"Now then. What am I… supposed to do here?" I asked myself in confusion. Then, I waited for someone to explain the situation to me.
I waited for a while, but the only sound I heard was crows cawing at me from the trees. Apparently, my skateboard hit close to its nest, so I didn't think I would ever take it back.
"Huh."
I looked to see the crow watching me with vigilance, so I walked away from the tree.
"So, there isn't any system to explain this to me? Also, wasn't I supposed to lose my memories?"
It added to my confusion that I could clearly remember the things from the afterlife and the train station. I took off my skateboard helmet and decided to walk home. I saw the familiar-looking house nearby, with Claire whispering something at Luke while looking at me.
"I wonder what's that about?" I muttered.
"Damn it. Now that I am here, there wasn't a cutscene or anything to put me in perspective of what had just happened.
Cutscene – Claire and Luke.
Claire admonished her son, "What did I tell you, Luke? That thing is dangerous. You should be glad that you didn't fall to the streets. You may break an arm!"
"Sweet!" Luke replied, visibly excited.
"No- no. Not sweet. Dangerous." Claire crouched down and held Luke's arm. "Sweetie, promise me you won't do something like that."
Although reluctant, Luke couldn't object to his mother's wishes. "I promise. Besides, now that he told me it hurts, I will not do the trick…now." Luke said with a slight pause before the last part. Claire didn't notice it and rubbed his hair lovingly.
"Who is he anyway?" Claire asked.
"He goes to the same high school as Alex. His name is… Edward Newgate." Luke replied. "It was my first time meeting him, but he's cool."
"Newgate?" Claire asked as she thought about the families around the streets she lived in.
"You mean that Newgate who lives in the messy house on the next street. With all of their plants dying and everything?"
Edward POV.
"So, I'm 14… That's just freaking great (sigh). In the last year of Franklin Middle school and will be going to high school afterward. Apparently, I am a loner in my school and a weird kid… also, kind of …dumb."
After I sorted out my memories which were not that many, to begin with, I became exasperated after learning of my new life condition.
Basically, I am an unattended, entitled, a snobbish child that thought he was better than everyone else.
"Growing up as a musical prodigy overblew my ego."
I also have a few memories of meeting Dunphy's daughter's duo, but it wasn't a good one.
The memories confused me for a while.
'Am I Edward Newgate or Edward Franzetti?'
The memories came with their feelings, making me doubt my entire existence. I remembered all the things Newgate had gone through, his trauma, his relationship, his love. All of his was also all of mine.
"I think…I am both now." I sighed and shrugged my shoulders.
In this life, I once belonged to a happy family until two years ago. I didn't delve deeper into the memory of the time as I found myself getting harder to breathe.
'Childhood trauma, huh.'
My adult mind quickly comprehended the situation, but I wasn't an expert on this matter to deal with this on my own.
I finally arrived at my home after a short few minutes of walking. I stopped at the front of the grey-bricked suburban house that was in serious condition.
'Damn it. I refuse to accept the condition of my house in the memory, but it is really true.'
"Hmm... Why the hell did the people here leave this lawn unattended?" I muttered as I stood in front of a detached, two-story suburban home.
The rooftop drain was clogged with leaves and other matter. The tall grass on the front lawn was dying, leaving a desolate, yellow-colored meadow in front of the house. Not to mention some stuff that looked like trash was strewn all over the ground.
I knew that the house wasn't always like this. But after the mother in the house ran away from her family two years ago, the house's condition deteriorated as there was no one to take care of it.
That was also when Edward started to reject everything and everyone around him and became a loner. We have a lot in common in this part, except I never had a family, to begin with, and I was never adopted till I was old enough to leave the orphanage on my own.
"I know, right? With some proper care… it will be a beautiful home."
Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke to me.
"System?" I asked while tilting my head.
The man standing behind me was confused, "N- No." He crouched and tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn. "It's me."
I widened my eyes as I looked at the man. Never thought the voice was from Phil Dunphy, the local expert on real estate. The man in a blazer was taller than me and had a kind expression on his face.
"Why are you here?" I blurted out.
It was so sudden that I didn't manage to plan my sentence ahead. I am the type to constantly think about my words before, but Newgate's experience in speaking like an equal to the adults…and looking down on them had left some traces in my existence.
"I am from the open house next door," Phil said, pointing at his signs on the next house. "My name is Phil Dunphy," Phil said and held his hand out for a handshake.
I grabbed his hand instinctively. He smiled at me and asked, "Are you interested in home care? Mr…"
"Edward." I introduced myself.
"Edward. Nice name. You're in high school?" Phil asked. I then realized that he didn't know that the house was mine. I guess he was bored from the open house and decided to look around.
And now, he found a target to relieve his boredom – me.
"Yes, I am," I answered curtly with a smile. I noticed Phil looked a bit helpless and started scratching his head as he looked at the house.
"You know. This house was once very beautiful. There was a huge ornament on the lawn, but the kid inside it had broken it a few years back," He said and started to reminisce.
"I don't blame Ticky, though. He does his best… in other stuff." Phil muttered. Ticky, I guess that was his nickname for my dad in my new life.
He didn't recognize me being Ticky's son, but I don't blame him. I could barely recognize myself if I looked in the mirror. And damn, I really want to look in the mirror.
Although I was happy to see Phil, the sight of the house put me in a bad mood. I had a bit of a minor OCD growing up. Okay. I am lying. I have a major OCD growing up. It really irritates me now that I have to live in a place like this.
"Mr. Dunphy," I called.
"Hmm. What is it, Edward?" Phil asked, turning to me.
"Being the local real estate expert in Southern California, do you know how I can fix the problems in this house?" I asked.
"What is this? Are you doing a school project?" Phil asked. "Why did you call me a local expert? I'm…not." Phil said with a smile.
"I saw you on the bus benches before. Aren't you a celebrity realtor?" I asked innocently but was secretly pumping Phil with a feeling of elation.
"Maybe… Just a little bit." Phil replied embarrassingly.
He was excited to be the mentor to the young children. And with me buttering him up with the expert moniker, he graciously explained how to fix the house. I already had the skills. What I needed was information.
Where can I find the tools necessary? The city's intervention in home care. How do I improve several aspects of my lifestyle? Trash pick-up and recycling.
We talked for 15 minutes in front of the dilapidated house. I nodded in agreement with most of what he explained.
"Do you understand now – Wait. Shoot! Don't you need to write about this?"
"Ahh. I do." I exclaimed in sudden realization.
"Go pick up some papers and meet me at the open house. I will stay there till 3 in the afternoons, so I can help you with your assignment." Phil offered.
"Wait. I will be back in a few seconds."
"No rush," Phil said. His smile turned into a poker face and then a sullen face. As he saw I walked into the house, he called a pigsty to grab my things.
"Ahhh," Phil exclaimed in a sudden realization. "That's Ticky's son."
[Phil Commentary.]
"The thing is. I don't know… that he lives here." Phil leaned forward while sitting on his sofa. His face was sullen, and he shook his legs in nervousness. He said sadly, "If only I knew."
[Commentary ends]
Edward POV.
I walked into my house after I unlocked the door with the keys underneath the floor mat.
'Honestly. Newgate was too lax in his safety.'
The musty smell of the wood and unwashed laundry assaulted my nose as I walked in. The uncleared dishes in the sink and the full trash in the trash can almost make me want to burn down everything in this house and start over someplace else.
Beer bottles were strewn all over the living room. Random socks and underpants were in creative places all over the house. Such as inside the fridge and the toaster.
There was a massive piano in the second living room near the backyard door, certificates of excellence, and trophies in a glass case near the piano.
'Musical Prodigy at 9. Then, Newgate's life starts its downfall.' I thought as I read the certificate label inside the glass case.
As I peeked in the backyard, I wondered if my house was designed to be part of the forest.
I navigated around the messy floor to get to my room on the upper floor of the house. Some broken steps caused me to stumble, so I need to fix that later.
"Now. Let's see what I looked like."
I muttered as I stood in front of a mirror.
A skinny, 1.7 meter in height kid with wavy brown hair and piercing green eyes was staring back at me.
The hair was very Zac Efron in the high school musical. It was long and was combed neatly to the side. I sighed and didn't blame the kid, as the movie's hype was real.
My shirt was an official Led Zeppelin t-shirt, so at least I had great taste in music. I turned to look at the rest of the room.
A few music records were laid on top of my brown bed sheets and blankets. Newgate could handle various instruments, so they were also inside the room with a speaker.
A blood-red electric guitar, drum sets, and also an acoustic guitar. He also has violins and saxophone inside the room.
By the bed, a few Led Zeppelin posters, Iron Man posters, and even Twilight posters were hung on the walls. The first thing I changed in this room was ripping off the Twilight poster, crumpling it into a ball, and throwing it into the garbage bin.
'Luckily, Newgate hung up Bella's poster, not another Edward. Or I will start to question his sexuality.'
"And, of course, no books were inside the room," I muttered in frustration.
The date was April 2009, according to the calendar. Summer break would come in late June, so I have to suffer going to a school filled with pre-pubescent hormones- I mean teenagers now.
"Ughh." I groaned and let out a long sigh before I lay facing up on my bed.
"This sucks."
Why do I need to live again? And why did I come here? Many questions were in my mind, but my OCD wouldn't let me think.
"URGH, THE FUCKING SMELL!!" I gritted my teeth in anger and couldn't hold it in anymore!
I ran all over the house and opened all the windows and doors to lessen the smell.
I took out a pen and a piece of paper before I ran away, leaving my house in a very dangerous state with the door unlocked. However, I am sure that with the current state of the house, even burglars wouldn't dare to enter.
What did I do next? I ran to the house next door where Phil was.
"Edward. I don't mean to be rude." Phil said, loading up for an apology, but I cut him off.
"Can you elaborate? What do you mean that the house will be beautiful with some proper care?" I asked hurriedly.
"Ah, this… Umm... Let's see here. First, you can start by…."