A Power Game

They ate breakfast at a small restaurant, perfectly named `the corner`. It was a nice place, and the food was good. The waitress was cute, and she flashed Mhykol the 'call me' sign behind Milly's back. He tipped well. He would never understand why women were attracted to him. It wasn't all women, and Mhykol had never found himself attractive, but they did seem slightly drawn to him. It was as if they couldn't see that he was bound to a wheelchair.

In a way, it was kind of nice.

The walk back from the restaurant, though technically Mhykol didn't walk, was cool and invigorating. Around their block, the air smelled constantly like cheap gasoline and expensive cigarettes, backed lightly by the sweet smell of apples. One of their neighbors grew an apple tree in their front yard. The only sound was the crunch of feet on gravelly cement, and the creak of his wheelchairs wheels.

As they strolled along, people gave them odd looks, but that was as to be expected. Milly looked like a supermodel, completely unfitting of the rough streets of Los Cereos, he was in a wheelchair, Sidney almost shared her mothers looks, and was possibly made cuter by her youth, and then there was Roman. He probably drew the most looks of all, though he was the most normal of them all. He ... sauntered. There was something about the way he walked; the way he strode with a straight back and almost cocky swing to his step that marked him out. To most people, it put him as a teenage boy who thought too much of himself, but Mhykol knew differently. Roman had one thing that was incredibly unusual in people, something almost everyone else lacked.

Confidence.

At fourteen, Roman was a first-degree black belt in both Karate and Krav Maga. He had also trained under some of the greatest Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, and Jeet Kune Do instructors in the the known world. Mhykol knew that the boy beside him could kill an armed man in a hundred different ways, in less than three seconds. He may look like a fit, dorky teenager, but looks were deceiving. Mhkyol almost wanted someone to attack them just to see the boy in action again. He was a wolf trapped in a teenagers body.

Unfortunately, no one did.

The four travelers stopped as they reached the door of the apartment. The building itself was nothing special, a simple red-brick structure reaching seventeen stories off of the long street. It was flanked by two almost identical apartment buildings, one in white-brick and the other in red-grey stone. A golden banner flapped quietly against the brick, announcing the apartment as the 'Peasant's Palace (rooms for rent/sale!)'.

As they couldn't take the stairs, all four had to load themselves into the elevator. It was a tight squeeze, but they had managed before, and they managed again. Hitting the button for floor 10, Milly squeezed back between Mhykol and Sidney.

"Are you excited, Mhykol?"

Mhykol paused, running his pale, stormy eyes along the gilded top of the elevator door. For the life of him, he couldn't think of any reason he would be excited.

"For?"

Milly's mouth almost dropped open in surprise, forming into a perfect ruby ring.

"Your birthday present, of course!"

"You know Milly, my life's kind of good enough."

Mhykol didn't mean it rudely, but Milly frowned, smacking him lightly in the back of the head with her open palm.

"Well, it's your birthday, so I bought you something." She paused, biting the long, red painted nail on her thumb lightly. "I think you'll like it. Thought I'm kind of worried you'll like it a bit too much." She winked at him.

"You know we don't really have the money for expensive gifts, right?" Mhykol's voice was grateful, but suspicious. Milly gave him a vexed look.

"Of course I do. I am the one that buys groceries for all of you after all."

Mhykol held up both hands in a gesture of apologetic defeat. Sometimes, he had learned, you just have to let the woman have her way. It usually turned out better for you anyways.

Take that how you will.

The key clicked in the lock as Milly twisted it, pushing open the apartment door. The lights were off, so Milly flicked the switch and the electricity buzzed as yellow warmth flooded through the room.

"We've got like fifteen minutes before school."

Milly spun on Roman with a shocked expression, one hand flying to her mouth. "It's a twenty minute walk!"

Roman shrugged. "Yeah. Darn. Alright, Mhykol, let's open those gifts!"

Milly tried to shoot Roman an irritated look, but she broke into a smile halfway through and gave up. Walking past Mhykol to the cupboard, she bent down to one knee to retrieve something. Whatever it was, it was large. About the size of a football helmet, Mhykol thought.
Suddenly, his mind whirred to life.

... It couldn't be!

"Sorry, Mhykol. I didn't have time to wrap it, but I was working late and it only came out last night." Milly turned to face the children, and for the first time in Mhykol's life, he was too shocked for words.

"That's a Netgear."