Chapter 46: In a Heartbeat
Even after Aiden had returned to his seat, everyone kept cheering.
In fact, it was the longest standing cheer the gym had done all day. Through it all, Mrs. Delacroix had walked back onstage, the woman unsure of what to say or do to reduce it.
As a result, she simply stood in wait, hoping that in a minute’s time, it would naturally mellow out.
As for Aiden...
He constantly kept receiving pats on the back from everyone as he settled into his seat, a hearty smile on his lips as praises piled in one after the other.
"Bro!" Casper exclaimed!
"What?" Aiden played dumb.
"Bro!!" Casper exclaimed again!
"What?" Aiden replied much the same.
"BRO!!!" Casper laughed this time, his words carrying an unbridled awe as he did the ’mind blown!’ gesture with his hands!
"Congratulations, Aiden! You’ve successfully become Silverlake’s High most eligible bachelor!" Daisy remarked as well, laughing as she did.
Rolling hie eyes at that and shaking his head in amusement, Aiden then turned to face Theo whom had raised up a fist bump in his oversized denim.
Reciprocating said fist bump, the curly-haired youth then spoke, his tone reflecting his amazement and a genuine smile on his lips;
"You were amazing."
"Thanks, Theo," Aiden appreciated, to which he then pointed his thumb in his buddies’ direction, the trio still lingering on stage as all the previous contestants were called up;
"But all the credit goes to them for writing such a great song in the first place."
No sooner had he said that, Clarissa rested an arm on his shoulders and said, her hazel irises twinkling with interest;
"How many more layers?"
"What?" Aiden asked, bemused.
"Clearly, you’re starting to become an onion, so I’m asking again. How many more layers?" the queen bee clarified, her tone intrigued and her brows playfully flexing.
"How am I supposed to know that?" Aiden rhetorically chuckled, to which the lady beamed brightly, a smug, proud smile touching her lips as she turned to face the stage.
"I’m so glad you’re walking me down the Hoco Parade."
Once again, Aiden found himself chuckling in amusement as he equally returned his attention to the stage.
Currently, all the performers were up on stage, each of them lining up side by side in their order of performance.
By now, the cheers had also mellowed, though the occasional whistle and claps still managed to ride the airwaves as a palpable sense of excitement and exhilaration lingered in the air.
Taking the opportunity, Mrs. Delacroix finally spoke, her voice magnetic;
"The energy was contagious, the competition was fierce, and the performances were most thrilling,"
"I think I speak for everyone when I say, that this is by far, the best talent show we’ve ever had here at Silverlake High!" she added, her thrilled voice carrying through the gym.
Naturally, a brief wave of cheers, applauds and whistles followed.
Waiting for it to settle down once more, the woman then gestured towards the panel of judges which comprised of five individuals--two student council members, one non-teaching staff, one teaching staff and one Dr. Kowalski; Silverlake’s High favorite guidance counsellor--as she spoke;
"By now, our judges must have cast their votes,"
"It’s time to see who wins the Silverlake’s High 37th Spirit Week Talent Show!" she declared, and yet another wave of cheers, applauds and whistles followed.
Promptly, a student went over to the panel to pick up the envelope the judges had tucked their answer into and handed it over to her.
A few seconds later after the cheers had died down, Mrs. Delacroix then said as she opened the envelope;
"And the winner is,"
Naturally, she allowed for a sense of tension and anticipation to build amongst the performers and the audience as she slowly pulled out the paper.
Then, with a light smile on her features, she raised the mic to her lips, waited a bit and then announced;
"Hi-Fi Radio!!"
Immediately the gym exploded into another round of thunderous cheers, applauds, whistles and even wolf howls!
That last part, was all Casper’s doing, one that several other male students seemed to follow up on!
As Aiden watched his buddies jubilating on stage, their faces full of mirth as Casper and several other students left the stands to jubilate with them, he simply leaned forward, his chin resting on a open palm as a lovely smile touched his lips.
1 LP had been a rather steep cost to upgrade a skill he was certain he’d hardly ever use, but, for the sake of his friends whom had been nothing but a godsend to him... friends whom were practically brothers from another mother... he would do it again.
In a heartbeat, at that.
...
...
...
"Mr. North, do you know why you’re here?"
"’Cause I said your greatest granddaughters are pretty hot?" Aiden gestured with a pointed finger, his eyes wincing a bit as he tried to lean back further into his chair.
"No, not that," the man dismissed with a vague gesture of his hands, to which he then said without batting an eye;
"Although, you and your... buddies... will get a detention for the lyrics you used in that song..."
"...but, we can have that discussion after Spirit Week." he regarded him over his glasses.
Aiden could’ve sworn he saw the man smirk for the briefest of moments after he said that. Not that it stopped him from continuing;
"I actually called you here because Megan and a couple other students recommended to have you join the student council committee. They don’t do that often, so naturally, I was surprised."
"I heard you lettered most of the main placards and were indispensable in the general preparations. One you seemed to juggle effectively, at that." the man arched a curious brow while interlocking his palms;
"And as you may know, I’m in charge of vetting and appointing each student into the committee so, I checked in with Dr. Kowalski and your homeroom teacher, Mr. Lazlow, and they vouched for your character."
Aiden was already pretty stunned when he heard the initial statement. He was even more surprised when he heard that last part.
Though he’d known he’d been bouncing about like a pinball these past couple weeks, he hadn’t expected it to have had that much of an effect on that many people.
Clearly, he was the only one who seemed to think that.
In any case, before he could respond, the sharp-looking principal spoke again while gesturing with his palms;
"But of course, I don’t expect an immediate answer. Seat on it for a couple days. A week, if need be. Just be sure to get back to me later."
Simply nodding at that, Aiden then replied as he proceeded to take his leave;
"Alright then. Thank you, Principal Walters."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. North. I look forward to a favorable response." the man replied to which Aiden offered a curt nod and proceeded to walk out, a thoughtful expression on his visage.
"Oh, and one more thing," Principal Walters suddenly called out, prompting Aiden to halt in his steps and turn to face him.
"You wouldn’t happen to know anything or be involved in the scavenger hunt prank, would you?" the man asked, his gaze searching.
"Would I lose the opportunity to join the committee if I was?" Aiden casually replied with a question of his own instead.
"Not at all. In fact, it might as well prove that your efficiency, is in fact top notch." the man replied with an answer that stunned Aiden yet again for the third time in the last couple minutes, though his poker face remained much the same.
"I’d still punish you for it though." Principal Walters added, yet another subtle smirk touching his lips.
"I see..." Aiden remarked, keeping his voice relaxed and his demeanor composed as he spoke;
"Well, then. I guess we’ll find out Friday night, won’t we?"
"Yes. I guess we will." Principal Walters remarked almost dismissively, the man already perusing through a document he’d flipped open as the youth seamlessly slipped out the door.
Upon reaching the main hallway where his buddies were currently hanging out in wait for his arrival, all of them simultaneously turned towards him as he walked over.
"Well boys," Aiden began, a thin smile on his lips as he added;
"We’re gonna be having a whole lotta detentions in our future."
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[Aiden North] – Life Points – [1.55]
⸢Stats
› Mind — B-
› Strength — E+
› Stamina — D
› Agility — E-
› Charm — B-
⸢Skills
› {Type Designing - A}, {Digital Illustration - I}, {Drawing - I}, {Cooking - I}, {Brewing - I}, {Singing - I}, {Dancing - N}, {Writing - N}, {Lettering - I}.
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-
⸢FAQ⸥
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Staring at the newly upgraded skill, Aiden leaned back into his chair in thought, his palms behind his head as he rocked the chair.
Within that same motion, he had tugged on the ⸢FAQ⸥ function to ask a question.
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Are skills cheaper to upgrade than purchase?
└ Yes. Skills are cheaper to upgrade than purchase.
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Naturally, Aiden had expected that response. He just wanted a direct confirmation from his system.
Still, that knowledge didn’t come with some notion that he would now begin working towards manually adding every skill to his repertoire just because he could.
He just wanted to be certain that the option was there for him to work with should he ever feel the need to earn it of his own volition or compromise whenever the need arose.
Afterall, there was no way he would have all the time in the world to grind out so many skills.
The Life System already existed as a way for him to cut those corners so it would be a dumb move on his part not to utilize it. That said, utilize was the keyword here, not depend.
It was also why Aiden casually dismissed the panel a moment after and pulled up his CodeRPG.dev profile tab and continued grinding away at it...
...all in an effort to earn the {Programming} skill on his own before using his system to scale it up as he required.