Sam looked at the storm of papers all over the room and sighed. What has he gotten himself into? This was a mess! This would take at least an hour to fix up and at least two hours to sign a rejection letter. There was no way he was going to make the meeting with the professor.
But that's okay, he thought to himself. Patty's emergency was so much more important than that. How did he know? Well, he didn't exactly know why it was such a dire emergency, but he knew that it was a life or death moment.
Smoked Pineapples.
The history for how this word came to be was long back when they were just children; that was 10 years ago. Has it been that long? Sam shook himself and got him out of his reminiscent mood. This was not the time to feel nostalgic about the past.
That was their own codeword for when someone's life was in trouble. Patty and Sam used to tease each other a lot, which consisted of a lot of pranks and jokes. Of course, due to some circumstances that he can't mention now, someone's life was in danger due to their little pranks. Because of that, they both decided that whenever someone used the word 'Smoked Pineapples', they would drop everything and help the other person.
It was a 'no questions asked' type of thing because the only thing that you had to know was that the situation was so serious that it could decide whether someone lives or someone dies. Throughout the 10 years they knew each other, Patty and Sam both used the codeword only two times. Each of those times were as serious as they said and ended up saving a life.
So, when Patty said 'Smoked Pineapples', Sam knew that his interview was not as important as what Patty wanted to do. Sam understood what happened a little bit when Patty mentioned 'Griff', who was notorious for his bullying.
But now, Sam was forced to clean up Patty's mess. Fortunately for him, he was well versed in cleaning up messy papers. He cleaned up fallen paper so many times that he ended up getting really good at it. It was basically a skill at this point. Even this mountain of papers, which would take a normal person about 4 hours or Patty 8 hours to fix up, would only need a couple of hours from Sam's experienced hands.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast he was, he still cannot make the deadline with the professor's interview. By deciding to help Patty, he basically killed his own chances at getting the internship for Atlas Incorporated. The professor was generous enough to give him a second chance when he missed the deadline before, which meant that this was his last chance.
But was a Teqx really all that important? Yes, it was a B-class Teqx that Sam always wanted, but he believed that compared to the life of a person, it wasn't all that important. Even if he was to decide between getting everything he dreamed of or if he can save one person from dying, he would always choose saving the person. His moral compass was still pointing up north.
BUUGGSHH
The door burst open and in came a very angry and furious Professor Mortimer Wraithborne. It looked like the gel from his signature clean and polished hair was starting to give in as a cowlick appeared on the side of his head. This was the first time Sam saw the professor really stressed.
"SAM! What are you doing?! Why are you LATE, AGAIN, for our interview?!"
Sam looked down and just accepted the lecture. He knew that this would happen, but he didn't think that the professor would come barging down the Counselor's office to search for him. He looked like he had been running around the school at least five times.
"What's the reason? I know you keep a very tight schedule and you are organized enough to follow it, so why couldn't you attend the interview with the Atlas Inc representative? This will make or break your career! I was rooting for you!"
Sam just put his head down and listened to the lecture. He could have just as easily told the professor the truth and gave that excuse, but he didn't. It was his decision to honor his code with Patty, so that meant that he was prepared to face whatever consequences that followed. He also knew that the professor and Patty didn't really have a good relationship with each other, so he didn't want to sully that even further by telling the truth.
With Sam's silence, Professor Wraithborne knew that something was up. When he ordered Sam to pick up some documents from the Counselor's office, he was still enthusiastic about the interview. But suddenly, he just decided to fix some papers strewn on the floor instead of attending this life-changing interview? Something was strange. If Sam wasn't going to tell him the truth, then he should ask someone else.
"You. Tell me what happened."
The unfortunate student who was in the Counselor's office couldn't help but cry again after being shouted at by the professor.
"I'm sorry! I was weak and I accepted a bribe from Griff!"
The professor couldn't ask any more questions from the student because he was still crying like his eyes were a natural waterfall. That guy was useless.
"Is this about Patrick?"
Whenever Sam failed to do something, it would always be because of that lazy bum Patty. Sam was always the studious student that the professor always liked, but whenever he hung out with Patrick, it was as if his laziness was a virus that spreads and infects Sam too. It was a shame. The professor always thought that Sam had a bright future ahead of him, but Patrick always brings him down to his level.
"..."
With Sam's silence, the professor knew the truth. Patrick once again ruined the future career of a good student. If he was going to be lazy, then he should have been lazy just by himself. He shouldn't have to infect other good students too.
"Why are you even friends with him? You will gain nothing from that. You are one of the top students in your class, so you should hang out with like-minded people. You should hang out with future leaders of the government, inheritors from conglomerates, or martial arts prodigies. That is your kind of people, not scrubs like Patrick."
"He's not useless like you say, Professor. You just can't see it now, but I believe you will see how amazing Patty will be in the future."
The professor shook his head. He couldn't believe that such a smart student would believe such a dumb idea. There was no way that someone could succeed without working hard. It was impossible. And Patty, who was the king of laziness, certainly won't succeed at all. He will stay stagnant in his place.
"Whatever. Because of him, you missed out on your dream. The B-class Law Teqx must have been given to another person by now. Remember, the Atlas Inc has an endless amount of geniuses and prodigies lining up on their door. They will not wait or chase anyone that doesn't want them."
Sam nodded but he wasn't discouraged. There were plenty more opportunities in the world. Who knows, maybe he could get an A-class Teqx in the future. It was already a stretch for him to believe that he can get a B-class Teqx, so getting an A-class Teqx was nothing more than fantasy. But, a man can dream, can't he?
"It's okay, I still have my backup Teqx, right professor?"
Then, the professor displayed a curious expression. His lips were pursed and he didn't look at Sam in the eyes. He seemed to be embarrassed and ashamed to admit something.
"What's your backup Teqx?" asked the professor.
Aside from being a lawyer, Sam also wanted to become an adventurer. If being a lawyer proved to be too difficult or if he didn't get a good enough Lawyer-related Teqx, then he would choose to travel the world and hunt all kinds of creatures. It was a childhood dream of his. But, it wasn't exactly a stable career or even a rewarding one, so he decided that he would be a lawyer instead.
"I wanted the C-class Poison Breath"
This was a very useful Teqx for adventurers. If he had this Teqx, adventuring groups would line up to try and recruit him because of how powerful this Teqx was against monsters and Fiends. After all, if a Fiend is poisoned, then they don't have to fight it at all. They could just wait until the poison weakens it enough for the adventurers to deal a killing blow.
The professor straightened his tie and his glasses. "I have some unfortunate news. That Teqx is taken from the School Inventory."
"What?! Someone stole it? Why haven't they apprehended the culprit?"
The professor touched his glasses. "I didn't say it was stolen. I said someone took it. This particular person has a very big company backing him."
"Who is it?"
The professor then replied, "Griff Sunverk."
But that didn't make sense. Griff was from the Sunverk Company which had their own inventory of high-class Teqx. They didn't have to steal a mediocre C-class Teqx from the school. And Griff himself already had a Teqx for himself.
So, why would Griff steal this particular Teqx? Then, something clicked in his mind.
"Unless…it's not for him."