Lex.
Alexander Luthor.
He was an interesting kid.
A little spoiled and arrogant, maybe, but who could blame him?
Considering who his father was and the way Lionel had raised him, Lex could have turned out much worse.
Much, much worse.
But he hadn’t.
He was a pretty normal kid.
He just had a tendency to take corners a little too fast.
We stopped by the Kent farm first.
Mom, naturally, gave me a mildly disapproving look, but she handed me some money.
I didn’t argue.
I didn’t ask for more.
I simply took it, kissed her on the cheek, and climbed into the car with Lex.
“If you need more, I can give you some,” Lex offered as we pulled away.
“No, I’m good.”
I smiled.
“We’ve already talked about this.
Remember?
Peace of mind.”
“Right.”
He nodded.
“Besides, I’m genuinely curious to see how this little experiment of mine turns out.”
I smiled.
“Think of it as an experiment.”
“Interesting.”
Lex glanced at me.
“Your situation actually sounds a lot like mine.”
“Except you’re doing it because your father ordered you to.”
“Exactly.”
“Tell me about it.”
I was genuinely curious.
“My father likes historical examples.”
Lex sighed.
“In this particular case, he likes to talk about the Roman emperors who supposedly sent their sons away to distant provinces so they could toughen up, prove themselves, and eventually return to Rome.”
He shook his head.
“So my father sent me to Smallville.”
“He put me in charge of the local fertilizer plant.”
Lex smiled bitterly.
“His condition was simple.
If I can prove myself and turn the plant into a profitable operation, he’ll bring me back to Metropolis.”
“My situation is simpler.”
I smiled.
“If my little experiment starts making money, we’ll turn all that unused land on the farm into an orchard.”
“What’s the experiment?”
“Why do you need a computer?”
“Simple.”
I smiled.
“I want to try making money as a programmer.”
“Freelancing?”
He shrugged.
“On the Internet, your age and location don’t matter much.
If you can write good code and deliver the work, people will pay you.”
“Really?”
Lex frowned.
“But you can’t make that much money freelancing.”
He paused.
“And it isn’t exactly going to open the doors to major corporations.”
“I don’t need that.”
I laughed.
“There’s something else you should know.”
I looked at Lex.
“I’m not planning to go to college.”
Lex blinked.
“I’ll finish high school, get my diploma, and that’s it.”
“But why?”
He sounded genuinely surprised.
“Your grades are excellent.
If money is the problem, you could probably get a scholarship.”
“It’s not about money.”
I shook my head. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“I just like Smallville.”
I looked out the window.
“I’m perfectly happy with the idea of being a farmer.”
“And that job is already waiting for me, if you know what I mean.”
“Being a farmer?”
Lex looked genuinely puzzled.
“Why?”
“Fresh air.”
I started counting the advantages on my fingers.
“A flexible schedule that I control.”
“No boss.”
“No one telling me what to do.”
I looked out over the fields.
“And the feeling of standing on land that belongs to me.”
I smiled.
“Independence.
Freedom.
Self-sufficiency.”
I looked at him.
“How many people can honestly say they have all three?”
Lex thought about it.
“Then why freelance?”
“Financial security.”
I shrugged.
“Farming comes with risks.”
I smiled.
“So having another source of income can’t hurt.”
“Interesting.”
Lex shook his head.
“Honestly, you’re the first person I’ve ever met who seems completely satisfied with his life.”
“The recipe is simple.”
I smiled.
“Live according to your conscience.”
“Keep your peace of mind.”
“Find harmony within yourself, and you’ll have a much easier time finding harmony with the world around you.”
Lex glanced at me.
“Are you a Buddhist?”
“No.”
I laughed.
“I’m not Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, Muslim, Orthodox, or Catholic.”
“An atheist?”
Lex gave me a crooked grin.
“No.”
I laughed again.
“I don’t follow any particular religion.”
I looked out the window.
“But I believe in a Creator.”
“A higher power that created this world and gave us free will.”
“What about predestination?”
Lex asked.
“Fate?”
“Fate and predestination are the result of our own choices.”
I answered without hesitation.
“Every decision we make has consequences.”
“Some are enormous.”
“Others are almost insignificant.”
“We can’t always predict them, and sometimes we don’t even notice them, but they’re there.”
I paused.
“That’s what people call fate.”
“But consequences aren’t the starting point.”
“Our decisions are.”
“And the consequences come afterward.”
“Interesting.”
Lex smiled.
“That’s certainly one way of looking at it.”
“Maybe.”
I shrugged. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“I’m not claiming to have all the answers.”
“What about your parents?”
Lex asked.
“Your upbringing?”
“Your genetics?”
“What about them?”
I shrugged.
“You still make your own choices.”
“You can follow your parents’ example or reject it.”
“You can accept the way you were raised or fight against it.”
“You can follow your father’s path or choose your own.”
I looked at Lex.
“Every one of those is your decision.”
“And every decision has consequences.”
“You have to learn to accept responsibility for those consequences instead of blaming someone else.”
Lex was silent for a moment.
“And what do you think greatness is?”
“Fiction.”
I answered immediately.
“An illusion.”
“A lie.”
“There aren’t any Great People or Important People who somehow stand above everyone else.”
I smiled.
“Everyone is both ordinary and extraordinary.”
“Some people bring out the best in themselves through hard work, determination, and persistence.”
“Others bury their potential through their own choices.”
I looked at Lex.
“But want to know a secret?”
“Go ahead.”
“Success.”
“Influence.”
“Fame.”
“Power.”
“Wealth.”
I shook my head.
“None of it means anything when you’re standing face-to-face with death.”
“Whether generations remember you or everyone forgets your name the day after you die doesn’t matter.”
“Not even a little.”
“The only thing that matters at the end is whether you’re at peace with yourself.”
I smiled.
“Whether your conscience is clear.”
Lex gave me a sideways look.
“You talk like you’ve already died.”
“Two days ago, on that bridge…”
I shrugged.
“You weren’t the only one who came close to death.”
Lex fell silent.
“Right.”
He looked genuinely apologetic.
“I’m sorry.”
“Forget it.”
***
Putting the computer together was easier than expected.
I spent exactly the amount Mom had given me.
There were cheaper options.
There were more expensive ones too.
But I wanted to make the entire purchase fit the budget she’d given me, right down to the last cent.
And I managed it.
We also stopped at a movie theater.
We picked some action movie and settled in.
That’s when I discovered something rather surprising.
Lex had apparently never been to a movie theater before.
Not once.
For someone who had grown up with access to practically anything money could buy, that was strangely amusing.
His idea of entertainment had always been something more exclusive.
Expensive clubs, parties, racing, that sort of thing.
A simple trip to the movies had somehow never made it onto his list.
In the end, though, we both enjoyed ourselves.
The entire trip took about four hours.