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Fifth grade…

"There's this new kid at school…"

It was Monday morning, when Michael walked into the school grounds to be greeted with the sight of an aggravated Sydney.

"His name is Billy…"

An eleven-year-old Michael crossed the playground with bold steps, curious as to the infuriated look on her normally smiling face, determined to make things right again.

"And he's mean. He was being mean to her, Mum. And I know you said that I shouldn't be like the other guys and get into fights and stuff… But I had to do something…" He spoke softly, lowering his head in order to avoid her gaze. "I'm sorry if I've disappointed you."

Michael's mother diverted her gaze from the road for a second to glance over at her grave son, sitting beside her in the front passenger seat of the car. 'He really is sorry,' she thought to herself.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Michael stepped in and glared at the other boy, who appeared to be picking on Sydney. His Sydney.

The other boy, the new kid to the school, Billy, returned his glare with a menacing one of his own. He refused to back down however, standing his ground in defence for Sydney, despite the fact that Billy towered over him, and had the ability to beat him up single handedly.

"None of your business, Mummy's boy," Billy retorted, shoving Michael and causing him to stumble backwards, only further igniting the anger he felt against the bully.

"Well, what did you do to Billy?" Mrs Vaughn inquired curiously.

Michael nervously glanced up at his mother, fearing her reaction when he confessed what he did to Billy. Deciding that eye contact wasn't the best idea at the moment, he turned to observe the homes and people they drove by, wishing he were anywhere but here right now, telling his Mum all this and getting into more trouble for his actions today.

"I kind of," he mumbled, breath clouding up a small part of the glass as she spoke, nose pressed against the glass. "I kind of punched him in the nose…"

She forced herself not to smile and break her serious composure as she asked, "Just kind of?"

"Okay, I punched him in the nose… No kind of…" He stared down at his lap with guilt, and she could barely contain the faint smile that lingered on her lips. "But he punched me back, Mum!"

He lifted his face up to show her the black eye he had received from Billy, as the car paused at the intersection. "See? It wasn't all me."

Her face resumed its solemnity once again, and raised a hand to delicately trace the outline of his blackened and bruised eye with love.

"I told you, Michael, you shouldn't get involved in these things," she spoke gently, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Mum," he apologised. "I won't do it again, I promise."

She smiled and nodded. The things he would do for that girl, Sydney Bristow.

Minutes of silence passed, before either of them spoke again. "So how long did the principal say you were suspended for again, Michael?"

Michael sat on the chairs outside the principal's office, having already been spoken to by the principal, and now waiting for the arrival of his mum to pick him up. Many thoughts ran through his young mind, as he sat nervously in the corridor.

What would his mum think of him now? What would his dad think if he had been here? Would he be disappointed? Had he let him down?

He slumped against the cold plastic chair, thinking of his suspension from school.

'You're lucky it's only your first time, Michael, that you're only being suspended, and not completely expelled. We don't tolerate violence here, understood?'

He had nodded and answered with a polite 'Yes, sir,' before being led out of the room to sit in the empty corridor and wait for his Mum to come and pick him up.

"Three days," he sighed.

Mrs Vaughn nodded, but didn't speak a word about it. Michael looked up, expecting his mother to comment, but not a word came from her mouth.

"Are you mad at me, Mum?" He asked her doubtfully.

She offered him a small smile, showing him that she was not at all mad. "Michael, two wrongs don't make a right, you know that… But I also know how important Sydney is to you, you've known her for a quite a while. And even if I'm not encouraging you to pick fights with other boys and girls, I think you did the right thing in sticking up for Sydney."

Michael grinned back at his mother, and now knowing she wasn't at all too upset with what he had done, settled back into the front passenger seat of the car, and intently watched the things that went by through the window.

Later that night, at dinner, Mrs Vaughn brought the subject up again. "So why exactly did you do it?" She inquired curiously, as Michael fidgeted in his seat. "I know it was Sydney… But you don't like her still after all this time, do you?"

He paused for a few seconds, deciding whether or not to tell his mother. After all, she would probably laugh at what he said, or at least think he was silly in thinking such a thing, but decided to tell her anyway. After all, she was his mother, she wouldn't ridicule him, would she?

Michael met her gaze across the table, before clearing his throat to explain.

"Do you remember the watch that Dad gave me, Mum? Do you remember what he said?"

She nodded in understanding, gently urging him to continue.

"Well he said you could set your heart by this watch, Mum. And you know what?" He took a bite of his food before continuing, not pausing to wait for what his Mum's guess would be. "It stopped October 1st a few years ago… It was the day I met Sydney, I remember. I remember watching the second hand of the clock moving in the morning, Mum, when I put it on to go to school. But that night, when I went to take it off before I go to bed, like I always do? It'd stopped."

"Michael…" She shook her head in a protest, not wanting to see her son's heart broken later on because of some watch.

"Mum…" He interrupted her. "Dad's never wrong. He wouldn't lie to me. I can set my heart by this watch," He nodded.