It took me some time before I got home, mainly because of traffic. And once I was there, I heard "LUCAAAS!"
Dad's voice was so loud it sent me back in time reminding me of every single bad thing I've ever done.
'Shit, I'm technically older than him and I'm still getting the jitters when he shouts.'
"Yes Dad, what's wrong, also what are you doing here shouldn't you be working?" I asked as I was met face to face with his scowl.
"What is wrong with you today? This morning you were acting all strange and now you go around beating people up? Are you out of your mind? Don't you care about your future? You could be suspended or get expelled!" Dad said with worry in his voice.
'Ah, seems that news does travel fast.'
Just as I was about to open my mouth I heard the voice of another person coming from the living room.
"It's alright, it won't go that far, apparently it was Joe Muller who instigated it, but still, next time when a teacher tells you to do something you do it!" came the voice of the same teacher I left gawking back at school.
Damn little snitch.
"Now I see here a good family and good parenting, since you'll take care of this matter at home I will see that Lucas won't get any heavy punishment. You'll get a warning, for now, next time we won't be so tolerant." The teacher said. "Now if you'll excuse me, madam Newman, that was a very delicious pie, I would appreciate if you could send my wife the recipe." The teacher said.
"Ah yes, I'll call Hanna soon, I'm sure she'll make a good one, she is a good cook," mom intervened and immediately the situation was defused.
Moments later the teacher left and I was left face to face with dad and mom who were looking at me like I was some sort of monster.
"What?" I said.
"You, you really beat that football player?" dad asked.
"He was asking for it, I told him I didn't want any trouble. It doesn't matter if you don't believe me…" I said as I was already getting some flashbacks, why would they even care, I mean I was almost suspended, and Joe is like a model and a famous person in school, no matter what I say, I'll always be the villain.
"Good Damn job son!" Dad said and slapped me on the back. Which was surprising in two ways.
The first, "You just cursed," I said to dad, the second was "And why are you so proud of me for beating someone else?" I added.
"I never liked that prick, and I get a curse pass. It's my house," my dad flashed me a devilish grin.
"You two are incorrigible." Mom shook her head, "There is still some of that pie left if you want, how was your exam Lucas?" mom asked.
"So, and so," I replied still confused at why they actually supported my 'rebellious' behavior.
"You see Lucas, I've always thought you were a wuss, no offense," Dad said.
"Bro, that's not something you say to your son," I said.
"And Bro is not something you say to your dad. Still, good job on standing your ground. Getting roughed up isn't bad if you can stand your ground and prove your point."
"Don't you start filling my son's head with your anarchy! I've had enough of that from you." Mom said as she served us the pie.
"But you loved me for it," Dad said teasingly.
"You kept getting beaten up in high school that I felt sorry for you," my mom berated
"Nah, you loved me for it," dad said grinning.
Mom could only shake her head while trying to hide a shy smile.
This awkward and familiar family atmosphere is something I missed so I couldn't help but smile.
'Good to see you two happy like this. No matter what, I'll never let this family be torn by the upcoming events. No matter what.'
"How is work?" I asked.
"It's alright, I'm not getting any new contracts, and a couple of guys had to leave. Seems like the economic depression is killing businesses. No one wants to build houses anymore, and still, the prices of rent are growing like crazy."
Dad kept going on about work, and mom pitched in some ideas about what to make for dinner completely throwing away dad's rambling and making him think of food. She was the best when it was related to switching dad's mood for the better and I couldn't be happier for them.
"I'll be staying tonight at Will's is that okay?" I asked.
"Partying tonight?" Dad asked.
"Euh, why would you say that?" I asked.
"Well, a little bird told me that there will be a party. Will there be girls? Drinks and drugs?"
"No, none of that," I said shaking my head.
"Then why are you going?" Dad smirked.
"I'm not going to that party dad," I said.
"Oh, that's surprising. A college boy not going to parties." He said.
"I don't have time for that, It's something else. You'll know later."
"You're a grown man, you don't need to ask me for permission, just be careful," Dad said.
"Thanks, dad," I replied.
Later that day, I picked up my phone and called Will.
"S'up," he replied.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Well, hope that whatever you're going to show me is better than a party full of chicks, I'm risking my popularity for this," he said.
"Like you were ever popular, don't worry, it's damn worth it. I'll wait for you outside, bring your car." I added.
I went downstairs, picked up some water bottles and some snacks, and packed them all in my backpack.
I pulled out a saving jar I had hidden in my room and picked everything inside it then went outside to wait for Will.
Soon, I heard the backfire of a rundown car that should belong to a historical museum. That's definitely Will.
Once I was out I shook my head, "You should throw that thing in the junk, you'll one day get arrested because that thing sounds like someone's playing with a loaded gun."
"I'm too broke to fix that, also see this," he said pointing at his face, "I get pulled over for less."
Dark jokes, I shook my head. Will was and always has been a funny guy. And I respected him for it.
"Where are we going homie?" he asked.
"First off, we'll need to head to a pharmacy," I said.
"Okay, sounds sus, for a first stop, but you call the shots." He said and he drove me over.
Once I got to the pharmacy, I took some things. Pure Alcohol, bandages some other of counter meds.
Once I paid for everything I went back to the car.
"Now what?" Will asked.
"Head to Old Town, I'll need to get a couple more things from there."
"That place is full of weirdoes you sure you want to go there this late at night?" he asked.
"This is the best time, it's perfect for trade."
"Trade? Man, you're acting very strange man." Will said.
"Just trust me on this," I said.
Soon the two of us headed out to Old Town.
It was almost like a town where a lot of people gathered. It was a few dozen miles away from the city. It hosted a lot of homeless people and had some eccentric others in it. Not that I was interested in any of the people there, but I wanted to get to a specific shop in there.
After half an hour's drive, we got to Old Town.
The two of us got out of the car in front of the town.
It was a gathering of pitched tents, cardboard houses, and a lot of open fires. It looked something out of this world and more like my old world.
A lot of people lived here. The economical depression wasn't kind to everyone and a lot of people were chased away to the suburbs of the city, homeless and unable to find jobs. They gathered here because they had no other place to go to.
The city couldn't take care of all of them, so they made a place for themselves.
Though sad as it might sound, they still had some amazing stuff.
"Bro I'm not really feeling this place," Will said.
"Just follow me," I said and navigated through Old Town.
We stood out like sore thumbs in this place, many people ogled us, since we were relatively wearing cleaner clothes than they did, and I knew what went on in every one of their heads.
We needed to hurry.
"Follow me," I said to Will and guided him through this maze-like place.
'Found you.' I grinned as I found the tent I was looking for.
"Granny Yang," I said. And since no one answered me, I called again, "Granny Yang!" this time slightly louder which caused many of the people around us to fully take note of us.
"Lucas, you sure we're in the right spot, this doesn't look like the right spot, how about we come back when it's morning," Will said.
"Just wait…" I said.
"Who the hell is your granny!" came the reply of a slightly older woman, but far younger than the one I remember.
"Oh, sorry, my bad, aunty Yang," I said.
"Humph, that's more like it, what do you want? You don't look like you're from around here, and how do you know about my name?" she said.
"Let's call it, a Faithful Encounter In the Middle of The Night."
"How do you know that?" she said as her eyes widened. "Never mind that, get in," she said and looked around before closing the tent.
The tent looked slightly different than what I remembered, but still, there were many things here that were pretty familiar to me.
The awkward dolls, the skulls, and the small spherical crystal that Granny Yang used to scam people and call it fortune-telling.
"I guess you're not here to read your fortune." She said.
"I already know my fortune," I said.
"Humph, what do you want, brat." She said as she sat next to her table.
"I've come here to do a trade."
"Good, I like trades, what do you want and what do you have to offer."
"Well first things first," I want that," I said as I pointed at a faraway object behind her.
She looked around and saw my hand pointing at a dull-looking piece of crystal, full of blemishes and stains.
"That's a heaven's crystal, it absorbs evil energy and gives positive energy, it will be a thousand dollars for it!" she said.
Will's eyes widened at the price of an old-looking crystal.
"I'll give you twenty bucks."
"What, you think I'm some old crone, nine hundred or no deal."
"Twenty bucks," I replied as emotionally as I possibly could.
"That's not even how one makes trade! Are you mad?"
"I'll give you an extra five dollars if you tell me where you found it," I added.
"God damn it, city folks you do know how to drive a hard bargain. Five hundred dollars." She said.
"No shot, thirty dollars. Is the best I can go, however, if you pitch in those two rusty old swords I might up it to fifty, that's as far as I can go, take it or leave it."
The old woman looked at me with disgust, and then stood up, she picked up the rusty old decorative swords, squeezed her eyes even thinner than they already were, and said, "These aren't even worth the price of scrapping them. alright, deal." She spoke.
"Thanks," I replied and pulled fifty dollars from my pocket.
"Now, can you tell me where you found the crystal?" I asked as I got everything from her into the bag.
"Up north, right next to the abandoned factory there was a cave-in, some sort of hole opened up, this was found on the ground, it looks like quartz probably." She said, "Why do you ask?" she said.
"We're just geography college students. We're looking for strange rocks and antics, it's a project for school", I said.
"Humph, College students don't go wandering around at this hour of the night in Old Town, and they definitely don't know the Pass. Still, you came for a bargain…" she said and waited.
"And a Bargain I got," I replied smirking.
"Leave, and if you ever want a hand reading…"
"I'll definitely not come here," I replied.
"Smart man," she said smiling.
"Let's go, Will," I said and the two of us headed out.
Many stared at us as we walked out of Granny Yang's tent, but no one dared follow after us.
Because if I hadn't known the pass, the moment we left, we'll get ganged up and had everything stolen from us. Not that I would have allowed it.
The two of us left, while Will constantly looked over his shoulder afraid that we might get jumped.
While I on the other hand was shaking in ecstasy.
I was desperately hoping that she would have that there, and never in my wildest dreams would I ever believe that I'll get such a good Mana Crystal Piece so early before the Integration.
Yes, that dull-looking crystal, is nothing but a none activated Mana Crystal.
"What the heck happened in there?" Will asked.
"Oh, we just got a super-needed power-up, now we'll go dungeon hunting."
"Huh?" Will tilted his head. Unable to understand what I was saying.