"Ugh, we have way too much homework." I groaned in my seat while being completely hunched over the table, squashing and wrinkling all of the homework that was on it. Coming to the library was a pain in the ass, especially if it was to do homework.
"YOU have way too much homework, I already did mine beforehand," said Michael sitting down beside me.
"Oh that's right, now then, give me the answers already."
"Are you for real?"
"Heck Yeah! I can't go flunking math now or my parents are going to kill me."
"Honestly, I can't believe we're still friends, you're always like this. You don't concentrate during class, then when they give out homework, you go and beg me to help you with my answers. Why don't you just study and pay attention for once?"
"Well, what do you want me to do? I needed to grind for that new weapon that just came out, otherwise, I would've been left behind in the meta. Are you seriously asking me to spend my oh-so-precious time on something in which I have no interest?" I said with an overly dramatized and disgruntled attitude.
"I don't see you becoming a streamer or content creator anytime soon. By this point you wouldn't even be able to finish today's math homework without me, let alone finish the rest of the school year," he said with a smug look on his face. I grinned, then stood up and kneeled in front of him.
"Thank you very much master, oh blessed angel from the heavens!" I said loudly. Some people turned and looked in our direction, probably thinking we were a couple of weirdos.
"Dude, shut up! We're going to get kicked out of the library again," he said anxiously looking around to see if anyone heard us.
"MY MOST SINCERE APOLOGIES MASTER, I JUST WISHED TO FULLY EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE!" I shouted with all of my strength. Michael covered my mouth with his hands.
"Okay, okay, I got it, just shut up already." He anxiously shot glances all around the library, looking to see if the librarian was coming over. I licked his hands. He shot backward.
"Ew, dude, come on," he said with a disgusted look on his face as he cleaned his hands on his pants. We then heard the librarian coming our way and so we quickly sat back down in our seats as she passed by. I organized my homework while Michael then took out his notebooks and homework. She gave us an annoyed look and kept walking on.
Now then, I must've forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Henry Jackson and the person I had been speaking to is my best friend, Michael Montenegro. I'm your average high school boy, with medium-sized brown hair, amber-colored eyes, and a somewhat average build. Michael on the other hand stands out a lot more due to his short ginger hair, light freckles, glasses, and slim build. We met for the first time at a playground when we were 5. I don't remember the details, but somehow we ended up playing together with another group of kids. We all became friends, but soon enough, the other kids left one by one until it was just Michael and me. Michael and I spent some time talking together and we grew to enjoy each other's company. From that day on, we became friends and we began to get much closer to one another. We would later find out that we both went to the same school and, well it isn't all that surprising to say that we never left each other's side after that. Once we graduated from middle school, we enrolled in the same high school. After school, we help each other out with group projects and school activities, or rather Michael helps me more than I help him.
"So, how strong was it?" Michael asked.
"So far it can one tap every enemy it encounters, though I haven't fought against any elite or boss mobs." I yawned as I replied while copying down the answers for the homework. I hadn't slept a wink after spending all night playtesting the new weapon.
"So I'm guessing that's what you're going to do once you get home and why you also asked me for the answers to the homework."
"Precisely."
He scoffed, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Haven't you thought about what career to choose in university? Hell, what university are you even going to choose?"
"We still have two years of high school left so I don't see the need to worry at the moment. What about you, do you have anything in mind already?"
"I think Astrophysics would be nice."
"Huh, that does seem like something you'd be very suited for."
"Thanks."
Michael then pulled out his phone and started scrolling through social media as he waited for me to finish. We sat there in silence while I finished copying the homework. Once I finished, I handed it back to him and we exited the library. We exited the school grounds and had begun walking down the street when my stomach then grumbled loud enough for Michael to hear it.
"Hey, are you hungry?" I asked while hunching due to my hunger. "I believe there's a Benny's nearby if you want to come with me."
Shortly thereafter Michael's stomach also grumbled for food.
"I guess that's a yes."
We both laughed and walked to the dinner. Once we were inside, we sat down at a nearby empty table and ordered our food and drinks. Benny's was a local family dinner that we frequent whenever we were hungry. We chatted while we waited for the food to arrive, which it did rather quickly, and we ate it even faster than gacha players burn through their money. It's truly amazing how divine-average food can taste when you're hungry. We then thanked the waitress for her service and paid for the meal. As we made our way toward the exit door, my phone started ringing and so I pulled it out to check my unread messages.
"Ouch!" I said as I accidentally bumped into someone in front of me, making me slip and fall on my ass.
"OW!" the girl standing in front of me said as she took some steps back before retorting. "Hey watch where you're going dumbass!"
Shit. I recognize that annoying voice.
"Oh, it's you again. Why don't you stop staring at your phone for once and look at your surroundings more," she said in an annoyed tone.
Great. She's going to start lecturing me like she always does. Just what I needed.
"Hey, come on Minari, it's okay. It was just an accident." said another girl behind her trying to calm her down.
"HUH!? No way! He's always like this at school! What if it had been a waiter who had gotten hurt instead of me?!" she started to ramble on in her usual manner.
The annoying girl lecturing me is Minari Mitsugi, one of our classmates in my classroom. She's got brown hair in a ponytail, brown eyes, and is slightly shorter than me. If I had to say she is pretty cute. Or rather she would be if she wasn't such an annoying bitch all the damn time. On the other hand, we had Isabella Kennings, the girl frantically trying to calm down Minari. She had pigtail-styled black hair, black eyes, and a petite build. Honestly compared to us she looked like a middle schooler, which to a certain degree added to her cuteness, unlike a certain someone else.
Minari and I have known each other since middle school. She transferred in during the 6th grade and has been a recurring pain in my ass ever since. We found out we were attending the same high school on the first day of class when I had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting her as I entered my classroom. Ever since that day, she's been constantly pestering me about my looks and attitude any time she has a chance.
While Isabella was trying to calm down Minari, Michael helped me get up and we quietly left while they weren't paying attention. We apologized to the staff before exiting and then started making our way home.
I took a heavy sigh while we were walking. "Dammit, what a pain in the ass. Why can't she just leave me alone for once?" I said in an exhausted tone.
"Oh come on Henry, it isn't that bad. At least you can be certain you have one of the girl's attention. Lucky you, eh." said Michael trying to tease me.
"Oh sure, it's great to have someone come up to you every day and make sure you know every little thing that is wrong with how I am," I said sarcastically.
"Oh, woe is me! What I'd give to have a cute girl come and talk to me at school every day! It truly is a shame I'm not as blessed as you Henry. The world is such a cruel and unfair place and you, my good sir, have my envy and jealousy." said Michael in an overly dramatized tone. He then proceeded to burst out laughing. I got embarrassed and gave him a soft punch to his shoulder.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me you don't have feelings for her. She's practically all over you. You should at least give her a chance. You never know what could happen." he retorted back, poking me in my cheek.
"To me, she's just an annoying girl in my class. If you're so interested then please, by all means, shoot your shot. I'll be watching from the sidelines drinking soda as I watch the show unfold." I said annoyed at him.
"Well, that's a pity then. I'm sure it'd be fun to have a girlfriend at least once," he said as he exhaled.
We kept walking and chatting until we reached a crossroads and had to go our separate ways. I started making my way home and let my mind wander off into thought. I've taken the same path back home every day since the first day of middle school, so I could make my way back even if I was blindfolded. I started thinking about the events that transpired today. It lets me cool off and relax a bit.
I enjoy being alone. It doesn't mean I don't like having friends or people to interact with, but rather that I'm comfortable being by myself. Especially when I'm in my bedroom at home on a Friday night. Nothing can beat the sensation of letting loose and playing video games for 10 hours straight knowing that there's no school the next day. If only I could live in such a paradise. No school, no homework, and especially no Minari. Sadly such a fantasy world doesn't exist and so I'm stuck dealing with all of that on a nearly daily basis. Maybe if I invested in some cryptocurrency and made billions of dollars then I could live like that. Nah, most of them are scams. I'll probably end up as an office worker in a nine-to-five job, slaving away until the day I die. I hope I can at least do something meaningful in my life before I die.
Before I realized it, I was in front of my door. I took out my keys and went inside, as quietly as possible. The house was quite well-lit, considering it was already past noon and the sun was coming down soon. My house isn't very big, but it's enough for us. It had two floors and around 8 rooms, those being the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor and the two bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor.
"I'm home!" I said loudly, waiting for the response from mom.
"Oh, Henry, you're back?" said mom from the kitchen as I was entering. "I'll be making dinner in a while, so just wait a bit, okay?"
"Sure mom, I'll be playing in my room."
I went upstairs and into my room. I had various miscellaneous items on display, from video game posters, all the way to figurines and display pieces from limited editions of video games that I've bought. My computer and gaming consoles were on the right side, while my bed and closet were on the left side. I dropped my bags near the entrance, closed the door, and sat down on my chair to boot up the game. Now that I'm finally home, I can log into Eymtra Online, one of the biggest MMORPGs in the market. I had tried to get Michael to try it out with me, however, he would always refuse, so I would generally play solo. MMOs are made with multiple players in mind working as a party and so the content would be geared towards such a difficulty that made playing solo inefficient, however thanks to the new weapon I had looted from the other day, this would become a far easier task.
I started the game, logged in, and was sent directly into the town I had logged out from previously. The crowd of people was huge, but I ignored them and made my way toward one of the nearby dungeons to keep testing out the weapon. It took me about 20 minutes to reach it, but once there, the gates opened up and let me into the darkness that was inside. I went in and ran as the doors closed the entrance to it. Once they were completely shut, darkness, and then various flames burst to light illuminating the corridor. Various monsters started spawning around the corridor, but I didn't have time for mobs. I quickly finished them off and dashed to the boss's chamber.
The entrance to the chamber was massive, but at this point, it wasn't as impressive as it had been the first time. I've already fought this boss multiple times previously, so I didn't need to worry. I interacted with the entrance to start the battle and I heard a huge roar coming from the other side of the gate. The massive gate rumbled as it was being lifted, letting a blue beam of light burst through as it opened. There sitting on his throne was the Goblin King, ax in hand. The boss fight was really simple: attack it, wait for him to counterattack, parry, and repeat until he's dead. I rushed in and started dealing massive damage from the get-go, courtesy of the new weapon. I got rid of about 30% of his hp in the first 15 seconds.
He began to take his attack stance. Wait for it. Wait for it. Parry! I parried his attack and the boss had a knockback effect inflicted upon it, giving me an opening to spam as many special attacks as possible. The boss didn't even have a chance to stand back up again, I finished it off in around 10 more seconds. A pop-up came, congratulating me on defeating it and showing me the loot I had acquired. I wasn't interested in that, but rather the DPS of the weapon. It's safe to say that it was a really good weapon.
"Henry, come down for dinner!" called out mom.
"Coming!" I called back. I exited the dungeon, teleported back into town, and logged off.
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Mom's scrambled eggs are always delicious. It might be because of how she makes them, or it might be just because they're hers. Either way, I can say for certain that her food is divine. She was sitting in front of me in her business suit. She had long brown hair, and amber eyes and was slightly taller than me. We enjoyed our food in silence as we ate it, then mom spoke.
"So, how's school going?" she asked inquisitively.
"Good, pretty good. I studied in the library with Michael and then we went to eat at Benny's." I responded calmly. "How's work going?"
"Same as always, I had to send out a bunch of emails and I'm not even halfway done," she responded.
We kept eating in silence. We've always been like this. We're not all that open with one another, but she still makes sure to keep her eye on me. I was the first one to finish eating.
"Thank you for the food," I said as I stood up. I left the dish in the sink and began to make my way out of the dining room when mom called out to me.
"Hey, Henry, I need to tell you something before you go upstairs."
"What is it, mom?" I responded inquisitively.
"I'm going to be extremely busy with work in the following days, so I won't be able to give you any money for lunch. Could I ask you to make your lunch instead of buying it?" she said in a more serious tone.
"Sure, I'll see what I can do," I responded in a monotone voice.
I then went into my room and closed the door. I took a deep sigh and slumped my shoulders. I wanted to keep playing the game, but my body was reaching its limit since I hadn't slept at all last night. I turned off the computer, then dropped myself on top of the bed to take a quick nap and relax. If my timing is correct I can wake up in an hour, feel rejuvenated and go back to playtesting the weapon. I yawned heavily as I was finding a comfortable position to nap in. I checked the clock as I was getting under the sheets. It was currently around 9:00 pm and the sun had just barely set, letting the sky glow a beautiful dark orange. Maybe I should set an alarm to make sure I don't accidentally oversleep. Meh, whatever, I'm too sleepy, so I'll wake up when I need to wake up. I then closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.
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I woke up feeling much better. Most of the exhaustion was gone, instead replaced by drowsiness. I tried to look at the time, but my eyes wouldn't focus on it, so I had to get closer to it. It took me a while to focus my eyes enough to be able to read the time properly. It was 1:30 am. Shit, I had overslept. Well, it's not like I was gonna sleep all that much anyways, so I might as well take what I can get. My stomach rumbled, warning me to eat before pulling another all-nighter. I took its advice and went downstairs quietly to not wake up mom in the process. Once downstairs, I was surprised to see the dining room's light turned on. I approached the room slowly and quietly, to avoid making as much noise as possible. I began to hear a voice and the more I approached it, the clearer it got. It was mom.
"What a pain in the ass. Doing overtime is going to suck," she said in an annoyed tone of voice. She was sitting on a chair, overlooking some papers that were laid out on the table in front of her.
"I thought she had already gone to sleep, why is she still up?" I said in my head.
"Maybe there's a way to save some more money somehow? No, if I do that I won't have enough for the electricity bill. However, I also can't go without paying the water or gas bills either, not to mention the internet. Maybe if I downgraded our service to a cheaper one I could make it happen, but even so, I'd still have to pay for this month's service." she said, muttering to herself. She sighed and leaned back on the chair, looking at the ceiling.
"Tell me, Jacob, what should I do?" she said quietly.
"So she's been having trouble paying bills." I thought to myself.
I stood there beside the entrance silently. There she was, worrying about financial issues while I was amusing myself with video games. I looked up at a desk containing various family pictures. They were all quite old by this point, but my gaze was fixated on one, in particular, that being the one that contained a picture of dad, mom, and me. It was taken during our last trip before dad died in a car accident a month later. Fortunately, we inherited his savings, and we were able to live comfortably up until now, but it seems that the money has finally run out.
I pinched myself painfully due to my frustration. I know how mom acts. She'll pretend she isn't tired and put on a facade so that I don't worry about her, even though she's probably barely holding herself together. I'm already 16 years old, I should be old enough to be able to help her in some way. Why have I been wasting so much time so far? Why do I let her do all of the hard work while I get to live my life much easier? I'll find a way to help her. I have to find a way to do so. I then went back upstairs and into my room quietly. I turned on my computer and began looking for possible options. I won't let her carry all of the burdens by herself if I can help even a little bit.