"That was…the weirdest dinner of my life," I muttered as I recollected the events of last night. Claire was staring at me as I ate. I almost choked a few times because of her. She didn't stay long, though, as she needed to return to her family for dinner. I thanked her for her kindness and said I would bring something to her house as thanks later.
Claire denied the gratitude, but Phil accepted it gladly and whispered something I couldn't hear to Claire.
[Flashback]
"Ed, you play guitar?" Phil asked excitedly as he saw my electric guitar in the living room.
"Yeah. I am good with most instruments but the best at guitar." I bragged.
"Really? Can you show us?" Luke asked innocently. Even Phil was looking forward to it.
"I can, but you must return to your house, right? I don't think Claire will like it if you're late." I said after thinking for a few seconds.
"Oh shoot. You know what? Luke and I will come to watch you play another day. Is that okay?" Phil asked.
"Sure. I am not free tomorrow as I'm going shopping. Maybe Tuesday." I said.
"I can't. Tuesday, I play soccer. Why don't my dad and I come next Friday?" Luke said and turned to look at his dad.
"That'll work. See you, Friday Ed. Also, don't clean in the middle of the night." Phil teased and chuckled before he turned serious. "I'm serious. If Claire catches you…."
He didn't continue, but I understood what he was saying.
[Flashback ends.]
Right now, I'm cycling to school as I always did. It'll take me 20 minutes to get to school cycling by myself. I only carried a light bag with barely anything inside, as most of my school's stuff was inside its locker.
After applying deodorant and eating a big breakfast of pancakes and lattes, I asked for my father's credit card, which he gladly granted me. I also billed him for the sprinkler and lawnmower repairs, which dropped his jaw.
"Ed Ed Ed. You don't even bring your homework home." I clicked my tongue at the previous me as I stopped my bike at a red traffic light. "And now, I am the one who will be in trouble for it."
As the light turned green, I continued cycling again.
This is my last year of Junior High. I'm supposed to enter high school after the summer, but Edward's previous performance in school could have been better. If this continues, I will have to attend summer school to make up for my grades.
I shuddered at that thought. "Please don't."
There is no way I could tolerate being in the same class as the problematic 14-year-olds for an entire summer.
"Arghh…I need to…do an assignment presentation today!!" I screamed in frustration while scratching the back of my head. But then I realized I'd ruined my Zac Efron-High School Musical hair.
"Last day with this style. I will get a haircut after this when Cam and Mitch pick me up."
Although the hair was refined in 2009, I couldn't bring myself to love the haircut.
"Imagine an adult with that hair…why do I imagine Phil?"
I could try to do the assignment at home, but I don't know the topics I could choose for my assignments! All of it was inside the locker. Edward didn't even glance at the paper before he went home. Otherwise, I could've done it based on memories alone.
Added to my luck, I have the Science subject as my first class today with the stern Mrs. Henderson.
"I…already served my time in school… Why do I need to suffer again?" I muttered sadly.
"Hmm… It is what it is…."
Finally, the school was in sight. After locking my bike in the bike rack, I hastened to the locker and took out my stuff.
*RING*
The homeroom bell rang before I could glance at my assignment docket. "Ahh damn." I cursed and quickly walked to my Science class for today.
I sat at my usual spot, where an anime protagonist would sit. First desk from behind, next to the windows where I could see the sky.
'It is the ideal place to sleep. Good job, Edward.' I thought as I took my seat under the watchful gaze of the teacher. Technically I was on time, but her look was vicious regardless.
The teacher was dressed in a white shirt, long skirt, and high waist. She wore a half-frame glass and wore her hair in a bun. She's stunning for a woman in her forties.
I turned my focus on the assignment docket after I sat down. There were a few topics listed inside the paper that I could choose for my assignment.
"Hmm... Inertia. Newton's third law of motion. Parallel circuits…" As I was reading the assignment details, I was suddenly distracted by the teacher's shout.
"Mr. Newgate. I'd been calling you for a while. Please focus inside the classroom." The milf Mrs. Henderson said.
"Sorry," I replied and acted like I was focusing on the classroom. However, I noticed that a lot of the students there were looking at me.
"What are you waiting for, Mr. Newgate? It's time for your presentation." Mrs. Henderson said in an icy voice.
"Ahh...fuck my life…." I cursed under my breath.
…
'Come on. Think. THINK.'
As I stood up from my seat to walk toward the front of the class, I used extreme effort to rack my brain about the matter. My eyes darted around the science classroom, and I took in every single detail that could help me save my life.
"Hurry up, Edward. We don't get all day." A random shout from another problematic student caused me to turn toward him. He got a potato inside his chubby hands, 'I wonder what was that for.'
As I looked at the boy, I saw a familiar face inside the classroom. 'Why is Alex here?' I scrunched my eyebrow as I thought about it. She wore a headband today instead of tying her hair and a simple purple shirt.
I didn't know then that Alex was Mrs. Henderson's favorite student, and she sometimes lets her sit inside the advanced classes to watch the course.
As the teacher's pet, Alex had some privileges that her other classmates didn't. She was there the week before too, but the previous Edward went straight to sleep as he got to class, so he didn't notice, nor did he care.
'With her here….' My mind suddenly birthed a grand scheme that would help me pass this class brilliantly!
"Alright, you snotty little brats!" I said as I started my presentation today. The greeting aroused anger from the kids in the classroom and a scolding from Mrs. Henderson, but I didn't care. The more agitated they are, the better.
"For my presentation today, I'm going to show you a magic trick using three simple items."
"Mr. Newgate…" Mrs. Henderson exclaimed in exasperation. She thought I'll be messing around in the classroom and failed yet another one of her assignments. She already labeled me as a summer class attendee inside her heart, but I will continue my presentation.
"As it would be illegal for me to bring a knife to school, I would like to ask Mrs. Henderson for permission to use a knife and a mallet in my presentation."
Mrs. Henderson shook her head slightly before she agreed. "Sure."
"I also need a potato. Can anyone provide me with one?" I said and gazed maliciously at the kid who had heckled me before. The chubby kid with a flat top was startled as I stared at his potato.
'Seriously, why did he bring a raw potato here? Did he eat them raw?' I thought.
"N-NO! This is mine!"
"Mr. Jacob, please cooperate," I said, mimicking Mrs. Henderson's tone, earning another laugh from the kids there.
Finally, I received my three items for the presentation.
"You see, in my hand, there is an ordinary knife, an ordinary mallet, and… a purple potato."
The kids were all focusing intently on what I was going to do. Then, I stabbed the potato with the knife directly at the center.
"NOOO!!!" Jacob screamed in despair, but I shushed him. The tip of the knife was inside the potato, barely deep enough to hold the potato in the air.
"What will happen when I hit the back of the knife while it sticks to the potato in the air?" I asked the audience. The class was silent, so I turned to Alex.
"That beauty over there with the glasses? What do you think?" I said, pointing at Alex. She was taken aback and knocked her pencil case on the floor, drawing everyone's attention.
"Uhh…It will fall?" Alex said without thinking much. Her face blushed red as she was complimented suddenly.
"Alex said it will fall. So, let's see what will happen." I said and knocked the back of the knife with the mallet. To everyone's surprise, the potato moved higher up into the blade as I hit the knife with the hammer.
Even the hopeless Mrs. Henderson showed curiosity about my presentation now.
"How!?" Jacob yelled, demanding the answer. But I would only tell him so slowly, as I wasn't sure what this presentation entailed precisely.
"Can anyone tell me what I was trying to demonstrate here?" I asked- no, I kept the audience intrigued by the presentation by involving them with the experiment. The class was silent yet again, so I turned to the beauty for an answer.
"You're… trying to demonstrate… Newton's law of motion?" Alex replied, still blushing but having regained her focus.
"Yup, that's right. My demonstration showed that an object in inertia or rest that didn't have time to move would stay in rest unless given time to react."
"The potato was resting before I knocked the knife with the mallet. But as it didn't have time to react, it showed that the potato was moving upward into the knife. That was wrong. The one that did move was the knife, wasn't the potato. Proving Newton's law of motion?" I asked the class again.
However, this time, everyone could answer the question. "1st law!"
"That's right, you brats! Newton's first law; An object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force."
"Do you understand it now?" I asked again. This time, all the students there answered me meekly as if I were the teacher.
All together: YESSSSS…
"Okay. Call me Mr. Newgate from now on." I added. Mrs. Henderson walked to the front, causing the class to fall into silence again. "Good job Mr…Newgate." She said with narrowed eyes and an insincere tone, causing me to gulp my saliva in fear.
"I assume you already brought your report on your presentation to submit today?" Mrs. Henderson asked in a cold tone.
"Ahh…" I didn't know about the report.
"For your presentation, I will give you an A for the assignment IF…you submit the report before the day ends. Otherwise, you'll fail. Do you have anything else to say?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Good. Go sit down." Mrs. Henderson said and took back control of the class. I obediently sat down at the back and took out the assignment paper to read it correctly.
"Okay. The TikTok video I watched before saved me from the presentation. But now, I need to know how to do the report. Damn it, Ed! At least focus on HOW to do it. I can easily fill in the blanks later." I muttered whisperingly.
After getting the additional IQ stat from the Gacha, I could remember my memories from my past life easier now. I also need to only flip the book a few times to understand a topic I'm reading.
I didn't realize that Alex glanced at me a few times as I rubbed my head in frustration.
"He is...smart?" Alex muttered to herself. "No. That…must be a fluke."
I turned my head around to search for clues around the class when I saw Alex looking at me. I smiled and waved at her, causing her to quickly turn her head to the front of the course. The day continues, and it's time for a break between classes.
Before I left for lunch, I told the heartbroken Jacob that I would bring him a potato the next day because I witnessed how distraught he was when he watched his closest buddy being mercilessly stabbed... by me.
'Teenagers is such a weird state for us to go through.' I thought secretly.
"Hey! Newgate!" Suddenly, an angry voice called out to me as I comforted Jacob.
"Hey, Alex," I said casually as I turned to face the caller.
"Don't 'Hey Alex' me. Why are you trying to embarrass me earlier?" Alex asked angrily.
"When did I embarrass you?" I titled my head in confusion.
"Don't play dumb… you- you- called me pretty in front of the class." Alex stammered.
"I didn't call you pretty, though. I called you beautiful." I said with a smile.
"That is THE SAME THING!" Alex said in frustration. I laughed and said, "Because I think that's true. That's it… beautiful."
Jacob, who heard the conversation, widened his eyes, had his jaw dropped, and took notes inside his mind on how to talk to girls.
Alex blushed and ran away in embarrassment. It's not like I was coming on to her. She was too young, for god's sake. But it's always fun to tease girls, especially the uptight ones.
"Okay, Jacob. I'll bring it to you tomorrow." I turned my attention back to Jacob as Alex turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
"Dude…I don't care about the potato anymore. Can you teach me that?" Jacob asked.
"… Sorry. Trade's secret."
Jacob was silent as he racked his brain on how to tempt me. "I have done my report…do you want me to show you how to-"
He stopped as I suddenly wrapped my hand over his neck. Jacob was tall and pretty big, more than 179 cm at 14 years old. His body bent to the side as I wrapped my hands around him.
"So, you want to know how to talk to girls? Don't worry. You're now in the hands of a master. First…"
I taught him some basic things as we walked to the next class together.
…
"Mrs. Ice Quee- Henderson…" I almost blurted out as I saw Mrs. Henderson two hours after her class. I just finished maths class, which was a piece of cake even in my previous life. There was a pop quiz in the class, but I finished it early with all the questions right. Honestly, it was just 8th-grade level. I would be embarrassed if I struggled with that.
"Mr. Newgate. Have you finished your report?" the teacher asked, not looking up from marking the other student's assignments.
"Yup. I'm sorry for the hand-drawn figure, though. I had to draw it alone in a limited amount of time." I said as I placed my 3-page report on her desk. The teacher flipped through the pages and found out that the information was neatly written and fulfilled all of the requirements she wanted.
"Did you ask someone else to write this for you?" She said, a bit skeptical.
"No. All me."
"It's good, Mr. Newgate. You've worked hard." The teacher flashed a sincere smile as she saw the notable changes in her problematic student. His barely negligible writing also changed to be more pleasing to the eyes.
I felt awkward as she fell silent, so I asked flirtatiously, "So…is there a Mr. Henderson?"
"Get out." She ordered in a cold tone.
I was then chased away by the homeroom teacher. I finished all my classes in the afternoon and biked home for my shopping trip. Cam arrived with his friend Pepper who drove a Mercedes convertible to pick me up in front of the Dunphy's house.
There is no way I will let the snarkiest group of people in the world know my house's condition before I fix its appearance entirely.
"(whistles) Nice ride."
"Thanks. I saw Britney with the same car, so I should have one too, as I am classier than her." Pepper said. "Did you tell your father that you're going out today?"
He was a bit concerned as I am still a minor. "Yes. He already gives me his permission, and he knows Mitchell, so it wasn't hard."
"He didn't say he knew who I was?" Cam pretended to be sad. He didn't mind since he was too excited about the possibility of shopping today.
"No. He met you just once. Why would he mention you?" I teased.
"Maybe because I'm unforgettable," Cam said with a giggle.
Pepper was one of the show's characters that I liked despite being a side character.
His clothes, his car, all of it was stylish. He wore a brown suit today with a polka dot necktie that somehow fits into his attire. 'I got to admit Pepper is the most well-dressed person I've known here…not that I met with many people.'
I didn't think I could meet him here today, but Cam wanted to bring Pepper to show me true fashion. It will be hard for him as I am barely controlling myself to point out the flaws in his outfits today.
After the initial introduction, I asked. "Where's Mitchell?"
"Oh. He is still at work. There is still an hour before he gets off, so we will go shopping first while we wait for him." Cam replied, still with his theatrical hand gestures.
"If we have time to spare, can I get a haircut first?" I asked.
"You should spare me seeing you with that haircut before we meet. Then, I will like you more." Pepper snarked.
"Really? I waited for a haircut because I didn't trust other people's opinions on what style I should get. They need to be more stylish. My mind changed after meeting you today Pepper."
"Kid. I know I like you for a reason." Pepper smiled brightly and drove me to the top California salon to get a haircut.
"Don't worry about the price. I will pay for it as long as you get rid of the thing you called a haircut on your head." Pepper offered.
So that's how I got a 500-dollar haircut for free.