Once more Shaun's phone lit up and when he looked at the name his heart nearly skipped a beat. It was Jamie, surely Lucy had not broken their promise, right?"
Shaun - "Hey bro, I was just about to call", He answered while waiting to hear the tone in Jamie's voice. By the first few words spoken he would know if he was outed by Lucy.
"Just checking up on you bud. How was your first day? Made any new friends?" Jamie teased which made Shaun once more sigh in relief when realizing Lucy had indeed kept her promise. She did not disclose anything about him temporarily abandoning his apartment.
Shaun: "You can say that. I even ran into Nick Reiss believe it or not. Turns out Clortho is more prestigious than I thought", He joked.
Jamie: "Really? Nick Reiss the Mayor's son? Small world. Still a spoiled brat I'm guessing?"
Shaun: "You know some things never change, bro.."
The two spoke for a while as Shaun told Jamie everything about his day, even gaining his new ability which Jamie could tell he was quite excited about based on the tone in his voice. The only thing withheld by Shaun was the means by how he discovered it. After thirty minutes on the phone, their convo ended, but Shaun did feel guilty hiding such crucial information from Jamie.
He looked around knowing staying at this apartment for more than three weeks would send off red flags for Lucy. She would then be forced into a situation where informing Jamie was a must. The last thing he wanted was to cause conflict between the two as Jamie though usually calm would certainly become pissed. Thus he needed a means to get everything to normal before then. The problem was that he was clueless as to what to do next.
Soon he placed that all at the back of his mind. There was something good that came from today, he had discovered what was his power. It wasn't one of the most sought-after abilities like super strength, speed, flight, fire, lightning, etc but a photographic memory. Truthfully he didn't know how this would be useful in the future, it might have helped him today but that was just a one-off situation.
Still, he was thankful, not many with the supergene discover their power before their sixteenth birthday and he did. It was only a pity that he was still in the brown category based on his test results. If not he would have a case to reapply at any one of the top academies. Would the gangs dare try to seek vengeance then? Hell no! They may not fear the cops but top-tier academies were like a force unto themselves.
There he sat activating his ability that engraved all of Lucy's apartment which was in his sphere of vision within his mind. Just like before it was another perfect replica when viewing.
"Well I just found my cheat for exams, nothing but a 100%", He joked knowing anything involving theory was no challenge whatsoever. He was basically a walking cheat, but was he morally conflicted, No! he would have it no other way. He just had a nagging feeling there was something more to this ability that he was not seeing.
Back in Frankfield, Jamie sat on the old oak bench with Spek on his shoulder. "He's excited huh?" He chuckled, rubbing Spek's tiny head before getting up. "...and my excitement begins tomorrow". When hearing that Spek did an action which was the equivalent of rolling its eyes.
"So what if she is an old woman? You know she is my fiercest rival. I can't wait to see what she has planned for tomorrow, I won't even pry. I want to be surprised when she unveils it. What can she bring to dethrone the champ?"
Spek could only shake its head. Obviously, it thought this was unbecoming of Jamie's status having a frail old woman as his rival. But that did not squash Jamie's excitement as he made his way to his greenhouse and though Spek wouldn't admit it, it too was waiting in anticipation of the clash. Tomorrow would be the beginning of the county fair and Jamie's ambitions for a fourth consecutive win hung in the balance with Gertrude out to claim what was stolen.
Before the crack of dawn, Jamie with a yawning Spek waited on the side of the road. Beside them was a pallet covered in an opaque thin material. Up the road, a big truck could be seen with its headlines on. It stopped right beside the pallet. The front window was wound down and a middle-aged smiling couple could be seen.
"Jamie, as always, you're out early. Do you even sleep?" The husband questioned, this was an annual routine. The couple were the Gils, who grew some of the best tomatoes this side of the county. Every year they picked up Jamie and Shaun then headed off to the neighboring town of Flankers where the fair was held.
"Mr. Gil, you know a good farmer has to get up before the snails or else he won't have crops when the sun hits the ground", responded Jamie with a laugh as he used a forklift to put his pallet on the back of the truck.
"Tell that to the lady beside me. Try waking her up before the sun is roasting and you're getting kicked harder than Nelson when he was drunk and tried to milk his breeding bull", Merve roasted his wife Kelly who only gave him the death stare. Kelly then ignored him and tried to get a glimpse of what was hidden below the cloth. She was curious to know what Jamie had beneath. Even in Frankfield, they heard the rumour that Gertrude was planning something fierce. She had even declared her victory beforehand. That was how confident in winning she was.
She then greeted Jamie, "Jamie, how many times do we have to tell you to cut the formalities, call him Merve and this young lass, Kelly. All this Mr and Mrs makes us feel old". For years they have been trying to get Jamie to call them by their first name but he never did.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Gil it's a forced habit based on how I was raised', Jamie apologized but unintentionally did it once more.
"It's no problem at all, if only my boys were so polite", She sighed after replying. Soon Jamie hopped into the truck and they headed off for Flankers in the pit black morning, with the cold wind blowing in their faces. One hour later they had arrived at their destination which in its makeup was similar to Frankfield. Seen were hundreds helping with the setup for this year's fair. Knowing the procedure the GIls along with Jamie went to find their allocated areas.
As the morning went on, this year looked set to have a record-high turnout as persons came out in droves from the nearby towns. All the popular attendees had arrived with each trying to see what their competitors had in store. The competition was divided into two sections, Livestock and ground provisions. Each was then subdivided into tiers. They were pink ribbon, yellow ribbon, red ribbon, and the elite, blue ribbon.
The pink ribbon was for amateurs and their grading the least stringent, while as the tiers in ribbons increased so did the judging. For example, within the blue ribbon, a mere 1% differential in an apple was grounds for immediate dismissal. The key standard was perfection which was the reason Jamie's streak was so staggering.
Beep! Beep! A blue pickup demanded that the volunteers make way. Everyone knew who was the owner of the truck. When the truck finally halted a short woman dressed in black overalls exited. It was Gertrude who as usual was accompanied by her two boys, Sal and Stene. Though she was small she had a very big personality which could even intimidate those twice her size.
She looked around the crowds which had assembled and every time her eyes made four with anyone they hurried to look away. This pleased her but still, she searched for that one person, in particular, the one who merely smiled at her intimidating gaze. Then she saw someone sitting with a hat covering his face and his feet resting on the table showing a pair of 12-inch boots. With Sal and Stene by her side, she made her way over. All looked on with bated breath, right now the two titans were about to interact.
Gertrude smirked as she readied to smash the table startling Jamie from his slumber. But before she could she heard what she thought was the most irritating voice, "Miss Gertrude, I see you still have that mighty swing. I'm guessing your arthritis isn't acting up", Jamie looked up presenting his trademark smile as though he was greeting a longtime friend.