[Hyde POV]
I checked my favorability meter while eating the mash potatoes. It was dinner time. Red and Kitty were devouring their food ravenously– a side effect from eating the pot brownies.
[75/150 favorability.]
I got 15 more points when I took care of Kitty in the kitchen.
As she wouldn't remember anything, it was a perfect time for the audience to get a glimpse inside Hyde's mind.
I said to Kitty, 'Forman got everything. A father who stayed. A mother who loved him. A room. A car. I guess, when I make a move on Donna. I'm just jealous of him for having everything… while I have none.'
Of course, Kitty wasn't listening to it at all as she was all high, which made the emotional moment funny.
Since the system was judging part of my life like a tv show, I had to be more creative on how to circumnavigate my character's flaws.
My character bottled everything up, always pissed off, scared of commitment, and couldn't communicate properly.
So, having heart to heart with a mother figure and not ruining his character setting was a good thing.
Unless I changed gradually, like Jay Pritchett in Modern Family, the audience would be confused if my character changed too fast.
"Hyde, you're still going to sleep in Eric's room tonight. You can move into the basement room when you clean it up." Red told me sternly after eating some hot dogs.
I nodded and said, "Sure. What's one more day with Eric?"
I remembered something and asked, "Oh Red. Can I borrow a suit for my job tomorrow?"
"Your salesman's job?" Red smiled proudly. Kitty was also proud and giggled.
"Yeah." I nodded slightly.
"Alright. I'll lend you a suit. How about your transportation?" Red asked.
"I'll go with Bob in the morning, and Eric can pick me up at night since he owes me."
Eric was flabbergasted when I said that. "Owe you? What do I owe you– Oh! The 10 bucks. Alright." He agreed easily.
Laurie turned to Red and asked meekly, "Daddy, can I borrow 20 dollars?"
"After you poisoned us with the pot? I don't think so." Kitty said decisively.
"Ugh! I hate you!" Laurie cried girlishly and ran away to the room. Red was pitying her since he has a soft spot for his little girl.
Kitty said, "Red. Don't be fooled. She's only running away because she didn't want to clean up."
"I'll help you clean up Mrs Forman." I offered.
"Oh Steven. Don't worry, you have done enough already today." Mrs Forman said with a motherly tone.
"Yeah Steven. We have Eric to clean up, so you just get some rest before you start your job tomorrow." Red said while Eric was frazzled again.
I went to the basement room that night to clean it up a bit. Eric watched me from the door opening since he was too scared to get into the room at night.
"I swear to god I saw a spider bigger than a rat in this room," Eric said nervously.
The room was filled with unwanted junks. Even the other room was in a similar shape.
It has unfinished concrete walls– the basement foundation, a lone bare bulb on the ceiling, and a cement floor.
Eric suddenly said, "I want to stay and help you out, but I have a make out session with my hot girlfriend to attend to."
He gave me a peace sign and went away. I smiled as it was easier for me if he wasn't in the room.
I touched a box, and it disappeared.
I checked my storage panel and muttered, "It works."
There was a description too underneath it. It was labelled with, {Box of crap no one ever needs.}
I did the same to four more boxes.
{Box of old clothes}
{Box of bike parts}
{Box of expired food}
I took out the boxes in the next room and stacked it there neatly. Of course with the expired food, I took it outside to throw it out tomorrow.
"I don't have to pick anything up. I think I can move all of the stuff in the room tonight."
It took me over 15 trips, but I was done with emptying my future bedroom.
In fact, I could already move down there tonight.
"If I have the bedroom set, I could already– Well, it's too late to regret it now." I sighed.
"If I can really buy stuff from the online store… I should find something to organize the room first."
The other room was filled to the brim with unwanted stuff. I have already marked the boxes with the description that the system provided before.
I felt bad leaving it like this, so I was going to buy some heavy duty storage rack to tidy everything up.
The internet panel came in again at midnight. I smiled excitedly as I waited for the information to be summarized.
[WELCOME TO THE INTERNET SYSTEM]
-Fee per session: 1 dollar. (First time free)
-Available time: 12 hours remaining
-Current Favorability: 75/150 (Tolerable Side Character)
-Signal strength: Weak.
-Connection window: 12:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Episodes Rating.
→ Season 2 Episode 1: Garage Sale.
Original rating: 7.4
New rating: 7.4
→ Additional episodes.
Original rating: None. (Assumed 7.4)
New rating: 7.5
Ratings points in store: 0.1
Would you like to use the rating point to increase internet speed?}
"Yes please." I agreed instantly.
{Internet signal strength added by 10 mbps.}
"Nice."
The system asked, {Would you like to check out today's episodes?"
"Definitely."
As the episode played on the screen with a 360p quality video image, I saw in the first episode there was a circle– Donna, Jackie, Kelso, and Fez getting high.
"Damn, they did it without me." I muttered with dissatisfaction.
Laurie caught them, which led to her plans to bake the special brownies to get me out of the house.
I also saw the kiss in the theater, Fez's inner monologue and imagination, the Laurie and Eric journey with a high Red to find the lost car.
Most importantly, I saw how I was portrayed in the tv series. Seeing the episodes would help a lot for the future.
I smiled in contention and clicked on the online store. Rather than having things sold directly in the system, I had to download the online store apps to buy stuff.
"I can't use Amazon right now. Since it's too expensive for my level. Maybe I should get some of the Asian online shopping apps."
I didn't have much money after all.
I was thinking about Temu, but then, I found something interesting.
"I could set the location to be wherever I wanted."
Point Place, the town I was living in, was fictional in the first place. So I could set up the locations anywhere in the world.
I just made it to Thailand since it was a shipping hub and I could get cheaper stuff there.
"There's no need to teach anyone from 2025 about online shopping." I muttered as I searched for some shopping apps.
Then, I asked ChatGPT about the online stores in Thailand. It took ten minutes before I could get a reply.
{If you're looking for affordable, single-item purchases with a wide product range, Lazada is your best choice. Lazada is a Southeast Asian branch of Alibaba that focuses on retail rather than wholesale. Think of it like Amazon, but cheaper—and sketchier.}
"I don't mind it being sketchy." I muttered. "As long as I read the reviews properly… I can navigate that. Alright. I'll pick this one."
I installed the apps, and registered my name. For the phone number, I just put the Forman's landline number.
{Items in delivery would disappear if the service is disrupted. Such as, deleting the apps, or the favorability dropped below 70.}
My heart palpitates slightly as I read the notification.
"Fuck. if the delivery takes too long… I might lose what I have ordered. So only order from local stores?"
Then, I checked out some stuff in the online store. I found one item for me to use right now.
A metal storage rack with adjustable shelf heights. It would be perfect for me to organize everything in the basement.
It cost around 25 bucks and one shelf could support up to 300kg of storage.
"25 bucks huh? That would take everything I've earned today…" I muttered with disappointment.
However, there was one major problem here.
"How do I put my money in… to buy stuff?"
{You need a bank account to link with the apps.}
"Damn it."
The journey to buy even one item through the online store was quite troubling. But when I set it all up, I think it would be very valuable for my situation.
That night, I picked up my cot from Eric's bedroom and brought it down to the basement.
I changed the lightbulb in the room to the white glow one and slept under it, still on my cot.
When I was gonna sleep, I heard some rat chittering sound and sat up abruptly.
"Maybe tomorrow." I said and immediately brought the cot back to Eric's room.
…
"Good morning, Mrs. Forman," I greeted as I walked into the kitchen the next morning.
"Good morning, Steven! Here, have some waffles! You need a lot of energy for your big job today!" she said with a cackle.
"Oh, that reminds me." I took the cash from my pocket and handed it to her. "This is from yesterday."
But Mrs. Forman pushed my hand back. "Oh, honey, you keep that money. Use it for your new job."
I grimaced slightly. "No, Mrs. Forman. I sold the brownies to pull my weight in the first place. How can I pull my weight if you don't let me pay you back?"
Mrs. Forman smiled warmly. "Honey, you don't need to pay us anything. You already pull your weight by doing chores around the house. Just study hard and don't get suspended anymore."
"Mrs. Forman, I'll feel bad if I don't." I insisted, frowning slightly.
She shook her head. "Just use it as your allowance."
I sighed, realizing I wouldn't win this one. "Alright. I'll keep it in a bank account—once I open one."
"Okay! Red will take you to the bank tomorrow. They're closed on Sundays." Mrs Forman said casually.
I ate breakfast and changed into a suit after taking a shower.
Pax, the job-hunter who'd asked me to write his résumé, came by while the others were at church. He brought two friends with him.
I read his résumé aloud, and his eyes widened at the ChatGPT-polished phrasing.
"Oh my god, you're really good at this," he said, excited. He reached into his pocket and pulled out five dollars.
"Here—for your service."
"I thought we agreed on four?" I asked.
"The extra dollar's a tip," he said with a wink.
"Alright, cool." I turned to his friends, who were both staring. "You guys want one too?"
"Can we?" one of them asked. "We need it today—the interview's in a few hours."
"Sure. Just give me ten minutes to set up, and I'll help you right now."
Since Bob was still at church, the store would open late. I set up the typewriter on the kitchen table and began to help them.
"Is there anything wrong?" Randy, the balding middle aged man asked when I was taking some time for the Chatgpt to load.
"I'm just thinking about it." I said. He checked his watch nervously.
I asked, "Is the interview right now?"
"In two hours." He replied.
"Don't worry. I can definitely get it done in thirty minutes." I said confidently.
I changed words like this.
Before-
Worked at Point Place Auto Parts for 10 years. Operated heavy tools, fixed engines, and helped train new workers. Let go after layoffs.
After (ChatGPT-polished)-
Experienced automotive technician with a decade of hands-on expertise in engine assembly, maintenance, and workshop safety. Known for reliability, mentorship, and team coordination in fast-paced industrial environments.
From a one page resume, I made it to almost three pages.
Randy grinned widely as he received his new resume.
"You're quite good Steven." Randy said and gave me five bucks.
I finished two résumés in about thirty minutes with ChatGPT's help and pocketed another ten bucks—fifteen total from the résumé work alone.
They left in a hurry since the job interview was in the other part of town, and they wanted to make an impression by coming there early. It was the work ethic of their generation, to work hard and be loyal to a fault.
When Bob was done with church, I went with him to the store. He usually took Sunday and Saturday off since he was the boss, but he had to go there to introduce me to the other employees.
"This is Steven Hyde. He's going to start as a salesman." Bob said to the fat middle aged men with thick glasses. His lens made his eyes seem distorted, becoming bigger than it really was.
"Hi Hyde. I'm Charlie." The man shook my hand with a smile.
"Well, I'll let Charlie teach you the know-how." Bob patted my shoulder gleefully and then left.
When he was gone, Charlie's mannerism immediately changed.
"Let me be clear. I don't like you. I think hiring you is a mistake."
He added meanly, "I don't need a delinquent who got suspended from school to interfere with my sales job. So why don't you work as a stockist from now on–"
"No." I interjected with a flat tone, not intimidated at the least.
Charlie was a bit taken aback, "Di-Didn't you hear me? I'm telling you to work as a stockist–"
"No." I interjected again. "Now, train me or I'll show you why I got suspended."
"Huh?" Charlie was confused. "Why did you get suspended?"
"For fighting a teacher." I said with an evil grin. Charlie gulped his saliva.
I added, "He was so scared that he actually resigned from his job and moved out of the town the same day. Now, I'm not saying I can do the same to you, but… well, try me."
Charlie's eyes shook. Then, his mannerism turned cheerful and friendly again.
"Oh right Steven. I should train you for the job. Let's see, why don't you start by memorizing the item prices."
I listened casually and asked him a few questions about the store too.
"So, who actually comes back here more — the same folks or random walk-ins?"
"Do people in this town usually buy stuff once, or do they keep coming back when their toaster dies again?"
"When stuff doesn't sell, what do you do? Just leave it to collect dust, or move it to the front like it's new?"
"When's the store usually packed? Sunday after church? Friday when people get paid?"
"And what do people gripe about the most? Too pricey, not enough selection, or that nobody's around to help?"
Charlie blinked, a little thrown off. "You, uh… think a lot for a new guy."
I did work at a market research company in New York before. So I instinctively thought of it.
Charlie asked meekly, "Did you go to business school?"
"I'm a junior in Highschool." I replied. "Now, can I have the answers, or should I repeat the questions?"
Charlie blinked slowly before replying nervously, "Can you repeat it?"
I sighed and asked all of my questions again and made a mental note of everything.
"How about acquisition? Who handles the inventory?" I asked.
"U-Usually Mr Pinciotti." Charlie replied.
"Come on C.C. Bear with me here." I said with a sigh, wondering if I was too scary for him.
"C.C?" He was a bit intrigued.
"Cowardly Charlie." I explained, which made him depressed.
There really weren't any customers today. No wonder Bargain Bob went bankrupt with Price Mart– a superstore chain– coming to town.
I finished my research on the popular selling items in the era, and was already irritated that I had to do this much thinking for a minimum-wage job.
But if I want to keep the characteristics of a born salesman that I created for myself, I need to increase sales no matter what.
"Alright, C.C., listen up," I said, clapping my notebook shut. "We're reorganizing this place."
Charlie perked up. "Reorganizing? Like… cleaning?"
"It's already clean. Bob's obsessive. No, this is about making people buy things even when they didn't plan to." I said as I sat on the cashier table.
He blinked. "Like… tricking them?"
I rolled my eyes at him. Bob tricked people all the time, but his assistant manager was too honest. Well, that was the trait of an ordinary worker from the silent generation– honesty.
"Not tricking. Guiding. You guide customers toward places you want them to go. To do that, first, we need to increase visibility."
I pointed toward the shelves. "First—Good, Better, Best shelves."
Charlie repeated slowly, "Good… better… best?"
"Yeah. Three versions of the same item, lined up left to right. Cheapest, middle, premium. People almost never buy the cheapest. Makes 'em feel poor."
I took out some place cards and began writing the words with black marker.
"And they usually don't buy the most expensive ones unless they're showing off. So they buy the middle one. That's the 'Better' one. That's where we make money."
I shoved the placecards in his hand.
"Put this in the middle. Move the trashy 3-dollar hot plate to the left. Premium chrome-plated one to the right. See? Instant psychology. Also, if someone rich actually bought the premium one, we will be golden."
Charlie stared at me with nervousness. "Does that… actually work?"
"It worked in New York, and it'll work on bored Green Bay housewives who just want to feel like responsible adults."
To be honest, these sales techniques had already appeared in the 50's and 60's. But Bob never went to business school. And Charlie was just an ordinary worker.
They survived and did well because of the trust they built in the town. People know Bob, so people came to buy stuff at Bob's Bargain store.
However, once PriceMart came– a brand that already established trust in the country– and offered cheaper prices too, Bob's store would be bankrupt within months.
I walked Charlie over to the end of the aisle.
"Second—tables and end-caps. Anything you want to sell faster? Put it at the end of an aisle or on a table where people can't avoid it. Don't hide it on some random shelf."
I tapped the ugly toaster on the end-cap.
"People walk by… They see it. They touch it. They think they need a new toaster even if theirs works fine. Put the sale tags here where eyes hit first."
"What sale tags?" Charlie asked.
I pulled the rubber-banded pack from behind the counter. "These. And we're not raising prices. We're just writing them smarter."
He looked confused. Perfect.
"See, instead of '60 cents,' we write '59¢.' Looks stupid, right? But people buy it more because humans are cheap and think 59 is way less than 60."
"But it was 59," Charlie said wryly.
"Yeah, and now it looks like a deal." I slapped a tag onto the shelf. "Perception, man."
Charlie nodded solemnly. He was too afraid to speak back.
I stepped back, surveying the aisle. "Alright. Next question. Do we have a truck?"
"A truck?" Charlie repeated.
"Yeah. Something to transport the goods."
"Oh! Bob's got that old delivery van in the back."
"Perfect." I smirked. "If Bob's cool with it, we're offering same-day delivery within three miles for anything over twenty bucks."
Charlie's jaw dropped. "We can… do that?"
"Sure. It's 1977. Nobody expects it, so it'll blow their minds. Price Mart won't roll into town for a while, but when they do, we'll already have the loyalty thing going."
Charlie did what I said, and I supervised him. Bob came in later that evening and was quite confused by the new store arrangement.
"Hyde. What did you do?" Bob asked nervously.