MTLNOVEL Chapter 26: 26. Resolutions, Friendships and No Good Byes
(Matt's PoV - Tuesday, October 31st, 2012, 6:23 p.m.)
"Trick or Treats!" A bunch of kids say as soon as I open my door. I smile creepily as I grab a pumpkin head bucket.
"Yes, children~! Come here and get your candy from this very~ friendly stranger~!" I pull out a handful of candy and extend to them. A lady behind them gives me the stink eye and checks the candies over once they go away after thanking me.
I shake my head in exasperation and close my door.
"Why do you do that every time?" Andrew questions me, floating his little daughter this way and that, keeping her low to the ground.
He named his dog Princess... I hope she grows big, strong, and scary to perpetuate the stigma.
"I like the Halloween spirit and all but never understood the whole 'asking candy from strangers'. Isn't that like, one of the first things your parents teach _not to do_ you when you're young?" I sit back down on my armchair.
He looks at me, his head pondering from side to side. "Yeah, but it's Halloween... that supersedes the rule, no?"
"I don't know, dude. I'd be careful. Never know what people would do to your kids." I shrug, watching the TV.
"Maybe you're too paranoid, Matt." I give him a mean look and he shrugs, "Just saying."
"Yeah, yeah. Piece of advice? If you ever have kids and they go out on Halloween, always check their candy before letting them eat it." I frown, pondering something seriously.
Andrew notices and asks, "What is it now? Whenever you get that face you're thinking something weird."
"I was just thinking: what will happen to our kids? Will they have powers? Brain mutations? Will they be... stable?" Andrew gets up at that, now sharing my frown.
I pacify him lightly, "Calm down. I had some tests done - by trusted people, no one has them but me - and what happened only changed our brains. It **should** be something that only we have. Only the rock can give powers." The rock and I. "Still, maybe if this settles for a while in our brain, it might get passed down as a mutation on our genome. It might be the most recessive mutation ever, but there's a chance it sticks..."
"So you're saying that, if we have kids now they might be born with powers? And any other family after them also has the chance?" He stands up, putting Princess on the couch he was lying on, noticing the severity of the situation.
I nod, "Yes, it could happen, the chance is just abysmally low."
"I think it would still be a good idea to warn the others." He says, floating Princess to his shoulder and keeping her there. She barks a bit but is generally already used to floating around. Andrew does seem to keep her up with a very gentle hold, so it must be comfortable.
I stand up and we head to the kitchen, where Steve and Matthew have been for the past hour or so.
Once there we see Steve wearing an apron and trying - and failing miserably - to cook something. He and Matthew are discussing something.
"Why do you think adding that much cinnamon is ok??? That was a whole tablespoon!" Matthew yells at Steve, who looks like a surviving victim of a close-up explosion, with his apron all covered in a black, burnt goo-like thing. "How did it even explode onto you!?"
Steve shrugs, floating the goo away from the apron and putting it on the sink for now, "Don't ask me! It just started getting bigger and bigger and blew up in my face! Imagine if it hit my beautiful face, Matthew! Have you thought of that!?" Matthew seems frustrated while Steve is just joking around.
"Hello, gentlemen, I see you're 'cooking'. We had a discovery that you might be interested in." I sit on a stool, looking at all three. "The powers _might_ be passed down."
Matthew and Steve frown, look at each other, look at Andrew... and shrug. "That's neat." "Pretty cool."
Andrew gapes at them, "Do you- Are you not worried?? Our kids, **children**, might have telekinesis! Do you know how dangerous that could be!?"
Matthew says, "Um, well we know how to control it, so we just... teach them?"
Steve complements, "Yeah Andrew, it's fine! I bet it would be pretty funny seeing a flying baby!" grinning.
Andrew facepalms hard. I raise my hand, "I think you two are taking this too lightly. While yes, it would be pretty funny to have a flying baby and yes, you could probably teach them how to control the powers, having that trait become something genetic - even if recessive - poses a problem: your children, grandchildren, or great-great-great grandchildren might not have it, but as long as it's in your genes, it might resurface as long as your bloodline survives."
"I think you guys are overestimating how easy it would be for a baby to control these powers..." Andrew mutters.
I point at him, "That too. Imagine what would happen if a baby or a child were to use their powers in a public setting? Same thing we were worried about at first: lab rat... in this case, lab baby." Before they can ask or say anything, I continue. "And let's not even talk about what an awkward situation it would be to explain to the baby's mother..."
That seems to stump them pretty bad. 'Of course, they care about their girlfriends/wives more than a hypothetical baby.'
"Besides... you guys might be pretty strong now, but you've stagnated recently, no?" I throw in a little tease.
That gets a rise in all three of them.
"Hey! I'm able to lift my car easily now!" Matthew objects first.
"Yeah! I fly for hours on end... probably carrying my car too!" Steve says, looking over Matthew with a gloating smile.
"I can keep several cars floating easily! I've been using my powers constantly for... for a few days now, actually..." Andrew starts heatedly but gets pensive by the end.
I slowly clap for them all, "Congratulations! You've all improved, I see. That's good." They all preen at the praise.
"Tell you what: As I'm leaving in roughly 12 days, how about we travel around this weekend? This way we can all enjoy a mini-vacation." They all think about it for a while. So long in fact I get up and start petting Princess.
"I mean... yeah, I could do it... the birthday of Casey's nephew is this Friday, so if we go on Saturday and return Sunday evening, it could work." Matthew finally breaks the silence.
Andrew simply shrugs, "I can say I'll be on a quick trip with you guys. Mom shouldn't bother much."
Steve cringes, however. "Hm... I'm already on thin ice with Samantha... I..." Me and the other two look at him, pressuring him into it.
He valiantly tries his best to resist but concedes. "Fiiine, I'll say something to her."
"I can give you a good trip for two on winter break..." I offer.
"DEAL! Oh, I was **not** going to be able to afford that. Thanks, Matt!" Steve says, trying to get near me and smear my clothes with his stained apron. I fly myself around his attempts, which makes him start flying to get me. We eventually tag Matthew and Andrew as well, even Princess joins the flying game of tag.
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(Matt's PoV - Saturday, November 4th, 2012, 12:14 p.m.)
"This place really is... breathtaking."
We're all sitting crossed legs on the ground, enjoying the peace and quiet of Mount Everest.
"In more ways than one huh, Steve?" I elbow him, enjoying the hook his comment left for my joke.
"Ha ha, very funny. Can't you let one go?" He rolls his eyes at me.
I chuckle, before motioning for him to stay quiet. At his questioning look, I point at Andrew.
Andrew has his eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply as if meditating. Slowly, the snow around us starts to float and form shapes. They rise and fall like waves, revolving around us and themselves, making detailed faces and landscapes until the snow makes a very faithful picture of the four of us on top of the mountain.
He opens his eyes, smiling at his creation.
"Cool..." Matthew mutters and we all cackle at him. "W-what!?"
"Hahahahaha! You- You sounded like a kid seeing Christmas for the first time!" I say, falling on the snow and laughing.
A minute of laughter later - Matthew sulking all the while - I sit up again. "Let's ski down the mountain!"
All three of them look at me funny, but I roll my eyes, spring up, and jump off of the peak we were at.
They shout for a while, but then see me skiing down the thing with no equipment. That's when they realize they keep forgetting they have a power that makes barriers however they want...
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"Now, _this_ is the life..."
We are all hanging on a beach in Barcelona, enjoying the sun on our skins. These guys surely need it, they're pale as fuck.
"You guys ever been to a beach?" I ask.
Matthew scoffs, "Yeah! There's beaches in Seattle, dude."
I pull down my sunglasses to really look at him, "But have _you_ ever been there, tho?"
He turns to me, clicks his tongue in annoyance, "It's not really a thing I did much..." and turns away from me.
"Yeah, I thought so. You and Andrew are so pale you would fit right in with Edward and Bella!" Yeah, that's gonna get a rise out of th-
"Bro, you did **NOT** just say that!" Matthew gets up, clearly _offended_.
Even Andrew scrunches his face in mild disgust. "That's too far, Matt. Not cool."
Steve, who was applying sunscreen on his skin - much to the appreciation of passing by ladies - guffaws uproariously. "OH MY GOD! THEY WOULD FIT IN SO WELL!! HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT BEFORE!? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Andrew and Matthew's faces get red with embarrassment and anger. I throw them a silver lining, "Look on the _bright_ side; you could make a _killing_ acting in those movies! Chicks love it, right?"
The look of disgust they make at me is pure, unadulterated gold.
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"I'm telling you! We missed our opportunity to scare a bunch of kids on Halloween, bros! We have the perfect setup; we _make shit float_!" Steve was _devastated_ when he came to that conclusion.
I can't help but agree, "Yeah, missed that shot... We could still do it, though. In another place..."
And that's how we decided to 'haunt' an Irish castle until they all felt tired.
The screams of the clerks around the castle were worth the prank. 'Good thing there was no one with any heart problems. I just hope there weren't any psychological scars... nah, they'll be fine!'
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"Oh! OH! Look, guys! I'm actually surfi-" And that's as far as Steve went before losing his balance and crashing into the water. He resurfaces soon enough, giving us a double thumbs up. "I'm okay!"
"Nice going, dude! Come on, I'm next!" Matthew says, nodding to the surfer bro who lent us his board and is teaching us. He's actually a very nice French man, enjoying surfing on his weekend. I thought it would be a problem talking to him but...
Let's say the power of constant information via the Internet, eidetic memory, and Spoiler made it so, even if not totally fluent, I'm at least a decent French speaker.
Anyway, he lent us his board and agreed to try and teach us - the boys through me - when I offered to pay for as many bills as he could get by the time we left. I saw him calling some people, but so far he's been very invested in his teaching.
Matthew does surprisingly well on top of the board, maintaining his balance pretty well. I did notice he went _too_ well on the actual waves. Impressing our instructor. Probably used his powers.
Andrew, predictably, did not want to try to surf, though he did go for a swim. He seems a bit self-conscious of his skinny body. 'I guess when his company is three big guys, he might find himself inadequate...'
When the sun was coming down, I told our instructor that we were leaving. He smiled and beckoned me to a nearby bar. When we entered it, people cheered and all raised their cups at me.
Turns out, this guy lives near this beach and knows the owner of this bar. He called a friend, said to get as many people in the bar as possible, and said whatever they wanted was covered for the day. It quickly turned into a small local event and people were cheering, drinking, watching sports games, and having a good time.
I chuckled seeing that, so I talked to the bar owner and decided to do a thing I've seen a few Youtubers do on my old Earth.
"How much do you think people spend in your bar in a week?" I asked him.
He thought for a moment, before answering. "About 23 thousand euros, on a good season. Why?"
I smiled and asked for his credit card machine, paying him 200 thousand euros. "Everything anyone wants for a week is covered. Have fun!" He was stupefied.
I gave Surf Bro a pat on the shoulder and a quick _merci_, before meeting with the boys again. We headed to our next adventure.
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"Ok, so the idea is that we let ourselves go until the last second, ok!?" Steve yells over the wind.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Andrew cautiously asks though he's excited too.
"It's going to be fine! Enjoy the thrill!!!!" Steve screams and takes the lead, letting himself fall from the Stratosphere.
Of course, we all still have barriers maintained by me to deal with the insane air pressure and lack of oxygen, but the feeling of falling this fast, the bloody, ferrous taste at the back of the mouth, the rush... that's something that can't be controlled. 'Well, they can't... yet.'
We all fall from 50 kilometers high, screaming most of the way down until finally, we catch ourselves a few hundred meters above the ground. We're in Seattle again and it's nighttime, on Sunday.
"THAT WAS SO COOL! We **HAVE** to do this again sometime!" Steve is super excited, as always.
Matthew is whooping like crazy and even Andrew is grinning madly. They all enjoyed it, good.
"Well then, boys. It was a good weekend, was a good time. You better go home; tomorrow the grind starts again... See you next time, dudes." The last part came out more somber than I intended. I get closer to them one at a time, giving them a fist bump and a longer-than-normal hug each.
They all laughed and called me a lazy bum and whatnot. I only laughed.
Surprisingly, the only one to notice something off is Andrew.
He furrows his brows, "Matt, you..."
I turn to him with a somewhat melancholic smile, "Yeah?"
"I don't know, you sound... weird. You okay, man?" He asks, getting closer. Steve and Matthew are already going down, talking to one another about the trip and all the fun stuff we did.
I catch Andrew in a half hug, turning us in the direction of the city sprawl. "... I'm going, Andrew." I feel him seize, but I squeeze him slightly. "It's fine, I know. 'Out of nowhere', 'you still have some time before you go'... I'm not good with goodbyes. I... never was."
"But you- Steve and Matt, they'll hate you if you don't call or visit, you know?" He protests.
"Hah! I bet they will. But, it is what it is, my man. You want a piece of advice? Never stop fighting for what you want; no matter how hard, how tough things turn out, _you are stronger than this_. If not for yourself, for _them_. For Matthew and Casey, for Steve and Samantha, for Aunt Karen and Princess. Never forget, **they are always worth it**, ok?" I squeeze him one more time and let him go.
"I know you've gone through a rough patch, but remember there's always light if you look for it, right?" He looks into my eyes, tearing up. Memories of the abuse he went through: getting beaten and screamed at for no fault of his own. Seeing his mom on a bed, barely breathing and _begging_ for help, for the pain to go away. It all rushes through his mind.
But the good times also rush back; learning to control the powers, flying for the first time, seeing his mom back up and hugging him... I could almost see it all through his eyes.
All of that emotion makes him choke. He can only say one thing, tears running down his face. "Thank you."
And that's all I needed to hear.
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"So... good job!" Amanda exclaims awkwardly. The congratulations sound is even off-tune as well.
"Yeah, I could've talked to them all and said proper goodbyes... It's just not my style. It would end up hurting more; it always does." I say, looking anywhere but her eyes. 'I **hate** this shit.'
"Well... at least you left them a letter. Do you want some time before we..." She gestures to the semi-transparent wheel behind her.
I nod quietly, laying back on the chair I find myself seated in - which quickly turns into a reclining chair - and just absorbing all that happened in the last few months.
I learned a new power, made new friends - and one 'enemy' if you can call Monica that - figured out an infinite money glitch- er, perk, and enjoyed a bit more of the world... 'Damn! I watched so few movies, series, and animes! I was so entertained training the powers it slipped my mind.'
{But it was still 2012; there aren't **that** many things out yet.}
'You have no idea how much popular media from 2012 and below was still relevant in 2024, Syn. From the top of my head comes Avengers, One Piece, Dragon Ball, _and Twilight_. There are Disney and DreamWorks animations... a lot more I won't bother mentioning.' I massage my head.
'Whatever, we'll do it next time we can, without fail.'
I stay brooding for a few minutes. I think I did pretty well, all things considered. I helped everyone I wanted, even some people I didn't think I would help and got rid of the Anomaly.
I didn't pursue the rest of the Corruption in the world, but I did go to the Mavis residence and there was nothing there. Must be hard for Miriam, but what can I do? 'I won't go out of my way to save **everyone**. If it's convenient, I'll lend a hand.'
Besides that... it was nice. Maybe a bit too short? I couldn't let the Anomaly there, though. Ooh, not to mention what it could've done to the boys. If Gina is anything to go by, considering she was like that _after_ the Anomaly was gone... I wouldn't want to see that.
With a nod and a final mental tidying up, I nod to Amanda. Let's see where we're going next.
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"LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS SPIN THE WHEEL OF DESTINATION!!!!!!!!!!" Amanda makes an over-the-top entrance, the ambient lights turning down with a spotlight right into the Wheel.
"ARE YOU READY, MATT!?" She screams.
"Yeah...!" I fake cheer, with a smile on my face.
"**I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!**" She screams not only louder but... **louder**?
"Yeah!" I respond with more enthusiasm. She smiles widely, jumping up and coming down spinning the Wheel.
Once again, a lot of options appeared and went past, each with its own color scheme. Eventually, the wheel stopped on a mostly red option, with some yellow and orange highlights.
"Ooh! The Incredibles! That's a pretty neat animation movie, nice!" Amanda cheers.
"That's pretty good..." I don't remember hearing about how they get their powers, but if the baby had powers... it's hereditary. 'Which means I can possibly get some powers for myself.'
"Will you take the world's package or would you like the random package?" Amanda asks, sitting back down in front of me.
"I want a go with the random packages this time, please." I'm curious what kind of thing they'll give me.
Amanda does seem a bit put off by not using the Wheel of Misfortune, but she shakes it off quickly. "Right! The way to select random packages is boring, but okay!" She reaches for an archive drawer on her side of the table and passes through a few files before taking one at random and throwing it in the air.
The file transforms from its manila envelope and paper into that pink screen she gave me in the Chronicle package.
"Perk-A-Cola? Is that inspired by CoD Zombies?" I ask.
"YUP! You like zombies?" She barks back, an excited grin forming on her face.
"I mean, I did play a lot of the OG black ops zombies back in the day... Good times." I sigh. "Well, let's see what this is about."
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"Ok, I'll go with Stamin-Up for stamina boost (obviously), Death Perception just for the physical act copy, and JugerNog because that's a staple in any zombies build and I don't feel like any of the others are... necessary?" I finish my reasoning.
Amanda shakes her head this way and that, "Good build. I'd personally get Tombstone Soda... I always lose my pencils and paper clips!" She grunts in frustration.
A moment of silence ensues. "I... didn't think the random packages would be like that. Just that simple, huh?" I comment.
Amanda stares at me intensely for a few moments. "I... I can't say much about them to you, but some of those there..." She shudders. "There's all kinds of things there, I can say that much."
I raise an eyebrow, "If you say so..." I give one last cursory glance through the file, noticing a little text at the bottom. "'Comment your choice to gain a random perk.' What's this Amanda?"
"That's for, er... That's for the people who use these for fun; either doing hypothetical scenarios or giving these choices to people and seeing how they fare in any given situation." She reaches for her drawer again, picks up a file, and reads it for a few minutes.
Once she finishes, she looks at me with a grin. "There's nothing here saying I can't leave a comment for you and let you roll for it," I smirk as well.
"Comment on it then, please. "Got the Stamin-Up for... reasons, JugerNog to get stronk and Death Perception to copy cool karate moves." Should be just enough silliness to sound like you, no?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her, which makes her puff her cheeks.
"...I can't even deny it, damn it..." She murmurs, a pink screen appearing in front of her. "Though you don't need to sound like me; I can just put your name at the bottom if you want?" She looks at me in askance.
"Nah, if you can put it under your name it's fine. If I **need** to put my name there, I will. Otherwise, I don't care." Waving my hand in dismissal, I focus on the table in front of me. Slowly, a ten-sided dice starts appearing.
I take it and roll, landing on a 3. "'Deadshot Dakuri'... My aim is not good, but it could've been trained. Meh, good to have anyway." I shrug, looking at Amanda. She finishes typing another message and then the pink screen flashes away.
"All done!" She exclaims with a big smile. "Excited about finally using that suit you have but never touched?" My face sours immediately.
"I wish I could forget that... it's not ugly per se, it's just... did it _have_ to be skintight?" I ask in genuine horror.
Amanda has the gall to nod, "Metanon is the _best_ power conductor fabric in existence, it only needs direct skin contact to work to its full extent." I sigh.
Guess I'll use it, even if I have to put something to cover it. "Can it be slightly changed, though? Honoring Andrew and his concept in a good way, I think my 'Super' name will be Apex. A white stylized A in the chest area would suffice."
Amanda puts her finger to her chin, conjures the pink screen again, and taps into it. "This..." She frowns and looks at me. "Yeah... I can do that much since you've never worn it."
I smile, "Lucky me I never took that abomination out of my wardrobe then... Oh, since I won't have a house this time, where will it go?"
She grins, "You'll be wearing it!" Ugh.
I take a deep breath before asking, "Can I stay here a while longer? I don't know if this place can play music or something, but if it can, I'd like that too. I want to... relax, a little."
Amanda nods seriously, "Just think of it and it shall be done. Take your time, you deserve some rest." She too reclines on her chair.
Soon after, I hear ambient jazz with a slight amount of rain muffled in the background. Amanda is sleeping soundly and I just... lay there... relaxing.
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(Matthew's PoV, Thanksgiving)
It has been so long since our family's been like this... My mom and dad, Aunt Karen and Andrew. _Richard_ is not to be mentioned.
"And I, am thankful for the constant support my son gave me." Aunt Karen adds her comment as we all enjoy the atmosphere. "I know it must have been hard... but the Lord never abandoned us and He gave me his mercy, a miracle!" She raises her glass and we all cheer.
Andrew filled us in on what happened, but we decided to not tell anyone else. It'd be hard to explain levitating things, but curing cancer?
I'd rather fall 30 miles without a chute again than explain **that**. I don't even know how he did it-
"I'm thankful for you, mom. If you didn't hang on, fight with all your might for as long as you did... I don't know what would've become of us today." Andrew also comments, smiling at Aunt Karen. She pulls him in for a quick kiss on the forehead, making my parents laugh.
"I'm thankful Karen is **_so_** stubborn, she refused to keel over... so much so she got better before she told us anything!" My mom speaks her tone a mixture of exasperation and relief. Aunt Karen has the decency to look ashamed, though not as much as when Mom first found out about the whole situation.
It really is a mystery how all three of them hid this situation from us... Again, the one who had constant contact with one of them was me and I never noticed anything.
"I'm thankful for our family's good health this year, as well as our new family member!" My dad raised his toast, mentioning towards Princess who was eating out of her bowl excitedly. We all cheer for that, getting her attention. She runs to Andrew, who catches her and raises her so everybody can cheer for her.
"I'm thankful for... for the second chance that's been given to us all this year..." I leave my own toast vague, but I see recognition in Andrew's eyes.
The rock in the hole, the powers, befriending Steve and Matt... all of this changed everything in our lives. 'It's insane to think all of it happened in three months...'
The general cheer brings me back to the present, renewing my smile. I wish Casey was here, but she had to go to her own family's dinner.
"Now that we all said what we're thankful for... let's dig in!" Dad doesn't waste any of his time, starting to eat his food as soon as the words leave his mouth. He's the one who worked the hardest today, it's understandable he's hungry.
Mom playfully swats him on his arm, much to his and everyone else's amusement. Digging into the food along with everyone else, I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, this family thing might not be that bad an idea...
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(Steve's PoV - Late November)
**_I HAVE A FERRET!!!_**
I still can't believe this little guy! He's cute, mostly well-behaved, learned a few tricks, and even took a liking to me!!!
Ah, every time I play with him it's such a joy. No wonder I always wanted a pet...
"Steve, you're spacing out again." Samantha nags at me. I just look at the little guy running on his cage again, before turning to her.
"Sorry, babe. Want me to get lost in another furry thing...?" I give her my best wiggly eyebrows and saucy smirk. The whole comment throws her for a loop; disgust, embarrassment, desire, and finally resignation.
"Steve, seriously, sometimes you have some very disgusting comments," She says with a scowl, "You know well I'm perfectly shaved, thank you very much." and starts getting up from bed, pulling the covers with her.
I strike a pose lying sideways, following her into her bathroom with my eyes. Before going in she looks at me and giggles before going in.
'Still got it.' I smirk, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling.
Life's been... quiet since Matt went away.
Matthew, Andrew, and I have been getting together, training our powers, and studying for tests. We tried getting Gina to come out with us, but she still needs some time to... find herself, I think.
Matt did give me a lot more money than I asked for; so much so that I called him to ask about it, but the phone kept saying the number doesn't exist. I must be getting the area code wrong or something...
'Motherfucker didn't even say where he was going... I swear, when I find him I'll give him a whack up his head.'
Even when swearing at the guy, I can't help but smile at the good times we all had. Traveling around the world was nice, even if we had such a short time doing it. Maybe someday I'll bring Samantha with me on a world tour...
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(Monica's PoV)
Ever since that _prick_ humiliated me like that at the mall, my friends have been on my case.
'_Monica, do this! Monica, do that!_'
GRR! I can't stand it anymore.
I heard every comment, and obeyed every demand... nothing worked.
After the 'puke accident', I never had a chance. School became a nightmare: the looks, the whispers, the comments...
If only I could find another target... divert their attention away from me. 'Why did Gina disappear anyway!? Ugh, that bitch.'
Some jerk bumps into me, making me fall. "Didn't see you there, Monic-ugh!" He says, fake gagging and laughing with his idiotic goons.
Wayne is the biggest jerk in this school, I swear.
I try to stand up, only to find a hand outstretched in front of me. I look up and see Andrew, the loser-turned-magician waiting for me to grab his hand. I frown but use his help anyway.
"You ok?" He checks if I'm standing by myself before letting go of my hand, "Don't mind him, Wayne is a jerk."
I roll my eyes, "I know that. You didn't need to help me, I was getting up."
He nods, "Yeah, but a helping hand sometimes is all you need..." His look gets lost for a moment before he smiles slightly. "If you're okay, I'll get going."
"Wait! You... how did you stop being a loser?" I ask before I can stop myself. Immediately I cringe, looking away from him. "No, forget it."
"I don't know. Am I not a loser?" He says. I look back at him and see a self-mocking grin on his face. "I don't have many friends, Wayne still mocks me whenever he can, and the mystery of the _Magician_ faded away..."
Thinking about it better now... yeah, he's right. He's still as awkward as he was before and not many people talk to him, but he looks so... chill. Relaxed, despite it all.
"Then... how? How are you so calm when everybody looks at you like that? Why are you even _smiling_?" I want to scream at him! But I know making a scene in the middle of the hallway is just a quicker way to completely ruin my already bad reputation.
He shrugs like It doesn't bother him, "It's always been like this, it's nothing new." He starts to turn around but stops to give me one last look. "Besides... who cares what they think, anyway." He starts walking away.
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHO CARES!? I CARE, DAMNIT!' Nobody understands me! I can't stay unpopular like this! Not in my last high school year!
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(Sherry's PoV)
"Ma'am, here are the November reports." My secretary leaves the files on my table and excuses herself. As soon as she leaves, I sigh in annoyance, looking at my assistant.
"Can you help me go over these as well, Mary?" I plead. She only nods professionally, scooting closer and looking over the reports with me.
I quickly adopted one of her lessons and delegated most of the work, but many of the big decisions still run by me. The reports are a nightmare, though; so many terms I don't know yet, and so many numbers to interpret and understand...
I don't know why Matt thought I would be a good person for this position. 'No! Pull yourself together, Sherry! You have all the help you can get, now it's up to you to get it done!'
After psyching myself up, I look through the report once again, ignoring the building headache.
"It's ok if you need a break, Miss Sherry." Mary comments, having already looked over the reports and doing her own, summed-up version of it for me.
I ignore her and keep reading, trying to glean as much information as I can from the long report.
After a few minutes, I finish reading it. 'A little better than last week, it's all I can ask...'
I nod to Mary and press a button on my table. Not long after my secretary comes in with coffee for the both of us and excuses herself again.
Taking a cup of coffee, I sigh as the drink re-energizes me slowly.
The last few months of my life were the craziest ever. From a failing High School intern to the head of the fastest emerging financial company in the U.S., possibly ever.
Magazines and news stations ask for interviews to this day, but I'm not ready to face that kind of pressure yet.
'Power... this isn't power, it's responsibility!'
Matt offered me power... and while I _do_ have power in my position, I don't know how to use it! 'UGH!!! And I thought it was a good idea too...'
"Miss Sherry, you are frowning again. That's not good for your complexion in the long term." Mary reminds me, sipping her coffee without a care in the world.
I shake my head, massaging my temples as the coffee works its magic through my system. 'Doubt is the mind-killer... or is it fear? Whatever, doubt works better.' I take the summed-up report and look through it with the full version side by side.
Every day I learn more, I die and am reborn stronger... I CAN DO THIS!
"Yes, Miss Sherry, I also think the apartment complex in Manhattan can have a better manager. The companies we're scouting seem as promising as you said, too."
Matt left notes behind; notes detailing what companies to buy into and approximately when. He bought so many stocks and has so many stakes in companies... some of them are not even open to public funding. For those, he made notes and projections. Some are off by slight margins but some are so accurate, you'd think he can see the future...
The market is ever-changing and we must adapt to the changes in the projections. That's why I hired people to keep an eye on them. The notes are only known to me, but the companies to watch out for are known to certain people, Mary being one of them.
"Ok... I got it. I understand it all now." I murmur, finally having gone through the whole report. I complain about the job, about the responsibility of hoarding so much of the world's capital and everything but... I don't regret it.
I might not be the best manager for this "power" Matt gave me, but I'll try my best until I'm great at it. The whole fortune **_is_** too big to fail, after all...