Nothing can keep a good man down

Samuel Richards was a simple man. He worked hard every day to make a living for himself and his 10 year old son Raphael by himself, after his wife had passed away in a traffic accident 5 years ago.
It wasn't an easy life and more than just once he had to take an extra job to make ends meet.

But not even once, not even during his darkest times, he turned away from his son during his times of need. He always had an open ear for his problems and helped to the best of his abilities and sometimes even beyond that.

Or at least so he thought.
However with the letter now in his hands, he wondered if it had not been enough after all.
He read it over and over again, wanting to believe in a mistake, however no matter how many times he read, the contents did not change.

Dear Mr. Richards.
We are sorry to inform you, that we require your presence at the 30th of March 2016, due to the continued absence of your son, Raphael Richards, in his classes.
If this behavior continues, we see little choice but to inform the social security office.
Please let us know if you cannot make this appointment, however please know that this is our last warning.
Sincere Regards,
Tamara Roberts, principal's office

After finally processing the information, he pulled out his phone and called the school his son was enrolled in and demanded to speak to Ms. Roberts.
He was connected and after a short discussion, he thanked her politely and hung up, sinking down to his knees right after, his world crumbling around him.

"Two months...he's been skipping school for two months and I didn't even know..." he muttered, his head buried in his hands, when something else Ms. Roberts clicked with him.

She had told him, that he had never reacted to any previous communication, neither by phone nor by letter. Her voice had sounded both concerned as well as relieved that he was finally beginning to take action.

But he had never received such a call. Neither did he ever receive any letters prior to the one he found in the mail this morning after Raphael had already left the house.

He stared at the phone in his hands and wondered how that could be.
He knew the most likely answer already, but, once again, he didn't want to believe it.
For that would not only mean that his son had been skipping school, but it would also mean that he had done everything in his power to make sure that his father would not learn about it. And that he only learned about it now, because his employer let him go today.

As the uncomfortable truth sunk in, tears began streaming down his cheeks, as the many hasty talks between breakfast and going to work returned to his mind.
He cursed himself for not taking more time for his only son.

However, as the tears dried out, he resolved to not let it end this way.
He would not let his son waste his future, no matter what.

The same evening, he waited patiently but uneasily until Raphael came home, just like he had left the house. His school uniform sat neat and tight, he was carrying his schoolbag and the rings under his eyes showed signs of great fatigue.

When he spotted his father sitting on the couch, he stuttered, "D-dad?! W-what are you doing here already?! Aren't you supposed to be at work?!"
"My boss called this morning just after you left and fired me."
"What?! Why?!"
"Apparently I was not 'fit for the team' or something. But don't worry, I'll find something new in no time. You know what I always say, 'Nothing can keep a good man down'."

Raphael laughed nervously at the remark of his father, however he already knew that something else was wrong.
Samuel had lost his job a number of times already, but even if he did, he never was home early, because he was out all day trying to find a new one.
And yet here he was.

"So...rough day at school?" Samuel asked, trying to hide his anxiety, but he was never a very good actor.
And neither was his son, "Yeah, well, you know. Math really gets me every time."
"Oh? Did you write a test today?"
"Nah, it's just a general..." Raphael started, but stopped as he looked at the letter his father had picked up and was now waving in the air.
He already knew what it was before even seeing the emblem of his school on the header and he dropped his school bag, his mouth wide open.

"Would you like to try again?" Samuel asked, desperately trying to remain calm.
"Well, you see I-" Raphael tried to speak, but stopped mid-sentence.
Samuel got up and shouted, "What's wrong with you, Raph?! Skipping school?! And I have to learn by a last notice letter?! What happened to you?! I raised you better than that, didn't I?!"
Raphael, surprised and intimidated by the intensity of his father's voice, took a step back, stumbling over his school bag.
He almost fell, but just barely managed to catch his balance again, however the contents of the bag got kicked out nonetheless.

Aside from the untouched school utensils like books, pencils and notebooks, a small device Samuel didn't know came tumbling out and skid to a halt between the father and his son.

Raphael's eyes grew wide and he tried to grab it, however Samuel was faster and picked it up before his son could reach it.
He held it in his hand and recognized it as a cheap smartphone of a no-name brand.
Yet he still asked, "Raph, what is this?"
"That's mine, give it back!" Raphael shouted, trying to wring it from the hands of his father, however he didn't have a chance.

Samuel held it at the height of his head, just out of reach of the hands of his son and turned it on.
At the PIN entry screen, he looked down at the defiant face of his son, before starting to input numbers.

At the third attempt he had the phone unlocked and asked, "The anniversary of Mom's death, huh?"
"What's it to you?!" Raphael asked with gnashing teeth.

Samuel sighed and browsed through the contents of the smartphone.
However, much to his surprise, he didn't find what he expected.
Instead of the names of friends or pornographic material or any other sort of proof for the myriad of horrifying scenarios that had played out in his head, there was just a single entry in the contact list: 'Work'
The calendar listed a number of places and times, which were all located during school time. Sometimes there were even multiple appointments very far away from each other shortly after one another.

He looked down at Raphael and asked, "Okay, would you mind explaining this to me? Or do I need to press the dial button and find out myself?"
"No, don't!" Raphael pleaded, tears streaming down his face.

Samuel sighed, sat down again, switched off the phone, put it into his lap and looked at his son, asking him that way to explain himself.

After a few seconds of silence, Raphael began explaining, "A while ago, some guy was at my school, trying to sell drugs to the kids."
Samuel's eyes grew wide as his mind began whirring again, painting a picture of his son laying dead in a corner, a syringe still stuck in his arm, however it was quickly dispelled, as Raphael continued, "I told the teachers and the police arrested him."

A sigh escaped Samuel's lips, however he decided to wait for the rest of the explanation.
"Either way, while I was at the police station to tell them what I had seen and stuff, they told me that they might need clever kids like me."
"T-the p-police did what?!"
"Okay, it may not have been directly the police, but..."

Again, more horrifying pictures of his son rotting away in jail after getting caught up with the wrong crowd began playing in Samuel's head, however Raphael wasn't done talking.

"Either way, the next day I found this thing in my bag. It only had one message, telling me where to go and what to do and what I'd get as payment. It seemed like an easy job and the payment was great."
"Oh Raph, what have I told you about..." Samuel started, however Raphael asked him to let him finish explaining, "...of course I told my teachers. After all, just like you told me like a hundred times, if something seems too good to be true..."
"...it probably is."

Raphael nodded and said, "The police came again to examine that phone that had just popped up in my backpack, however they couldn't find the one who put it there."
"Then...what about this 'work' stuff in here?"
Raphael replied gleefully, "Well, after the police was done with it, they told me it was okay for me to keep it! Of course they took the SIM card, making it impossible for whoever slipped it into my bag to contact me again, but hey, it was a free smartphone!"
"And all this has to do with this 'Work'-entry...how exactly?"
"Oh, nothing at all Dad. That was the explanation for how I got that smartphone."

Samuel leaned back in his chair, unsure whether to be happy or angry.
While he was still lost between the two, a third option presented itself to him: Absolutely furious, because none of this could be true and his son was lying to him.

He forced himself to calm down again and asked, "Okay, and this 'Work'-business? And the skipping school-thing? You do have an explanation for that too, right?"
"Of course! I can't go to school if I have to work at the same time, can I?"

Samuel buried his head in his hands again and wondered whenever his son had turned into a smart ass without him noticing.
After a few seconds, he removed his hands from his face and looked at the proud face of his son, who apparently was completely convinced that he had done no wrong at all.

Eventually he asked, "Okay, let me rephrase that. What does 'Work' mean here?"
"You go to a place, do something and get paid for it. What else?"
"Okay, and why are you working? And as what anyway?! You're a kid, for crying out loud!"
Raphael smiled and replied, "Oh, that's easy, I'm fixing computers. Many grown-ups have the greatest troubles with the easiest solutions, but they just can't figure them out."
"You...huh?!"

Raphael then proceeded to explain how he learned on the internet that many, especially elderly, people had big problems with their computers and could really need some help.
So, using the smartphone he got, he created a repair service these people could contact for 'quick and uncomplicated help with their computers'.
"Unfortunately-" so he continued, "-most of these people don't have time after school, so I had to turn down a lot of offers while I was still going to school. But then, two months ago, you lost your job again and we could barely afford rent any more."
"...so you decided to ditch school to take those offers...b-but how?!"
"I started to go shopping for us around that time, remember? You were really grateful, because it meant more time for you to go job hunting."
"...and that's how you managed to spend the money you earned without me noticing. And...what about the calls I never got?"
"Oh, that's simple. I snatched your phone and installed a reroute to my phone, in case the school called. I also took care of the letters they sent."

Again, Samuel was caught between emotions.
This time 'amazement at how quickly his son had grown up' was thrown into the mix.
Eventually however he said, "Raph, come here please."

Raphael gulped audibly, came closer and closed his eyes awaiting his punishment.
Samuel got up and slung his arms firmly around the body of his son, tears running down his cheeks, "Oh you wonderful boy! You wonderful, stupid, little boy!"
"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Raphael exclaimed, a little thrown off by the intense hug.

Samuel let go of him and brought a little distance between them, but still holding his son firmly on his shoulders.

"Listen Raph and listen well. You will shut down this repair service of yours."
"What?! But I-"
"I told you to listen! I really appreciate what you were trying to do for me here, but it's very, very, very important that you go back to school. If you don't, they'll send someone to take you away from me and I couldn't bear losing you too!"
"B-but the money..."
"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" Samuel asked, wiping off some snot and a few tears from his face before continuing, "We've always made it one way or another. We'll make it. However we'll do it right. You go to school, do your homework, graduate and become a fine man. Not a fine boy, but a fine man. And in the meantime I'll figure out whatever needs to be done to make that happen. Alright?"
"No."
"No?"
"No, that's not alright, Dad. You can't just shut me down like that. We need the money, and I can help!"
Tears began streaming down Raphael's face again as he thought, 'Would you look at that Martha...our boy's already all grown up...'.

He let go of the shoulders of his son and extended the phone back to him before proceeding to answer the unspoken question in the eyes of his son, "Fine, I hate to leave good people hanging anyway. Here's the new deal. You keep your repair service, but..."
He closed his fist around the smartphone and then continued speaking, "...you will only fulfill these appointments and not take new ones during school time. Any new appointment will be after school hours and you will not go until you've done your school work. We will also start looking into an actual training for this mumbo jumbo, so you can help them better. Also, you will keep me updated on where you go and what you are about to do there. I want the number of that thing."
"Dad, don't you think that's a little..."
"Don't jinx it, Raph, you're still on thin ice here!"

Samuel took a deep breath and then said, "Also, we will both go to that appointment, explain the situation and you will promise them personally that none of the sort will happen again. Am I understood?"
During his last words, Samuel opened his palm again, allowing his son to take the phone back.
"You...aren't grounding me?"
"As much as I'd love to, but we really do need the money..." Samuel admitted, to which Raphael started laughing.

That same night, while Raphael was already fast asleep, Samuel looked up to the stars and asked, "Are you watching, Martha? Am I doing alright? I'm not spoiling him too much, am I? He's a good boy, you know? Just trying to do the right thing. And just as soon as I'm back on my feet, I'll find a way to get him to stop. Just you wait...after all, nothing can keep a good man down."

He then went to bed himself, thoughts swirling in his head and with the next morning he had found a new resolve for himself.

He would not let Raphael's efforts go to waste.

The coming days, Raphael returned to school, making every effort to catch up to the rest of the class. And while it was a close one, the school decided to spare them a visit from the social security office after a heartfelt apology and explanation from Raphael.

He also found a job again and began taking lessons in terms of computers from his son, quickly finding ways to apply his new knowledge at his workplaces.

At the end of the semester, he quit his current job and entered a new, much better paid one, which required extensive knowledge of computers and a few years later, after Raphael had graduated college, he opened a computers shop together with him.

'Richards' Computers - If we can't fix it, it's not broken'

And despite a rough start, they stuck together and pulled through and made it thrive.
After all, nothing can keep a good man down. And much less two of them.