Chapter 16: My Mom Said So
"This is David. I'm heading to school now. Breakfast was great. Don't worry about me, please take care of yourself."
Sitting by the door, David finished tying his shoes and sent the message to his mom. He sat there for a moment, lost in thought, then slapped his cheeks to wake himself up. He pushed the door open, ready to begin the usual slow, time-wasting trek to the academy.
He was in no hurry. It didn't matter when he got there; he would never fit in with their circle anyway. His mother's heartfelt speech at dinner last night couldn't change a single thing—especially not the fact that he was the school's favorite punching bag.
But the moment he opened the door, he heard unfamiliar voices. One was boisterous and incredibly loud.
"Which one is Rhys's apartment again? All he said was he moved into Megabuilding H4. He's not picking up his calls or texts. You think he's still asleep?"
"Didn't Sasha give you the details?"
"Nah, she just said she was going for a ride. Told me we'd talk later."
"I told you we shouldn't have let those two go off alone! That kid is obviously making a move on Sasha!"
"Shut it, bro!"
The two names caught his attention. David's downcast eyes flickered upwards. Rhys, Sasha... aren't those the new neighbors from yesterday?
He looked up properly and saw them—a crew of people he would normally go out of his way to avoid.
A mountain of a man with a white punk haircut stood in front of apartment 602. He was over two meters tall, and even from the side, he was as wide as a cyber-bear. Every other resident on the sixth floor kept their heads down, giving him a wide berth.
The people with him were just as intimidating. A muscular, short-haired woman who was nearly as tall as him; another woman in a striking red trench coat and a red steel mask, quietly smoking; a skinny man with glasses and a pair of massive Gorilla Arms.
And then there was a short, green-haired girl in a big black coat, waving a small submachine gun around and making her own "dak-dak-dak" sound effects.
"..."
His heart hammered in his chest. David's first instinct was to slam the door shut, but a voice stopped him cold.
"Hey, kid!"
Maine took off his sunglasses, a flicker of confusion in his eyes as he sized up the boy in the Arasaka Academy uniform. Strange. What's a corpo-brat doing living in a place like this?
"Uh, y-you talking to me?" David froze, his escape cut off. The giant was looking right at him, and panic began to set in.
"Yeah, you," Maine said, waving him over with a grin. "Don't be scared. Be a man and come here. I've got a question for you."
David took a deep breath and walked forward. As he approached the giant, he could feel his palms sweating. He had to crane his neck to look up at him, and the sheer visual impact made him feel like the man was twice his height.
"What's your name?" Maine asked, raising an eyebrow.
"David..."
"Alright, Maine, stop scaring him," Dorio said, giving him a playful slap on the shoulder. She turned to David, forcing a smile that she probably thought was friendly. "David, right? You heading to school?"
"Y-yes..." David stammered. Her smile was terrifying. The sense of pressure coming off her was just as intense as the big guy's. The denim jacket she wore was stretched taut over her bulging muscles. David had no doubt she could kill him with a single punch.
"Since you live here, I wanted to ask you something. An Asian kid moved in yesterday. Hair about this long," she gestured, "a bit taller than you, maybe two or three years older. You know which apartment he's in?"
David shook his head quickly. "I-I don't know," he said in a small voice. "I got home really late yesterday."
He wanted to explain, to say that no one in these megabuildings knew their neighbors. Who had the time to socialize? But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't know why... but he knew that getting involved with people like this was a good way to get flatlined. Was he trying to help Rhys? Protect him? He wasn't sure.
He didn't notice the look of appreciation that flashed in Maine's eyes, or the way the skinny man with the Gorilla Arms took off his own glasses to get a better look at him.
Come on. Maine had been running the streets for years. Did they really think a kid could fool him? If you really don't know, why are you so nervous?
Before David could say anything else, the door to 603 clicked open. A young man with black hair poked his head out.
Rhys saw Maine's crew and David standing in the middle of them. "David?" he called out.
"..." A bead of sweat trickled down David's temple. He stared dumbly at Maine, who was now staring right back at him.
"You little..." Maine reached a massive hand towards David.
David threw his arms up to block his face, a frightened yelp catching in his throat. But the hand just passed through his guard and landed on his head, ruffling his hair roughly.
"Good kid," Maine said. He turned to Rhys. "We're heading out, Rhys."
"Sasha said you'd be here around seven. It's only a little after six," Rhys noted, checking the time on his internal clock.
"Time waits for no one, choom. The sooner we finish the gig, the sooner we can hit the bars. Sounds good, right?" Maine said with a grin.
"Fine. Give me a minute," Rhys said, nodding. He glanced at the woman smoking behind Maine. So... the new netrunner is Kiwi. Now wasn't the time for introductions, not when David was standing there looking like a deer in the headlights. He turned to the boy. "Morning, David."
David stared, stunned, as the crew of dangerous-looking mercs gathered around Rhys. Hearing his name, he snapped back to attention. "G-good morning, Rhys... aniki."
Hearing David call him 'aniki'—big bro—Rhys's expression flickered with a strange emotion. You're the real 'aniki' here, he thought. The future legend of Night City, the kid who takes on Adam Smasher and lives to tell the tale... a legend.
Rhys shook the thought from his head. "You heading to school?" he asked, his tone gentle.
"Yes."
"Alright, get going. Don't be late," Rhys said. As he spoke, his optics glowed yellow.
David froze, staring at him.
"That's my number," Rhys's voice said in his head. "If you ever need help with anything, you can call me."
"Okay... thanks!" David nodded.
He didn't remember getting into the elevator. His mind was a complete blur. It was the first time he'd ever been this close to "street people." The fear and anxiety were slowly being replaced by a strange, unfamiliar excitement. He stared at the new contact in his agent and took a deep breath.
"Mom, you're the one who said it."
"You told me to get to know him..."
As he stepped out of the megabuilding, David squinted into the morning sun. A tingling, electric sensation ran up his spine to his brain. It felt... exhilarating.
Starting yesterday, his monotonous, unchanging life had begun to feel like it was finally... changing.