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4 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
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6:28 AM, that was the current time. Jimmy, walking through the school hallways, looks at a clock on a wall, then realizes he has some time to spare before the day's classes begin.
Standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at the clock, Jimmy remains in that state for a few seconds before starting to walk, heading toward the exit of the building.
Since he had nothing to do and wanted to stay as far away as possible from anything that could link him to the mess he caused in the bathroom, he decides to begin his crazy plan to get a better computer than any shit he could buy, no matter how much money he might be willing to invest in it.
And so, leaving the building, Jimmy heads to the school parking lot, more specifically to the abandoned school bus.
"Alright, time to establish first contact", Jimmy thinks as he forcefully opens the bus door.
Entering the bus, Jimmy goes out through the passage on the other side, entering a short hallway that leads directly to a larger enclosed area.
And as he approaches the entrance to the larger area, Jimmy sees an old man sitting under an improvised wooden awning, with his back to him, soldering an electronic component onto an old printed circuit board, a bunch of hardware parts scattered across the improvised table he was using, a contraption full of wires and pieces, looking like an electronic Frankenstein, standing out among the mess on the table.
"Didn't know the school had a resident hobo", Jimmy says suddenly, alerting the man to his presence.
"Hmm? Who are you? What are you doing here, brat?", turning around and standing up quickly, the hobo asks hoarsely, his voice demanding answers.
"The name's Jimmy, I'm exploring the campus", Jimmy replies, which isn't a lie; he just didn't mention he was exploring with a purpose, he knew very well where to go.
"Okay, alright, brat! You've explored enough, now get the hell out of here", the hobo says, not caring about Jimmy's explanation, shooing the brat away from his spot.
"Hmm, what are you doing with all this hardware?", ignoring the bum's demands, Jimmy asks, meddling in the old man's business.
"None of your business, and it would do your future some good to remember not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong", the hobo snaps back dryly, giving a piece of advice practically disguised as a threat.
"Uhhh, hard to follow that advice, trouble usually follows me, nothing I can do about it, old man", Jimmy replies sarcastically, shrugging.
"Hrmph! Real funny, brat, now get the hell out and never come back", the hobo says, looking the cheeky brat up and down, his voice softer now. Jimmy reminded him of himself in his youth.
"Look, relax, old man! I'm not gonna tell anyone at the school that you're living here, if that's what you're worried about", Jimmy says, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, trying to calm the old man down.
"Not gonna tell the school! Ha! You really think those idiots don't know I'm here? Newsflash for you, brat, they know, they all know, they just don't care. I don't mess with the students, and they turn a blind eye to my presence! That's reality, kid, naked and raw, no one cares about my or yours existence, the sooner you understand that, the better", laughing at Jimmy's naivety, the old man says, his tone growing bitter at the end.
"Yeah, I get that really well, old man. But, to me, you sound like someone who lost faith in humanity", Jimmy says, hands in his pockets, understanding well what the old man meant, his mom and her many wallets taught him that early on. But in the end, the difference between him and this old man was that he wouldn't let that reality affect him; he'd build his own life, block by block, alone if he had to.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, brat! Now get the hell out of here!", the old man shoos him away once again, not wanting to get into that subject with a brat he doesn't even know.
"Hmm, nah, not in the mood! What are you gonna do if I don't leave?", provoking the old man, Jimmy says, refusing to leave once again.
"I'll gonna fucking kill you. Now move your withered ass and get out of here before I end that short life of yours", the old man says in a threatening tone, his voice turning cold, let's see if this brat really has any balls.
"Ooh, now we're really talking. You're gonna kill me, old man? Fine then, go ahead, kill me, just keep in mind it won't be as easy as you think", with a wide predatory smile, Jimmy says, raising his arms like Dominic Toretto in Brazil, inviting the old man to try killing him.
"HA!", letting out an amused snort, the old man sizes him up for a few seconds before starting to walk around him, pointing his index finger at the boy as he says, "I get it, you're a brave little brat, huh? Got balls of steel, not afraid of anything, not even death. Your life must've been shit for you to end up like this then...", completing a full circle, he stops in front of Jimmy and continues speaking, still pointing his finger at the boy, "Hmm... I like you, brat! You know, young people like you would've made a difference in Korea and World War Two. Many of the ones I trusted my back with were like you, brave, the kind that act when no one else will, brothers in everything but blood. The ones that made it through World War Two died under friendly fire in Korea", and then, his finger lowers, his voice taking on a different weight, that of someone carrying trauma.
"World War Two and Korea?", Jimmy asks, curious. World War Two was new; this hadn't been mentioned in the game. But, well, everything about this hobo was a mystery anyway.
"Yeah, you fight two wars for your country, and what do you get in return? Some empty medals, a knee they swear is fucked up even though you don't feel any difference and can still fight, and a bunch of trauma", the old man says sarcastically, walking over to a small old mini-fridge connected to a generator.
"Wait, seriously? You fought in two wars?", Jimmy asks, curious to know more about the man's story.
"That's right, I practically jumped from one war to the other, want a beer?", the old man says casually as he opens the mini-fridge, asking while reaching for a few cold beer bottles.
"I'm fifteen, old man! I can't drink", Jimmy says, amused as he looks at the old man.
"Bullshit, at thirteen on the frontlines killing Nazis, by fifteen I'd already been on special ops in enemy territory for a few years. Now grab this fucking beer before it gets warm!", the old man says, opening and handing a bottle of beer to Jimmy.
"Alright, but I can't drink too much, my classes start soon", Jimmy gives in, accepting the opened beer bottle.
"Hahaha! Good luck learning anything in this shitty school! It's almost funny, your parents pay a hell of a lot of money to you end up studying in a fucked-up place like this", the old man says with a laugh.
"Ughhh, this beer is shit. Is it expired, or does this brand just taste like this from the factory?", tasting something bad after taking a sip from the bottle, Jimmy asks.
"It's what we've got for today, kiddo", the old man says, shrugging and taking a sip from the bottle without caring one bit about the taste.
"Anyway, you fought in World War Two when you were thirteen? How did they let you in?", Jimmy asks, intrigued.
"I faked my documents. I looked older and they needed men, so even if they were suspicious, in the end, they turned a blind eye", the old man says, taking another sip from his bottle.
"And how was it? You said you took part in special ops too, right?", Jimmy asks, taking a sip of the crappy beer.
"I enlisted as soon as we entered the war in 1941, spent a year killing Nazis on the front, doing all sorts of crazy and suicidal stuff, before getting arrested for insubordination. Apparently, destroying an entire Nazi base on my own without receiving direct orders and getting a bunch of intel in the process counts as insubordination, even though my way saved a bunch of lives and I had suggested the mission and volunteered for it beforehand. In the end, they only locked me up because I went against their orders. Fucking hypocrites, sending me on suicide missions was fine, but the moment I disobey one little order, suddenly I'm treated like a criminal", the old hobo continues, telling his story before starting to complain and grumble like a grumpy old man.
"So, what happened next?", Jimmy asks, bringing the old man's attention back to the story.
"Well, I was locked up for a little while until an Englishman showed up in front of me, saying that a friend I made on the front was putting together a group for a mission, and he mentioned my name when forming his band of misfits. And so there I was, boarding a boat with six other men, heading to a Spanish colony on an unsanctioned and completely suicidal mission", the old man continues, recalling his collaboration with the Brits.
"Cool! Well, I'd like to keep going, but I gotta go, classes should be starting any minute now. You can tell me the rest of the story some other time", realizing that the classes could start at any moment, Jimmy says, finishing the bottle of beer in one go, the bad taste lingering in his mouth.
"Hey, kid! Before you go, if you do me a favor, I'll teach you how to really fight, how about that?", stopping Jimmy mid-step, the old man asks, proposing a deal.
"Hmm, alright, what do you need?", agreeing without much thought, Jimmy asks.
"Transistors! Basically, you bring me any radio you can find out there, I think six should be enough. But if you manage to bring more, I won't be complaining", the old man elaborates, explaining the details of the favor.
"Alright, old man, doesn't sound hard", Jimmy agrees easily. It was the same task from the game, and he perfectly remembered the locations where the transistors are.
"Alright, kid! Now get outta here", the old man nods, waving Jimmy away.
"Yeah, yeah, later, old man! By the way, what's your name again?", Jimmy turns to leave, but stops at the entrance, wanting to know the old man's name.
"... Peter, Peter Grant", after a brief silence, the old man says, finishing his bottle of beer.
"Alright, old man! The full name's James Hopkins, but everyone calls me Jimmy", Jimmy says, introducing himself formally before turning around, heading for the exit, waving backward with one arm.
And then, after saying goodbye, Jimmy quickly passes through the abandoned bus, taking the opportunity to grab the rubber band that was inside it.
Back at the school parking lot, Jimmy takes the chance to grab another rubber band that was on the other side of the yard before heading back to the main building.
And since it wouldn't take him off his course, he also grabs the rubber band that was on the right side of the main building entrance.
And finally, after this small detour to grab some collectibles, Jimmy enters the main building just in time for the bell to ring.
Heading quickly to the Biology classroom, his first class of the day, Jimmy enters the room and, after a brief glance, he sits next to none other than Christy, apparently, the redhead has the same first class as him on Tuesday.
"Hi Jimmy! Looks like we have another class together besides English", Christy greets him with a warm hug as soon as Jimmy sits beside her at the same counter.
"Yeah, hey! Except now I've got my own books, so you won't have to share yours with me anymore", Jimmy says, returning the hug, before opening his backpack, and taking out his notebook and pencil case.
"Aww, what a shame! Well, at least in biology class we get to sit in pairs! By the way, nice black eye, looks like the rumors are true then", Christy laments a bit before looking on the bright side, taking the opportunity to comment on his black eye and the rumors that had been going around the school for the past hour.
"Rumors?", raising an eyebrow, Jimmy asks. It's been, what, just an hour at most since all that happened, there's no way news spreads that fast, right?
"I heard you fought all the Bullies in the second-floor boys' bathroom, including Russell! And now the bathroom is completely destroyed and flooded, people are even saying you're going to be expelled", Christy says, completely blowing out of proportion what she had heard.
"I wasn't the one who did that!", Jimmy says, lying through his teeth.
"What do you mean?", Christy asks, confused. She didn't expect Jimmy to deny his involvement.
"First of all, I fought the Bullies somewhere else, not in the bathroom. And second, when I got to the bathroom, it was already like that. Algie can vouch for me, he was with me", Jimmy says, lying so well that, to Christy, now, this was the truth of what had happened.
"Wow! Who could've done that then?", Christy asks, curious.
"No idea", Jimmy says, shrugging.
"Well, since I don't know if today's gonna be your last day in school or not, seeing as those rumors must've reached the headmaster's office by now, I'm gonna pay you a little visit tonight in the boys' dorm!", leaning in close to Jimmy, Christy whispers, her cheeks blushing.
"Fine by me, the first two windows on the right side of the dorm next to the front door are mine. I'll leave them open, but there's a tall metal fence in front of them, not sure how you'll get over it", Jimmy says. It looks like the night is going to be a long one.
"Relax, I'm part of the cheerleading squad, doing acrobatics and jumping over obstacles is part of the routine! Just leave the windows open and we're gonna have a lot of fun tonight", Christy whispers in Jimmy's ear with a cheeky smile.
At this moment, Dr. Salawter, the biology teacher, an elderly sir with the look of a mad scientist, walks into the room and starts his lesson.
An hour and thirty minutes later, class ends, with Jimmy standing out once again. Which is good, since when he do some shitty in the future, like what happened in the bathroom, the teachers will come to his defense. After all, he's an exemplary and extremely talented student.
"Hey Christy, can you show me where the Home Economics class is?", Jimmy asks, stopping the redhead in the hallway, he knew where the Home Economics class was, since it was the room used for Music class in the Scholarship Edition, but he wasn't sure, because in the Anniversary Edition the name of the room had been changed to Music.
"I'll show you during the break, okay?", Christy asks, getting closer to Jimmy until she's very close, her hands crossed behind her back.
"I'll meet you at the cafeteria entrance then. We grab something to eat real quick, and then you show me where the class is!", Jimmy says, their faces very close to each other, their bodies almost touching.
"Fine by me, Cowboy! Well, see you later!", Christy says with a smile, her lips brushing lightly against Jimmy's before she turns and walks away.
And so, the day moves along smoothly. After Geography class, his second class of the day, Christy shows him where the Home Economics class is during the break, and just as he suspected, the room was where he thought it would be. The redhead said that the Music and Home Economics classes shared the same room.
After the break, Jimmy has Math class with the detestable Mr. Hattrick, his third class of the day, and then Home Economics with Mrs. Peabody afterward.
Finishing the day's classes at 2:30 PM, Jimmy hears his name called over the school loudspeakers as soon as he steps into the hallways.
"ATTENTION! THE STUDENT JAMES HOPKINS MUST REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!"
[I think I've dropped enough hints by now. Can you guys guess what this crazy plan of Jimmy's to get a computer is all about?]
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(AN: 2,801 Words)
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Leave your Power Stones!
4 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
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