"What you send forth comes back to thee, so ever mind the law of three. A lesson to be learned, once learned you will be free. Another point of view is what you must see."

These words will change Marks life forever, for better or for worse is yet to be seen.

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"Mark! Get up now or you'll be late for school!" said Mark's mother, pulling the blankets down to get him out of bed. Mark groaned as the early morning light hit his face. "Get up!" his mother yelled once more before leaving the room.

The 16 year old Mark Brenan crawled out of bed and looked around his room. The room was a total mess: clothes were scattered all over the floor and hanging on the backs of chairs, soda cans were lying crushed here and there, the crust from last nights pizza laying on the bedside table. Not that Mark cared about any of this, it was exactly how he liked his room and set it apart from the overly clean nature of the rest of the house. He picked up a T-shirt and a pair of jeans from the floor near his closet, gave them a sniff and decided they were clean enough. He pulled them on over his boxers and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"What's for breakfast?" he asked his mother as he entered the kitchen and plopped down in the chair at the table. His mother came in buttoning up her coat, her purse slung over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry honey," she said. "I have to head into work early today, there's a very important client coming in and the boss wants us all to make a good impression. You're gonna have to make your own breakfast." Mrs. Brenan was a secretary at a law firm downtown that serviced all the richest people in the state of New York.

"Who could possibly be so important that you can't make me breakfast?" exclaimed Mark. "I shouldn't have to make my own breakfast, that's what you're here for!"

"Mark, please, not today. I have to get to work, I can't afford to be late. Eat some cereal and get to school." Mrs. Brenan walked out the door without another word and Mark could hear the car pulling out the driveway as he poured a bowl of cereal and grumbled under his breath about the lack of a good breakfast.

Mark finished his breakfast and headed to school. On the way there he ran into his 2 buddies Jeff and Steven.

All three of the boys were tall with Mark being the shortest 5'10''. Jeff Matthews and his brother Steven both had medium length jet black hair and green eyes. In contrast Mark had short-cropped blond hair that spiked near the front and blue eyes that captivated many girls.

The boys were walking to school together when they spotted a boy and girl walking on the other side of the street. The three boys ran to the other side of the street to intercept them. "Hey wimp! I thought I told you not to come down this street if you knew what was good for you," exclaimed Mark. Mark raised his hand as though to throw a punch and the boy, Sam, threw both hands over his face to protect himself. The three boys laughed at his attempts of self defense.

"Leave him alone Mark, he hasn't done anything to you." The girl, Stephanie, stepped between Mark and the cowering Sam, holding her books curled to her chest, a defiant look on her face.

"What's the matter Sam, you gonna let a girl try to fight your battles for you? Guess you're not man enough to fight us. I wouldn't blame you, I am pretty powerful. Get out of here before I beat the snot out of you." Stephanie quickly led Sam away around the corner while the three boys laughed like hyenas. They continued on to school, completely unaware that they were being watched.

After school Mark had to walk home alone as Jeff and Steven had detention. On the way home he stopped at the corner store down the street from his house and bought a 24 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew and a candy bar. On the way out the door he bumped into an old lady carrying her groceries. The old lady dropped her groceries and they scattered. "Watch where you're going," cried Mark and continued on grumbling under his breath. He stopped and looked back when he heard the old lady start to say something.

"What you send forth comes back to thee, so ever mind the law of three. A lesson to be learned, once learned you will be free. Another point of view is what you must see." The old lady then turned away and entered the store. Mark shook himself and headed back home, the ladies weird words floating in his head.