Robert was sitting on a cold bench behind bars like some kind of delinquent. At least he didn’t have to share the cell with anyone else. This was utterly unfair: other teenagers got into fights regularly without being put into containment. And when he participated in it just one time – he was treated like some kind of danger to the community. Sure, Ehud had to be rushed to the hospital, but Robert was the one who drove him there on a crawler (after Pep screamed his head off about it. They had to push the plane’s shell to the floor and it landed upside down, all its insides scattered without care for their initial position). And it was Ehud’s fault in the first place; Robert said so to the nurse and then to the administrator and to the enforcer who led him to this cell. He would repeat this to anyone else if asked, but he hasn't seen a single person since.

Perhaps, he overreacted. Not everything could be solved with fists and all that fluff. But it’s been a long time coming. Ehud has been insufferable in the past few months. He always poked his nose into everyone’s business, prodded sore spots, tried to get under everyone’s skin and pulled the whole gang in trouble with him. It was as if he felt invulnerable while hiding behind all the adults who considered him this poor disabled boy in need of pity and care, and if someone dared to fight back – they were the worst bully in the world. 

Robert wasn’t a bully. But maybe bashing Ehud’s head against the floor was an overkill.

It’s not like Robert planned for the fight to actually escalate. He hoped to knock the bastard out with one good punch. And it was a good punch; Rob’s hand still hurt. But it wasn’t strong enough, and he couldn’t even remember everything that happened afterwards. He just remembered being in pain and, honestly, being terrified. And now he hurt all over, the deeper scrapes having been covered by medipatches and others cleaned but still stinging. Because he didn’t have enough strength to knock out a pathetic little shit of a guy. Weak. Useless. Should have gained some muscle under all that fat.

He blinked the forming tears away. These were angry tears. He wouldn’t let them fall. Real men didn’t cry.

The cell door opened with a loud clang, startling Robert so hard his feet left the floor. He looked up and saw Administrator Katz, her face grim, and, oh shit, Hershel next to her. Rob got up and opened his mouth to once again state that it was Ehud’s fault, but before he could, the Administrator said evenly:

“Please, confirm the identity.”

“That is, indeed, my youngest brother.” Hershel said with an ironic smile. “Want to check for some distinct birthmarks on his butt?”

“This is protocol, I have to ask the question.” Aunt Katz grumbled and gestured for Robert to follow. He did, hating the sudden shiver in his knees.

Hershel signed off on the interface at the Administrator’s office, gave her a polite but cold smile, put his hand on Robert’s back and led him out into the evening heat. They walked in silence for several minutes before Rob couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Ehud started it, and he left Kolya who knows where on his own and-”

“Nick has been home since lunch.” Hershel hissed. Moishe and he refused to use the unusual short name. “And I don’t give a single fuck about the Katz boy. I knew he was hopeless the moment he led his little brother to death in a place where neither should have been at. I only assumed you were smarter than him, but I guess you are so averse to honest work, you would rather do punitive mining and die young instead.”

Robert’s face flushed. “I am not averse to work!” Part of him was relieved to hear Nikolai was home and safe. But it also made him feel sick about what he did without confirming it first.

“Then you would have been starting with a summer job instead of wasting your time, who knows where.”

“I am fixing tech! It’s a useful skill!”

“Nobody needs it from you.” Hershel spat. “They have engineers to fix tech.”

“I can become an engineer!”

Robert’s brother burst out laughing. It was mean and joyless. When he looked back at Rob, whose face was ready to explode from shame and resentment, his eyes were icy cold. “Grow the fuck up, Robert. You won’t become an engineer, because you won’t get a college degree just as none of us did. You are 15. If you were going to college, you would’ve already known.”

Robert’s hands started shaking. “There are ways to get into college without paying! I can get a scholarship!”

“You think I haven’t seen your grades? Stop lying to yourself. Your best bet is to follow my steps, apply for junior programs everywhere they offer, charmspeak your way into one of them liking you, and then work your ass off to become a manager.”

“You will never be a manager!” Robert shot back, hoping it would wound Hershel as much as his words did in return.

“I already am! Starting today!” Hershel paused, seeing Robert’s reaction, and composed himself. When he spoke again, he was back to being calm and cold. “And I was allowed to leave early for my 3 days leave while they set up my workplace. So I went home, hoping to organise a surprise dinner for mom, only for an enforcer to knock on our door twenty minutes later.“

Hershel was now a manager. Rob struggled to believe it. A real manager. The first one not just in the family, but in the whole neighbourhood as far as he knew. They were no longer piss poor. But if they-

“If you are a manager,” Robert looked up at his brother, suddenly feeling vulnerable, “why can’t you pay for my college?”

“Are you an idiot?” Hershel snorted. “Do you even understand how lower management money and college money compare?”

“I know that mom would have to work for five hundred years to pay for it!”

“And I would have to work for a hundred!”

Like this, the silly hope was shuttered, and Robert felt angry again to the point that for a second he wanted to bash Hershel’s head against the corner of the nearest building. The anger immediately got replaced with fear. He tucked his hands under his armpits and followed his brother silently all the way back home.

Was this who he really was now? An actual danger to society? Would he always act violently against someone annoying or mean? Would he end up in the worst of the mines, digging into the most toxic ores as a punishment?

Just thinking about that made his eyes well with tears. This was unfair. His whole life was unfair! Why was he destined to end up in those shitty fucking mines? Why did he have to choose between bad mines and worse mines?

Hershel stopped in front of their house and paused, another cold smile appearing on his face. “Oh, by the way, the main condition for your release and Katz family not filing charges against you is that Nick will no longer be under your influence.”

Robert blinked. “What? He literally lives in my room.”

Hershel looked down, the smile turning nasty. “He won’t be for long.” Without elaborating, he entered the house.