FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 10: Recollect Memories

The following day, students in the cafeteria are more in the heat from yesterday's events as of today's highest trend. The power of social media is always a place where one fallen tree deep within the woods is actually heard without making a sound. Hunter and Keanu were among the witnesses on the campus as they were leaving for their respective homes. The day is still moving forward like normal in the university, but, what else can be helped by the fact that an airplane flew over the campus way too low than normal in its final approach?

"Five bucks for every time they say tarmac." Xavier bet. However, the guys are a little puzzled about his weird statement.

The news on the large flat-screen television placed in the cafeteria blurts out with big news from yesterday's most-talked-about subject that happened in Rexville City. The flat-screen plays news-themed-style introduction music with the REX News Center logo channel. The screen changes to two news anchors sitting behind the desk; both female humans looking well dressed.

"Good day, Rexvilleites!" Said the Caucasian woman on the left. "I'm Wendy Rose."

"And I'm Nelly Martines with breaking news this noon." Said the other anchor brunette woman on the right. "Yesterday, college students from Rexville University were caught by surprise when a Boeing triple-seven passenger jet flew over the campus at a lower altitude."

"That's right, Nelly. It gave no time for students to hesitate to take action by recording the scary event on their cellphones. So far, five videos were uploaded on social media with different angles with the same results from the plane appearing and disappearing to the airport with a trail of smoke coming out of one of the engines. Here we have videos of the events."

The screen cuts to show the first video footage. The shadowed airplane in the afternoon heading right in front of the camera with exclamation shouts from the individual recording it. The plane passes right under the camera, turning around to take another shot of the now passing plane with a smokey engine. More other video footage began to show as Nelly Martinez reports. "This was Capricorn Airlines flight 901 from Sydney, Australia to Rexville City, California. The plane made an emergency landing when one of the engines failed to operate when already nearing to their destination. The plane arrived on the tarmac and all the passenger and crew are safely sound." The screen cuts to passengers leaving off the plane and boarding on busses. Then Wendy was her turn to report, "We also have talked to some of the passengers and they have something to say."

The screen changes with a series of interviews of the passengers with great praise towards the pilots of their well-handled situation. "I was seating on the right side of the plane in a window seat with the engine in the view and while we were near our arrival I heard the engine making noises and turned at the window and saw making sparks and broke down suddenly." Said a kangaroo-man from Australia. "The plane felt like we were in turbulence but with the engine making a dying sound." Said a woman from New Zealand. "Our heroes made an excellent job for taking this seriously and we safely landed on the tarmac." Said an old man.

The screen changes from yesterday's recording last night with a brown-haired man in a suit with a microphone under his chin. He was at the airport with the large aircraft behind him. "The Boeing triple-seven airliner of Capricorn Airlines is out of service on the tarmac until further investigation from the NTSB officials to know what caused the plane's right engine to go off. Planes like this one are made to fly with one engine off in an emergency. This is Garret Simons from REX News Center."

The screen changes back to Wendy Rose. "Capricorn Airlines' spokesperson had made a statement this morning saying, 'As always, safety is our first priority for the passengers and crew. Proper training for all international pilots was all worth it. It's good to hear that this year incident wasn't a tragedy.'"

"Let's also remember that almost two years ago here in Rexville, flight 8085 from Denver to Rexville City crashed after an aborted landing when a phenomenon known as a microburst struck the plane down and crashed near a highway a couple of kilometers away from the airport, killing all, but one, passengers and crew on impact. A newly made monument is in place at Mariposa Park to pay homage to the lost." Finalized anchorwoman Martinez.

The news changes the next subject about the death of the first Californian President that had to retire after three years in office due to serious health problems, now the Vice President had already taken office as the current president which much to the hype on social media by the fact he's a bear-man; the first beast-man president. Nicknaming him "President Monarch".

Then the fellas turned at Xavier in curiosity when they had just heard the said word a few times during the news coverage. "The fuck is a tarmac?" Said Broderick.

"Some fancy word that doesn't even appear in the airport terminology book. Now, pay up." He gestured with one hand. "Fifteen bucks."

"Hey, none us agreed on the bet!"

"Whatever, I was just pointing out how news media can give misleading conceptions and over sensationalism when it comes to aviation. I knew most of you don't know what a tarmac as an airport terminology is." Xavier explained.

"Then, what is?"

"From what I saw and heard; they always associate it when a plane is on the ground. But for those who know about the workings of an airport, knows that the 'roads' have their own names; the runway, the taxiway, and the apron. And last but not least, tarmac is a material that was used on roads, but here's the big problem, they don't use that on airports because planes are heavier than your own car, so they use concrete to withstand the constant take-offs and landings. The news media are just trying to sound 'professionally' and so they don't get a bad rep. However, they're doing the opposite for those who knows about aviation."

"So, are you saying they're making fake-news?" Xerxes asked.

"No, Xerxes is not about fake-news, is about news media who don't know anything about the basics of aviation. They don't even have an expert unless there's been an accident like flight 8085. When I saw an aviation expert and pilot, he talked way better than the news anchors. Oh, and I saw a video on Twitter about a huge A380 -the big double-decker plane- making a simple crosswind landing. The plane struggled but the pilots were trained for it and landed the plane at ease, news media made it more dramatic by titling it: Plane Makes Terrifying-But Triumphant-landing at Los Angeles Airport. Even though, plane spotters know that this is normal, no matter the weather because there's like loads of videos on YouTube about crosswind landings. They are always over-hyping everything just to get ratings."

"I guess news reporters are no compatible than YouTubers," Sergio said.

"Hey, now that you mentioned it," Milagros said. "I saw a YouTuber who claimed that she almost dies on a plane crash, her story was overly dramatic."

Xavier made a static sound and use his right hand like holding a radio speaker. "Ladies and gentle, we're experiencing some turbulence and heavy headwinds, please buckle your seatbelt on." He lets go of his hand from his beak and tried to make a dramatic reaction. "Then a YouTuber be all like: I ALMOST DIE ON A PLANE CRASH!"

Hunter laughs. "I can't believe the news media are desperate for ratings."

"Hey, at least they have the heart to leave alone the sole survivor of flight 8085 from the public." Xavier continued. "Nobody knows who the sole survivor is-other than being a sixteen-year-old fox-boy, of course. The parents and family got to the hospital first before any reporter reach them. So, I assume they live around Rexville."

"But that was, like, a few years ago," Broderick said. "He's probably around in college or taking a repeat grade."

"Well, the only fox-boy I know in this campus is Keanu and no doubt there's like maybe more than-"

"I'm not a fox!" It was finally for the quiet Keanu to speak up through a conversation. "I'm a wolf!" He corrected.

Xerxes blinked at the half-glaring wolf, confused. "You're not a white fox?"

"No," Keanu remarked.

Hunter went in, "Didn't I told you?"

Xerxes shook his head. "Wait! There are white foxes and white wolves?"

"Yeah," Xavier's common tone of irritation and sarcasm voice is kicking up. Almost acting as if he's giving a little lecture. "There's arctic hares, snowy owls, snow leopards, and polar bears, is there another arctic species I should remind you?" Sometimes Xerxes can be a bit off in knowledge in general. Not everyone studies well in biology.

The pink dragon blushed, looks away from the parrot and the arctic wolf, and rubs the back of his neck. "My bad, Keanu."

"It's okay," Keanu said, calmed and forgiving. "Even the news makes mistakes on beastmen's species."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Said Solomon. "I have been mistaken for a jaguar, cheetah, clouded leopard, or a leopard cat."

"I thought leopards were easy to tell," Milagros said. "And there're more types of leopards out there?" She was surprised by the mention of other sub-species.

"Yup," then he smirked at Xavier. "And how about you, Xavier? Were you mistaken for another parrot?"

As usual, he crosses his arms and says, "Nah, not where I came from, people were very familiar as their symbolizing bird of the nation."

"They have called you Paulie before, do you?" The leopard's grins plastered further. He meant the titular character of a movie that started a blue-crowned parakeet.

"Hijo de puta!" Xavier did not take it very comically. He almost wanted to strangle the annoying leopard with his bare hands, but Sergio grabbed him before he could make a scene. It's a rather harmless slang towards colorful avian beastmen since the nineties. His reaction made the whole group laugh.

"Chill out, Xavier, eat a Sneaker, you're hungry when you're in Spanish rage." Sergio laughed with one chocolate bar in one hand from behind him. More laughter incremented which Xavier quieted down from making a further scene.

"You guys are unbelievable." Flushed from Sol's assumption and Sergio's internet reference from a chocolate brand, he sits back down with a stoic expression that reads embarrassment. "I had been mistaken for a blue-crowned parakeet once, not too long ago."

"By whom?" Sol asked.

"You, leopard." He stared with a lack of facials at him. Glare, I'll say.

To try to divert the subject, Milagros steps in. "Well, I have also been mistaken for a jackal and a wolf."

"Yeah, our fur pattern is similar to jackals and sometimes wolves, it depends." Sergio looked at Hunter which he has brown-and-white fur pattern. However, there's a lot of fur color of wolves and are very much in the same family tree. Keanu, on the other hand, he's from a distant cousin of wolf canines.

"Xerxes, you may be a dragon, but have they mistaken you for other reptile species?"

"I... don't know," Xerxes said. He wasn't sure. "People have asked me western or eastern?"

"Why that specification?"

"It's what my dad told me there're two types of dragons in this world. Easterners don't have wings, but westerners have which are kind of small." The pink dragon turns around to show his back, the shirt was hiding well the disappointing features of the westerners' species. "What people don't know in ancient times; dragons have a limited time for flying. Flying was like an exercise after flying three miles average."

"That's new to hear," Sergio said.

"So, evolution took place, it became useless throughout time," Xerxes said. He got this second-hand knowledge from his father. "So, what were we talking about again?"

"Being mistaken for another species?"

"Ah, right!" Xerxes looks at Broderick. "What about you, Broderick?"

"Uh...I don't think so, people, in general, know what a reindeer is. All thanks to popular Christmas culture."

Sol received a text message from Coach Soto and stood up from his seat to make an announcement. "Hey, guys, I have an announcement. This next week in October, there's a soccer match coming up against the West Coasters this Friday. I hope you guys can make it."

"What about Xerxes' game, isn't it next week on Friday too?" Sergio asked.

"Don't worry, that goes after their game on a Saturday, we're competing against the West Coasters' Football team." Xerxes clarified.

"Keanu," Hunter asked, "think you can come and watch the games?"

"I guess..." Keanu wasn't sure. "I mean... I'm not sure if I have any plans this weekend. I'll let you guys know."

"Sure, no problem, buddy." He smiled at him with a pat on his shoulder. "It's Tuesday, so you have all week to decide."

"Sure, and is it true about the team's mascot?" Keanu asked. He heard word-of-mouth from students.

"Oh, Keanu, you're gonna laugh at the worst mascot ever existed." Broderick shows him a picture on his phone. The mascot consists of a walking palm tree with a coconut head and four leaves as hair. "It's like someone was so doped that got it from a Pokémon character turned gone wrong." The reindeer laughed.

"More like Wilson's cousin if you ask me." Xavier nonchalantly said.

"Xavier, are you're playing as goalie this week's games?" Milagros asked.

"Only in the second half of the match, Wendel will be covering the first half," Xavier explained. "Hey, Xerxes, about your suspended player, you have another player to cover for him?"

"Oh yeah. No problem with that. Terrence won't be playing this week's games."

"Why did he got suspended for?" Milagros asked.

"He kicked a bucket of mopping water from the second floor and drenched on Keanu all over," Hunter said.

"My god! That's horrible! What was his deal?"

"Vicky dumped him by the phone, and he got angry, so guess where did he let out his anger on."

"That guy has some issues," Xavier muttered.

"Issues, huh?" Sol heard him, "What about you, Xavier, aren't you gonna meet this hawk guy?"

"Xerxes said he's gonna come over to my dorm after his football practice." He was nervous but knows he cannot stand on his back on the past. "This is gonna be a busy week."

And it sure it is this week...

After class ended for the day, as usual, Keanu and Hunter left the campus and go for their respective homes. Keanu arrived home alone as his father is still on his shift. These are the more common routines when Keanu comes back home after class. He'll routinely do his homework and eat for dinner alone or not and talk with his cousins and uncles on the phone or come over to the newly opened coffee shop. This time he wants to settle and watch some tv and have some of that microwaveable mac and cheese.

His phone bleep for a text message from Hunter as he was coming over to see him. This was new to him but didn't mind for a little company. Hunter already knows where he lives so he's probably coming at any moment. Or right now.

The doorbell rang and Keanu answered. The wolf-man, standing confidently behind the threshold. "Good evening, Keanu." He greeted.

Keanu doesn't know why he's here. "Hi, Hunter, but what brings you here?"

Hunter doesn't want to admit that his brother had locked him out again despite his mother in the presence. She's out for late-night groceries. "I thought I could go come over for a while and just... hang out." He shrugged.

"Alright, I don't mind." Thank goodness he's up for it but he looks questionable with one of his pointy ears lowered and the other still up. "I'm kind of all by myself here tonight."

Hunter walks in in relief or he'll just stroll through the park for the night. "Hah, thanks."

"You're welcome..." Keanu wondered why he thanks him like that all relief as if he has nothing to do but boredom.

Tonight, at Keanu's house is really quiet this time around than last time Hunter had visited. His aunt and cousins were like the only ones that kept the house running alive, but Keanu alone in the apartment is all silent. Keanu and Hunter are just watching television together, watching this new anime show for young adults alike. Keanu started by the third episode so neither Hunter is familiar with the new show. After finishing tonight's episode, Keanu stood up and stretched. It was still early, but he has a reason to do something for the evening.

"So," Hunter began, "anything to do tonight?"

"I have video games we can play." Keanu listed. "But I also wanted to do something with my old cellphones."

"Huh?" Hunter was puzzled. "What are you gonna do with them?"

"Well, you see, I have a micro SD card last week and my old cellphones support them which I can recover old pictures I took in the past that I never did anything with them."

"You never posted them, why?"

"Hunter, those phones are old-fashioned and are not smart-phones like the one I have. Web-browsing isn't very ideal to use them, so I never or figured out how to send it or something. Sending pictures through email or text was... kind of complicated for me. So, anyway, this is my opportunity to recover them. Wanna check them out? It won't take long."

"Yeah, sure." Hunter stood up from the couch. Stretching. He grinned at his friend. "I bet there are embarrassing pictures you haven't erased them yet."

"Uh..." now he regrets this. "I don't think there's anything like that."

"Oh yeah, sure." He teased.

The wolves walked to Keanu's bedroom. His room is cleaned and neat. The queen-sized bed is well placed in one corner that didn't occupy much space and it left the center with wide walking space. Across it, is his desk with a computer where he does most of his homework and playing video games. The walls are still unpainted with just the standard white since Keanu and his father moved recently last summer and his father has plans to paint their new home. On the bed are the old cellphones he had carried in the past, charging up to be ready.

Keanu picked the first device he owned which was a digital camera, fully charged and still working well after ten years without use. "This is my first camera when I was eight."

"Cool, and still have pictures in it?"

"I suppose so. I think most of the pictures in it must be from that summer camp I went with my cousins. This camera requires an SD card which I have this adapter for the micro SD." He opens where the battery is and inserts it and figures out how to transfer all files of photos and videos which took a while to get it done. Since he was an amateur there's about over 400 photos and videos in it. "I really took a lot of pics in this."

"Are they from the summer camp like you said?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah and other miscellaneous things I've taken. Mostly vacation photos, I think." He stood up and made it to his computer and removes the SD card from the camera and inserts it to the computer below the desk. It didn't take long as he clicked to the File Explorer.

"Here we go!" Keanu's tail was wagging. "This is exciting, it's been years since I haven't looked into this."

Hunter stood behind him looking fixedly at the computer screen. Keanu clicked the first file photo which opened another window to display an image of a young arctic wolf with an uncomfortable face due to the flash with eyes squinting. Hunter laughed.

"Ha! Your first selfie!"

Keanu blushed now remembering how it that happened. He did chuckle, "I guess you could say that. My eyes are sensitive to light."

With the same window, Keanu clicked the next picture and so on. The photos were in good quality which impressed Keanu, he didn't notice or paid attention to the camera's capabilities back then. The amateur pictures cut to the summer camp events that Keanu and Cousin Jack and Crystal been to.

"Who's the other wolf next to you?" Hunter asked and pointed. The picture depicts the first day of summer camp, Keanu, Jack, and Crystal are familiar for Hunter but there's another arctic wolf-girl. A yellow-school bus is on the background.

"That's Cousin Cassie, she's from my mother's side. She's one year older than me." Keanu explained. "If I remember, she used my camera more often than I have."

"So, she took more pictures than you have, huh?"

"I think one of the counselors also used my camera under the request of my parents, they wanted to see the fun."

"And... nothing came about?"

"I'm afraid so... mostly forgotten. Until now."

Keanu resumed clicking the next photo, showing the boy's cabin where Jack and Keanu shared. Showing genuine smiles from both. "You look happy," Hunter commented.

"I am. I look ridiculous."

"Oh, come on. That was you as a cub, you'll treasure it."

"I know, that's why I have a picture of Mom on my nightstand." Keanu pointed at a picture frame next to the lamp. A picture of his mother and father with a seven-year-old cub in the front between the couple.

"You like that picture?"

"It was kind of default, but yeah, I kept it." A quick short pause, Keanu resumed his picture quest.

The summer camp pictures showed angles that weren't in Keanu's point of view, some pictures were likely taken from Cousin Cassie as Keanu doesn't remember meeting some of these people in person, she was in another cabin for girls with Crystal and forgot to return it to Keanu. "It never came to my mind what girls they were doing in their cabin." Said Keanu. "What's this? A video?"

He clicked the play button. He knew there were existing videos in his camera, but he didn't know how many. "PILLOW FIGHT!!!!," cried the computer screen and speakers.

Laughter and cheers of girls playing, hitting and throwing pillows each other with millions of white feathers snowing everywhere in the girls' cabin. "What the!?" Keanu didn't have any idea of this. Hunter was laughing.

"Wow, should send that to your cousins, Keanu."

"Maybe later."

"What is going on here!?" The camera panned to the strict voice and saw the girls' counselor by the door. The camera turns back at the petrified girls in frozen and halfway with their pillows in hands. The snow of feathers ceased. "Oh-oh!" They were caught.

"Okay, that was funny!" Keanu admitted. "I'll admit, the video quality of this camera is good. How much resolution it has?" He clicked at the properties of the video and checked the details specification. "480p?"

"Not very HD?"

"Well, the picture quality is good," he clicked at the next picture of a random lake landscape. "Look here, for example, the quality is of 2592 by 1944 of resolution while the videos are just 640 by 480. I knew this was a simple cheap camera, but it still does impresses me."

"When did you get this camera?"

"It was an early summer present before my birthday, you know. This was before smartphones became mainstream. It's old, but you know, it was good for its time when I used it."

The summer pictures were almost endless until post-summer pictures appeared. Keanu's ninth birthday appeared and there was one existing video of him blowing his birthday cake with many family members singing and celebrating. Hunter sat quietly half-behind Keanu as he gets a little emotional. Unpublished pictures of him and his parents together next to the cake. Another video of Keanu blindfolded with a stick to break the candy-filled pinata. Good thing it wasn't a fail video of hitting accidentally at another fellow walking by without noticing. Then it was Jack's turn to smash the pinata which he took off his blindfold and grabbed the star-shaped pinata with his bare hands and pulled it down and ripped the colorful guts out.

"What's wrong with Jack?" Hunter wondered.

"He has his ways and always breaks the rules," Keanu replied.

"Ruining the fun for everyone?"

"He has anger issues if you don't know."

"Isn't that normal for a seven-year-old?"

"I don't know, but he likes how to let out his feelings and rage, he's not a bad person."

The remaining pictures were somehow of a finale for Keanu, for some reason, his father borrowed his camera and some husband and wife moment were displayed, Keanu must have been staying over with his cousins that night because his father Kendall and mother Juliette were seemed to have been on a date together at a dining restaurant.

"Your mother looks lovely," Hunter commented. "She must have been a great mother to you."

"I know..." his voice was a little broken. "These pictures were taken a year before the accident."

"What happened?" Hunter realized what he did. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to ask."

"It's okay, Hunter, it's been eight years now, I can live with it..." He paused and takes a breath. "There was a city-wide police chase in Rexville City, I think you have heard it, a helicopter was keeping track on the runaway. My Mom and Aunt Sophia were hanging out together and spent a weekend there, they took a taxi ride and the cab driver haven't even moved the car forward until the runaway loosed control of his drive and crashed onto the taxi car." Keanu sat there in front of the desk accessing his mind. "Aunt Sophia and the cab driver survived but Mom didn't, she died before arriving at the emergency room." He sighed.

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry, Keanu." Hunter paid respect.

"It's alright, Hunter. It wasn't easy for my dad, too. I had to stayover with Aunt Sophia for a long while until Dad recovers, he was really depressed and... his brothers stayed closer and keeping him from drinking too much. The first time I saw him for over a month, he gained weight and he was really worse than I was. I cried all day and night with Aunt Sophia in her arms for a long week or two until I got settled in the house I was staying in until things were all calmed and Sophia kept comforting me when I was depressed. She did what a mother does, be there for me."

"But what about your father? He looks just fine last time I saw him."

"Dad and I recovered, we were in therapy, he was changing his lifestyle and some advice for recovery. He came back to the force and..." he chuckled behind that slightly pained look. "He lost weight and Uncle Derick told me he was back on track, but better, calling him as your new 'Super Dad'." Keanu laughed despite the lump behind his throat which made Hunter relieved and happy the way how he makes up all this tragedy.

"Super Dad?" Hunter laughed.

"What? Dad's a hero for serving his country as a Police Officer." He wiped one tear from his eyes and breathing calmly.

"Yeah, I know, but your family was there for you in the bad times, right?"

"Yeah, they still are. That's why Aunt Sophia comes regularly here just to check on me to keep me company."

"Ah, that explains it."

"You thought she was my mother, huh?"

He stifled a laugh, "I can always make mistakes."

"It happens. So, uh..." Keanu changed the subject. "Hey, remember when I talked about Jack's birthday and the video game mix-up?"

"Uh... oh! Yeah, is it there?"

Keanu clicked carefully through the pictures until finding the events of Jack's eleventh birthday. By that time, Keanu was fourteen years old and in middle school. Most of the pictures were taken by his father at this event, friends and families were present and a big chocolate cake in the background. A ten-minute video appeared next and people gathered to sing Jack a happy birthday. He blew the candles and his grandmother arrived late to the party and to compensate him for a present which Jack gleefully ripped open the wrapper to reveal a video game he had always wanted to play with...

Only to find out it was the wrong game console...

Keanu remembered every moment like it was yesterday, unlike Hunter which is his first time watching a young wolf-boy having a mental breakdown on plain sight in front of everyone at the party. Just like Keanu said before, he faked a smile and hugged his grandmother before all hell broke loose afterward. His face said it all...

"Wow..." Hunter could not believe it. "He didn't throw a tantrum or anything."

"Even Aunt Sophia could not believe his sudden maturity. I think Sophia must have taught him to be nice to the elders or something."

"It must have been frustrating for him for someone who doesn't know the differences between the two consoles."

"Yeah, and waste of money." He sighed.

The first gallery of pictures ran out, so Keanu moved to the next device; his first cellphone. It's a classic folding type phone for dramatic hang-up calls. It has an in-built camera for pictures, but he remembered how unattractive the video quality was. He got it when he started in middle school and probably barely used it. However, there were still pictures taken during its use. Using the same memory card, he transferred the surviving pictures from the phone.

The pictures showed portraits of an art class he took during middle school when he was drawing and painting. Next was a series of pictures of an outdoor barbecue activity by the local police in Little Lake Town. His father and some of his colleagues brought families along and children playing at the local park. A picture of Keanu with a too large burger on his plate with a doubtful look on his face, it was taken by Jack when playing with his cellphone. The last picture was just a father and son with fishing rods on their hands with one large bass fish still moving with a hook on its mouth.

"You fish?" Hunter asked.

"Once a season," Keanu replied. "That was the first time I ever caught a big fish."

The last device was his high school cellphone. As it says, he got it when he started in Little Lake High. His cellphone was also like his previous with physical buttons to press, it had a Qwerty keyboard when sliding the screen on one side for text messaging. Useful, but by that time, smartphones had been on the norm as students at his school almost everyone had one. Hunter had a closer look at the phone, it was the one he saw on the first day he met Keanu and I looked like it went into some hell hole.

"What happened to this one? There's a crack across the screen and one button is missing." The wolf-man asked.

"I was a little careless," Keanu said. True, his previous devices are well taken cared of than the last phone he replaced. "I accidentally dropped it from the second floor of the school. I thought I almost lost it." He chuckled.

"Heh, it happens." Hunter smiled.

The pictures Keanu recovered were about high school events like marching band, cheerleading, and a football match. And by the end of his years, pictures show Jack and Crystal in marching bands' and cheerleaders' uniform, respectably. Keanu was in his final years of high school until a picture of him in a wheelchair.

"What happened to you? Was that from what you'd said?"

"Yeah, I fell off the stairs that time and hurt my right leg and left arm when I was sixteen, spent the rest of the remaining semester in the eleventh grade rolling on a chair."

"How long?"

"I was walking back again with clutches before starting my fourth year in high school. Good thing the school was prepared for the disabled students. There were a lot of cheerleaders with broken legs." Keanu wishes he can stop this conversation now and stop Hunter from prying some. "Well, that's all of it."

"That's all?" Hunter was enjoying the pictures.

"Yeah, maybe I'll post these pictures and videos to my cousins and share them."

Hunter's cellphone rang, it was his mother. "Hey, Mom."

"Don't you 'hey me'," said Mary Montana with a slightly serious tone, "Where are you? I'm at home and you aren't here!"

Keanu saw Hunter's pointy ears go flinched up higher. "Well... you see, Mom, I'm at Keanu's house, and Rylan... he..." Hunter quick glanced at Keanu before saying anything.

But his mother already spoke, "Really, Hunter? This has to stop, you know!"

"I know, Mom, but I really want to keep myself away from trouble."

"Just come back home, now." Sighed his mother. "Your father will soon come back home in a few weeks. We'll try and figure things out, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Mom." Hunter hanged up.

"Everything, okay?" Keanu asked, a little worried.

"Yeah, just Mom. I am going back now. I'll see you tomorrow, Keanu." He patted his shoulder and left his bedroom, "Oh, hold on..."

"What is it?"

"You really have some good video games there, some of them are for online playing, too. Think in the future we can play in a group?"

"S-sure! I-I have Sky-Board Ryders and has online play."

"You have Sky-Board Ryders, too! My little brother River has the game, too!" as much as both want to have further chat, Hunter has to leave for home across the street.

Hunter is safe tonight, like before, as long his parents are around, Rylan Montana would not be a bother. Hunter is afraid of breaking further the shattered but not broken glass. He is afraid of his young brother without showing it. At least, Hunter found something new to share with Keanu about playing video games online. That made him bring a smile on his face.