High school graduation came and went. I found the whole thing ridiculous. Happy, teary-eyed parents, flowers, smiling seniors. I didn’t want to go, but Vlada made me. She attended with her silent husband, and Sergei, of course. I wore Sergei’s old cap and gown that had miraculously survived our move out of Vlada’s. She invited us over for dinner after and there we spoke of my future.

“Rodion, what will you be doing now?” Vlada asked, serving me a huge slice of meat jelly. Holodets was her signature dish, made of congealed boiled meat bones. Vlada assured us it worked miracles for the immune system and we’d gotten used to it.

“I dunno.” I shrugged and looked at my plate. Other than dedicating myself full time to gaming, I had no other plans, though I figured a plan would emerge on its own. Eventually, without my active role in it.

“You’re good at that tech stuff, Rodion.” Vlada was smiling proudly, kind wrinkles forming around her eyes. I blushed. Ever since I helped her install a wireless router, she considered me a Demi-God.

“Umm-umm.” I took a bite of the holodets.

“He is great at that stuff,” Sergei chuckled. I couldn’t tell if he was serious.

“Zhanna told me,” Vlada announced, pausing for effect. “Vista Communications is hiring technicians.” Sergei and I both looked up. “Zhanna’s nephew just got a job there. The pay is good and they give you all the training you need.”

Vista was the biggest telecoms company in Pittsburgh and it had a good reputation. I’d seen their white trucks with the red logo around, and pretty much everyone in the city used their fiberoptic cable network.

“What a great idea.” Sergei nodded. “Thank you, Vlada. This is perfect. How does he apply?”

I pulled back from the table and put my fork down. A brilliant idea just hit me.

What if I got access to Phil’s house? Driving around in a van with the Vista logo would give me enough credibility to do what I wanted. Revenge. I could get in, unnoticed, exact my revenge, and disappear.

“I’m in.” I said immediately.

“You are?” Vlada gave me a quizzical stare. “I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly.”

“Yes.” I flashed her a reassuring smile. I was picturing Phil, his face contorted in pain, me standing over him, triumphant.

***

Two days later, April and I were sitting on Flagstaff Hill, on the edge of Schenley park. It overlooked the city, with the perfect view of Downtown Pittsburgh.

Every Sunday and Wednesday night in the summer, there were movie screenings after dark. We went there, like clockwork, and sat together, at the top of the hill, looking over the city, mostly ignoring the movie, talking, holding hands, kissing.

Families would set up their blankets around us, complete were picnic baskets, kids would run around and frolic, while April and I were in our separate little universe.

That night there was yet another wholesome family movie showing. It was always something ‘the whole family could watch,’ like ‘Shrek’ or the ‘Little Mermaid.’

“I love you.” April whispered.

“Love you, too.” I said back. And that’s when I heard someone speaking Russian. I tensed. A woman’s voice cut through the darkness.

“Over here! Syuda”

I froze inside, struck by the vision. It was a woman dressed in pastels, shorts and a tank top, a white flowing tunic. She’d gotten fatter, but I recognized her. It was Marina.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

She pulled along a gaunt boy of about eight or nine. And closing the procession was Philip. I felt as if I got punched in the stomach and nearly gagged. Time stood still.

My nemesis was moving through the crowd, a foldable chair hanging on one shoulder, a cooler bag in the other. He was maneuvering through the crowd, looking for an empty spot, turning his head left and right. A true family man. I gulped, anger rising in me. It was the life he took away from me.

Oblivious to us, Phil and his new family passed us and continued down the hill. I sat there, mouth gaping open, panting like a dog.

“Rodion, what’s wrong?” April took my hand. “Your hand feels so cold. Rodion?”

“I’m okay.” I swallowed hard. “Just saw someone I used to know.”

”Who is it?” April turned her head left and right. Suddenly, she screamed. “

Look! A fox!”

“What?” I followed April’s gaze and there it was. A fox. Running on the edge of the hill, ignoring the crowd. It waved its tail and disappeared into the woods.

“It must have gotten lost.” I stared after the animal, not sure whether the vision had been real.

“Are you okay?” April took my hand into hers. April was real, and I loved her. I turned to face her.

“I am.” I nodded.

“Rodion, I am worried about you.” April said.

“Why? I’ll be fine. I’ll work at Vista.”

“Listen, my dad’s lab is hiring. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I had to check with him first.”

“Isn’t that like top-secret AI stuff?”

“Yes, that’s the thing. They are looking for a tester. And I think you’ll be perfect. Get this, they want a young male, ages 18-22, with experience in gaming. So I thought, since you’re turning 18 in August …” April’s voice trailed off.

“But that’s like, half of Pittsburgh.” I chuckled.

“I know, it’ll be competitive, and they got lots of applicants. But I asked him, and you can still apply.”

“Alright, I’ll do it. For you.” I kissed her.

“Great. Daddy also said there is some behavioral medicine study aspect to it. So it might actually be kinda fun. And I think they pay way more than Vista.”

***

The following day, April and I were sitting in her kitchen.

“Here, Daddy said you gotta fill this out.” April produced a thick folder and handed it to me. I opened it and took out a stack of papers. It was a ten-page form, double sided, followed by several pages of disclosures, all written in tiny print.

“You gotta fill out everything and then initial,” April pointed to the bottom of the first page. “Everywhere where it’s highlighted.”

I frowned, staring at the documents.

“Listen, maybe it’s not such a good idea.”

“Come on, this could be such a good opportunity. It’s just the stuff their lawyers make them put because of confidentiality.” For a moment, I thought of taking the papers home and asking Sergei to review, but April was looking at me expectantly. So I nodded.

“Alright,” I sighed and sat down, chewing on the tip of the pen. “Let me just get it over with.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.” April shook her head in mock indignation.

It took me nearly thirty minutes to go over the questionnaire. It asked me about my health history, my family health history, place of birth, linguistic abilities, favorite hobbies and foods. Height, weight, birth date, movies and books I liked. Without hesitation, I put the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ as my favorite book. For music, I put The Doors. Favorite movie - ‘The Matrix.’

I was almost enjoying it until I got to the last page. There, I saw the following text:

Dear friend, thank you for applying for the Tester position at The Lab. We’d like to get to know you as a person to ensure that we’re the right fit for you. Please let us know about a cause you care about, something you think is important in 500 words or less.”

“April, hey, look at this thing.” I showed the blank page to April. “They’re asking for an essay.”

“They are?”

“Yeah, can you just do this for me?”

“No, Rodion, I can’t. You gotta do this yourself. It’s just a short essay. Just write something.”

“But I don’t care about any social causes. This is ridiculous.”

“Sure you do. You care about justice, don’t you? You talk about it all the time.”

“Umm, I guess so. Justice? But is that a social cause? I thought they’d want me to write about baby seals or stuff like that.”

“No, just write about social justice. Or the criminal justice system?”

“Alright.”

I forced myself to sit down and write. I remember writing about the concept of blind justice and how it wasn’t entirely true. And that it was up to the private citizens and individuals to exact justice in the world, because the judiciary system wasn’t balanced, blind or even fair. Once I started going, I was on a roll. I thought of the Count and the fact that Mama’s death was unfair. And how the legal system didn’t consider Phil a criminal. In fact, in the eyes of the law, he was a good citizen. And yet, he killed Mama. His actions destroyed multiple lives. At least three, as far as I knew. But possibly, many others. I wrote about cases where the justice system couldn’t persecute a criminal for reasons of lack of proof, and in some cases it was up to private citizens to take justice into their own hands.