Chapter 161: Back Home.
[General POV]
Ophelia sent Hyde away as he got into a cab with his luggage and gifts
for her younger siblings.The surprise visit was short, but it was the best part of her tour so far.
A few hours earlier, she had gone to a party celebrating the success of
the films distributed by Hyde's company. It was a huge party, with a lot of
VIPs attending.
Ophelia noticed quite a few famous actors around the ballroom.
Household names. Something she was still striving to become.
Surpassing a hundred million–
No, it was actually 120 million dollars in total box ofice collections, with
just two films! It was an insane feat which made people in Hollywood go
red eyed.
But no one attributed the achievement to her, or the other lead actors, or
even Bruce Rockwell—the guy currently laughing his ass off as he
soaked up all the flattery from the entertainment industry's kiss-asses.
Whenever people came to talk to her, most of them eventually asked
about the person they thought was supposed to be there.
Steven Hyde.
Her boyfriend.
It was a peculiar feeling.
She was happy when people praised him.
But the longer the night went on, the more that happiness became mixed
with something ugly.
All of her success was being attributed to him instead of her own efort. It
made her stomach churn.Worse, she noticed people whispering behind her back.
She didn't hear everything, but she heard enough.
'Isn't she the director's girlfriend? Of course she got the part.'
'She'll probably be in his next one too.'
'I wish I could do that. Sleep my way to the top.'
Ophelia pretended not to notice the jealous actresses' words. Strangely,
she wasn't angry at them.
Because what could she say? They weren't completely wrong.
Steven had given her the opportunity that changed her life. And hadn't
she just spent days pestering him for another role?
The thought made a pang of guilt hit her stomach. She remembered
arguing with him about the lawyer role.
Steven had wanted an older woman. Someone who could convincingly
look like she'd spent fifteen years inside courtrooms.
Ophelia didn't fit the role.
She knew that.
Yet she'd still whined, complained, practiced harder and pushed him to
give it to her.
And when he still said no, she'd gotten angry.
Looking back on it now, she felt embarrassed. Like a petulant child
demanding another present because she'd gotten one before.
'A whiny bitch…God, I was an ass!'What was Steven supposed to do?
Rewrite the character?
Change his movie?
Throw away the woman he'd imagined for the role because his girlfriend
wanted to play her?
She would have hated it if anyone else forced him to do that.
So why was it acceptable when she did it?
Ophelia lowered her eyes as Steven's cab disappeared down the street.
He didn't need her.
That realization hurt more than she expected.
Steven could make another movie tomorrow without her and it would
probably still succeed.
He could find another actress.
Another leading lady.
Another face for the posters.
His company would keep growing.
His movies would keep coming.
Steven Hyde would be Steven Hyde whether Ophelia was standing
beside him or not.
She didn't want the opposite to be true.She didn't want people to look at Ophelia and only see Steven Hyde's
girlfriend.
And more than that, she didn't want Steven to have to keep finding
places for her in everything he created.
Before meeting him, she'd survived by hustling, scamming, fighting and
refusing to stay down no matter how ugly things became.
Somewhere along the way, Steven's dependability had become
comfortable.
Too comfortable.
If she wanted something, he could give it to her.
If she was in trouble, he'd fix it.
If she wanted a role...
She could whine until he considered giving her one.
Ophelia grimaced. God, she hated that thought.
She loved watching Steven work. She loved how excited he became
when an idea grabbed him.
She never wanted him looking at a script and wondering how he could
change it to keep his girlfriend happy.
She wanted the opposite.
She wanted to become so damn good that one day Steven would read a
script, see a character and immediately think– 'I need Ophelia.'
Not because he loved her.Not because she asked.
Because she was the best actress for the job.
Her eyes drifted toward her purse.
There was a card inside.
A talent agent's card from William Morris Agency. The top talent agency
in Hollywood
They had already approached her at the party. Show her their plans for
her future.
They even have a role lined up for her, with a 1 million dollar actor
salary.
They wanted an answer before October.
If everything went the way the agents claimed it could, they believed
they could build her contracts over the coming years into millions of
dollars.
Later that night, Ophelia lay in bed hugging the script Steven had given
her.
Legally Blonde.
She thought about Elle– the main character in the film. A woman
everyone underestimated.
A woman people assumed only belonged somewhere because of the
man in her life.
And a woman who eventually proved that she belonged there entirely on
her own.She remembered Hyde said he wrote it for her. Maybe he has a similar
thought as her too.
Ophelia hugged the script a little tighter. Tears unknowingly fell from her
eyes.
'How long can I stay by his side before I become a burden to him?'
She didn't want to break up with him. All she wanted was to ease up his
burden.
"Maybe I'll check if I can do the movie without being contracted by
William Morris… Otherwise I'd be trapped there for years."
She concocted a plan inside her mind, to take all she could from them
before going back to Hyde.
'I'll see if he's okay with me going away for a while using this tour. As
long as he didn't cheat on me… then we'll be fine even if I have to go to
California for months later on.'
But then, she felt quite guilty. Like she was denying him from his needs.
'Maybe I'll let Tifany help him— Wait! What am I even thinking!'
She blushed and kicked the blanket off her in embarrassment.
…
Sunday Night.
While Hyde was in New York, his friends in Point Place were hanging out
in the basement.
"So Hyde's out, right?" Kelso said to Donna who was reading a novel.
"He left, so he lost the Led Zeppelin ticket!""He's coming back tomorrow." Donna said, giving Kelso a dirty side-eye.
He was badgering her the entire day, which pissed her off a lot.
Jackie giggled and said, "I can't wait to see what he's bringing back from
New York."
Eric snorted and said, "He's not going to bring back souvenirs. Unless…"
"It's for your mom." Donna finished his words with a giggle.
Eric nodded slightly and said, "That's true."
Suddenly the news broke in the small town. It was a few hours after the
news broke in New York.
The teens listened to the news attentively.
After it was done, they glanced at each other, all having diferent
expressions.
Worried, Eric said, "So there's a billionaire elites network that protects
each other when they do crimes?"
"That poor child! What do you think they want with her?" Donna said,
fully anxious.
"It's like a movie." Kelso grinned. "The detective will find the child. He's
clearly the hero here!"
"Micheal! Real world is not like films… Micheal!" Jackie interjected,
scolding.
Donna waited before asking with a grin, "Jackie. Is that it?"
She usually backed up the rich, but this time, she kept her silence."Did you suddenly develop a conscience?" Eric giggled.
Jackie grimaced and said, "Instead of focusing on me, why don't you
think about this? Steven said multiple times that he's going to do
something big like topple the government."
"So?" Eric asked, scofing slightly.
"So… He's in New York, then suddenly the shadowy figure in the town is
brought to light? Do you really think it's a coincidence?"
Kelso rolled his eyes and snapped at Jackie. "Don't be a conspiracy
theorist– You hung out a lot with Hyde! That's why you're thinking like
him!"
"Yeah!" Eric joined in, glancing at Kelso before adding, "Be like him!
Never use your brain!"
Kelso was oblivious to the insult and nodded, "That's right! Pretty people
don't use their brains! We use our looks!"
Jackie scofed and turned around to watch the TV again. If Micheal
Kelso said that to her a couple months ago, she might agree with him.
She has a strong belief that with good looks, comes great opportunities
to coast through life, doing nothing.
But after talking with Steven for a while, and with how he kept
challenging her to think for herself, she didn't know whether she agreed
with her old belief anymore.
Kelso glanced at Jackie, a burning jealousy lighting up in his chest. He
knew she was slowly changing from the old Jackie. And once she truly
began to think for herself, will he still have a shot with her?He hated smart women who didn't let him get away with anything. In
fact, he felt that he cheated on Jackie because she kept scolding him for
things he has no control over.
Like burning down her house, cheating on her with Eric's sister, not
giving her any gifts for Valentine, or giving her a rubber chicken for his
one year anniversary.
On the other hand, Eric furrowed his eyebrows as what Jackie said
made him think.
Did Hyde really go to New York to expose the shadow cabal? – a name
he gave to the criminals inside his mind.
Eric also remembered Hyde telling him a story about a certain hellish
island. It was something Hyde said the tv series Fantasy Island was
based on, but it has a lot more sex with minors and illegal activities.
"Maybe it's true?" He blinked slowly and turned to Donna.
Donna was in deep thought, not about the news, but about her script.
'So I made Hyde to be the bad guy in the lead's delusion? Why did I do
that? Now, the project has come to a halt since he has to go away.
Should I just recast him and film it from the beginning again?'
She continued spiralling, 'As for the lead, do I really have to go with
Jackie? She can't really act. But she pays me behind the scenes…'
She glanced at Jackie and said, 'That 1000 bucks were helping out a lot.
Movies are really expensive! Am I selling my soul here just to produce
the short film? Is it worth it?'
Then, she smacked Kelso's head with a magazine.
*Thwack.*"Ow! What's that for?!" Kelso turned to her, fully angry.
"Jackie, he told me to write a sex scene for the film! With multiple girls at
once, and they are all going to serve him!" Donna exposed him.
She decided it was fine to sell her soul just now.
"What– Michael Kelso you pig bastard!" Jackie shouted.
"Wait! That's how we're going to win an Oscar– OW!"
Donna, Jackie, and Eric began jumping him, beating him up on the
couch.
Teenagers didn't really care much about the news. The adults however,
couldn't delete it from their mind.
"Can we call Steven Hyde? What if he's kidnapped, Red?!" Kitty almost
cried, holding on to the telephone. She tried to call New York, but no one
answered.
"He's not going to be kidnaped. Why would anyone want him? Hell, even
his parents don't want him. He's going to be safe." Red muttered.
He thought he was being comforting, but it made Kitty turn demonic.
"What the hell did you just say Red Forman?!"
Next door, Midge and Bob were also watching the TV in their living room.
"Oh my god!" Midge exclaimed, her breathless voice made Bob jolt up
from sleeping on the couch.
"What is it, Midge?!" He asked urgently.
"They cut our cable!" Midge said, exasperated.The money has been tight. So they were pushing the time limit on the
payments. She didn't think they would cut it in just a week.
Bob already sold his car, and they used all of their money to renew the
lease on Bargain's Bob building, but changed it to become Midge's Total
Body Gym.
It was still in the planning stage. Midge hasn't even learned how to
instruct people yet.
"Ohh~ When is Steven going to come back? He promised to bring me
the tapes." Midge sighed.
…
[Hyde POV]
Monday Morning.
Despite everything that happened over the weekend, I still had school.
A promise was a promise.
The Formans looked relieved when they saw me at breakfast this
morning. I had just arrived, and I was quite jet-lagged.
I bought some cofee inside a tumbler since I was too sleep-deprived.
Probably wouldn't even need that since I was planning to sleep in the
class anyway.
Eric drove his Vista Cruiser to the school while Fez and I sat in the
backseat. I didn't drive since I was too tired.
"Fez, I said I was sorry!" Donna grumbled as we went to pick up Fez at
his house. She was sitting next to Eric.
"What happened?" I asked, confused.Fez interjected, saying, "I'll tell you what happened! Yesterday, at The
Hub! I was hanging out with the girls, being really funny, and suave…"
"Fez, be honest." I interjected.
Taken aback, Fez said, "I was talking about hair products with them.
Mostly with Jackie."
"Then, Caroline appears." Fez said, getting lost in the memory. "She
looks like an angel, sitting there with tiny curls in her sunshine coloured
hair."
I waited, but Fez didn't continue.
Donna finally interjected, "She was reading the book."
"What book?" Eric asked. He was busy working last night so he didn't
actually know the story.
"Pride and Prejudice." Donna replied, looking dissatisfied.
I was shocked and turned to Fez quickly. "So you used my technique?
Did it fail?"
"How should I know? I can't even say it to her!" Fez whined.
Donna interjected again, slightly angry, "He pulled the chair, but missed
the landing. His ass fell on the floor! He became so embarrassed he
rushed to the toilet– then snuck out through the window there. We
waited for him to come out for hours!"
I chuckled and said, "Ohh Fez! That's a legendary self-burn."
Fez lowered his gaze, trying to hold back his tears.
"When he approached her, did she turn with her whole body? Or looksdisinterested?" I asked Donna.
She widened her eyes and said, "I think she turned. He asked her if he
could sit there, but… you know. Before that, she was giving him her full
attention!"
"Really?!" Fez held the front seat, peeking at Donna.
Donna nodded, full of smiles. "I forgot it till now. But yeah. She looks
interested in you too."
"Before you fell down in front of her. Who knows if she's still interested
now?" Eric chimed in, his calm words seemed quite cruel even though it
wasn't his intention.
"Screw you!" Fez cursed and pouted, leaning back on his seat.
Eric laughed and looked at me through his back mirror. "So Hyde. How's
New York?"
"Smokey. Smells like piss. Everyone's angry all the time. It was a really
nice place." I replied honestly.
"Really? So, you're going to move there after graduation?" Eric asked.
I was going to move to New York last year. I had already packed my bag,
and was going to ride to New York on the back of a moped with a
punk-rock girl who was passing through the town.
Eric had convinced me to stay back then. So he knew I was planning to
move there once I graduated from high school.
"Not sure. Maybe I will." I replied vaguely. "Also, Donna. Who are you
going to take to the Zeppelin concert?"
Donna widened her eyes, slightly stunned. "Um, I haven't decided yet.""The concert's tomorrow. Decide quicker." I looked at her with disbelief.
While I was gone, I asked my employees to find the Led Zeppelin tickets,
just in case Donna wouldn't take me to the concert.
Even then, no one found an extra ticket. Not my people here in this town,
or the ones who lived in Green Bay or Kenosha.
"I will! Stop rushing me!" Donna snapped.
Once we got to school, Amy suddenly approached me.
"Hey. How's New York?" She asked.
"It's fine." I replied, not wanting to talk since my eyes were already
half-closed. I yawned and said, "Nothing much happened."
"Really? Cause with the news about the corruption case, I'd thought
you'd have a field day with it… since you're a conspiracy nut."
"Ah." I exclaimed in realization. "Understandable."
Amy grinned and said, "Guess what I found?"
"A pillow?"
"No. Tickets for the Zeppelin concert!" She said, taking out the ticket
from her back pocket.
My eyes popped open and I grabbed her by the shoulder. "Really? How
much?!"
Amy was taken aback. She stammered, "Four– Four tickets!"
"Amazing! One for you, and I can still bring everyone else."
Donna has two. Eric couldn't go since he has to do inventory at Price
Mart.I would have to wait until the episode ended to reveal the tickets to the
others so as to not ruin the plot.
Or maybe the tickets would be useful for a punchline.
Let's wait and see what's going to happen.
I slept through all of the lessons like usual. Even in gym class. I didn't
even bother to change into my gym shirts.
Donna sat next to me at the bleacher while the others were running laps.
"Did you?" I asked skeptically.
"Yeah. I did." She held her stomach as Coach Jeferson glanced at us.
She faked a girl emergency to get out of gym class today. She and
multiple other girls in the class.
Shocked, I said, "So you did stuff like this too."
Donna blushed and said, "Shut up. I have to talk to you so I did this.
Otherwise, you're so busy, I can't even reach you."
"About your short film?" I already guessed what she wanted to talk
about.
"Yes." She said with a worried expression. "So I made some edits. Your
role is already over. Um… I'm cutting out the scene entirely."
I chuckled and said, "I told you not to cast me."
"You're too unreliable to become the lead." She said with a shy
expression. "I'm changing it to Kelso."
"So it's a comedy then.""What– No!"
We talked for a while about her short film. Then, I remembered I had to
go to Kenosha today to see the progress of the other films.
"Hopefully they made a lot of progress there."
After school ended, Amy drove me to Sheboygan to check on the
murder mystery film progress.
They already shot 70% of the film, and it would be concluded in two
days.
"Let's edit the racing movie in full today and send them for scoring. I
think I can premiere it at the same time as the murder mystery."
An internal test screening to see if there were any changes necessary.
Then, I could send them to print, and to the TV station.
"I can cut the items from my to-do list."
The list kept expanding, and I was quite stressed out by it.
Once I sell the lightbulb distribution, finish the movies, then I have
around 30 more things to do.
Such as;
1. Build a TV factory.
2. Open up a corporate ofice.
3. Find talents for the corporate ofice.
4. Find new talents for the music label. (currently wasted without any
new production)
5. Build new studios in Point Place.
6. Build new ofice space in Point Place.7. Compile footage for the renovation show– sent to the editor.
(Complete)
8. Help Donna with her short film.
9. Open up the international distribution market for the distribution
company.
10. Sell the cafe franchise to Starbucks.
11. The free car contest.
12. Sell the car company? (Need decision). 'Or turn it Co-opt and
only act as a supplier.'
13. Expand the Fotohut business. Five more huts in Sheboygan.
Five more huts in Kenosha. Three more labs.
14. Meet up with Radioshack to sell more commercial ideas.
15. Meetings with Ring Pop company for marketing plan.
16. Meeting with Nike for a commercial.
17. Meeting with Ford Motors for a new commercial.
18. Selling the bulb distribution.
+1
+1
+1
The list kept going on. Feeling quite overwhelmed, I decided to cut off
what could be independent and only kept businesses that needed my
direct input.
'Although, I think I have become attached to some.'
Like the autoshop.
'I'll try to open up a corporate ofice first and organize everything. If that
doesn't help, then I'll cut off the autoshop– making it autonomous.'
Chapter 162: Tickets!
[Hyde POV]"So I am just a driver to you?" Amy scofed as we arrived at the lightbulb
distribution company.
I smiled and said, "You told me you want to learn closer."
Amy rolled her eyes slightly.
We entered the ofice, and I noticed the employees' gazes towards me
were quite conflicted.
I understood why. They must've heard about me selling the company
from the managers.
As I entered Joan's ofice, she had a small box on her desk where she
had kept all of her stuf.
I raised an eyebrow and said, "Joan. Why are you already packing up?"
"Figures it will make it easier for you. Since you're selling the business."
Joan said sarcastically, wearing a fake smile.
I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "What exactly did you hear? Also, who
told you about this?"
"The analyst who came here to value the company." Joan replied,
looking helpless.
"Ah." I nodded and said, "And why does this make you mad?"
"Because. You didn't tell us anything. Is the company struggling? Are we
taking too much of a cut? Why are you selling the company?"
"Alright then." I sighed and said, "Gather everyone. I'll answer all of your
questions."
Taken aback, Joan went to gather everyone. Even the manager– Draper.They didn't have a big conference room to hold everyone, so I stood in
front of them while they brought their own chairs to the middle of the
ofice.
"I'm sure by now, everyone has heard the rumors about the bulb
company being sold."
Everyone held their breath.
"The rumors are partially true."
Everyone started to groan and complained.
I smiled and said, "General Electric had reverse engineered the bulb.
They will begin production soon. They can, and will, undercut our price."
Joan raised her hand. "By how much?"
"Seventy cents." I replied honestly.
Joan widened her eyes in shock.
"That's basically our entire profit margin." Draper said with a dark
expression.
It wasn't, but they didn't know the true number. I wasn't lying about the
seventy cent part.
Harold, the one who got the contracts with Price Mart, K-Mart, and a lot
of other chain stores, raised his hand.
"Are we getting the same deal with GE?"
"Unfortunately, no. That privilege is something you can only get with
me."He had a five-cent commission for every bulb sold under the contracts
he brought in. And he sold millions of them.
He'd bought a house, a Corvette, and somehow even gotten himself a
mistress, all in the span of half a year.
In fact, everyone here was earning really good money from the
commissions.
Two cents for every bulb for ordinary salesmen. The top one could get 3
cents, or more.
Last month alone, we sold 2.3 million bulbs.
I glanced around the room. A lot of them looked worried. Some looked
downright miserable.
"Alright. First of all, nobody is losing their job." I said casually.
The room immediately became quiet.
"I'm selling the distribution rights for the bulb. I'm not selling this
company."
Joan's expression changed.
Draper leaned forward slightly. "Then what happens to us?"
"You keep working here, or if you want to move, I can recommend you to
GE. They are only getting the distribution for the bulbs and an
anti-compete agreement for 3 years. They won't get the employees or
the whole business.."
I put my hands into my pockets."The bulb did its job. It made us money, gave us relationships with
retailers, and built our distribution network. GE wants the market badly
enough to fight over pennies. I'm going to let them."
Nobody interrupted me. Everyone looked quite serious.
I smiled and said, "We still have inventory to clear before the transfer is
finalized. So I'm changing the commission. Until the sale is completed,
every bulb you sell earns you ten cents."
Everyone was stunned.
"Ten cents?" Joan asked, bewildered.
"Ten."
"For everyone?"
"Everyone."
A murmur immediately spread across the ofice.
Harold didn't say anything, but I noticed his jaw tighten. He was the only
person here earning five cents before.
"Harold." I called him.
His eyes immediately moved toward me.
"Something you want to say?"
He hesitated for a second before shaking his head.
"No, sir."
"Good."I looked back at everyone. "Consider it a last hurrah. I want the inventory
cleared. You have customers. You have contacts. Use them. We have
one month before the sale is finalized."
Several of the salesmen were already exchanging looks. I could
practically see them calculating their commissions.
"Until now, we've been a lightbulb distributor. We've expanded into
Canada and Mexico. That's a good start. From now on, we're becoming
a general distribution company."
Joan narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "What are we distributing?" She
asked.
Draper asked, "Are we going full software?"
"That too. But, we're also selling records."
I counted every product with my fingers.
"Software and computer games after that."
"Rear-projection televisions once the factory is operational."
"And eventually, our own game console."
Everyone listened intently.
"You'll be divided into diferent departments as we expand. Music.
Electronics. Software. Games. Each one will eventually have its own
manager and sales force."
Draper asked, "And compensation?"
"You're not taking a pay cut."
Several shoulders visibly relaxed."Base salaries remain. Commissions remain. The structure will change
depending on what you're selling."
I explained to them about the new company structure. Several of them
would be pulled into the management role.
Such as Draper and Joan. Harold wanted to keep being a salesman.
While they were busy trying to make some calls during the half hour they
got left before quitting time, I went to the ofice and checked the
warehouse stock.
"There's 300,000 thousand left. Hopefully it can all be sold soon."
I told the salesmen to sell it 20 cents under the actual price. They could
go up to 30 if the stores bought over 20,000 units.
Amy stood in front of the door, peeking through the window before slowly
closing the blinds.
"W–Wow!" She exclaimed excitedly, walking towards me. I looked up to
her with confusion.
"That's amazing!" She said, bringing her arms up, gesturing wildly. "They
all look like they want to beat you up when you get here. But, you
weren't afraid at all! If I'm in your spot, I would've just run away."
"Wait. You think I'm not scared?" I asked with a perplexed expression.
She was stunned and paused for a few seconds. "Were you scared? It
doesn't seem like that at all."
"I actually have no idea what to do with the company until I have to face
those guys." I smirked, leaning back on the leather chair.
Amy widened her eyes. "You're lying!" She said skeptically.I shrugged and said, "It's the truth."
It really was the truth. The company has software distribution too, but the
profit there was barely available for the salesmen since we signed an
exclusive contract with Radioshack.
"I was going to lay off half of these people here." I added.
"REALLY!?" Amy said exasperatedly. "But you– You don't look like that
at all!"
"That's called, good acting."
She narrowed her eyes at me skeptically and said, "You're messing with
me, aren't you?"
"Can you take this to Joan?" I gave her some menial tasks to handle
while I did the paperworks.
Amy gave me a stink eye before leaving.
I turned sullen as she left.
"Damn it. Now I have even more work to do."
The limitation of living in a small town was messing with my entire
business.
"What if…"
My eyes suddenly lit up. I still have one more storyline ticket.
Once the storyline was approved, and filmed, then I might get another
chance to access the future internet.A lot of stuff in 2075 was focused on the VR world. What if a diferent
version of that exists?
What if, I could find something that will manage the work on my behalf–
"Wait!"
I realized I could already do that using the 2025 internet. But, I couldn't
hire people from 2025 and bring them here.
I didn't need to. I could create a company there.
Right now, I was the only one doing research on all of my businesses.
But if I have a company, they could do the work for me. The layoff in the
future allowed me to be a little whimsical, like hiring a few experts to
study an alternate parallel word set in 1977.
"It's like a simulation."
Accountants could go through my books. Lawyers could research laws
and regulations from 1977 and prepare contracts for me. Analysts could
research companies I wanted to buy or sell to. HR could create
employment contracts, salary structures and hiring requirements.
I have a tech I bought in 2075 that can digitize paper files instantly. I
could also do it with 2025 techs, but this one was easier to use.
I could only sell the digital files there. But they could send me everything
through paper or digital files.
Which meant I didn't have to print anything myself.
"An R&D branch too."
I turned on the system and found the headhunter I worked with before–the one who found me, the company who made the Word document on
the floppy disk program.
"I can rent out an ofice space if necessary. But, it would be much better
to hire people who work from home."
Amy returned while I was planning my next move.
"So where to now?" She asked.
"I'm going back to the basement." I replied, checking the countdown. I
had to be there for my scene in an hour.
Amy grimaced and said, "Really? You're hanging out with those goons
again?"
Taken aback, I looked at her and said, "That's a problem, why?"
"Because– You're like… shouldn't you– Outgrow them by now?" She
stammered.
I chuckled and said, "Amy Amy Amy. You have no friends, do you?"
"I do. Your ex. If you remember."
I went silent.
She giggled and said, "Oh, she also asked me to tell you that her dad is
selling his Shelby Mustang. If you want, you can buy it."
"I'll think about it."
Finally, I went to the Forman's to hang out after everything was over.
As I entered the sliding door, I stumbled into a recorded scene where
Mrs. Forman had an afro on.Laurie was using her as a lab rat for her cosmetology school
assignments.
Mrs. Forman has a defeated gaze. She stared at me without saying
anything.
I smirked and said, "Mrs. Forman, you're stealing my hair now? I should
sue you for copyright infringement."
She chuckled, relaxing slightly. "Ow, come on. I think it looks cool. Very
snazzy." She said, trying to paint my opinions.
"It is quite cool. And you look hotter, even younger too." I said,
complimenting her directly.
Her eyes lit up. Even Laurie was excited about it. "I told you mom! It
looks really cool! Wait here. I think I have the perfect dress to go with the
hair."
"No–no." Mrs Forman turned her head around, following Laurie who ran
away to her bedroom. "I don't think– Damn it."
She stood up and said, "Steven. Have you had dinner yet?"
"Not yet."
"Good. I'll make you a plate."
I talked to her about New York for a while, even sharing the story about
the heroic cop she was asking about.
The news about the case kept appearing on TV. The police found a
major human traficking ring and saved around 50 kids from the
operation.Kraft Newman was brought to the station for questioning. Moretti was
gone in the wind, but the police found him at an airport in California
based on anonymous tips– Me. I was the one who tipped them.
"So Steven. One of my friends at church has a daughter. She's a very
cute girl. Catholic. Church-going. You should meet with her."
"Uh, no thanks. I'm not dating church freaks– I mean," I saw her
dangerous gaze and changed my words, "I'm too busy to date."
"Or is it because you're dating the red-head girl– the one who lived in
your house? Benson?" She asked quickly, hoping to catch me off guard.
"Ew. No." I said, faking disgust.
Mrs. Forman was quite perturbed. "Really? I thought you're secretly
dating her."
I smiled in satisfaction as I saw her letting the topic go. Then, I slowly
slurped my hot chocolate.
…
The next day, after school.
A few minutes before the episode began. Jackie sat on the opposite side
of the living room while I leaned back on my usual spot.
We argued again last night about who should get the tickets, but no one
wanted to back down.
"Give up on the ticket!" Jackie snapped at me.
"No." I replied curtly. "I want to go."
I haven't told anyone I already had the tickets for the concert.
Jackie grumbled and turned her attention to the tv.Suddenly, Kelso walked downstairs to the basement bringing a plate with
him.
As he laid it down on the wire spool table, I noticed he has Oreos all laid
out neatly there.
"Jerk." Jackie snapped at me.
"Wench." I snapped at her back.
"Tool." Kelso snapped at me.
"Dill-hole." I snapped at him.
"Moron." Jackie snapped at Kelso.
"Moron." Kelso repeated after thinking hard.
"I already said moron." Jackie grimaced.
"Yeah– Well– Um, Moron!" Kelso doubled– No, tripled down on his insult.
I tried to grab one of his cookies, but he caught my hand.
"Don't touch. Those are for Donna."
"Kelso, Donna doesn't want a bunch of dirty cookies." I leaned back and
put my leg on the table.
"They're not dirty." Kelso said with confusion.
I swiped my leg forward, knocking down the plate to the floor.
"They are now." I smirked. Jackie also chortled.
Kelso lunged towards me, "Hyde, you're dead."I chuckled and grabbed him too. We fell down on the floor and began
wrestling.
Jackie picked up a magazine and hit us while we're down– mostly
smacking Kelso.
"Oh, my God. Give up on the ticket! She's bringing me!" Jackie
mumbled.
"I want to see Led Zeppelin! Even if it meant killing you!" Kelso said as
he tried to choke me.
I pushed his hands away and twisted his nipples. "Not if I kill you first!"
"Ahh!" He yelped like a girl.
Donna suddenly entered the basement's side door. Everyone stopped
and looked at her.
Jackie went to her first, crossing her arms together. "Donna, where have
you been? The concert starts in an hour. I'm ready to go. Let's go!"
Her voice was filled with anxiousness. Donna however, looked like she
didn't get what Jackie was saying.
"The concert? Oh, right. The concert. Well, you guys were so busy
fighting over the tickets, I forgot to tell you. I gave them away."
"What? No!" Kelso exclaimed.
"To who?" I asked, glaring at her.
"Fez and Caroline." Donna grinned.
I looked at her with disbelief while everyone was complaining about it."You can't do that!"
"You said you're bringing one of us!"
"I never said anything!"
They began arguing.
"Guys." I called softly.
"Fez doesn't even know who Led Zeppelin is! I have memorized the
entirety of Stairways to Heaven!" Kelso argued.
"Ugh! Donna! You should've given the tickets to me! I deserve to go to
the concert–"
"GUYS!" I snapped, causing everyone to turn to me. "I have the tickets."
"What?!" Everyone was bafled.
I smirked and said, "Only two extra. I was going to give them to the ones
who didn't get to go. But now, I think, we should leave Donna behind–
since she's clearly fine with not going, right?"
Donna was stunned. Kelso and Jackie began smirking.
"That's right. She has given her own tickets away after all." Jackie said,
trotting towards me and grabbing my arm.
Kelso smiled mischievously and said, "I know! We should make her eat
the dirty cookies on the floor!"
I grimaced and said, "So you don't want to go?"
"What– Oh, I'm not going to give her my tickets. I just want to see her eat
the dirty cookie."Donna listened and sulked immediately. "Hyde! Do you really only have
three tickets!?"
"You have two. So I just bought three, seeing that Forman couldn't go." I
replied with a teasing look. "So… Buh Bye."
I walked past her. Jackie and Kelso also said goodbye to Donna.
"Wait! Really?!" Donna followed us quickly. "Hyde! Kelso! Jackie!" She
stopped at the door, and sighed exasperatedly, full of frustration.
We got out to the driveway.
"We should use my van– Oh wait." Kelso remembered his van was at
the bottom of a frozen lake and became slightly depressed.
"Um, Kelso. There's a contest in a few days. If you win, you can get a
car for free."
"Oh. What kind of contest?" Jackie asked quickly. "Can I participate?"
"What– Why do you want a free car? You can get your dad to buy you a
new one!" Kelso was frazzled.
Jackie ignored him.
I turned to her and said, "It's a game show format. I'll show it to you
later."
I watched a Mr Beast game show before, and I kinda wanted to do
something similar. The game would be recorded and be sold to the TV
stations for me to recoup my losses.
…The concert was amazing. The manager recognized me and invited us
backstage.
We snapped some pictures with the band before leaving. I invited the
manager to come to my music studio tomorrow since they didn't have
anything to do till Saturday.
"You're so amazing, Steven!" Jackie said with awe. "The band– they
were so respectful to you. So, you're like… above them, right?"
"No." I shook my head. "They're rock legends. I'm more of a movie guy.
We work in parallel."
"But they knew who you were."
"Of course they did. I make movies." I shrugged. "Being friendly with me
could get them soundtrack work later. Maybe a movie deal. Their
manager knows that."
Jackie stared at me strangely. I drove past a bus station, and saw a
familiar face standing there.
"Is that Fez?" Kelso said, seeing the same thing as me.
Jackie stared at me, which made me ask, "What?"
"Why do you always do that?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Do what?"
"Someone likes you, and you immediately decide they want something
from you."
"That's how people work."
"No, that's how you think people work."I scofed. "What's the diference?"
Her expression became strangely serious.
"Maybe they were nice to you because they actually like you. You're so
jaded, you can't even see that."
Kelso laughed suddenly and said, "Hyde! Fez saw us! Drive away faster!
It will be so funny– WHY ARE YOU STOPPING!?"
I lowered the window and said, "Hey Fez. Going back home? And the
girl, you're Caroline, right? Fez's future girlfriend?"
Both of them blushed immediately.
"What– His girlfriend?"
"Hyde! Shhhh–" Fez made me cut it out immediately.
I laughed and said, "Hop on. I'll give you two a ride home. Kelso is going
to take the bus back."
"What– WHY!?" Kelso was aghast.
"Just kidding."
"You mother–"
He leaned forward from the backseat and tried to beat me up, but I
grabbed his head and pulled him to the front.
Then, Jackie hit his left side while I hit his right side.
"Oww– Wait– I give up! I GIVE UP!"
His pants were unbuttoned from the scufle."Pull down his pants!" I said
"Nuohhh–"
As Kelso made a weird noise, Fez turned to Caroline and asked her,
"Should we just take the bus home?"