"Hey, Frank! Over here!" He heard Joe called out good-naturedly to him. He had been surveying the packed Lecture Hall for his brother and had not found him with his gang in their usual seats. Following the voice that was slowly growing into the one that he once knew very well, he looked to his left and saw Joe sitting next to Mina three rows down from the top.

Mina seemed to be copying Joe’s notes from previous lectures that she had missed, pausing at intervals to scrutinize what she was reading from. Joe’s scribbles and messy organization was well-known to Frank and he could understand the aggravation she must be feeling. He would have offered her his notes instead but there was no reason to replace a horror with another.

An empty seat was being reserved by Joe’s haversack. Shane was on the other side of Mina, trading some funny story with Craig.

Seeing Craig smirking and laughing slightly at intervals caused Frank to seethe a little. Maggie had decided to leave and he did not even seem to care.

Puppy love. All they had was puppy love for a brief period. That’s the way Craig is right? What did Joe say once? That he "cruises" through girls?

"Frank, now that Joe’s…I mean he’s not ok…but…he’s going to be…I…I want to transfer over to Berkley College of Music. I know it’s all the way in Massachusetts…but…it’s…it’s a college…just for Music…" Maggie was stammering at the end. She kept tucking her hair behind her ears and after which she bit her lower lip.

"What about…your boyfriend?" Frank asked, turning to face Maggie for the brief interval of inertia the traffic light demanded.

"He said he’ll understand. We will try to work it out somehow. You don’t like Craig, do you?"

"He’s alright." He grudgingly replied.

The angel had unfolded her wings and she was going to fly. Away from us again, even when she has just returned to complete our family.

That’s the way things are, right? They grow up and they go. Off to seek their lives.

Why am I sounding like mom or dad even to myself? I’m only their eldest brother.

He squeezed his way past the throng of students who had somehow conspired to crowd the stairway a minute just before lecture began. After several "Excuse me’s", he finally took his place beside his brother who had seen him nearing and had taken his haversack away. While he was heartened that Joe always remembered to save him a seat if he was ever early- even during the period where he was descending into the depths of hell that only an individual could inflict on himself- he still felt strangely like an outsider with Joe’s gang.

It was like his brother had invited him to play but he was not very welcome. Like the kid who managed to get into games by association- not by affections. He could watch; maybe even join in. But they would never let him in on their laughter.

The bell sounded for the beginning of a new period and right on cue, Professor Blye sauntered in through the opened door and closed it behind him. In his hands was a stack of papers which Frank guessed was their marked test taken three weeks ago. The professor placed the papers on the long table in front of the theatre and shook his peppery head at the class.

Shook it slowly and deliberately.

Sighs and moans were heard at the silent piece of academic tragedy. Professor Blye, a man in his fifties with a prominent paunch, then let out a huge sigh of his own and his mien was an expression of doubt.

"You are all college students but only a few of you actually had critical thinking of any sort. Sad to say, only a pathetic handful of you managed to force me to sit up and think about what you had wrote. For most of those people, you’ve gotten Bs. The rest of you guys…work harder, think deeper and please, don’t reiterate events and examples just to fill up spaces. I want analysis; I want your honest opinions. You may come down row by row to get your papers before we start." He announced to the class who had all turned silent from the previous chatter that existed before lecture began. Some of the prouder students bristled at the sarcastic comments.

Sluggishly, the students dragged their feet to receive the advent of their grades and every single one of them avoided the Professor’s disappointed look. Some simply took their papers and returned to their seat without bothering to look at the grades they had gotten. A couple of students actually smiled and beamed- letting all the losers in the lecture hall in on the knowledge that they were part of the "pathetic handful."

When it was turn for Frank’s row to go down and collect their papers, Craig, Shane and even Joe gave him puppy dog eyes, silently pleading with him to take their papers for them because they were too comfortable sitting down to budge. Swearing a little under his breath, Frank had no choice but to oblige.

As he was sifting through the stack for theirs, Professor Blye congratulated him in a low voice. "Frank Hardy right? You’ve got the only A. Too bad it’s only your elective. Sure you don’t want to switch majors?"

Frank gave his professor a weak smile, retrieved the four papers from the stack and moved away so others could get their hands on theirs. Out of curiosity, he flipped all the papers in his hands over and saw the grades the three brats gotten. That was the price they had to pay for abusing his kindness. They would have absolutely no privacy from his scourging eyes.

Hmm…not bad. Shane got a C+. Craig…F. *Pause*.

Let’s see what my kid brother got. I hope the Professor doesn’t turn him over to the FBI for deviant ideas.

‘Interesting.’ What kind of grade is ‘Interesting’?

"Hey! Don’t embarrass us!" Shane snatched the papers away from Frank who gave him a wide, mirthless smile- unrepentant at his total disregard for their privacy. He saw Shane made a face at his grade before passing the papers to Joe and Craig.

Frank held on to his own tightly as he returned to his seat before placing his paper on the attached table- with the side devoid of the grade facing up.

Shane stole a glance at Craig’s paper and snickered. "I’ve got you beaten there."

"I have no intention to pass this time round, trust me." Craig sardonically replied. Frank overheard them and rolled his eyes before plopping down on his seat. Joe crushed his paper up immediately and Frank at once knew that Joe was hiding the dark manifestation of his experiences from the world.

"It can’t be that bad…" Mina tried to comfort Joe who gave her a strained smile. Turning around, he faced Frank and in an uplifting tone that sounded two levels too faked, he inquired with feigned playfulness- asking his question and blowing at Frank’s paper to lift the corner up to reveal the mark.

His charade at being "the old Joe" only crushed Frank inside. Joe had gotten it all wrong. No one was expecting him to remain the same. No one had any expectations of him. They were only praying for his healing.

"So what did you get? Wow…an A. That’s fantastic…" Joe congratulated Frank very heartily but devoid of jollity. Mina heard it too.

"Can I borrow your paper, Frank? I’m very behind and I’d love to get all the help I can."

"Hey Frank! Why don’t you tutor her?" Joe cocked his head towards Mina and asked Frank almost too hopefully. Frank stared at Joe the same way Mina did- in bafflement.

"Huh?" Frank narrowed his eyes and Joe had a most annoying knowing look on his face.

"I’m sure Mina would appreciate it."

"I’ll ask Frank myself if I need tutoring, Joey…" Mina’s tone was icy and she returned back to copying Joe’s notes. Joe simply shrugged and leaned back onto his seat, closing his eyes with the intention to blatantly sleep during lecture again. Mina spotted him and pinched him hard on the arm, eliciting a soft, heartfelt yowl from Joe.

"Hey! No goofing off!"

"He’s not even teaching!"

"Pay attention!"

"You’re crazy!"

Whatever Joe had done earlier to annoy Mina was forgotten as the two of them squabbled in hushed tones like an old married couple. Frank chuckled. Mina was turning out to be good for Joe.

Very good for Joe indeed.

His attention was shifted back onto the professor as the professor clapped his hands loudly to regain the class’ attention. It arrested the murmurs that had been carrying on all over the hall, culminating into a loud hum playing the most grating opus to the ears of any lecturer.

"Alright class. I’ve got a very interesting answer. I’ll flash it out and if anyone of you can come up with the flaw in this argument, I’ll up your grade by a whole."

With a click of the laptop, Joe’s answer was screened for all to see. Though he was not accredited, Frank saw his brother sat up immediately and blanched.

‘Interesting.’ That was his grade.

"Well, any takers?" The professor prompted after no one answered. Well, not directly anyway, from what Frank’s ears told him. Various comments were floating all over the place in soft murmurs a while after the answer was flashed. It seemed like the class only knew how to murmur. The answer was so obvious to Frank who was more worried about Joe than he wanted an extra grade to up one that could not be improved upon any further. He shot Joe an oblique glance and Joe caught it. His brother’s eyes then shut tightly like someone caught for a crime.

"Fear. Anarchy and chaos as described make everyone prisoners of fear. No one will know freedom." Mina voiced out. The petite girl gained various grudging and conceding looks. But she was neither bothered nor flattered. She had the answer.

She had not known who wrote the extreme paragraph on the projector’s screen.

"Very good. What’s your name?"

"Mina."

"The new girl. Ah…I’ll keep your answer in mind for the next test. Alright. Now, the person who wrote this answer obviously failed the test. But I appreciate his opinions, no matter how skewed it is."

Don’t do this to my brother. How dare you…

"It’s only a damn joke. That’s all." Joe snarled softly; angrily. His eyes shot serrated blades that the professor who was now projecting something else onto the screen.

Frank laid a hand on Joe’s and Joe brusquely snatched his own away. Growling under his breath, Joe picked up his pen and started drawing harsh circles onto his lecture pad with a black marker. Mina noticed it and shot Frank a questioning look out of concern. Frank simply shook his head and the rest of the lecture was lost to him as he watched his brother wasting paper after paper on livid, thick black circles.

***

Joe dashed out of the lecture theatre the moment the lecture ended. He would confirm everyone’s guess if he had stalked out angrily right after his answer was being flashed- not like eyes were not already looking at him, boring into the pits of his soul- crucifying him.

Eyes that kept staring at him and his hands like he was some freak. They would not simply let up.

"Joe! Wait up!" Frank was chasing after him. But Joe had a good head start and Frank was caught in the horde of emerging students. Wait up? Forget it. He would not wait this time. Everyone knew who wrote the answer. It was so apparent. How could anyone not know it was him? Now in retrospect, he had described his prison experience so well, so well that it was glaringly obvious at whoever had read his paper- which was just about everyone in class.

Stop it! Stop being neurotic and paranoid! What did you promise? Huh?

He reached his locker and flung the door open roughly. Throwing his books inside, he slammed it shut. Someone gripped his shoulders and he spun around, with hurt eyes and a bursting heart. He knew who it was.

"How could he? The damn" He clenched his fingers into fists and breathed in deeply. The set of vocabulary he wanted to throw at the lecturer was all vulgar thus he stopped himself. Frank gave him an assuring smile. Frank’s new non-judgmental way of looking at him was making him feel better. His brother had learned that Joe resented those gazes that would pressurize him; gazes that were willing him to be the old Joe instantaneously.

But now I want to run. Run away from this hell. Run towards the sun.

And let the sun burn me instead. It’s all the same. A mass of molten flames.

Frank simply waited for him to compose himself which he did after a few more deep breaths.

"Think I can sue for infringement of intellectual rights? He duplicated my work without permission." Joe leaned against his locker, trying to smooth the frayed nerves that still remained while Frank gave him an assuring smile.

"As long as you don’t go crazy…we’ll sit down and decide on the compensation. I’ll make sure it’s a hefty one."

The sudden paranoia left him almost completely and he swallowed hard, like he was trying to digest his agitation.

"Think anyone knew I wrote it? I know you do."

"Nope. No one. You don’t look smart enough to come up with something like that." Frank patted his shoulders and Joe managed a shaky smile before standing up without the support of his locker before walking his brother down the hallway.

"I’m surprised that Mina did not chase after you." Frank spoke, regaining some semblance of a casual conversation. Joe was surprised too and his heart strangely sank a little.

Just then, his mobile buzzed. Joe retrieved it from his pocket and pressed some button to retrieve the message.

Are you alright? I’ve lost you and I need to dash off for a test. Meet you later for the movie alright?

He smiled. So she had a test. Scratching the back of his head, he re-read the message, the almost familiar warm glow spreading once again in his stomach.

"Mina?" Frank teased. Joe snapped out of his momentary euphoria and chided himself without words. Just chided himself. He scowled at Frank who had a smug look on the intelligent mien.

"Ah! So it is Mina. She’s a great girl, Joe."

"I know. Hey, Frank! There’s a great movie showing tonight…just started screening. I’ve got the tickets. Want to come along? It’s been sometime since we did anything remotely leisurely together." Joe put the mobile back into his Bermudas pocket and pulled out two tickets. His pockets were like the hats of those magicians. He kept every damn little thing inside them.

"Why don’t you catch it with Mina?" Frank prompted and Joe knew where he was heading. He could hardly blame Frank for trying to get him to date again. However dating was not really what Joe was looking forward to nowadays.

"Minority Report. I’ve asked her. She’s busy." He lied with a straight face. He knew he had the clincher if there was ever one. Minority Report. Science-Fiction infused with some angst and philosophical ideologies. Something Frank would love to catch.

Joe was right. He watched as Frank widened his eyes and the deep brown orbs deepened with excitement. Swiping the tickets from Joe’s hands eagerly, Frank grinned happily like a kid who had found his favorite candy after a long search in the store. "Minority Report? I’ve read the novella like when I was eleven! Philip K. Dick is a visionary I’ll tell you! This movie is long overdue…all the precogs and how we are all closely scrutinized such that our actions and intentions…"

"Yah yah…tell me about being scrutinized…whatever…so, you going?" Joe halted his brother before Frank could ramble on and on about some boring story- or novella, as Frank so sophistically put it- by some guy called Philip or Dick or whatever. Joe was not interested. He only knew it was the only movie screening then that could pull Frank away from the voluminous books he read for research and distract him from his thesis for a while. Distract Frank from having to worry about him constantly. Give his brother a break.

Distract you from Callie. You don’t show it, big boss, but I know. And I have the cure. Believe me; you’re going to love me for it. Majority Report only the icing on the cake, brother.

Oops… Minority Report. The ‘novella,’ oh great walking Thesaurus….

"Of course! You’re treating me…how can I pass the chance to sponge off you for once?" Frank tucked the tickets into a small compartment of his wallet. "I’ll keep it. You’re always losing important things like these."

Fine by me brother. Keep it…I was about to ask you to anyway.

Joe awkwardly put an arm around Frank’s shoulder, remembering that it was what he used to do. His hand shook slightly but he would get use to it. Plastering the impish smile on his face- remembering that he used to smile that way as well- he spoke enigmatically, "Of course…important things like these. You’ll enjoy the movie, I promise."

Frank shot him a puzzled look to which Joe replied with a larger grin before he extricated his hand away and could finally breathe normally.

So much at normalcy.

"Gotta run now, bro. Six o’clock at the mall, alright? Don’t be late." He reminded Frank who nodded and waved him on to his next class.