Smasi

The next day, I went to Smasi's gang bench before they even got there. "Hi," I waved my hand with a smile.

"What do you think you're doing?" Smasi didn't sound happy.

"I'm just waiting for you to get here," I replied, but from the face of his men, I instantly knew something was off. "What's wrong?" my voice was a little nervous.

Smasi didn't reply right away. I observed me and looked back at his men, smirking, "He doesn't know about our tradition. Don't get your tails up." That relaxed his men a little.

"What is that tradition you are mentioning?" I asked.

Smasi signaled one of his men to speak, "Before you got to this prison, there was another gang that stole our seats like this."

I waited for him to continue, but seeing that he didn't intend to talk anymore, I asked, "So what happened next?"

"They are not here anymore," he spoke with a dead calm tone.

That put shivers down my spine, so I got up quickly and moved aside, still keeping my cool of course. Seeing that, Smasi left a small giggle and sat down. "Don't spook the little child, Lostra. They just moved to a different prison. Now then..." he glanced at me. "Do you want to rage war?"

"No, I didn't think much besides waiting here first before you." I simply replied.

"Persistent I see. What makes our teacher this great?"

"A teacher who don't have a strong will can't teach his students."

"Nice quote, what book is that from."

"I don't know."

"..."

"You guys go somewhere else." And his men left. "Sit down."

I sat. It was rare to see Smasi invited someone, so I was quite surprised.

"Why do you think crime exists?" he asked while looking up at the sky.

"I'm not sure, what is your opinion?"

"I heard people said something like, 'treat like a man, act like a man. Treat like a beast, act like a beast'."

"Do you think that's true?" I asked.

"Nothing is true or false in life. I just find that interpretation makes the most sense." He then looked at me, "What is your take?"

I thought for quite a moment before answering, "I don't even know what crime is. Is stealing from the rich who exhaust their worker a crime? On paper, yes, but in reality, that rich dude also stole his workers' time and energy by paying them as little as possible. Is killing a person a crime? On the court yes, but what if the person who got killed murdered your family? To me, crimes defined by the government are way too simplified. That's why I didn't hesitate for a second slapping my ex-girlfriend. To me, that's not a crime, that's justice the government should carry but don't."

Smasi turned to me, smirking, "You sound awfully like the anti-protagonist in a hero story."

I turned back to him and smiled, "Not all things the devil say are evil, not all things the hero say are good."

"Another nice quote, what book?" I felt like he asked as though he already knew the answer.

"I don't know."

Our eyes stayed on each other for very long. It was as though a simple gaze is enough for Smasi to told me his whole character.

"Almost time," Smasi broke the silence first and stood up.

"Do you agreed to tell me your story?" I was getting up as well.

Smasi turned to me, "I thought you were smarter. I have already told you."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt getting into the details," I nodded.

Smasi shook his head, "Getting the big picture is more important. You shouldn't dig into someone's life. Someday that will come back to bite you," He said as he was walking away.