Scene change. A tall young man is lying on a bed located in the attic of a barn, not blinking. His eyes are directed at the ceiling, and his mind has just returned to his new present.
- And here we are again, a flashback flashed through my memory, and the situation does not become clearer. To begin with, let's figure out what else is stored on the hard disk of this body. Apparently, my new name is John. Johnny is for grandma, but for some reason he's a kid for grandpa, it's probably easier for him to communicate with me this way.
New memories that need to be sorted out. How to communicate with relatives, how to behave in a new society, how not to set fire to the office, remaining the same person whom everyone knows and loves.
The first set belonged to a sixteen-year-old teenager - Jonathan Wilson Vic, a high school student.
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His parents lived and worked in New York, and his grandparents settled in their old age in a small town in the heart of West Virginia.
John spent his childhood with his parents in New York, until the age of 7 they had enough time to look after their son, but not long before his birthday he was sent to live with his grandparents. John was against it and did not want to leave them, but the first few months spent in nature, away from the noise and dirt of the big city, fascinated little Jonathan. Clean air, forests, mountains and rivers with lakes have done their job. After 3 years, a ten-year-old boy did not want to return to the bustling metropolis. Trisa and Wilson thought that their son did not want to part with friends or was scared of being transferred to a new school, but in fact John just liked nature and giant trees, instead of giants made of glass and cement. Their domestic horses with wild deer, not steel cars puffing smoke .
School friends of course also influenced his decision, although to a lesser extent. After all, there were none.
Tris told him that there is a beautiful park in New York, many museums of modern and not so much art, magnificent architecture and in general it is beautiful there. Wilson also talked to his son about opportunities such as: the best schools and colleges, great libraries, useful acquaintances, interesting classes and clubs for children, and when John gets older, a whole world of nightlife in the big Apple will open up for him. For which he was punished and beaten by his wife.
John did not know who his mother and father worked with, and the ten-year-old boy was not interested in it. His interests revolved around hiking in the woods or on the river, fishing with his grandfather and stories that his grandmother told.
The child spent his days studying, playing with farm animals, helping with the housework for his grandfather and reading comics, which were sometimes brought to their small town.
From the age of ten to fifteen, John's life proceeded calmly, a carefree childhood smoothly flowed into hormonal teenage hell. Since he lived in a rural area, and his relatives were wealthy people, Jonathan's body developed healthy and strong. Adding to this work with his grandfather and the love of running through the woods, in the morning hours, the boy's body gradually turned into the body of a healthy, fit, and most importantly, a man tempting for women's eyes. Unfortunately, America is a country in which capitalism manifests itself not only from the best, but also from the worst side.
Those families who have sufficient income to ensure better living conditions could afford to eat quality food, use the services of good doctors and provide their children with everything they need. And those with lower incomes could not afford all these benefits of the capitalist capital of the world. Consequently, the children of rich or affluent parents grew healthier, stronger and more beautiful, and the rest of the population, who had lived on the verge of poverty for generations, gradually turned into adults, who are condescendingly called "Walmart people". Crooked posture, crooked bite, overweight and absolute non-compliance with the beauty standards of 2007.
John was lucky to be born into a wealthy family, so he was handsome, healthy, popular at school and even received meaningful glances from young teachers which, due to age and low life experience, could not recognize.
However, his upbringing in a family consisting of an Irish Catholic, a Soviet-trained grandfather and father with Viking-themed hacks helped the American boy grow into a decent, proud, responsible and not considering money the meaning of life young man. The values of Irish Catholics, the unbending will and character of the Soviet military, the hot and direct disposition of the good old Vikings, molded John Vic into a non-standard teenager. He did not tolerate stupidity and cowardice, despised the pettiness and greed of the people around him. He stood up for the weak and those who could not fight back against school bullies, and also regularly participated in fights, which often gave him pleasure. After the first brawl in the school yard, the guardians of the then 14-year-old boy were called to school. The director of the educational institution threatened to expel John from school, and the parents of three boys, whose faces John painted in the panda style, threatened the court and the police.
Vladislav Petrovich, as an old military and St. Petersburg intellectual, behaved with restraint. He asked leading questions, calmly understanding the situation. What was the fight about? Why was his grandson fighting with three children? How did the conflict develop? Etc.
Isolde simply said that her grandson was a good boy and the other three were to blame. She was not interested in causes and effects, she knew and believed that the child she raised would not offend and even beat other people for no reason.
During an impromptu investigation in the director's office, it turned out that three molested the girl, took away her backpack, laughed at her appearance, threatened to throw her things in the trash or flush them to the toilet, and also showed sexual interest in her. John said that he noticed how they took turns pushing the girl away from each other and as if accidentally grabbing her breasts and ass.
- You're lying, you little brat!
- My dear Bobby couldn't do that to a girl!
- Yes, this girl is probably just a young slut looking for attention from our guys!
The parents of the hooligans shouted at the interruption.
- What was this girl's name?
Isolde asked John.
- Jessica.
Everyone fell silent, the director, five parents of three hooligans, and grandmother Isolde began to look at the people in front of her with rage in her eyes.
- If this is really the case, then I assure you that you all have big problems on the threshold. Including you dear parents and you Mr. Director.
Isolde snapped with quiet malice.
- Immediately call the poor girl here! Not only did she recently lose her entire family in a car accident, she was injured herself, only recently recovered and now lives under the care of our worthless orphanage. So you still dared to offend her at school? If this is the case, I will personally drag all those involved into the courts!
A furious harpy roared, taking the place of a kind grandmother.
- Calm down dear, now little Jess will come and we will find out everything. Don't waste your nerves on these people.
Vladislav said evenly, calm as a sheet of water. But John noticed that his big, callused hands were clenched into fists, and his knuckles were white with tension and pent-up anger.
Five minutes passed, stretching like hours in the tense atmosphere of the director's office. Potential criminals sweated like prisoners sentenced to execution, in front of a cement wall.
One look at their pale faces was enough to understand whether they were to blame for what John said or not.
- Knock-Knock-Knock, can I come in?
The knock on the door rang like a doomsday bell for Cletus Murphy, Bobby Sislock and Rex Swanson. The voice of a modest pretty girl sounded like the dialect of an evil math teacher who scolded them every single day for their behavior and inability to answer elementary questions.
A girl, or rather a young lady of 14 years old, awkwardly entered the office. Coal-black hair, greenish eyes with walnut flecks, pale skin, a delicate face and a miniature body that had begun its formation promised to turn Jessica into a beautiful woman in a few years. And now the young girl looked like an abandoned kitten, who wants to be protected from all troubles, a little more red eyes from recently shed tears, suggested thoughts of reprisals against those who made her cry. Or so Johnny saw her.
For the others, she was just a recently crying girl who would help them sort out the situation.
- You can. Come on in, Jessica, sit next to Mrs. O'Dwyer, I think you'll feel safer next to her. As far as I remember, your families had quite friendly relations.
- Yes, it is. Hello Aunt Isolde, Uncle Vlad.
- Sit down, honey, don't worry about anything, we'll just ask you a few questions in front of these people, and then together with you and John we'll go on a raid for ice cream and pizza to old Ben's cafe.
- And so, young miss, John told us that he beat Bobby, Cletus and Rex for hurting you, tell us exactly what happened and why?
Jess hesitated a little, cowered in her chair, but looking at John's impassive face calmed down and told everything.
It turned out that these three are not the first time they bully her, before they just wrote nasty things on her desk, hid her notebooks and textbooks in the classroom or just shot at her with paper from tubes from the back desks. But today they went off the chain after she gave them the middle finger, on comments and her new Gothic image, choice of clothes and preferences in music. She confirmed that the guys allowed themselves to push her and only now realized that she was also groped!
- For those who live on the moon or are simply too stupid, such actions fall under the definition of "Sexual harassment", which will gape very brightly in your personal affairs, young people and in the headline of the newspaper about you, Mr. Director. After all, it is under your control that this school is located!
Furious Isolde blurted out with malice.
- Now that I understand the situation, I no longer see the point in our presence here. John, Jessica, Isolde, we're leaving. And you, Mr. Director, deal with what is happening in the walls of YOUR school. I'll come by in 3 days and if I don't see the deserved punishment for three juvenile bandits, and Jess doesn't get her apologies, in front of the whole school, everyone present will have additional correspondence in mailboxes in the form of a subpoena. Am I making myself CLEAR!?
The old gentleman summed up the meeting.
- Extremely Mr. Novgor... Navgaran…
- Novgorodski!
- Yes sir.
- Great, dosvidania .
Heavy Russian accent, walked around the office. John, Isolde, Vladislav and a happy Jessica left the room together.
Going to old Ben's cafe, a friendly company of a couple of elderly people and a couple of teenagers spent several hours talking and eating delicious food. Despite the fact that the cafe was more of a roadside eatery than a restaurant or a family cafe, old Ben was a responsible and welcoming owner. The food was delicious, of high quality and cooked with care and love.
Its atmosphere of a classic cafe from the seventies, shabby but comfortable sofas and tables, fresh coffee for adults and natural chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream for children, lifted the mood of a sad young girl.
Isolde began asking questions about Jessica's life. How did she get settled in the shelter? How is the food there? Do they offend? And the most important question of the evening, does Jess want to live with them?
- I'd really like to, Aunt Isolde, but you were already denied adoption a few months ago. And now people have come from some big city and want to adopt me. I talked to them for a while, it seems they are good people, their last name is Jones. Most likely I'll take their last name if everything goes well. Mine only reminds me of the bad, at least for now.
- This is great news, Jess, it's a pity that you won't live with us, because your mother was like a second daughter to me. But I am glad that you will have a new family, maybe you will love them as well as your relatives, and they will love you.
- I hope so, Aunt Isa.
Modest Jessica murmured with a smile.
- By the way, our Johnny's birthday is coming soon. You're coming to the party, aren't you? We all know that because of his character, he doesn't have good friends. And you've known him since childhood, I even have a photo of you playing with rabbits together and splashing in the bathroom at our house!