章節 12: Chapter 12: Create.
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"Why the hell am I fighting with her… again?" I muttered as I walked home. Not regretting my actions much, I hummed a song while walking.
I arrived at my house after walking for 2 minutes. I took a shower before changing into my pajamas. Then, I started to plan the rest of my week. I sat on the bed and tracked my activities using my fingers.
"A show tomorrow. I need to buy a laptop after that. Lily is coming home on Sunday. I don't think I can enter the family gathering, but if I can, I want to see the episode played out by myself. It will also confirm my doubts whether the story will move the way the series does, or will my future knowledge be useless here."
I sighed as I laid on the bed, my feet hanging by the edge and touching the floor.
"I still need to study for the history test on Friday. Damn." I cursed out. It's only 9 o'clock, so I rested for 10 minutes before starting a little side project.
I didn't have any assignments for tomorrow, so I could take it easy. I would, however, habitually read for at least an hour before I went to bed.
"Let's see here. Edna Mode On." I muttered as I took out multiple fabrics from the plastic covers. "Pepper and Cam are really generous."
I ran my fingers through the soft fabrics and multiple outfits designs popped into my mind.
There were multiple high quality fabrics that I could use to create more than 10 outfits for myself. Cam also bought the fabrics to bribe me into a non-disclosure agreement about the baby. He wanted to be there to see the family's reaction, therefore I accepted his bribe.
However, the materials weren't suitable for my casual clothes. I could only make outfits for special events or business suits with this one.
I had already dug out my mom's rusty sewing machine from the garage and fixed it a bit so that it could run smoothly again.
I started cutting the clothes using scissors and sewing them using the old sewing machine. I wanted to create an outfit for my show tomorrow night.
My phone suddenly buzzed, distracting me from my focus after sewing for an hour.
I picked the phone and found a text from Pepper. He told me that he had just sent Mitch and Cam to the airport, and was wondering if I have time for tomorrow. I texted him back, but he's replying so slowly that I decided to just call him.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"A few entertainment agencies are trying to contact you. They want to sign you up as one of their own. What are you going to do about it?" Pepper asked from the other line. The agencies were all intercepted by his lawyers before they could even contact the artist.
"I don't want to. At least not now. You can handle them for me right, Pepper?" I asked. The son of an oil magnate was silent for a while as he was thinking about it.
"Oh well. I will handle your advertisement and albums then." Pepper said decisively.
"What? I meant- Rejecting them for me…Hello? Hellooo?"
The call was cut off after Pepper drove into a tunnel. "What the hell just happened?!"
…
Pepper never called back and didn't reply to my messages after that. He only texted one, saying he needed to prepare for my debut.
"I guess I will be a singer then." I muttered flatly.
"Whatever. It's Newgate's dream to become one. I could play along for a while, and retire before I got into college."
Newgate was a music prodigy and wanted to become famous worldwide with his music. However, I know the trouble of getting famous at such an early age. Getting to Hollywood may seem nice on the surface, but it was filled with dirty dealings underneath.
Without a proper backing, it would be easy for the upper officials in Hollywood to bury me – both literally and figuratively. My dreams were different from Newgate. The Franzetti dream was to live life without ever having to bow my head at horrible people again.
"I wanted to build something, but I don't have any money. What a waste of good ability." I muttered. "Maybe going 'dumpster' diving like Peter Parker did?"
"Or should I buy some old car and restore it?" I muttered. "I could sell them for money afterward. But it's not cost effective."
"I guess. I will make some websites and games to sell."
It's only 2009, and the mobile games market was still small. I had learned how to create some small indie games through my studies in my previous life.
"I think I could create games better than the ones in the market right now. But I'm going to the laptop first. The PC is better, but it will cost too much for me right now."
Never once did I think of asking my dad for money to buy the laptop. Not because I was too stubborn and egoistical as I was as an adult before, but it just slipped my mind.
"Let's see how much money I have now."
I reached underneath my bed and pulled out a small brass box. I opened the sealed shut box and finally dove into Newgate's personal savings that he'd collected throughout the years.
"Collect some money, and then run away from home after you turn 18. A very simple train of thoughts."
Rather than living the way the previous me would've intended, I wanted to prepare for the future.
"288 dollars in the box. Added with 150 dollars left from the gig money, I will have around 900 tomorrow after singing at the cafe. It's enough for a good-stat laptop I needed to start coding."
Most of the savings were from my grandparents in Wisconsin. I turned to my phone and went to scroll the IOS app store.
"Doodle jump is already released. I think Angry Birds is in production, so I couldn't make that. Hmm…I guess maybe Badlands or Temple run. I can start by creating simple websites and selling them for money."
I also needed money for establishing a company, creating a domain name, and many more. I couldn't wantonly create the game and hoped that I would become a millionaire from it.
"What else can I do to make some money? What else?" I paced back and forth in my bedroom and fell into a deep thought.
"Selling new fashion wear is simple enough, but to find the right connection is troubling. It'll be good if I debut first and then start a clothing line. Summer is nearing, so I can sell some summer designs to a few clothing companies, but who in their right mind would deal with a kid?"
…
Morning came quickly and I biked to school as usual. Mrs Henderson called me into her class early in the morning to discuss a few things about my graduation.
"You're severely lacking in extracurricular activity. I would advise that you join the marching band given your skills in music, but there isn't any empty spot left in the band." Mrs Henderson said.
She pushed the bridge of her glasses up using her left hand and put down the paper containing my academic records. She was wearing a black blouse with a high-waisted pant today, mesmerizing me with her beauty once more.
"Hmm? Anything wrong Mr. Newgate?" Mrs Henderson asked as she saw my expression.
"Sorry. I am just…confused. How did my extra-curricular take part again?"
Mrs Henderson sighed. She then explained calmly, "It won't matter if you're entering the high school here. But after transferring, especially in Wisconsin, I am afraid that you won't be able to adapt to the environment there. Having an extra-curricular skill or an area of expertise would help you in adapting."
"So..you're worried about me?" I asked with a teasing smile.
Unexpectedly, my homeroom teacher replied, "I am. You're not getting any tutoring, and you're not having any friends in school. I am afraid when you transfer, you will stop going to school."
I was stunned by the sudden honesty. "Why do you care so much anyway? Once I'm gone, I will no longer be your problem." I blurted out.
I didn't mean to do that, but the words just slipped out. Mrs. Henderson stood up from her chair and walked to the whiteboard to prepare for today's lesson she will teach the class. She grabbed a whiteboard marker and started to write a few science theories on the board.
"What do you plan to do in the future, Mr Newgate?" Mrs. Henderson asked with her back against me.
"I don't know. Be rich I guess." I replied. I really don't know what I'm going to do here. Dreams are for childrens. I was once an adult who'd already buried his dreams as he faced the reality of the world.
"And being rich will make you happy?" She asked again.
I became irked by her question. "Will being poor make you happy?" I said in confrontation.
"Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. All I know for sure, if I'm with the people I love, I will always be happy, even when going through tough times." Mrs. Henderson turned to face me after finishing writing her lessons.
"That's a child's dream. Reality didn't work like that. Real world won't stop until they beat you down and take everything you'd ever love. I don't think you're that naive Mrs. Henderson." I replied with venom in my voice.
"But you're still a child." Mrs. Henderson said calmly. "What's the use of being a child you don't dare to dream?"
I was left speechless by her words. The school bell rang before I could argue again. The first period was starting, therefore the conversation here was over.
"Go to your class Mr. Newgate. I will see you later." Mrs. Henderson said. I nodded and rushed to my class for today.
I couldn't focus on the class that day, therefore I laid down my head on the table and stared at the window outside. After thinking for a while, I decided to not let the conversation bother me. Jacob, the potato boy, tapped on my shoulder after the class was over.
"Ed. Next class is English class. Let's go."
"Hmm…sure."
We walked to the next class before a sudden gust of wind raged inside the school hallways.
"What the hell was that!?" Jacob yelled out after being surprised by the wind. He turned to see me with a piece of flier stuck on my face after the wind blew the paper across the halls.
I picked up the piece of paper from my face and saw what was written on it.
"Hmm? Chess tournament? First price– 500 dollars. That's nice. " I muttered flatly and decided to crumple the paper into a ball and threw it into a garbage bin nearby.
"Aren't you joining the tournament?" Jacob asked a stupid question.
"Why would I?" I replied.
"I don't know. It seems like fate is calling you. After all, the paper didn't stick to anyone else's face but you." Jacob teased.
"..."
We went to the cafeteria to have lunch after English class. I saw Alex sitting alone in the cafeteria after I picked up a tray of food. The lunch in the school was disgusting, but I didn't have anyone else to blame except myself for not making some sandwiches this morning.
"Sup." I approached Alex's table and sat in front of her casually. She widened her eyes as I came to sit with her. Jacob quickly turned his steps and retreated from the table as he saw I was sitting with a girl. He was a nice kid, but his social skills were below zero. He would freeze when he wanted to talk to girls in the school.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked. She usually used her lunch time to read instead of hanging out with other girls– not that she didn't want to talk and have fun, but she didn't have any close friends.
"I'm eating. What else? Are you sure you're smart? Or you're just another pretty face?" I said with an innocent look on my face.
Alex was flustered and she quickly controlled her tone to become a bit haughty, "If you want to sit, then sit. I don't care."
"Which Tv show did you learn that dialogue from? That should be used when I asked if I could sit here, not after I'd already sat." I laughed at her pitiful attempt to show that she didn't care about sitting with someone.
"Don't tease me. Why are you always teasing me?" Alex asked in frustration.
"Why else? I think you're pretty awesome, and I would like to become your friend." I replied honestly. She was stunned by the sudden confession and lowered her head.
"Is that really it? Or are you doing so to make Haley mad again?" Alex asked in distrust. Having a popular older sister, it wasn't the first time a boy wanted to use her to get close to her sister. In the end, she was just a tool for the boys to get to know Haley.
She kept her guard up and waited for the answer with a heavy-beating heart.
"Honestly, I don't care about Haley. She's pretty, but she's not my type." I replied with a sly smirk.
"If ranked, I like Luke and Phil, then Claire, then Manny and Gloria, then Jay, and lastly Haley."
"Oh. I wasn't ranked?" Alex asked.
"You're between Claire and Phil. It's a bit high, but not the first one." I said. "By the way, the food today is disgusting." I said as I took a bit of the brown sludge on my food tray.
Alex smiled and started to reply casually, "I think I saw the lunch lady drop her wig in there. She did pick it back up, but you may find a couple of-"
"Okay. I'm done." I said and pushed the tray toward her. She closed her book and laughed after finally winning in the argument for once.
A popular girl at school, Jenna Mckenzie walked to the cafeteria with her group of entourage. She then saw Edward sitting with Alex and laughing together from afar.
"He's the one from Youtube right?" Jenna asked. The blonde haired popular girl wore a mini-skirt and an almost see through blouse. Most of the boys in the school would drool when they saw her.
"Yes. His songs now have passed 100,000 views. Many commented for him to audition in an entertainment agency or just debut already." An african-american follower of the popular girl briefed Jenna about the situation.
In the teenagers' lives, popularity was everything for them. Jenna had never been single since she was 9 years old, and had lost her virginity at 12. Now, she's stalking for her new prey to become an accessory for her popular life in school.
"I like him. He's going to be mine." Jenna said as she pointed at Edward.
…
-Omniscient POV-
Mrs. Henderson was marking the assignments on her desk. A male teacher knocked on the door and said, "Henderson. It's lunchtime. Take a break."
"I'm okay." Mrs. Henderson replied, not looking up from her desk. The male teacher shrugged his shoulders and walked away– disappointed that the beautiful teacher didn't accept his invitation once more.
Alone in the classroom, Mrs Henderson held Edward's academic transcript in her hand. She then muttered, "He's a tough one. Your son. I wonder if it's really worth it to make a dreamless person into an Afterlife agent."
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