//------------------------------//
// The Price of Indifference (WARNING: Mature themes) 
// Story: Live By The Sword... 
// by redandready45 
//------------------------------//

"So when did you first meet Muharib?" Officer Garda asked Quick. The two were sitting in the Juvenile Offender's Office of the Canterlot PD. Quick expected to be in a jail cell. Instead, he found himself in an office. To his surprise, Garda was also trained a child psychologist.

"W-When I was ten years old," Quick said sadly. "B-being the short k-kid, and having a s-stammer, I w-was always b-being picked on in my n-neighborhood."





"Hey Short Stack," a gruff voice said to a 10 year old Quick who was playing a small video game. The voice filled him with some fear. He looked up and saw 14 year old Garble and his Dragons, a gang of three goons that obeyed Garble, looking at him open disdain.

"G-G-Garble," Quick said fearfully. "W-w-,"

"W-w-w-w," Garble said mockingly. "What's a matter, Short Stack. It takes you 3 years to finish a sentence?" His gang laughed cruelly at him. 

"L-l-leave me alone," Quick said with fear. 

"OK," Garble said in a polite voice, "we'll leave you alone." Quick looked at the red-skinned bully with some hope. 

"R-really?"

"But not before we give you a present," Garble said with a nasty grin. The Dragon gang began digging into trash cans, and throwing their contents at Quick. Quick pleaded with them to stop, but they only kept laughing harder and throwing even more garbage. Unable to take anymore, Quick ran away, hearing the mocking cheers of the Dragons.





"So you had no one to defend you?" Officer Garda said. His face remained neutral, so Quick could not tell of Garda was sympathetic or dismissive of his words.

"W-well, th-there w-was o-one p-person," Quick said.





Quick ran into a dark alley, and collapsed in tears. He hated feeling weak, he hated feeling helpless, he hated feeling alone.

"You know," a female voice, "an alley isn't a good place to hide." Quick looked up and saw some green-skinned girl with brown hair looking at him with an odd smile. "Some strange person could sneak up on you."

"Are y-you h-here to l-laugh at me," Quick said shamefully.

"No," the girl said in an exotic voice. "I'm here to tell you that you don't have to let those idiots pick on you."

"R-really," Quick said happily. "Y-your gonna f-fight them." The girl narrowed her eyes. 

"No, you are!" she said.





"Despite being 12, Muharib could take on an entire army," Quick recounted with a smile. "Over the next year, after school, she trained me."





"Come on slowpoke," Murahib shouted to a panting Quick, as they did laps in the parks. "You promised me 10 minutes, its not even been 5, and your already winded. You'll never win at life if you keep doing practice!"





"My grandma could hit better than you," Muharib shouted to Quick, who was hitting a punching bag very lightly, "and she's been dead for five years."





"Tackle me," Muharib shouted to Quick. Quick charged toward Muharib, who quickly took him down with a single-leg take down. 

"You can't just run in like an idiot," Muharib  admonished. "You've got to plan and think quickly."

"OK," Quick groaned.



 

"In there any reason why she trained you specifically," Garda asked Quick.

"M-muharib t-t-told m-me she had an older c-cousin who w-was l-like Garble," Quick said. "H-her c-c-cousin w-was spoiled by h-his p-parents and n-never learned discipline. So, she had no choice b-but to l-learn to defend herself." 

"She sounded like some mean-spirited drill sergeant," Garda commented. 

"M-muharib w-was merciless and h-h-harsh," Quick said with an odd smile. "But her methods did pay...off. Within a few months, I was finally able to take her down myself."





"N-no more," Quick said, panting and cowering as he kneeled on the mat. Murahib, however, had no mercy in left for Quick.

"A true warrior never quits," Muharib said.

"Th-they can r-r-retreat," Quick said. Muharib charged toward Quick, ignoring the smirk on his face. Without warning, Quick put his left foot forward, Muharib tripped. Before Murahib could take advantage of the situation, Quick climbed on top of her back, yanking her arms, and pinning her legs with his feet. 

"A-am I a true warrior?" Quick said with a smirk. 

"Yes," Muharib with a smile. "But seriously, your hurting me", she said. "Please get off."

"O-of c-c-course you want to me-"

"GET OFF!"

"S-sorry," Quick said, climbing off the girl.





"So she helped toughen you up," Officer Garda said. 

"After s-s-six m-months," Quick stammered with a smirk, "I-I w-was finally able to take on Garble."





"Hey Short Stack," Garble said in his falsely jovial voice, as he began his usual routine. His fellow Dragons stood behind him with similarly mean expressions. Quick ignored him and continued to play his video games.

"H-h-how is your video game?" Garble asked. Quick continued to play his video game, almost completely ignoring Garble's existence. Garble frowned a bit. His victim wasn't reacting the way he was supposed. His Dragons were also a little unsettled.

"D-did your mommy make you your favorite-," Without warning Quick got him from his spot, and turned away from him. Garble began bristling.

"Hey get back here you little shrimp," Garble yelled. Quick continued to walk away. Angered at this pride being wounded, Garble charged toward Quick. In one smooth motion, the young redhead brought Garble to the ground using a double leg takedown. Quick took advantage of Quick's shock and climbed on top of the bully. Quick mercilessly began stomping on his head.

"Help me you idiots!" Garble screamed angrily to his gang.

"Hey," one of the Dragons said. "No one messes with our leader." The three other Dragons began charging, only for Muharib to step between them.

"Get out of our way girly," one of the Dragons said menacingly.

"Our what?" Muharib said with a smirk. "This little guy brought down your big, bad leader," she said, pointing with her thumb to Quick, who was still mercilessly attacking Garble. "Guess who trained him? Me." Muharib then raised her fists. "If he can do that to him, what do you think I'll do to you." The Dragons skin went pale. Muharib put her left foot forward, and soon the Dragons all ran away fearfully from him.

"Guys," Garble said tearfully. "Don't leave me."

"Who's t-the b-baby n-now," Quick said with a smile. He then gave Muharib a high-five and walked away to celebrate, leaving Garble to writhe on the ground. Garble screamed impotent threats at the two.





"So you brought down a bully who was 4 years older than you," Officer Garda asked, his attempt at neutrality strained by keen interest.

"N-not a b-big deal," Quick said idly. "G-garble w-was a c-complete idiot. A w-w-week later, I heard h-he g-got a-arrested for stealing a g-game c-c-console. I n-n-never saw him a-again. Anyways, that was the moment when my friendship with Muharib was solidified."

"You don't seem to stammer as much when you talk about her," Garda commented, "at least in a positive way."

"She was l-like the older sister I never had," Quick said. 





It was the last day of summer vacation. The last day before Muharib would begin at Canterlot High. Both Muharib and Quick enjoyed a luxurious feast of candy and pretzels at Quick's house.

"Murahib," Quick said.

"P-p-promise m-me that even w-when y-you b-become a high s-school-er-er, y-you'll n-never f-forget m-me," Quick said.

"Oh please, I'm counting the days 'til you can join me," Muharib said with a wave of your hands. "P-promise me you'll never become mean and stupid like Garble."

"D-deal," he said." The two toasted their arrangement with the finest store-brand grape soda from the local grocery store.





"Of course," Quick said, his voice becoming forlorn, "that's n-not w-what h-happened." 

"So how did you react when you found out about Murahib's arrest," Officer Garda asked. Quick pursed his lips.

"I was angry," Quick said, trying to control his temper. "I-I-I n-n-never believed Muharib w-would ever d-do something l-like that." He looked down and looked up. "B-but as I discovered, I-I was the only one w-w-who did, b-b-besides her parents."





Muharib, clad in a blue jumpsuit, was pushed through various checkpoints, while being shadowed by an overweight female guard with lime green skin and yellow hair.

"W-what's going o-o-on," Muharib asked the guard.

"Y-You've g-got a visitor worm," the guard said in a snide voice. When the door opened, Murahib let out tears of sadness when she saw who it was behind the plexiglass window. 

"Quick," Muharib said in disbelief as she was led to the microphone. 

"I'm here," Quick said. "How've you-," Murahib broke down into tears.

"Muharib," Quick said, his voice fulll of concern. "What's-,"

"Nobody believed me," Muharib said in tears. "All of my friends ditched me. They think I'm some freak." Quick felt his heart ache. 

"B-but you didn't do anything," Quick said.

"T-that's what I s-said," Murahib continued to break down. "But your the only friend who visited me." Quick wanted to cry, but he suppressed his feelings. He felt he had to be brave.

"F-forget about t-them," Quick said in a strong voice. "I believe you. And no matter what happens, I'll be there for you until you get out." Muharib's tears faded, and she looked at Quick with a grateful, but sad, smile.





"Did you know then it was Sunset who planted the knife in Muharib's locker?" Officer Garda asked Quick.

"N-no," Quick said. "I had n-no idea who it was. I never even thought of r-revenge. All I thought a-at the t-time was helping Muharib g-get better. So for the a few months, I visited her every Saturday, while h-her p-parents visited her on Sunday."





Quick and Muharib were allowed to meet in a more relaxed room that allowed them to interact more directly then the one with the Plexiglas window. The two friends began a great philosophical debate concerning the important questions of civilization.

"Huzzah is a word," Quick complained. They were playing a game of Scrooble. So far, it was 25, Quick, 142, Muharib.

"No it isn't," Murahib said

"Yes it is," Quick argued. "I get 52 points."

"It is not a word," Quick argued.

"Yes it is," Muharib said.

"Visiting hours over!" The overweight guard said. 

"But-,"the guard flipped over the Scrooble board.

"Time to go!"  the obnoxious woman said, gently moving Quick toward the exit door. Quick lightly frowned at this guard's rude behavior. 

"See you next week," Muharib said. 

"Huzzah is a word," the uniformed lady said.

"Ha, I kn-knew it," Quick said, sticking out his tongue at the annoyed woman.





"Sounds like you had fun," Garda commented.

"Well, it wasn't all good," Quick said. "F-for one thing, it was jail. That g-guard w-was r-really, r-really mean. I think she's one of those adults who never stops b-being a bully. They call other p-people immature, but th-they like p-pushing o-other people around. I r-r-respected her s-so little, I d-didn't b-other to r-remember h-her name."

"I see those in my profession all the time," Officer Garda said.

"Sometimes the other d-delinquents would b-bully Muharib," Quick said. "A l-lot of th-them came f-from broken f-families who never visited them, a-and th-they would b-be j-jealous of someone who did get visits."

"I see a lot of that too."

"But th-things mostly worked out," Quick said. The anxiety began returning to his voice. "U-until a-about s-six m-months a-ago. A-about th-three months before I showed up."

"Is that when you say the abuse started?" Officer Garda said. Quick looked down, almost on the verge of tears.

"Quick, I know its painful for you, but you have to tell me," Officer Garda said gently. After a few moments, Quick regained his composure.

"A-anyways," Quick said, "the f-fat guard g-got r-r-replaced. I-I think she left a door open. O-or something." He took a deep breath. "A-anyways, a new g-guard came in." His faced turned red. "A-and she seemed n-nice."





Muharib came out, this time with a new guard.

The woman was a far cry from the pachyderm sized woman who came before. She had clean alabaster skin with no blemishes, a svelte figure, and beautiful blue hair that flowed down her back.

"You must be Quick," the woman said kindly. "Muharib told me all about you."

"She did?" Quick said. 

"You're the nice boy who keeps my gal pal company," the woman said. "I wish I knew someone as," she batted an eyelash, "as sweet as you."

"Quick," Muharib said happily, "this is Sea Breeze. Our newest guard."

"N-nice to m-meet y-you," Quick said. The woman began petting him on the head.

"Nice to meet you too," Sea Breeze said, slowly running her hand from Quick's head to his neck, before tickling him lightly on his bicep, and giving him a smile that seemed a bit too wide, much to Quick's mild discomfort.

"Well, I better let you two have your time to hang out," Sea Breeze said, before walking out.

"She's really nice," Quick said, with an odd smile.

"She's awesome," Muharib said. "She's not as restrict as the fat lady, and she gives us snacks if we behave."





"Sea B-b-reeze seemed nice," Quick said in an uneasy voice. "L-like Muharib said, sh-she w-wasn't nearly as m-mean. S-she even got us some ch-chips...and....g-g-gave us e-extra time to talk."

"When did you deduce she was a predator," Garda asked. 

"I'm getting there," Quick said uncomfortably. "After that v-visit, I t-tried to v-visit h-her a-again. B-but th-they told m-me sh-she w-was sick. H-her parents w-weren't a-allowed to s-see h-her." Quick bit his lip and took a deep breath. "B-but sh-she d-didn't r-respond t-t-to m-my l-letters or ph-phone c-calls." He looked down and then looked up. "A-and th-this w-went o-on f-for three weeks before-," Quick began stammering so much, he couldn't say a single sentence.

"Quick," Officer Garda said sympathetically. "If it hurts to talk, just write it out for me." Quick pulled out a pen and paper and wrote it down.






"M-muharib," Quick screamed as he ran into the jail hospital. What he saw nearly destroyed him.

Muharib was lying in bed, so still she looked like she was made of stone. He saw Muharib's parents were there, also completely destroyed, bawling over what happened to their daughter.

"What happened?" Quick asked, tears running down her eyes. 

"She and her friends tried playing on the roof," Sea Breeze said, walking into the room. "And she tripped and fell." She gave a pointed look to Muharib. "Isn't that what happened sweetie?" For some reason, Muharib seemed to shake a little.

"Yes," Muharib said, almost whimpering, "that's...what happened."

"But don't worry," Sea Breeze said, walking over to the now paraplegic girl, "you'll be going to a nice hospital for...good little girls like her." Sea Breeze ran rubbing the inside of one of Muharib's paralyzed leg while looking at Muharib with a kind smile. For some reason, Muharib began shaking further. 



"I-I didn't know what h-happened," Quick said, "but I didn't b-by th-that Muharib fell off the roof by a-accident."

"Really?"

"M-my first thought was that Sea B-breeze p-pushed her o-off," Quick said. "Or s-something."

"So when did you deduce it was sexual abuse?" Officer Garda said.

"I was in the 7th g-grade," Quick said,"th-that is when w-we t-take sex ed." He took a deep breath, "A-anyways, f-for o-our s-sex ed course, we h-had a sexual a-abuse s-survivor."






Usually, when Quick's classmates took the sex ed course, they acted like immature idiots. But for once in their lives, they were speechless as the man opened his sleeves.

"I-I slit my own wrists," the man said, revealing the areas he attacked his wrists with razor blades. He was rail thin, with baggy clothes, and he looked he had seen 100 puppies die. "I felt so disgusting, I didn't want to live. That's why you k-kids," the man stopped at he felt himself beginning to shake again, "b-be careful about who y-you accept r-rides from.





"What I s-saw in that m-man's eyes," Quick said, pursing his lips. "I saw in Muharib. The way that poor man's predator behaved, I saw it in Sea Breeze. I knew then that Muharib was raped, and she threw herself off the roof to deal with it."

"Did it ever occur to you to talk to-," Garda began, before Quick started laughing. It was a not happy laugh, but the laugh of someone too angry to yell. 

"Y-yes," Quick said with an angry smile. "I d-did wh-what all the cartoons and PSAs taught me to do: I t-told m-my m-mom."





'Why can't we go to the police?" Quick said to his argument with his mom.

"Because you can't," His mom said, without looking from her chores.

"Why not," Quick persisted.

"Because I said so," his mom continued, "now go away, I'm busy."

"You were watching TV when I asked you the question," Quick said angrily.

"Boy, shut up or I take away your TV," Quick's mom.

"Why can't we tell someone! Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Because in Osprey, if a woman was raped, she would be outcast," Quick's mom said angrily. "If she threw herself off a building and survived, she would be outcast. If people find out Muharib was raped and through herself off building, her family would be hated."

"That doesn't make sense," Quick said angrily.

"That how it is?"

"Why?"

"Quick, shut up or you get no dinner!" Quick's mom said.

"But-,"

"One more word, and you sleep outside!" Quick's mom said, her face as red as her hair. Quick pursed his lips and reluctantly.

"Good," Quick's mom said. "Now get out of sight." Quick angrily stormed upstairs, stomping his feet.





"I talked to M-muharib's parents," Quick said angrily,"and they felt the same way."

"Are you serious?" Garda asked Quick, his neutral face strained by some anger.

"Yeah, b-blaming the victim is part of the A-aljana [1] faith," Quick said disdainfully. "Y-you kn-know, p-people say kids are stupid. But a-adults seem to have their own b-brands of stupid too. A kid might b-believe the c-cartoon c-characters on TV are actually talking to him, but at least he won't b-blame a girl is s-someone else hurts the girl."

Garda pinched his nose as he took notes.

"Did you try talking to someone else?"

"Yeah," Quick said with an angry smile. "Teachers, police, reporters. B-but I usually g-got the s-same r-response."





Quick forced a smile as the police officer continued to pat his head.

"Your a brave kid for reporting this, Short Stack," a portly officer said as he stopped patting Quick on the head.

"You did the right thing," the skinny one said in a condescendingly nice tone.

"So wh-when are you g-going to I-investigate," Quick asked them with strained patience.

"We'll see what the boys at the crime lab will say," the fat officer said.

"And we'll let you know," the skinny one said.






"But they would n-never l-let m-me know," Quick said with a growl. "They made promises, and then t-they would forget about me." Quick said.

"Are you serious?" Garda asked him.

"I have proof of all the reports I tried to file, and a-all the ;-letters I sent if y-you d-don't b-believe me," Quick almost yelled, before taking a deep breath. "But n-no one cared what a short, s-stammering kid like me had to say. And no one c-cared about what happens to a bunch of d-delinquents. No one c-cares about wh-what happens to a-an Aljanan ch-child. Vida, when they tell you 'tell an adult', they should add an a-asterisk th-that says 'some adults are shallow idiots who belittle you because your short.'"

"So what did you do about Muharib," Garda said.

"I k-kept visiting her," Quick said. "She's my friend. B-but, s-something in her died that day. S-something tough, s-something cool. Sh-she used to l-love l-life, and now she h-hides in her apartment all d-day and doesn't try to have fun." Quick nearly cried. "That w-woman d-destroyed her. And everyday, I have to see th-that destroyed person. And it h-hurts how she b-blames herself. It hurts how she d-doesn't go out. It t-tears me up seeing s-someone so g-great become a mess.

"When did you deduce Sunset was the one who framed her," Officer Garda asked Quick.

"It was my third day of school," Quick said. "And S-sunset w-was, to put it mildly, a jerk."




Quick looked with horror at what the girl with fire hair was doing. The pink haired girl was lying curled on the ground while Sunset held a pink plastic lunchbox over her head, a nasty grin on her face. To Quick's shock, fire-head poured the lunch over Fluttershy's head. 

"Enjoy your meal," Sunset said in a falsely sweet tone, before walking away, leaving the yellow girl crying on the ground. Quick went up to Fluttershy to help her up.

"Are y-you OK?"

"Yeah," the yellow girl said with a whimper.

"Do y-you w-want me to go beat her up," Quick said.

"No," Fluttershy said. "People who cross Sunset will always regret it. Without knowing it, she could make you a laughing stock."

"Really," Quick said, his mind consumed by intense thoughts.





"I already d-didn't l-like Sunset for being G-Garble if G-Garble was a girl," Quick said, "but when I learned about the things she did-,"

"You put two and two together," Garda finished.

"But it was only after the F-Fall F-Formal that I knew for sure," Quick said. "W-When I heard she f-framed that Twilight girl for v-vandalism, there was no d-doubt in my mind that Sunset was r-responsible."

"Did you ever considering your teachers or friends this," Garda asked.

"Well, I figured it worked so well the last time," Quick said sarcastically, "why b-bother. But even then, I didn't care about Sunset. Until my-," he paused, "I went to v-visit h-her that n-night and th-through paint at her."

"And," Garda said.

"And," Quick said. "It just...f-felt good. It felt like....I w-was d-doing something. It felt like...I wasn't u-useless. But I didn't bother her after that. Mostly because I was nearly c-caught. I would've been fine if she was gone. If sh-she w-was expelled, I wouldn't have c-cared." Quick looked down. "But w-when I heard she w-was g-gonna come back, I just got...mad."

"Why?"

"Again," Quick said, "because M-Muharib got sent to j-juvie for f-far less then what S-Sunset did. It just wasn't fair."

"So you felt getting Sunset to leave would've evened the odds," Garda said.

"Yeah," Quick said. "I d-didn't w-want her dead. I j-just wanted her gone. Th-the notes. The p-push d-down the st-stairs-"

"But you did nearly drown her," Officer Garda said with a frown.

"I d-didn't mean to do that," Quick said. "I'm not tr-trying to excuse that. I just w-wanted to intimidate h-her. But...s=seeing the girl who ruined M-Muharib's life and seeing her being a-allowed to get away with so much....I lost it."

"She did get community service and probation," Garda said.

"That's better than being j-jailed, r-raped, and p-paralyzed," Quick said. "And I attacked Applejack and Twinkle because...I w-was m-mad that they gave S-Sunset a ch-chance, but no one bothered to help Muharib."

"I see," Garda said in a neutral tone. "You were angry at the people who failed to help Muharib, you felt powerless, and you took your anger out on Sunset because she was the easiest target. Yyou also attacked your classmates out of jealousy. And you attacked your principal because you resented how she did little to help Muharib while helping Sunset."

"Yes." Quick said.

"Well, let me tell you something," Garda said. "First of all. I'm sorry for what you and Muharib went through. What happened to her was wrong. It was wrong for Sunset to frame her, it was wrong for Luna to punish her the way she did, it was wrong that she got raped-which I will investigate-and was driven to throw herself off a bridge, it was wrong for her to lose her legs, and it was wrong for the adults in your life to ignore what was happening and ignore what you were saying." He then narrowed his eyes "However, your behavior was completely and utterly unacceptable. You had no right to hurt the people around you, and you had no right to attack your principal."

"Oh I'm wrong," Quick said incredulously. "Wh-what do you do when your b-best friend is b-being abused? Wh-what do you wh-when no one listens to you? What do y-you do wh-when an innocent person suffers while a g-guilty p-person gets to make friends?"

"Like I said, life can be unfair, and I wish it wasn't," Officer Garda said. "But you have proven that you are no better than Sunset. In fact, your just as bad as that Sea Breeze woman."

"How?"

"You made life unfair for the people around you," Officer Garda said. The statement gave Quick pause. "You're upset that Muharib was traumatized? Well you traumatized Applejack. She has PTSD and she has to live a long time with what you did. How do you think her family felt about her being too scared to get out of bed?" Quick's bravado faded a bit. "Your upset that Muharib was crippled? Well, you nearly crippled Gilda and Twinkle. Imagine if Gilda gone blind, and couldn't be a soldier like she wants." Quick frowned even more. "Twinkle was your teammate, and if you had been less careful with the baseball, you could've broken his neck and ended his athletic career." Quick frowned even more. "You wailed on your vice-principal. Imagine if you had been less careful, you could've done serious damage to her." Quick's lips began trembling. "You're upset Muharib went to jail for something she didn't do? Well Sandalwood nearly got arrested because of you."

"I didn't m-mean for the poster to be there," Quick blurted out. 

"But if he had been arrested, would you have spoken up?" Officer Garda said. Quick let out shameful frown. "See you were so angry about what Muharib went through, you didn't see that  you were putting your classmates through the exact same thing. You're no better than a psychotic little thug."

"I'm not," Quick protested. 

"Oh really," Garda said. "Listen to this." Garda hit a key on his keyboard and a voice began recording. 

"Until h-he g-got in m-my w-way," Quick said, clenching his fist. "If you hadn't sp-spread y-your l-legs for h-him, h-he would h-have been O-okay. B-but h-he ignored my w-warning a-and decided t-to m-make y-ou his little slut. Th-this is his fault. H-he d-didn't l-listen t-to m-my hints. N-neither d-did cowgirl."

"B-because you're a d-disgusting s-slut," Quick said. "And you deserve to have your throat cut."

"Th-there's only one th-thing I want," Quick said mercilessly. "It is f-for y-you to do the world a f-favor, t-take a g-gun, and b-blow your f-fucking b-brains out." Sunset started to cry even more from fear. "B-but the n-next b-best thing is for y-you to just l-leave and n-never c-come b-back."

Quick looked utterly mortified by what he was hearing. He sounded so angry, so insane, so monstrous. When the recording ended, Quick was on the verge of tears.

"I w-wasn't trying to b-become a thug," Quick said fearfully.

"No one does," Officer Garda said, the severity in his voice dying down. "No one likes to think of themselves as the bad guy. That's why you shouldn't hate. That's why you shouldn't take revenge. Because when you do both, you can justify any horrible thing in your mind. And eventually you become horrible."

"I'm sorry," Quick said, finally losing his composure and breaking down. The tears flowed through his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Officer Garda said, rising from the desk to pat his head. "But let me be clear, it isn't enough to say sorry. You're most likely going to be doing community service. You're also going to have a counselor come visit you once a week for the next few months to make sure. I also spoke to your vice principal." 

"What did she say," Quick said, steeling himself for the worse.

"She admits that she was wrong to punish Muharib the way she did." Officer Garda said. "So instead of expelling you, she's suspending you for a few months. And your going to have you do chores for her every Sunday to pay off the damages done to the office."

"That's fair," Quick said solemnly. 

"Let me say one more thing to you," Officer Garda. "I deal with kids like you all the time. Kids trapped in situations they don't want to be in. Kids who feel helpless. Kids who get hurt. And, like you, they try and lash out because their hurt. But that's never the answer. Hate is never the answer. From now on, if you want to make it up to me, you must always take the high road. You must always be good to everyone. No matter what circumstances you go under, you must always try to be better those who hurt you. Would it be fair if the kids you hurt got revenge on you? Or if they decided to hurt your mom to get back at you?"

"No," Quick said sadly. 

"Because if they did, I would defend you," Officer Garda said. Quick looked surprised through his tear-soaked eyes. "Because I believe all of us must care and share for one another. You must not only care for Muharib. You must care for everyone around you. Promise me that you will do as your Vice Principal and always strive to be better. That you will not live by hate. You always strive to be good, no matter what you go through."

"I promise," Quick saidfirmly. "But what about S-s-sea B-breeze? Who kn-knows h-how many g-girls she hurt. I don't c-care what happens to me, as long as that m-m-m-monster goes down."

"I'll do what I can," Officer Garda said reassuringly. "Are you planning some revenge scheme against Sunset?"

"No," Quick said honestly. "-I'm s-still kind of m-mad at her. But, r-revenge didn't help me. I didn't feel better. I w-won't hurt her again."

"Good," Officer Garda said with a smile. "See your already learning. If he helps, she's also in trouble too."

"I don't...r-really c-care m-much," Quick said tiredly. "I j-just w-want th-the g-girl wh-who t-taught m-me t-to f-fight b-back."

"I could get her some counseling," Officer Garda said.

A knock on the door was heard. In stepped Mrs. Pace. Quick flinched away from his mom.

"Mrs. Pace," Officer Garda said, "may I speak to you privately".

The woman gave a simple nod. Nervously, the short redhead stepped out of the room, while his mom and the cop spoke.

It was half an hour, the longest half hour Quick had known, before his mom stepped out of the office, with the same inscrutable expression. The two of them walked in complete silence until they reached the car. They stared at one another before Quick's mother took a step toward him.

Quick flinched, in fear he was going to get beaten. Instead, his mom hugged him.

"I'm sorry Quick," his mom said, tears running down her eyes.

"I'm sorry mom," Quick said, tears running down his own eyes. "I won't ever do it ever again. I p-promise" The mother and son bawled and bawled in the parking lot. When it was over, they still held one another, while Quick's mom rubbed her son's head and assured him he still loved her.