"Wait for me, why are you rushing ahead? It is fate that we met each other here."
"I came here to buy resources before leaving for the school, how about I help you buy your things as well?"
The one in the front was none other than Gwen.
And she was not alone.
Behind her trailed a young man with an expensive haircut and the kind of face that had clearly never once heard the word "no."
He kept pestering Gwen, but not once did the girl give him a response.
He was talking loudly, gesturing with both hands, but he failed to see the lack of interest on Gwen’s face.
The red-haired girl stepped into the store and looked around. Her brown eyes were scanning the goods when she spotted Derrick before he even had the time to register her presence.
Her expression went cold in half a second flat. Just as she was about to look away, the boy noticed her presence; their eyes met.
The guy beside her noticed exactly where her eyes had landed, and his smile faltered.
Derrick ignored him completely and walked straight toward Gwen.
"Excuse me?" she said, her voice like frost forming over a lake. "I told you not to talk to me."
"I know. I still need to." His face must have been serious enough, because for one flicker of a second, her frown wavered into something closer to impatience. ’Is he going to apologize now? Well, if he explained himself properly without excuse and begged for mercy... maybe I can give him a second chance.’
"Hmph, hurry up and grovel before me and beg for forgiveness, and like the gracious lady I am, I will forgive you."
Before she could even live out the scene in her fantasies a voice interrupted them.
"Look who it is. If it isn’t the most talented student of our class." A mocking voice filled the shop, attracting attention from people nearby. "I noticed you did not attend Guild’s School Trails. What happened? chickened out? Thought people would realize that you had been cheating by taking illegal drugs your whole life?"
The boy snickered as he stepped between them, all smug confidence and cologne. "It was a good thing you realized your mistakes on your own or would have reported your cheating ass to the federal government."
"It would have been a good show to watch." He paused while smirking like he was imagining the scene.
"What are you doing here anyway? A broke piece of trash like you does not deserve to step into this place. He did not give Derrick a moment to speak and started threatening him. "You better not be here to annoy Gwen again. The lady already told you she doesn’t want to talk."
"Save yourself the embarrassment while you still can."
Ugh, seriously. Why do I have to encounter a young master trope? And are you listening to yourself? You should be saying those words to yourself before even looking at me. Derrick thought, looking him over once and finding absolutely nothing worth a second glance. I have written many characters like him; his kind always loses in Chapter forty. Sometimes Chapter twelve, if the plot’s moving fast. Better ignore him.
The staff, the customers, everyone was looking in their direction without any intention to intervene.
It seemed like they were all waiting for a good show.
But...
Derrick did not even try to acknowledge his words back to Gwen. "I’ll come by your house at noon. Before you leave for school. We’ll talk then."
He turned and walked out before either of them could get another word in.
Behind him, the rich boy, Kenny West, started complaining to Gwen that Derrick had no self-respect with an ugly look on his face.
He was humiliated by how Derrick had dared to ignore him and make him lose face before the woman he liked.
"Kenny... fuck off." Gwen’s response was too quiet for Derrick to catch through the closing door.
He walked out of the store with all of his attention on the screen before him.
[Mission 1: Investigate the death of the original host. Status: Active. Progress: 5%.]
Five percent, Derrick thought, heading home with his hands in his pockets. It means I am on the right track; I just have to keep going.
.
Derrick spent the rest of the morning writing.
By the time Rebecca called him out for lunch, he’d already finished the outline for Volume One of the book.
While at the same time, he finished writing the first ten Chapters of the book.
It was a slow-burn slice-of-life about a normal boy in a normal town where the biggest crisis of the week was making it through a month without losing all the money on food or rent.
In a world made of walking natural disasters, he was betting good money that nothing sold faster than the fantasy of nothing happening at all.
"You’ve been sitting before that thing all morning," Rebecca said, setting a plate down in front of him. "Are you planning to do something online?"
"Yeah, I was looking for a way to earn money on the side while I decided what I want to do in the future," Derrick said. "I have to pay you back the thousands of social credits I lost."
Rebecca’s face softened in a way that made his chest hurt a little. "You don’t have to do anything, Derrick. All I want is for you to stay safe. Besides, social credits are nothing but numbers; there is always a way to make some."
"And I am already looking for a new job. It is my duty as a parent to look after you and not the other way around."
"Come on, we have to look after each other, don’t we?" Derrick felt warmth in his heart like never before. Even his mother in his previous life did not give him a feeling like this.
I should let her know about my plans for the novel so she is not surprised by anything that comes later. He thought and told her about the novel instead. She didn’t laugh at him. She didn’t even blink.
"That is a lovely idea, dear. Send me the link; I will give it a try as well." Rebecca caressed the side of his face with her warm and soothing hands. She had already decided she would support anything he had decided to do.
Feeling the softness of her palm, Derrick leaned into her touch, making her smile more endearing.
"But... What about the Guild School?" she asked him carefully. "Have you decided to give up on it?"