing her competitive streak. Han gave an intense look and smirk "You're on."
It only took 15 minutes for both of them to get 100 dollars from the busy sidewalk. To Sam's dismay, she lost by 7 minutes. As Han received her strawberry flavor ice-cream, Sam could only give a fake glare at Han's shit-eating grin as she triumphally ate her ice-cream. Both were seemingly content to let their earlier conversation go away.
They continue happily having their adventure until they had to leave with Han's parents. On the ride back to Bishop, Sam couldn't help but be grateful and lucky she was for her friendship with Han. They filled the ride home with laughter and sneakily planning for their next adventure behind Han's parents' back.
HANNA FREY POV
On a cool Christmas eve night and the Frey family was gathered in the living room, as per tradition, to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Hanna and Sam sat together, surrounded by her parents as they watched the movie. Though Hanna used to understand the appeal of these kinds of traditions in her first life, she had long since stopped caring about them and had even stopped understanding why people placed such importance on them. She couldn't help but feel bored and restless as they sat through the film.
At least Sam is here with her to make this suffering more bearable. Her mother was awfully fast in accepting her request for Sam to stay with them until the end of the holiday season, after explaining that Sam's mom would work through Christmas. Hanna's mind wanders away as she watches this film for the umpteenth time.
The year seems to have passed quickly after meeting Sam and started doing their adventures. The new school year had been much more enjoyable with her friend by her side, and they had even found ways to sneak around and explore together, making the days more exciting. But the true highlight of the year had been their work in reverse engineering the 8086 and BIOS chip. Together, they had meticulously documented their findings and discoveries, cataloguing the specifications and vulnerabilities they had uncovered for future reference.
Sometime in Autumn, Intel seems to have given up on ignoring us and mail the tome of a user manual for the 8086. We should write to Intel for the user manual of the 80286 and see how long they would ignore us again this time around. The aid of the 8086 manual would help us in programming a malware to gain backdoor access into a system for future endeavors. We should probably get ourselves a compiler for C. Using that language to program would make things much more streamlined and make further optimization in assembly.
Through their activities of redistributing wealth into their loving grace, they both gathered roughly 2048 dollars and loads of electronic parts.
Losing herself in thought, she did not realize the movie was finishing until its ending scene. Hanna gave a glance to her side to see Sam and noticed she's positively vibrating with happiness at that moment. For Sam, who doesn't usually emote her feelings that often, which is are sight to behold. Hanna guess Sam never celebrated Christmas with her mother before and this is a novel experience for her. Hanna wonders if she can invite Sam over every, knowing her mother probably yes.
They retire to her room for the night after drinking some post movie hot chocolate. As she lay in her bed while Sam was on the floor in her father's sleeping bag, she needs to get a bigger bed. "What do you want to do in the future?" asked Sam quietly. Hanna gave a pensive hum and replied, "Most likely? Do things I find interesting. The government would label it as criminal activities, but that's just a difference of philosophy. What about you?"
Sam hums wistfully in response and sleepily answered. "I guess I'll go wherever you go." Hanna lay in silent for a while, appreciating the sentiment. She then turned her gaze to Sam, who was now fast asleep and soon drifted off herself.
On Christmas Day, Hanna and Sam sat on the floor next to the Christmas tree and piles of presents while her parents watched on with a camera to capture the moment. "Hold on, sweetie, let me grab your gift," said her father as he went to the garage, which made Hanna curious. "Go ahead, Hanna, open your present," her mother prompted. She opened the wrapping to reveal a Texas Instruments TI-30 III calculator, and a book titled "The Unix Programming Environment."
Hanna put on a smile for her mother and said, "Thank you mom, I love this. Come on Sam, open your gift." Sam quickly opened her present to reveal a walkie talkie. "I got one in my room. We can communicate easily now." Sam beamed a smile at her. "Thanks, here's your gift." Sam handed me a small box. She opened it and revealed a pink homemade necklace. Hanna smiled genuinely as she received the gift from Sam, "Wow, thank you Sam, I love it." Meanwhile, her mother takes pictures of this moment in the background.
Father came back with a large, perfectly wrapped present that took up most of his torso. Anticipation builds up in her as her father put the present down. "Here's a special present for you." He said with a broad smile on him. Hanna eagerly unwrapped the gift, revealing two IBM boxes with a text saying: Personal computer XT unit and Color Display. "Oh, my goodness, thank you Dad!" Hanna said, putting excitement in her voice as she kisses her father for added measure. "This is the 5160 and 5153. These must cost you a fortune!" Her father laughs at the display of affection and said. "I got a friend who works at the university in Kingsville. They're buying it in bulk and I had them buy one for me as well. Got a discount. Think of this as an investment in your future." Hanna went back to the box and saw Sam looking at it with excitement. "Smile girls." Said mother as she takes a picture of us.
With Christmas morning done, Hanna and Sam quickly brought the new computer into her room and make space on her desk for it. As they place the computer into position, "With this, we can spend more time here rather than the library. We can code our software and test on each other computer." Said Hanna with an unrestraint fervor in her voice. Sam smiled softly at her and said, "You're lucky that your dad got one for you."
Hanna couldn't help but scoff at that and wave her hand dismissively. "Father is very easy sway to do what I want." While she installs the cables, she notices Sam's frown at that comment. Not knowing what causes it, she quickly turns on the computer to avoid any awkward situation like in before. "I've been thinking, the school uses 5150s to keep records, and I noticed that it's connected to a modem. Wanna write a program so we can gain remote access to and change our records without them knowing?" That got the intended reaction, as a devious smirk form on her friend. "You think we can change the attendance record?"