004 Tommy's Revenge
During the long break, the students of Hawkins High School gathered in the auditorium. Tommy, who had been publicly criticized, walked before everyone's gaze holding a speech script—though it was unclear if he had prepared it himself. Standing in the center of the stage, he delivered an apology for his inappropriate remarks yesterday in an extremely reluctant tone, stating he would not do it again.
Among the students, many had suffered because of him. Hawkins had endured Tommy for a long time. Seeing Tommy back down and lose face—and forced to do so at that—made them feel incredibly gratified.
What they wanted was exactly this sense of grievance from someone who wasn't sincere but had no choice but to submit. If he had genuinely repented, they would have found it boring instead.
The school's temporary assembly ended, and it was time for lunch. The students scrambled to the cafeteria.
It wasn't that they were worried about not having food, but rather about not having a place to sit.
Relying on his extraordinary strength and agility, Richard easily squeezed into the lunch line with Robin in tow.
"Whoa, I didn't realize you were so strong. I'm counting on you to help me get food from now on, brother." Robin was a bit out of breath from trying to keep up with Richard's speed, but she was also very excited. This was her first time reaching the front of the line, seeing many delicious dishes she usually couldn't even see from the back.
Richard was secretly proud. Since he was a kid, he had never waited in long lines at cafeterias; he was always at the front.
As the saying goes, if you're not proactive about eating, there's something wrong with your priorities.
It must be said that there was a reason Richard and Robin could become "brothers" in such a short time. Their living situations were similar—both needed to work part-time; their interests partially overlapped—both liked movies, novels, and cool things, especially stories with suspense and mystery; and their personalities were somewhat alike—neither cared much about their personal image.
Their table manners weren't terrible, but they were a bit exaggerated compared to normal people. Furthermore, Richard didn't know if it was because his physique had been enhanced, but his appetite was somewhat staggering, only slightly smaller than John from the next class, who weighed 300 pounds.
Consequently, although they didn't act cold or unapproachable, it was just enough to make those students who were interested in getting to know Richard hesitate. The image of the Richard who could suppress the bully Tommy was shattered in their minds.
Ah, this... Richard, is this it?
"Um, can I sit here?" Just as Richard was eating, he suddenly heard someone ask him from beside him.
Looking up, he saw a long-haired boy who looked somewhat quiet and reserved, with a camera hanging around his neck.
"Of course, it's your right. You don't need to ask me, Jonathan," Richard said with a smile.
Jonathan gave a shy smile, thanked him, and sat down next to Richard. He placed the camera on the table and began to eat, his eyes occasionally scanning Richard and Robin.
Robin had finished eating. She picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth and, disregarding her image, patted her slightly bulging belly, grinning at Richard. "The pepperoni pizza you can only get at the front of the line really is delicious. I'm so stuffed today, my belly is almost bursting. This top is really tight on me."
"Cough!" Jonathan, who was eating, was shocked by Robin's bold words and almost spat out his food.
"Hahaha, you scared him. Watch your language a bit. Although I treat you like a brother, objectively speaking, you're a woman with a very good figure." Richard said to Robin with a smile, pushing a bottle of water he had grabbed earlier toward Jonathan. "I apologize on her behalf. Have some water."
"Thanks." Jonathan seemed to have truly choked. He grabbed the water and gulped down several mouthfuls before barely recovering.
Robin also apologized profusely, then looked at Richard with a strange smile. "You just said I have a good figure. So that's how you've always seen me."
"Just stating facts. I don't have many virtues; I'm just honest and handsome," Richard said solemnly.
After this interaction, Jonathan felt a sense of friendliness from the two. He asked curiously, "If you don't mind me asking, what is the relationship between you two?"
"Brothers."
"Best friends."
Hearing this, the two answered almost in unison.
Jonathan chuckled and said, "You two have such a good relationship. Is it always like this?"
"Actually, we only became friends yesterday," Robin explained.
Richard shrugged. "It just happened naturally. Maybe she and I were friends in a past life. There's a phrase—'kindred spirits'—meaning people who click immediately. That probably describes the relationship between us."
Robin nodded in agreement. "Agreed."
Hearing the truth, a hint of envy emerged in Jonathan's heart. He had only moved to his mother's hometown, Hawkins, with his younger brother and mother a few years ago. He was already not very confident, and after arriving in a strange environment, he became even more withdrawn, keeping to himself and making no friends at school over the years.
"Hey, Jonathan, do you usually like taking photos?" Richard pointed at the camera on the table. "Can I take a look?"
"Uh, sure." Seeing Richard's interest in his camera, Jonathan scratched his head. "As for liking photography, yes, I'm a member of the school's Photography Club."
Seeing Richard handling the camera with a posture that looked quite professional, Jonathan also became a bit interested. "Li, are you usually interested in cameras too?"
Hearing Jonathan address Richard by his surname, Robin laughed, "You're the first person to call him by his surname correctly."
Jonathan scratched his face. "Because of my mom's work, she meets many people. I know a bit about how different naming conventions work."
Richard shook his head. "I don't particularly like taking photos, but I did pay attention to cameras and similar equipment for a while."
However, the cameras he was interested in were digital cameras, which weren't yet widespread. During the time he couldn't find a job before being transported here, he had many ideas. He even once thought about becoming a content creator, so he researched camera equipment. But after seeing the prices and the income growth curve of a normal creator, he instantly became discouraged.
Jonathan felt a bit disappointed, thinking they might share a common hobby.
"Do you prefer taking portraits or landscapes?"
"Um, I usually take more landscapes." Jonathan smiled a bit unnaturally. As a red-blooded high school boy, how could he not have thought about taking photos of girls? But he didn't have the courage or the skill.
Richard grinned, seeing through the other's thoughts. "You could actually try inviting others for a shoot. You can't take good photos without some guts as a photographer. I think Nancy from the next class would be great."
"Nan—Nancy!" Jonathan's eyes were filled with shock, and his expression changed rapidly. He felt as if his secret had been seen through, his mind shaken, and he stammered out of guilt.
"Nancy Wheeler? Isn't that girl a bit too delicate?" Robin offered her opinion.
Are you kidding? That girl is super brave. In the original series, Nancy was always the first among the teenagers to propose taking on the monsters of The Upside Down. Jonathan wasn't even as strong-willed as her. Calling this young lady a "monster-fighting goddess" wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.
"Then what about Tammy? I remember she's a girl with dreams of becoming a star. Asking her to be a model would definitely be no problem." Hearing Robin's objection, Richard raised an eyebrow and looked at her playfully.
Robin's brow instantly furrowed, and she said righteously, "On second thought, Nancy... isn't actually that bad!"
Just to mention, Robin had a crush on that girl named Tammy Thompson; she was a lesbian.
"Thanks for the advice," Jonathan said with a dry laugh.
"Don't take it to heart, it's just a suggestion. If you need to take photos of a handsome guy, I don't mind cooperating if you're interested." Richard shrugged and extended a hand of friendship to Jonathan.
Jonathan looked at Richard, stunned for a moment, then his smile widened as he gripped Richard's hand firmly. "Okay, definitely," he said sincerely.
"I can help too, but I only do menswear." Robin also put her hand on top, finding it interesting.
"Trust me, Robin, the tomboy style also has a big market," Richard said meaningfully.
[Established a relationship with the core plot character Jonathan. Plot Points +10]
...Another day after school, just as Richard pushed his bicycle out of the school gate, a blue convertible sports car drove up and blocked his path.
The young man in the driver's seat took off his sunglasses and leaned against the car door, looking at him.
Students on their way home noticed this scene and couldn't help but look at the flashy, expensive sports car, but the girls' eyes were mostly drawn to the handsome and wealthy young man.
"Hey, you're Richard, right?" the young man asked.
Looking at the future "professional babysitter," Richard couldn't help but show a kind smile. "Yes. What's up, Steve?"
"You can just call me Steve. And don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble; I just want to give you some advice." Steve Harrington, the son of a wealthy family in town, scanned Richard from head to toe. "If you don't want to run into trouble later, it's better if you apologize to Tommy."
As he spoke, he lowered his voice on purpose so that only Richard, who was closest, could hear. "That guy is really off today. I'm afraid he might do something stupid recently."
"Thanks for the warning, Steve." Richard grinned. This rebellious rich kid wasn't bad at heart; in fact, he was quite kind.
Steve shook his head and started the car to leave once more.
Richard waved away the exhaust fumes and muttered, "The emissions on cars in this era are really terrible," before pedaling his bicycle away from the school.
Richard's home was on Mirkwood, which was one of the roads leading out of town. Since very few people entered or left town this way, there were basically no cars on this road.
So, when Richard noticed a blue van following him, he naturally sensed something was wrong. Relying on his enhanced eyesight, he looked back a few times and finally discovered that the person in the driver's seat of the van was none other than Tommy, whose facial wounds had not yet healed. He was glaring at Richard with a vicious and sinister expression.
Tommy probably also felt that with fewer people on this road, his chance had come. He suddenly floored the gas, accelerating and quickly chasing after Richard's bicycle.
Richard knew the speed of his beat-up bicycle could not compete with a car. He made a split-second decision. Before the other party could fully catch up, he turned the handlebars and steered the bike directly into the thick forest. His bike couldn't move on the steep ground, so he quickly and decisively abandoned it to flee on foot.
Seeing this, Tommy cursed "Fuck," parked the car by the roadside, and rushed into the forest with the classmates he had bribed to act as thugs.