[Hyde POV]
I slammed the door of my locker and went to the gym. It was the last day for me to get my hours.
Eric yawned as he got into the class. Mrs Ling addressed everyone, "I know that you're excited for the summer break. However, it doesn't mean that class is over."
She tapped the blackboard and picked up the chalk. "Now, we're going to learn in advance for the next grade."
Everyone groaned, yet it didn't deter her.
She continued teaching until the class ended. I walked to her and asked, "You wanted to see me?"
She nodded and handed my academic transcript.
"The badminton tournament. That was also included in your transcript. You "organized a sports tournament with resounding success." It'll help you with your college application.
I read the transcript and realized I got all As in every subject. Now, my extracurricular activity also had a couple lines in it.
–The Big Brother program.
–Theater outreach program.
–Sports Organizer.
I looked at her, asking for some explanation.
"You brought everyone to watch the theater performance. Since the coach lets you handle everything, technically you organized that event. Therefore, it's added to your transcript."
"You want me to put theater into my resume? That's… wrong. Please take it out."
She snorted and said, "You made a documentary and your own TV series. You are afraid of a little theater in your record."
"Yes." I replied seriously. "It's seriously messing with my image."
She stood up and said, "it won't. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing your next project. My entire family loves the documentary. I even cried when the car finally crossed the finish line. You have some talent."
"This seems like… buttering-me-up-before-telling-me-something-I-wouldn't-like moment."
Her face froze and she slowly said, "It is."
"Damn it." I cursed.
She handed me a paper and said, "I've registered a club for you to lead."
"I'm leading?" I was astonished. "What club is this?"
"Film club." She replied. "You can make short videos. As long as you submit one… you can put it on your transcript. It'll help with your college application."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Again with that. I'm not even planning to go to college."
"You should." She replied seriously.
"You have a brilliant mind," she continued. "If the Ivy League doesn't interest you, fine. But at least consider film school."
I went silent for a bit and said, "Fine. I can knock out one short film in a week. Then, I don't have to do anything else for the year, right?"
"Maybe." She smiled slightly.
"Damn it." I cursed underneath my breath.
Either way, that was something I'd need to care about after the ten weeks of summer vacation.
After school, I finished up the shooting for the commercial. It took only an hour since it was quite simple and it only needed a couple of actors.
Just Bart rolling into the Radioshack store and getting the wire. I already shot everything needed at the rink location last night.
…
In the conference room of my marketing rental office, Max made some coffee and put it on the table.
Bruce smiled and said, "Thank you, sweetheart."
Clark asked, getting straight to the topic, "Are you done with the commercial?"
Bruce was surprised when he received my call. He came with Clark, as it was necessary for RadioShack to check anything before it got on air.
"Yup." I replied casually.
It took me fifteen minutes to edit it. I used an AI song I found on YouTube with only 30 views and turned it into background music for the people to dance to.
Bruce and Clark watched the commercial with serious expressions.
The one-shot footage played. The camera followed Tiffany, then Jackie and a random dancer, before it turned to Ophelia and Bart almost kissing.
It passed through the couple and focused on Kelso, who rolled straight into the deejay booth, knocking out the wire.
*SCRRRTCH.*
As the music stopped, people freaked out. It was still in the one-shot continuity.
Jackie jumped onto a guy's back and pulled his hair, Tiffany threw a trashcan at the dancers, knocking them out with a bowling-pin sound in the background.
They stayed in the background while the focus remained on the main couple. Finally, I zoomed in on Bart.
He had a lightbulb moment, with a lightbulb added in post.
Then the camera cut, and Bart rolled to the RadioShack store. He grabbed the wire and returned to the rink.
"EVERYONE CALM DOWN! I GOT IT!" He raised his hand and shouted as he burst through the door, making everyone freeze.
He inserted the wire in a fast-cut motion, and the music resumed. People started dancing again.
He went back to Ophelia, and she greeted him. I focused on her face as she said, "My hero."
He laughed, and they leaned in to kiss but the camera pulled upward. I had to keep it family friendly after all.
The RadioShack logo appeared, with the tagline:
{"RadioShack. Be the Hero."}
I paused the footage with the remote and turned to Clark and Bruce.
"So. What do you think?"
Bruce immediately said, "I love it!"
Clark intervened. "This… isn't it too much for a regional commercial? It is punchy… but it didn't show the price of the product—or much of the product."
I smiled. "Yes. Because this is a branding commercial, not a product one. People are going to equate the tagline with RadioShack. And who doesn't want to be a hero?"
Bruce turned to Clark. "Why are you rejecting this one? You bought everything else."
He sighed. "The main company is having some doubts now that the executives watched the concept art. They feel it's too youthful… and risky."
"Then this one is fine, since it's not for the main HQ." Bruce snorted derisively.
Clark sighed. "I can give you permission to air this. It just feels like a waste to only run it regionally."
"You can also do this—contact store owners in different states. Maybe around the Salt Belt area. They syndicate the commercial, and it can be shown in multiple states at once." Bruce suggested.
Clark shrugged. "I'll try. When are you going to run this?"
"I can do it tomorrow," Bruce replied confidently. "It doesn't matter if the other states get it late."
Clark nodded. "Fine. You have HQ permission to run this."
"Yes!" Bruce celebrated. I smiled in satisfaction.
We signed the document to finalize everything. Bruce got ownership of the commercial and paid me thirty thousand dollars.
I used less than two thousand bucks to make the commercial. The twenty-eight thousand were all profit.
Before Clark left, he told me something.
"The word about your concepts has gotten out… and I'm sure this commercial will be talked about too. We at RadioShack want to negotiate something with you."
"What's the deal?" I asked.
"You become a retainer for the company. We'll pay 150 grand a year. You only need to give us two to three concepts per year."
"So basically you don't want me going to your competitors."
"Yes," Clark said honestly.
"I'm fine with it. As long as it's not your competitors, it's fair game for me, right?"
"You can do whatever you want," he replied.
We signed another deal. He put me on retainer for three years. I would get 37500 dollars every quarter.
Now, one of my jobs is done.
"I still have the farm… Megan's house. The race. The music festival. And opening up new branches of the cafe."
The work still seemed endless, but it was nice to be able to cross something off my list.
I got home, and the basement was quite empty. I remembered my friends promising to meet up at 5 in the evening here, so I decided to do something.
Taking out a saw and a screwdriver, I cut the couch support so it would sink when someone sat on top of it.
I even did it for my own chair, unscrewing the cushioned seat so it would break.
"The prep is ready." I smiled and waited.
…
Eric, Donna, Fez and Kelso came to the basement to hang out. They sat on the couch and I sat on my usual spot.
Kelso put on a song on the record player. It was Give A Little Bit by Supertramp. Fez opened up a lollipop and ogled at it.
Kelso jumped on the couch and sat down, picking up a ViewMaster. It was a binocular type thing where we could watch a short illustration on the film inside, changing the scenes ourselves.
Fez said suddenly, "How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? One…" He licked it.
"Two-hoo." He said with a high pitched voice and laughed at his own joke.
"Ah, screw it.? He bit down the lollipop. "Ow, my tooth! Oh, why did I have to bite it?" He whined.
Red came halfway down the stairs. He said angrily, "Eric, if you don't want to wear your ass for a hat, you'll clean up your room right now."
Donna turned to Eric who was standing behind the couch and said, "You better go. You know how that ass-hat screws up your hair."
"Hey Forman. Don't forget to ask Red about that stuff." I reminded Eric.
He froze. Donna looked at him with intrigue.
"You want me to ask my dad for his couch right now? Can't you see the red skin, the eye twitch… and the increasing desire for him to do something with my ass the longer I stay here?" Eric said worriedly.
"You lost the bet. So go and do it. My chair has no cushion anymore. My ass is being supported by the frames."
"Fine." Eric sighed and went upstairs. "But if I have to save my ass or your ass, I'm going to pick mine every time."
I made a gesture that said, 'That's fair'.
Donna laughed and asked, "Wait. So what does he need to do?"
"Get Red's green chair for me." I told her.
"That's awesome. I need to see that." She chased after Eric.
Jackie entered the basement after Donna left. Kelso stood up from the couch and faced her immediately.
"Hey Jackie." he greeted sweetly.
Jackie grimaced slightly, questioning his audacity. "Save the sweet talk for the next idiot who's dumb enough to date you."
She was making her way to me, but Fez stopped her this time. "You know, Jackie, if you are in the market for a new lover, they say, once you go Fez, you never go back."
He licked his lollipop and said, "In my language that rhymes."
"Uh-huh." Jackie looked at him weirdly before coming to me, hugging me from behind.
"Hey Lover."
Both Fez and Kelso were shocked.
"No touch. No touch. Not on the contract." I rebuked her instantly.
"Ah. You love it." She teased and asked, "Where's Donna? I need her opinion on something."
"Upstairs with Forman." I replied.
"Great. Thank you." She kissed my cheek and tried to leave. I grimaced and wiped it off immediately.
"Damn Hyde! Stop stealing my girl!"
"I am not your girl! We're over! And I mean it!" Jackie scolded him.
"Jackie." Kelso stopped her. "Our love… is like the basement. It's a little bit dingy… But it works. So please–"
Before he could finish, the couch broke into half. Kelso and Fez dropped into the center, almost kissing each other.
I snorted as I laughed. Jakcie smiled and said, "You were saying?"
She laughed meanly and went up the stairs.
"Damn, I miss her!" Kelso shouted as she left.
I replied sarcastically, "Well, golly gee, Kelso, who wouldn't."
"Oh, spare me the sarcasm, Hyde. I'm totally lonely and I'm really hurting here."
"Geez, Kelso, I've seen people gut-shot who complain less than you." I snapped at him.
Fez asked, "What do you miss about her, Kelso? All she ever did was call you names. Heck, I can do that for you. You idiot. See?"
"Aw, thanks, Fez." Kelso replied sincerely.
"No problem. Fartface!" Fez and Kelso stood up from the couch together and it collapsed upon itself.
…
-TV-
Eric went back to the basement with Red and examined the broken couch. Kitty followed along and tried to clean up the mess.
"This couch is filthy." She grimaced.
Eric turned to Red and said, "Now can we get new furniture?"
"Well. I think this is still fine." Red touched Hyde's chair, and the cushion slid from the rest of the chair.
"Oh honey. You don't buy new furniture for the basement. It's a place for the old furniture to go and live the rest of their lives– like a retirement home." Kitty said.
Red furrowed his eyebrows and said, "Kitty. We just bought the couch and my chair! It's not the time yet for them to retire."
"You bought those five years ago." Eric rebuked him.
Red turned to him and said, "Yes. And the last couch, we used that for over ten years."
Kitty smiled giddily and said, "Oh Red. It'll be fine. We can go shopping and… and… I can get a new living room!" She clasped her hand and bounced slightly.
Red grimaced and said, "Kitty. We don't need a new living room."
"Don't be silly Red. If we didn't retire those furniture, where are the kids supposed to sit?"
"Maybe they'll stop coming over." Red smiled slightly.
Kitty frowned and said, "We're getting new furniture."
"That's a great idea mom. Maybe, you can get the sofa with a pull out bed for the basement."
Eric had a naughty idea.
Red turned to him with suspicion. "Why?"
"Just… for guests and such." He avoided his gaze instantly.
…
The driveway. Kelso was playing basketball by himself. He stood in front of the net, dunking the ball and caught it immediately before dunking it again, making a loop.
Donna crossed through the garage and called to him.
"Hey, Kelso. How's it going?"
Kelso replied sarcastically, "How's it going? Great! Just because a guy shoots hoops by himself, that doesn't mean he's lonely. No, far from it."
"Okay. That's good." She said flatly and started to leave. But Kelso stopped her.
"Hey, Donna? All this talk about being lonely kind of reminds me of me, you know?"
Donna snickered, "Kelso, are you gonna get all emotional? 'Cause just 'cause I'm a girl doesn't mean that I won't totally make fun of you."
"Fair enough." he agreed with the condition and spoke of his problem, "I know I keep things bottled up, but under this cool exterior, there's a real sad human being."
Donna laughed. "Oh, God, Kelso, is this about Jackie?"
"Yes!" Kelso was surprised. "Okay. What gave it away?"
"The fact that it's all you ever talk about, you stupid dillhole." Donna scolded him seriously.
"Look, Kelso, get it through your head. Jackie's not coming back to you." She clearly told him.
"But why?" He asked pathetically.
Donna snapped with frustration, "Because you slept with someone else!"
Kelso snapped too, "Yeah, like a month ago, God!"
…
In the basement. We all stood up as we smoked in the circle.
"I just realized Jackie's short. And I don't like short people. They're creepy. Always sneaking up on you. I don't even know why I was with her." Kelso laughed, passing the blunt to Fez.
"Maybe it's because she is a tiny little whore." Fez laughed and then turned sad. "Oh. I meant to hurt you, but I hurt myself because I love her."
"Hey, guys, so we might get new seats." Eric said while laughing.
"Thank god. I can't live like this." Fez said with a sigh of relief.
"It's been an hour, Fez." I looked at him with disbelief.
Kelso suddenly interjected, "Fellas, I've been thinking. There are a lot of ladies out there. And I haven't seen nearly enough of them naked."
Fez said, "Sometimes I am looking at naked ladies, and then I get exhausted and then I get a second wind and I am ready for more naked ladies."
"So. What do you guys think about getting a pull out bed? We can take a nap… do… other stuff… and take a nap…" Eric said sleazily.
I smiled and said, "The last couch was destroyed because of you, isn't it?"
"I won't admit to it." Eric said dodgingly. Kelso raised his hand up and said giddily, "I too might have played a part in that. Well, me and Jackie."
I also added, "Well. Me too."
Fez added, "Count me in too."
"Really Fez? With who?" Eric asked.
"Who what?" Fez asked with an innocent face.
Kelso laughed. "It feels great to be free of that midget. The world is my oyster, and I'm ready to shuck it."
He added confidently, "Nothing but hot new ladies from here on in. I'm gonna be boldly going where no man's gone before."
…
Time passed by and it was almost dinner time. I was in the living room with Mrs Forman when I heard the doorbell. Mrs Forman went to open the door while I sat on the couch.
Kelso stood there, all dressed up with a suit and tie, carrying flowers with him.
"Hi, Mrs. Forman. I'm here to pick up Laurie."
Mrs Forman laughed nervously, "No. No. You mean, Eric."
I walked to the door while they were still talking.
"No, Laurie. Your other kid." Kelso clarified, not cathing on to Mrs Forman's reaction.
"But, but, why?" Mrs Forman asked with disbelief.
I interjected with a disgusted face., "You're dating Laurie? That's not different, man. You're boldly going where every man's gone before."
Mrs Forman turned to me, face full of shock. "Steven! It's not nice to be so... truthful."
Laurie walked down the stairs, wearing glittery clothes.
"Hi, Kelso." She passed Mrs Forman and stood in front of Kelso. She looked at the flowers, her face a bit irked. "Did you buy me those?"
Kelso smiled and gave her the daisies. "Yep. Just like you told me."
"No, I told you roses." She said with an annoyed face. "Come on, doofus." She led Kelso away from the house.
I looked at them, shuddering slightly. "No offense, Mrs. Forman, but those two could make the dumbest babies ever."
Mrs Forman broke into laughter. I laughed too as I saw her laugh.
She suddenly stopped herself as she turned to me. "That's not funny." She shuts the door. I shrugged and went back to watch TV.
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