T.W.: Bullying, Harassment.

Lester was confused, he needed his mother's help in this important matter for him and Victor.  He went to the hospital, telling himself in his head that it wasn't fair to bother her with his personal business, though Mira would never have forgiven him if he hadn't been honest with her.  Lester sat next to his mother in her room.  He didn't give her many details, but he did tell her about his conversation with Benxamin and his behavior after the shipwreck. She was much thinner, weaker, and constantly thirsty, but aware of her son's suspicions about what was happening to the twins.

But suddenly, she changed the subject,

“How have you been doing with your studies?”

“I'm... f-fine, mom,” he said hesitantly.

“Don't lie to me, you enrolled in that film academy.  What happened?  I'll ask your father.”

Lester didn't say anything but the supposed academy ended up being a scam where all his money was stolen along with other young applicants who also wanted to venture into the world of cinema. The savings that he and his parents paid for his studies vanished in one payment. The chances of getting that money back were slim. Although he wanted to share what had happened and not behave like the others, Mira didn't deserve any more bad news. James agreed as well; a little peace was only fair for her.

After making many excuses to his mother about his “classes”, Mira realized that Lester wasn't going to tell her that truth, so she left the conversation for another time.  She asked her son to call Marcus Nel, a friend from high school.

An hour later, a 45-year-old man arrived, dressed in black, with a gray jacket. He greeted Lester in a courteous manner.

“It's been a while, Mr. Haydar.”

“I'll be 18 soon, Mr. Nel,” Lester said.  He barely remembered the man since he had only seen him as a child, but the burly guy had a habit of talking to Mira and James on the telephone from time to time.

“Son,” Mira expressed. “I need to talk to Marcus for a moment. Please go home.”

Her intention was to be alone with an old friend, to discuss much more serious matters.

“What do you know about Victor?” she asked.

Marcus, a private detective with more than 20 years of experience, sat next to her with his arms folded. 

“He works for a certain Ernest Witsel. The man has a long criminal record: drugs, arms sales, human trafficking.”

“I need you to rescue the boy.”

“I have a friend who helped me coordinate a meeting with that Ernest. According to him, Victor is a good salesman? I told one of his assistants that I was working with a foreign investor but his English is not very fluent. This will take months, Mira. I can't get him out of there that easily.”

“Please help him,” she pleaded.

“I'll try it. But the boy will need a good lawyer. A maximum of two or three years in prison.”

***

Lester had to lie to Mira not only with the scam. He got a full time job in a mechatronics shop; his dream of being a filmmaker was cut short at that time.  Over the months, in this new experience he learned so much about computers that he understood that this had to be his plan B - as his mother once told him.  Even though he wasn't making enough money from his new job to try again, he didn't give up. He was just going to put off his true dream for as long as it took.  He could have used the money sent by Victor, but he didn't want to go the easy way and was going to sacrifice himself to achieve it.

He began to study programming language through his employer's teachings; he had learned mathematics the hard way but ended up having a certain taste for them.  And while he worked, his thoughts were focused on Victor and what he was doing.  About his life, about his well-being, and about whether that elusive first date was going to be possible.

Then Lester thought of Marcus, as well as Mira's interest in talking to him at the hospital. This man was not an ordinary person, or a mere individual who easily overlooked some crucial detail. He had solved important cases related to murders and kidnappings. But Lester could not be compared; he was not a detective but just a 17-year-old boy who wanted to make his friends happy as he had promised Mrs. Anaís Dautt.

He thought of doing something more prudent, he decided to look for Benxamin directly at his university.  He wanted to confront him and thought that if his friend refused to help him it was because he knew that Victor was putting his life at risk and protected others with his silence.  Lester always admired Benxamin. He was the prototype of his ideal man: smart, charismatic and eloquent.  Just as young Dautt's popularity and respect had increased considerably in his childhood, it was no exception in this new phase of his adult life.  Most of the students looked up to him almost as if he were a god.  And that god, as he grew in recognition, also grew in the unbridled hatred of other youths.

Lester, not knowing the university campus very well, decided to wait for him in an internal cafeteria. During the two hours that he stayed there, he was able to hear strange rumors about Benxa. Some young people said that he had a relationship with a professor and they were seen in an embarrassing situation. Others brazenly claimed he plagiarized graduate student projects and even accused him of “unorthodoxly bribing” the dean just to get better grades. In that span, he was able to witness the kind of situation his friend was facing.

“Benxa!” Lester said when he saw him.

“Lester? What are you doing here?”

Lester wanted to know about Victor, but he couldn't ignore what he'd heard from the others; “are these guys doing the same thing to you as Marcel or me when we were bullied? Do you know what that means?”

“I see, so you've heard those rumors. Every time I walk past a student, they give me strange looks. But you know, if I let it get to me, I won't be able to prove them wrong. I can get out of this on my own. Don't worry about me.”

Lester took his arm, incredulous at his response. “Come on! We have to do something. I'll help you, we can talk to a professor or even the dean. Let's not let them make fun of you anymore.”

“I already tried. Bullying increased much more, plus we are adults. This doesn't affect me in the slightest. They can think what they want about me. Please, Victor and I lead our lives differently than you or Marcel,” Benxamin wanted to tell him more about the bullying - but like Victor - his situation worsened to the point that some students threatened to attack him and he constantly received anonymous phone calls at midnight to scare him. Instead of seeking Lester's compassion, he remembered for a moment Mira's last wish - to take care of her son. And just for that, he didn't want to go into details of everything he was facing.

“Enough!”  Lester understood that he was doing the same to his mother - he was lying to protect her - but the circumstances were completely different.  “I'll tell you one more time: if something happens to your brother, it's because we didn't do anything to help him, and the same will happen to you.”

“I will be the best version of all those losers. I'm not going to waste my time with people who have nothing useful to do with their lives. We went through a shipwreck. It became clear how strong we can be, and if we survive that, we can survive anything.”

Benxa approached Lester because he wanted to confess something else to him.  “If you want to talk to Victor, I can help you with that.  You know where he works, you wait until dark and follow him.  He hangs out at a nearby bar with some employees.  Dear friend, you have changed a lot. I'm glad that you are like that.  When I was younger I thought that I could be in control of everything and that others had to get used to me.  I realized that I have my limits and I stopped myself emotionally to be exceptional.  My brother took risks as a child to do what he wanted and now he is a coward and a complete stranger to me.”

“Victor,… ” Benxamin continued, “… he doesn't want to face reality and he's used to being conformist. But he also doesn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.”

“Maybe if we help him, we can talk some sense into him. He has always cared about us. We have to reciprocate,” Lester said.

“He doesn't want to listen to reasons.  It took me a long time to realize that he was here in the city.  He doesn't answer my calls like he doesn't care.  There are people who are immersed in their negativity.  All my life I listened to him, and after we were lost at sea, he changed. He told me not to interfere in his life.”

“Please, come with me. He needs you, Benxa. Don't give up now.”

Benxamin thought it was not worth trying. But he loved Lester and he was going to do it for him, but only for the last time. "Okay, can you wait for me for a moment? I'll be back in a moment and we'll look for Victor.

***

After several conversations with some of Ernest Witsel's subordinates, Marcus managed a meeting with Victor, who agreed with him to sell counterfeit products to be commercialized.  They were both going to meet at an exclusive bar to celebrate the deal; which was the same place where Lester and Benxamin were supposed to go. Victor drank a few beers with Tamara who didn't leave him alone for a second.  In a drunken moment, she dragged him out of the bar into an alley to kiss him.  He seemed used to this kind of situation, but he still felt uncomfortable letting himself be touched by her in a non-consensual way. In her twisted thoughts, she believed that one day he would love her.

He walked away from Tamara with the excuse of going to the restroom. Marcus, who was witnessing everything, followed him for a few minutes. But realized that he took a different path; he walked to a parking lot to relax a bit.  Victor lit a cigarette as if that would help him forget his encounters with that woman.  Marcus approached slowly.

“Victor Dautt,” said him.

“Hey! Can we talk inside, okay? I'll buy you a drink.”

“I'm friend with Mira Haydar.”

Victor froze, but tried to hide his surprise.

“I'm with my girlfriend, bro. I'm sorry about what happened with Lester. I thought I was attracted to him.”

“I never said that's why I came here,” Marcus responded.

“So what the hell do you want?!”

“How much money do you owe Ernest?” Marcus said. “I need you to give me as much information as possible about the business.  I know he's watching you too, but I can help you get back to your family.”

“I owe him so much money that even if I retire, he won't let me go. He told me that if I marry his daughter, I could pay off my debt and leave my brother and Stella alone. He told me that he would help me with Mrs. Haydar's treatment and that Lester could study at the best university. The old man told me all that and more.”

“Why would someone like you have all those benefits? Marrying his daughter has to be just the beginning of something else. Don't you believe it? You're a different guy than average just like your brother, but staying with you after all this time is because you're someone he cares about too much. I wonder if he has some sort of attraction to you. If this had happened to Benxamin he would have acted differently, right?”

Tamara appeared; “is something wrong, honey?”

“Let's go.”

Victor did not take Tamara by the hand but made her understand that she should follow him back to the bar. Once inside, he accidentally bumped into a man while trying to push his way through the crowd. When he vaguely apologized - he saw him - he was in front of his elusive date.

Lester took his hand, which slid slowly away as Victor turned his back to leave with Tamara for more beers.  

Then the young man yelled; “don't ignore me, VICTOR DAUTT!”