"I'm not a thief, why do I have to keep telling you that?" Mike cried out.
"That’s because you keep stealing everyone's stuff", Joe replied.
"But that's not stealing if I plan to return it" Mike interrupted, in a bid to defend his actions.
"You stole my video game, are you telling me that I will be getting that back in the near future, uh?" a student from the crowd said.
"You are a Thief" another student from the crowd yelled, but before Mike could utter a word to his defense, the voices of every one present at that moment overshadowed his, as they were all calling him a thief.
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The entire classroom was in an uproar. Jeers and sneers erupted from all sides, causing 14-year-old Mike to cower in fear. His eyes stung with tears as he looked at the faces of the kids he had shared a room with since the 2nd grade. He couldn't recognize any of them. There was nothing familiar about the expression their faces now held.
Mike bit the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from crying out like a baby. Why did Joe have to go and start a scene?
"Don't you have anything to say, huh?" Joe said. His fingers curled into a fist at his side and with a grunt, he swung around to look at the crowd that had circled around him and a pang of guilt hit him. He wasn't pleased at what he saw. He had been friends with Mike since they were little kids. He liked Mike, but Mike had a problem, and he just couldn't keep pretending it wasn't there.
He also didn't mean for things to get out of hand. After all, Mom and Dad had taught him that violence is never the answer but these savages he had for classmates were clamoring for a fight. He turned his attention to the scrawny kid that stood in front of him and decided to let go.
Mike was a kleptomaniac, but he'd never admit it and that pissed Joe off. He couldn't put up with him or defend him anymore each time he "took" something he promised to return but never did. Even after talking and pleading with Mike to stop taking people's things, Mike continued not because he likes doing it but because he was a Kleptomaniac.
Joe then decided its hard time he stayed away from Mike to avoid anything that would implicate him. That day marked the end of their friendship.
SOME YEARS LATER
The small man who stood at the entrance of the regal ballroom felt out of place in loose linen trousers and a ragged suit jacket. Masquerade balls weren't his thing. Behind the mask that shielded his face were hazel colored eyes that burrowed a hole into the back of the man that stood at the center of the hall—the center of attention—the man who threw this Gala.
You haven't changed one bit, he thought. His fingers tightened around the shabbily wrapped package he held. He ran his hand through his hair, giving it one last shake. He took a deep breath and pushed through the crowd of diamonds and pearls with purposeful strides.
A set of diamonds rings sat on the perfectly manicured fingers of Joseph Goldberg. His raven black hair was pulled back in a ponytail; not a strand was out of place. Nothing felt better than throwing a fancy party because you just could.
As the Man of the Night, he didn't see the need to mask his identity and so his deep blue eyes were the only exposed set of eyes in the room. Joseph was engrossed in the conversation he was having with his fancy mates, oblivious to the odd looking man that stood behind him.
"I think there's someone with a present for you, Mr Goldberg" One of men who had noticed the odd man pointed out to Joseph Goldenberg.
Stopping mid-sentence, Goldberg turned around to see who this person was. Not that he could know who unless the person introduced himself. He cast a swift glance at the hands of the man. They were empty except for a worn out leather watch that hung loosely around his wrist. He hid his surprise at the rather simple appearance of the man that stood in front him with a stiff smile.
He asked politely, "oh! Is that for me?"
The strange looking man said nothing but only continued to look at Joseph Goldberg with an evil smile.
Mike tossed the package at the feet of Goldberg and just before he turned on his heel to leave, he said, loud and clear;
"It's not stealing if I plan to return it."
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