Chapter 105: Editing.
[Hyde POV]
The next morning, at breakfast with the Forman's family.
"So you're really going to Funland today?" Eric asked, smiling
excitedly. "Maybe I can go too. I'll bring Donna."
Mrs Forman served the eggs and waffles before sitting down
on the seat next to mine. "Eric. Honey. Don't bother Steven
when he's going on a date."
"That's true." I agreed with Mrs Forman. "You and Donna will
just get in the way."
Eric was taken aback. "Hey. We're not going to get in the way."
Mrs Forman ignored Eric and turned to me, asking, "Do you
need any money for the date? Oh, we should go buy you some
new shoes."
"I have money… and shoes… It will be nice if you can pack me
some snacks. I don't really like the food there."
Eric agreed with me and said, "Yeah. The food there sucks. It
tastes like plastic."
"What tastes like plastic?" Red entered through the sliding
door, just coming back from hitting a squirrel with a BB gun.
He placed his weapon on the table and grabbed the
newspaper. Eric told him casually, "The food at Funland." Red gave Eric a disappointed look. "Aren't you a little too old to
go to that place?"
Baffled, Eric glanced at me and said, "He's the one going. Not
me."
"You? Why? Shouldn't you be at work?" Red asked with a
serious expression.
I grinned and said, "Of course I'm playing hooky from work.
Who wants to work all year long?"
Red furrowed his eyebrows, his gaze murderous.
Eric quickly whispered to me, "Hyde. Run before he catches
you."
Mrs Forman interjected, "Oh. Steven. I can make you a snack if
you're going. That way you don't have to eat the food there."
"It's fine Mrs Forman. I'll eat before I go there." I rejected her
politely.
I smiled and said, "Oh yeah. Red. I need a rep to go to the race
for me tomorrow. It will be in Milwaukee, so it's a day trip."
"Milwaukee? What race?" Mrs Forman was curious.
"The Midwest Open. It's a semi-pro race. USAC affiliated." Eric
answered before I could. He grinned and added, "It will be
airing on Channel 5. I saw the commercial yesterday."
Red turned to me and asked, "Why aren't you going?"
I just shrugged. I didn't feel like going there and wasting the entire day since I have a lot to do. And if the festival needed me,
I could be here.
Mrs Forman helped me. "Red, you'll start working next week.
We can go to the race together and have some fun!"
He grimaced instantly and said, "See. Now you have pulled me
into the trap."
"What trap? Red, do you not want to go to the race with me?
Why? Am I bothering you?" Mrs Forman asked angrily.
I chuckled and said, "Kaboom. The landmine exploded."
"Red!" Mrs Forman snapped. Red gave me a dirty look.
Eric and I quickly ran away from the kitchen. I hopped into the
Chevelle and drove to pick up Talia from her house.
However, she wasn't even up yet by the time I got there. Megan
opened the door and was really confused when she saw me.
"Didn't she tell you that we're going to Funland today?" I asked
Megan.
She shook her head and said, "No. I was asleep when she came
back home. Wait here, I'll go wake her up."
As she was going to the bedroom, she paused in her steps and
turned to me. "In the meantime, make yourself at home."
"Sure." I said and turned on the TV to watch some morning
cartoons, sitting on the living room couch.
Five minutes later, Megan came out from Talia's room and told me, "So she's not waking up. It might be difficult. And it may
take one or two hours before she can get ready."
I raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, "Does she not want
to go? She told me to bring her there."
"... She doesn't. Well. Not in the morning anyway. I'm going to
go to work, so… why don't you leave first, and when she wakes
up, she'll give you a call?" Megan asked, batting her eyes
nervously.
I shrugged and said, "Well. Tell her that if she doesn't want to
go, that's fine. I don't really like Funland anyway."
Megan snickered and said, "I told you she's difficult."
"More like. Really random."
She called me an hour later, saying, "Sorry. I was too excited last
night. I can't sleep till the morning."
"Pfft." I held back my laughter and said, "It doesn't matter. We
still on for dinner?"
"No. I have a fever. I just want to stay in today."
"Oh. Okay then. Do you have any medicine?"
"Yeah. Megan has it."
Her tone softened as I asked her that. "See you tomorrow."
"Alright. See you tomorrow."
As I cut the call, I called the auto shop and asked for Megan. "My sister has a fever?" She was surprised.
"Yeah. You can go home early if you want." I told her.
Megan grumbled and said, "She doesn't lie about this stuff…
Alright. I'll go back home now."
…
Before I went home, I stopped by the marketing office.
Leslie was waiting for me there. Her hair tied up into a ponytail,
and she wore a woman's suit.
"Sir."
"Leslie. That suit looks great on you."
"Thank you for your generous gift. It's hard to imagine a
professional suit to fit this well."
It's a plaid suit and she paired it with a brown undershirt.
"You need to upgrade your wardrobe if you're going to be
dealing with artist managers and important people." I told her
directly.
She nodded and said, "I'll be sure to do that."
"Put it in the company expenses. I don't mind."
She was taken aback and giggled slightly. "Now, most of the
band members are coming tomorrow. I already picked out
their accommodation and reserved the hotel rooms for them." Inside the file she gave me, she had already organized
everything for the event.
"The main problem is, the stage." Her eyes flickered with
concern. "No one has experience in handling this new level of
technology–"
I stopped her with my hand and said, "That's why this is
important. We're going to be the first one. And, we'll let the
musicians promote this place to the others."
Putting the folders down, I interlocked my fingers and asked
her, "Have you set up the interviews ?"
"Yes sir. I do admire your commitment to rebuilding this town."
She said with a glimmer of admiration in her eyes.
Taken aback, I said with a deadpan voice, "What are you talking
about?"
She just smiled without answering.
"Ah. By the way, is Dustin going to summer camp?" I asked.
Leslie was taken aback. She shook her head and said, "No. He
doesn't want to go."
She sighed and said, "Besides. Summer camps around here are
too dangerous. A few kids got seriously injured last year
because of neglect."
I thought about it and said, "Why don't we open up a summer
camp?" Leslie blinked slowly.
I added, "We can coordinate with college or high school. Give
the students extra credit if they become the facilitator for two
weeks. That way, only one or two professionals are needed."
Leslie nodded and said, "I'll check if we can buy a bankrupt
camp or a piece of land near the lake."
"Nice."
"There's also another factor to take notice of." Leslie said flatly.
"You don't have a lot of money left."
"Fuck."
…
Eric sneered as he learned about the situation. "So, your fake
girlfriend blew you off? Surely there must be a mistake."
I scowled and said, "She said she has a fever."
"Yeah. Sure sure." Eric nodded, being sarcastic with me.
We were hanging out by ourselves as the others had plans.
Donna, Fez, and Jackie went to the mall together. Kelso went
out with Laurie.
I had to suffer hanging out with Forman here.
'Oh. My internet's back.' I saw the notification and was thankful.
My setting right now was in Japan. I checked their delivery apps and saw something intriguing.
"Hey, how do you feel about crabs?"
"Crabs?" Eric furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me warily.
"You're not trying to make me walk sideways or bury me at the
beach, right?"
"There's no beach here. That's the only reason I'm not doing
that." I sneered.
"Well… I like crab cakes." He replied.
"I'm talking about King Crab."
Eric was taken aback. He shrugged and said, "I don't know.
Never saw one before."
'That made sense. It's a premium product after all. It's
impossible to get without going to Alaska.'
I decided to buy three of the giant crabs. It's the Red King Crab
imported from Japan. Using the AEON delivery app, I would get
the crab within the hour.
Fruits were also a priority. Apples, watermelon, strawberries,
and honeydew. I bought different kinds of vegetables and also
cooked condiments while I was using the app.
Since it's summer, it's the perfect time to do something I never
did before.
I went to my room to edit the movie while waiting for the
delivery to arrive. It came exactly an hour later. I picked up the large polystyrene ice box and placed it in my system storage,
removing any traces that it was from Japan.
"Otherwise, Red will kill me. He fought them before."
Getting out of the side door and pretending I just came home, I
brought the box inside the house.
Mrs Forman was still sulking with Red.
"For the last time Kitty. It's not that I don't want you to go. I
don't want to go! Not that I don't want to go, with you!" He
explained with frustration.
"Dont lie Red Forman. You always want to go somewhere
without me! The only reason you don't want to go, is because I
want to go with you– Oh hey Steven."
Mrs Forman stopped arguing and was interested in the boxes.
"What is that?"
"A monster." I smirked. "Ah, I also have some fruits."
Red looked at me weirdly and said, "You always bring home
fruits."
"Don't complain Red. You're no longer stopped-up because you
ate a lot of those fruits." Mrs Forman scolded him.
"Me too." I shared, which made Red uncomfortable.
The midwest has too many cheese based recipes. Sometimes I
get constipated because of it. I read somewhere that moving
the bowels daily would improve my mental health therefore…
the fruits. I placed the box on top of the table.
"Can I open it?" Mrs Forman asked with intrigue.
"Yeah sure."
She used a scissor to cut the rope and opened the box. It had
dry ice inside, cold air seeped through the gap before the
monster inside was revealed. The large, 70 cm wide crab
appeared to be greeting Mrs Forman.
"Ah!" She yelped immediately. "What kind of monster is that?!"
Red peeked inside the box and was startled too. "What in the
world did you bring home this time? Are these crabs?"
"It's gigantic!" Mrs Forman was in disbelief.
I laughed and said, "It's Alaskan King Crab. It's premium crab.
We should have it for dinner tonight."
"Dinner? How do we cook it?" Mrs Forman looked at the crab
with apprehension.
"It's pre-cooked, so it's either boiling it or steaming it. I bought
some stuff to make shabu-shabu with it."
"Shabu what?" Red looked at me with disbelief.
I chuckled and said, "Just wait."
Eric came from the basement and saw the crab. "AHH! Giant
spiders!" He screamed and ran away. Red rubbed his head in frustration as he saw Eric's reaction.
At dinner, the king crab was a bit hit. Even Donna came over to
taste it as Eric called her.
I pulled the meaty, juicy meat from the crab shell with a spoon
and ate it just like that.
"It's freaking awesome." I muttered.
Donna devoured two legs and asked Eric, "Are you eating
that?"
He just cracked open his crab legs. He pulled his plate away
warily and said, "Yes! I'm eating it!"
I used a scissor to cut off the shell and dipped the meat in
butter.
Mrs Forman widened her eyes in amazement as she tasted it.
"Oh, this is much better than crab cakes!"
…
After dinner, I returned to my editing progress in my bedroom.
With a cup of coffee and some snacks, I sat on the computer
for 3 hours straight, just to edit the footage together into an
amateurish-looking movie.
In the 70s standard, it already was an okay film. But I wanted it
to be better than just 'okay'.
[12 hours left before new episode]
'It's three in the morning so I guess the episode will start around 3 in the afternoon tomorrow.'
I let go of the mouse and stretched my back.
Sighing loudly, I rubbed my face in frustration and said, "Movies
take too long to get returns. Unless I pump out a few of them
at once like Roger Corman, I might need to wait months before
seeing the money."
"Wait. I haven't drawn the random items yet."
I used 10 rating points at once to get 10 items from the system
store.
[Mouth gag x1]
[Gutter Rolling Machine x1]
[BMW 3 Series x1]
[Dancing Lesson DVD set x1]
[Baby Shark Costume x1]
[Similac Gold Baby Formula x10]
[Tanning bed x1]
[Bulletproof security door x1]
[6 people Luxury Cedar Sauna. X1]
[Massage Gun x2] "Oh. I got some useful stuff here. One… weird, but the rest were
quite good."
I took out one of the massage guns and used it on my
shoulder.
"Ah. This hits the spot."
My blood rushed into my brain. I closed my eyes and slept as I
massaged my shoulders with the massage gun.
"I need something fast… to get some money quickly… So I
guess I should make a B-movie."
That was my last thought before I fell asleep.
Originally, the B-movies was the second movie in a double
feature.
That's why they were called B-movies. It wasn't something that
attracted people to theater. It was just there to make some
money and disappear.
Roger Corman's famous movie, A Little Shop of Horror, took 3
days to shoot. He was saving money because he shot it on a set
that's going to be torn down– something from another movie.
The legendary director was famous for his B-movies
productions and his budget saving skills. Shooting two movies
at the same time when they need to get a permit to shoot in a
foreign country.
Reusing sets, extras, actors continuously. Some famous directors started from a Roger Corman
production. Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James
Cameron, Ron Howard, Joe Dante, and Jonathan Demme.
The next morning, as I woke up, I cracked open a can of coffee
and downed it immediately as I walked to the computer.
"I need to figure out the best way for me to get cash."
The best thing to do is a horror flick. It's always in demand, and
it doesn't overlap with the Sci-fi genre so Star Wars ascension
into the legendary level won't interfere as much.
I skipped breakfast to brainstorm ideas for the movie. Mr and
Mrs Forman went to Milwaukee to watch the race together.
They drove out early in the morning in Red's Corolla. It's a 3
hour drive to get there. They would come home after dinner.
"We have the whole house to ourselves." Eric said excitedly as
his parents left.
"Must be nice to have an empty house and a girlfriend." I said
sarcastically.
He showed a toothy grin and said, "It's not my fault you can't
hold on to a girl."
"Say another word, I'm going to tell Bob you're inviting Donna
here when your parents aren't around."
"Okay. Sorry." Eric apologized half-heartedly. I rolled my eyes
and yawned afterward.
"What are you doing today?" Eric asked. "I'm trying to make another movie. A vampire movie."
"That's great!" His eyes widened slightly and his lips curled up.
"I love vampire movies! They always show extra nudity there."
"I agree." I nodded slightly.
"So, are you going to hire PlayPen models?" He asked sleazily.
I knew a couple productions which did that. Mostly B-movies
that wanted the actress to be comfortable with showing their
bodies.
It's literally the era of exploitation movies right now.
"No. I'm going to try to make it real scary." I chuckled.
Eric jeered and said, "Put some boobies in there you bitch.
Otherwise no one will watch the movie."
"Eh." I shrugged nonchalantly.
I went back to my room and began planning for the movie.
"The props… luckily I have the props from the gacha prize.
Fangs, contact lenses. Ah, the most important part. Actors."
I thought about it and mumbled, "I guess I need to find new
ones. If I put the actors in a B-movie, it would hurt their
careers– Wait, this is the 70s."
It was easier for an actor to hide their track record in this era.
Since there's no digital footprints that could haunt them
forever. 'Stallone did a cheap softcore flick before Rocky. It didn't stop
him.'
"So I guess, my next project, shall be horror."
…
That evening, in the basement. All of my guy friends were
hanging around, watching TV together.
I checked the countdown, and there's half an hour left before
the new episode starts.
'Hopefully it will end quickly. I don't want it to interfere with the
next two days of the festival.'
Eric ate a popsicle and asked, "Hyde. Do you want to go to a
bar?"
"Bar? Do you have fake ids?" I asked.
"I do!" Kelso showed the fake IDs to us. It's badly made, and
looks incredibly fake.
I have my fake ID with me, which looked really authentic. Kelso
was already 18, so he didn't really need the fake ID.
"Let's go to the bar!" Fez said excitedly.
I nodded and we all went together in Eric's Vista Cruiser.
Eric asked, "Do you think I can get Blue Oyster Cult to sign my
record tomorrow?" "If you buy the backstage pass, maybe." I sneered.
"That cost like 50 bucks." He sighed in frustration. "I mean, I still
have money, but it seems like such a waste. I'll just wait in line
tomorrow."
Leslie took my suggestion and discussed with the bands to set
up for a signing tent. But it's only for an hour. If Eric went there
late, he might not get it signed.
Fez asked, "Will there be candy at the festival?"
"A lot." I smirked.
Eric said, "There's cotton candy, apple candy, donuts,... why am
I listing it out?"
"Because you're a sucker." Kelso mocked Eric.
We arrived at the bar, and I realized that the countdown was
almost over.
'I guess it's starting here.'
The bouncer at the front of the bar took one look at us and let
us get inside.
I walked in first, Kelso behind me, then Eric, lastly Fez.
"All right. They didn't even check our fake I.D.'s." Eric said
excitedly.
Fez was annoyed. And I wasted a whole day thinking up my
fake name." I mocked him, "Yeah. Sorry, "Pez."" Then I smiled and said, "Let's
drink."
We walked to the counter together. The bartender there asked
Kelso, "So, fellas, school let out early?"
Kelso laughed and said, "Yeah. We're just…"
Eric interjected quickly, "Kelso, shut up!"
Kelso's face froze slightly and he stammered. "Uh, I mean, no.
No, we're old. We're workers. We're all construction workers."
Kelso glanced around and said, "Hey, fellas, did you see that
brick today? Whoo!"
The bartender replied, "Relax, guys. It's "Serve a Minor Night" at
the old "Don't Have a Liquor License" Saloon."
He turned to me and scrunched his face slightly. "You look
familiar. Do I know you?"
I replied, "I should hope so... Dad." Chapter 106: Dad.
[Hyde POV]
I was quite surprised to find the man who abandoned me here
at the bar. People call him Bud– his real name was Bernard.
"Hey! Steven!" He shook my hand happily.
"Wow! So you're Hyde's Dad?" Kelso asked, a beer in his hand.
"Well, that's what his mother says." He laughed out loud then
paused, as if trying to spare my feelings and said, "Kidding."
"Hello, Mr. Hyde's Dad. I am Pez. I've heard much about you."
Fez interjected.
"Good things, I hope." Bud laughed.
"Well, if running out on your family and becoming a drunk is
good," Fez looked at him innocently, "then, yes."
Bud gave him an annoyed look.
Eric caught it and said, "Okay, guys. Let's... look over here."
All of them walked off, leaving me with my father. Bud walked
out of the counter and approached me.
"Wow! Look at you! You're... bigger and you got your mom's
hair...and her sideburns." He joked, but I wasn't amused. He
asked, "So, how long has it been?" "Eight years, 51 Days." I replied calmly.
"Wow!" he laughed again. "Time really flies when you're…"
I interjected, "Drunk"
"Y-Well. I was gonna say "havin' fun," but…" He belly laughed
again, "...same thing."
"Yeah, so, uh, how long you been back for?" I asked.
"Well, let's see. Ah, that must be about a year." he held his waist
as he tried to figure it out.
"A year?" I was disappointed.
"Yeah! Hey, I was gonna call ya." He said quickly.
"Oh, you were gonna call me? Oh, man, that makes you, like... I
don't know, what, father of the year?" I snapped with a calm
tone.
"Steven–"
"No. Actually. I don't need to be angry at you. I should thank
you." I said suddenly.
"Thank me?" He was confused.
"Yes. If I had lived with you, I'd surely become an alcoholic too.
So we don't need to pretend that we're family anymore."
"Steven–" Bud called me with a pitiful tone, but I had already walked
away from the bar. My heart was burning with anger, and I
really really wanted to lash out, but I held myself back.
He didn't even deserve me spending all that energy on him.
"Oh, man, Hyde's upset. Better go see how he is." Eric said as he
sipped on his beer while sitting on the table.
"Yep. One more round, we'll go see how he is." Kelso called Bud
to order another drink.
I went outside and walked away instead of waiting for Eric to
come out. After a hundred meters, I took out the motorbike I
got from the gacha because there was no way I was going to
walk all the way home.
The motorbike was sleek black with green accents. It came
with a helmet and the oil tank fully stocked. So I ignited the
engine and sped through the empty roads.
…
The Forman's basement. I sat on my usual seat, stewing in
anger, tapping my leg and crossing my arms.
Donna came to the basement wearing a flannel shirt and
bandana tied on her head.
"Why do you look like that?" She asked curiously.
I turned to her and sighed. "Nothing."
She sat near me and asked, "What's the progress on the film?
Did you finish editing it yet?" "I have a rough draft. No music scoring yet so it's not complete.
And I'm still figuring out the credits."
She nodded and smirked, "Can I see it? The rough draft?"
Since she was the scriptwriter, she was quite excited to see her
story come to life.
The conversation greatly helped me ignoring the matter at
hand. I didn't want to think about my dad or the implication of
him being in the episode.
'I'm not going to get kicked out of here, would I?'
I turned to Donna and quickly said, "I'll show it to you later."
"Great! I'll wait right here." Donna went under the stairs to pick
up an album.
Suddenly, the door bursted open. Eric, Kelso, and Fez finally
came back home.
"Hyde! How in the world did you get here so quickly?" Eric
asked with disbelief. "We drove around but we couldn't find
you."
"I hitched a ride." I told him and raised an eyebrow, "You
stopped… to buy magazines too?"
Eric looked at the magazine in his hand and said, "Well. Yeah.
Since we're already at the gas station– Oh hey Donna."
He quickly threw the magazine to Kelso. It's a PlayPen
magazine. A nudie magazine. Donna didn't see it and asked him, "Why did he come back
home himself?"
"Well–"
"Shh." I shushed Eric instantly.
"Nothing. He just wants to walk. It's a bet." Eric laughed
awkwardly.
"Alright. I can go first." Kelso opened up the magazine and sat
on the couch. "I wonder if Miss June is better than Miss May."
"Of course she's going to be better. Otherwise Miss May would
already win again." Fez snarked.
Kelso looked at him weirdly. He flipped through the magazine,
and Fez was watching over his shoulder to peek through. Eric
also sat near them.
"Hello! She is just my type." Kelso laughed dumbly. "Naked."
"I too, like the naked ladies. I find them so... naked." Fez added.
Both he and Fez snickered childishly.
Donna looked over behind them and said sarcastically, "Yeah,
that's realistic. I think I'm gonna change the oil in my car... but
first I'm gonna take off everything but my cowboy boots!"
Eric replied with deadpan, "Well sure, I mean if you're in bare
feet, you could slip in the oil. Come on, Donna. Safety first."
"Whoa! Surefire ways to pick up women." Kelso scoffed as he saw the article. "What kind of lonely losers read this stuff
anyway?"
Fez snatched the magazine immediately, "Gimme!" He quoted
the instructions there. "Look deep into her eyes, and use her
name often... showing that this conversation is just for her."
Fez stood up and walked to Donna. She was changing the
records and turned to him.
Fez cleared his throat and said, " Hey, Donna. I think they're
onto something, Donna. What do you think, Donna?"
Donna held back laughter and grabbed the edge of her flannel
shirt. "Oh, my God. I'm taking off my shirt. Stop it, hands! Stop
it!"
Fez turned to us, face full of expectation as he thought the
method works.
Although it was funny, I couldn't get into it. I went inside my
room and made a copy of the movie for Donna on the VCR.
"The next two days are going to be crazy. As long as I bring
everyone to the festival, there will be no episode recording."
I thought of this method a couple days ago. Hopefully, it will
work.
Mr and Mrs Forman weren't home yet, so I had some free time.
I gave the VCR to Donna and said, "Once you're done watching
it, tell me if it's good or not." "Sure." She replied excitedly. "You should go now." She said
suddenly.
"Why?" I was confused.
"I'm going to watch it with Jackie." Donna replied.
"Thanks for the heads up." I showed her a thumbs up and left
hurriedly.
…
That night, I decided to go to a bar.
The place was rowdy. People were dancing on one side of the
bar, and played pool on the other side.
I decided to play pool while drinking beer.
Suddenly, a pretty blonde girl approached me.
"Hey. Aren't you the guy from that tv show?" She asked.
"Huh?" I slowly looked up to her. She wore a tied up shirt that showed her belly, and jean shorts that clung tightly to her
figure.
With her red lipstick and blue eyeshadow, her curly blonde hair
covered half of her face, framing it nicely.
"Batgirl?" I was confused as she looked really similar to the
actress- Alicia Silverstone.
"What? No, I'm not Yvonne Craig." She was quite pissed off
about that.
"Oh no. I don't mean the actress." I waved it off and said, "Let's
start over. Hey, I'm Hyde."
"Janine." She replied, shaking my hand slightly. "I saw you're
playing pool alone. Shall I join you?"
"Sure." I gestured her to join me with my hand. She smirked
and asked flirtingly, "Why is a guy like you going to a bar alone?
It doesn't make sense."
"Why? Should I have girls all around me?" I said playfully,
holding the pool stick like a cane.
She batted her eyes and said, "So you don't have a lot of girls
throwing themselves at you?"
"You really overestimate the popularity of a local celebrity. It's
not like I'm in Hollywood or a major network."
"Really?" She was elated. "But you're still young. Your future is
still bright." I chuckled and said, "Do I look like I need comforting?"
"I don't know. You look really stressed." She replied flirtingly.
"And scary. If I didn't recognize you, I wouldn't even approach
you."
'Huh. I guess my dad coming back is bothering me more than I
admit.'
We played for a while before she decided to up the ante. She
won one game, and I won one. Our shoulders bumped into
each other. Our waist met as we walked to get to the ball. I
wasn't really competitive anyway. I played just for fun.
"Do you want to place a bet?" She smirked.
"What's the bet?" I asked.
"A pool bet. 20 bucks."
"Sure. But I don't want twenty bucks. Can I get something
else?"
"What?" She was intrigued.
"If I win, I can kiss you."
Taken aback, she giggled and said, "I'm wondering why it took
you so long to make a move."
"Well, I did feel you purposely bumping your butt into me
when you bend over." I teased.
She gasped and touched her butt slightly. "You like my butt?
You pervert." "It's a very nice butt. It's very aesthetically pleasing." I said
playfully. She approached me and leaned in to grab a ball on
the table, making sure I was watching her back the entire time.
"You love this?"
"Very much."
As we were giggling, suddenly a muscular man approached
the pool table. "You bastard! Are you flirting with my wife?!"
He swung at me, and it hit my face.
"Oh. You shouldn't have done that." I smirked as I realized this
was what I wanted.
"I'm not your wife?!" Janine was in disbelief.
The man scrunched his eyes at Janine and said, "Wait. You're
not–"
"Clench." I said, balling my hand into a fist.
I hit him back, but since I had stuntman training, I accidentally
hit him in the jaw, short circuiting his brain. He fell down
unconscious.
"Hey!" I was honestly surprised. "Are your lights out? I want to
fight more! Hey!" I slapped his face, but he wasn't waking up.
"Damn it." I stood up from the ground and asked loudly.
"Anyone want to fight? I'll give you 100 bucks."
The question was met with an awkward silence. "No takers? Seriously? The one time I'm hoping for a bar fight,
and I got none."
One of the regulars there shouted back, "We just did it this
afternoon. We're tired to do it again."
"Oh fucking hell–"
Janine hugged my arm, breathing heavier and her skin got
hotter. "Steven, that's so hot. Do you want to go to your car?"
Taken aback, I grinned and said, "Sure."
"While we're going there, you can tell me about all the men
you've beaten up before." She said while moving her body
cutely.
Inside my car, I groped her tits as we were making out. She
wrapped her arms around my neck and kept suckling on my
tongue. We drove to Mount Hump first before we started
making out.
"Do you have any… rubber?" She paused and asked.
"Definitely." I replied and reached for the dashbox.
She took off her shirt, revealing a black brassiere. She
unhooked her bra and covered it with her hand.
I chuckled and took off my shirt too. "It's better if we go to the
backseat." She suggested.
At the backseat, I took off her jeans and lowered mine slightly.
After putting on the condom, I pushed my penis inside her while we were still kissing.
"Hmmp–" She moaned, biting my lower lips slightly. "You're
big–"
"I'm not in, all the way yet."
She moaned, her eyes became slightly dazed. I grabbed her tits
and played with it as I humped her, missionary style.
"Oh my fucking god– This~ AH~ AH~ AH~ Deeper! Rougher!"
She was getting into it as we had sex there. Suddenly, she
stopped me and asked, "Want to do it outside?"
I opened the car door, get her on all fours and fucked her
doggystyle with the car door on. She moaned in pleasure, her
legs curling slightly as she was orgasming.
"Ahn~~"
We came almost at the same time. I took off the condom while
she turned towards me. She grabbed my dick, placed it on her
cheek and said, "That's amazing. You're not done yet, are you?"
She stuck her tongue out and licked my shaft starting from the
balls and moved upwards. Then, she put my dick inside her
mouth and began sucking it.
"Damn, you're really skilled at this."
"Thanks. My husband enjoys this a lot."
"What?" I was surprised when I heard that. "Your husband?" She was taken aback and replied, "It's fine. He's also fucking
another girl tonight. We have …an arrangement."
I paused for a few seconds.
"Oh. That's fine then." I said and picked her up, fucking her
again after putting on the second condom.
…
The next day, I woke up with a groan.
"She's insatiable. I have her number, right?"
I checked the nightstand and saw the number she gave me
last night.
She wrote, 'Call me' and kissed the paper so her lipstick mark
was there.
"Now it's time for the festival."
After taking a shower, I went to get breakfast with the
Formans.
"Steven Honey. You didn't come home last night." Mrs Forman
said worriedly as she served us orange juice.
I ate my sandwiches and said, "I went for a ride. That's it."
"Because of your–"
"Shh!" I shushed Eric immediately. "What– What happened last night?" Mrs Forman asked
curiously.
"Nothing. Let's talk about something else. Such as Laurie's new
work." I turned to Laurie with a grin.
She scowled and whined to Red, "Daddy. I don't want to work
as a cashier."
Mrs Forman interjected, "Honey. I think the best way to teach
you a lesson about life, is to stop coddling you. You're already
twenty. You flunked out of college, and you're just wasting
away."
Red grumbled, "Not to mention, you're dating that screwhead."
Eric and I snickered.
Eric added, "Wow dad. It's like, for the first time ever, you're
finally making sense to me."
Red shot him a glare.
"Daddy! I don't want to work, and you can't force me–"
"If you don't want to work, you can break up with Kelso." I
suggested. "Then Red will love you again."
Laurie took the bait and said, "I promise I'll break up with him
today!" She looked at Red with hopeful eyes.
"Sorry hun." Red touched her shoulder and said firmly.
"Damn it." She cursed and turned to me. "This is all your fault!" Suddenly, Leo came into the kitchen through the sliding door.
We were all shocked to see him there.
"Hey, honey, I'm home!" He greeted us.
"Oh, good. The hippie's here." Red said with discontent.
Leo looked at me and said, "Hyde, man, your dad come by
lookin' for you, man. Which is really freaky 'cause I thought this
bald dude was your Dad."
I sighed and said, "Thanks, Leo." Then I left the table.
-TV-
"Steven's father is in town?" Mrs Forman asked worriedly.
Laurie sneered and said, "Yeah, right. Like he even knows who
his father is."
Red asked, "Eric, you know something about this?"
Eric replied casually, "She's a bitch." His eyes followed Laurie,
and he smiled since he was proud of the joke, but shrank back
as he saw Red's glare.
"Right. Okay. Uh, yeah. We bumped into Hyde's dad last night.
He'd been back in town, like, a year....hadn't even talked to his
own son."
Leo ate Hyde's sandwich and said, "Cool. Egg salad."
Everyone glanced at him for a bit before refocusing. "W-Well, I'm gonna talk to Steven...and see how he's feeling
about this." Mrs Forman said and turned to the basement
slightly.
Eric interjected, "You know what, Mom? I wouldn't do that.
Hyde likes to bottle those things up."
Red smiled, "Good for him. That's where those feelings should
be kept."
" Well, what is he gonna do? Pretend he doesn't have a father?"
Mrs Forman was worried.
"Based on what he said last night to his dad, yes. He's going to
do exactly that." Eric added.
"But–"
Red interjected, "Kitty, this is a family issue, and, for once, it's
not about our family. Look, the bond between a father and a
son...is complex and subtle…" He pointed at Eric who was
smirking.
"You wipe that damn smirk off your face!"
Eric burst into laughter.
Mrs Forman said seriously, "Red, when we took that boy into
our home... it became our job to see him through thick and
thin...and now it's thick... or thin... I don't know," She shook her
head slightly, "but he needs us."
Leo repeated himself, "Cool egg salad, man." Red grumbled, "Fine. Stick your nose in where it doesn't
belong. Go ahead."
Mrs Forman stood up and said excitedly, "Okay. Will do. Bud's
comin' over for drinks tonight."
Eric looked worried, "Uh, Mom, do you really want to invite an
alcoholic over for cocktails?"
Mrs Forman's smile disappeared from the realization, "Oh,
right. Okay, well, I'll just, um... I'll make him a nice Shirley
Temple... and he can fill up on cheese."
…
Inside the basement, Eric told me about his mother's plan.
"Really? Damn. Alright, thanks Eric. Now I know not to be here
tonight."
Eric laughed and said playfully, "We're all not going to be here
tonight. I'm not going to miss out on the concert just because
of your family issues."
I chuckled and said, "Yeah. That sounds about right."
Donna came to the basement, bringing back the VCR with her.
"Hyde! Where were you!? I waited for you all night long."
"Whoa Donna– Your boyfriend's here. Be more subtle about
your desire for me." I teased.
"She doesn't have any desire for you." Eric replied with disbelief. "Do you?" He turned to Donna.
"What– NO!" Donna snapped. "I want to talk about the movie."
"Oh, is it that disappointing?" I asked worriedly.
"No you bastard! It's really good! It's great even! I really enjoyed
the movie!" She smiled in excitement.
I shrugged and said, "It's not complete yet."
"But the story is really good. And the way you bring it to life is
really amazing. I don't know you can show Shell Shock that
way."
Eric laughed and said, "Donna. Since you're the one who wrote
the movie, aren't you just bragging right now?"
She burst into laughter and said, "What– Alright, I'm bragging a
little bit." She played along with his joke.
I scowled and said, "Don't be lovey-dovey in front of me. It's
barely 9 right now."
"Nine?" Eric stood up quickly. "Then we should go to the
festival now! It starts at 10!"Auto Festival (1)
[Hyde POV]
"It's finally over."
I couldn't help but crack a huge grin as I saw the bustling festival. There
were no fences, except for the concert venue.
The stalls were arranged in a rectangular formation, and there were
seats for people to rest in the middle of the park.
On this day, I wore a simple denim jacket and jeans. I also wore my Blue
Öyster Cult black T-shirt– oficial merch that my worker gave me.
"Hey Hyde." Donna called me as she had registered for the festival. She
got a purple lanyard which showed she has the ticket for the concert and
the autoshow.
"Hyde." Eric also called me. I waved at them and said, "Go have fun. I
need to stop by a few places."
"Like the mayor?" Eric teased.
I nodded and replied seriously, "Definitely like the mayor."
"The town council will be pissed off again." Donna jeered.
First, I went to the auto show on the side of the festival, located at the
transformed parking lot.
I walked to Tyrell who was holding a clipboard. "Hey there."
"Boss. You're here."
"How is it?" I asked casually, standing beside him.He grinned and said, "It's only been an hour, but people have bid on
almost all of the cars here."
Not only did I set up the autoshow, I also set up a silent bidding for the
cars. If they love the car, they could bid on it. The highest bid would win
the show car.
Rows of Mustangs stretched across the lot, each one gleaming like it
had just rolled off the factory line.
Reinforced chassis. Better braking. New custom paint job. New interior.
"Do you want to catch the exhibition?" Tyrell asked me.
"Sure."
I walked to where the crowd was gathering. One of my employees stood
beside a burnt orange custom Mustang made in 1967 and shared the
history of the car.
"—and this is where the Mustang stopped being just a car," Georgia
said, her fingers brushing lightly along the curve of the hood. "And
started becoming a statement."
"Around the mid-sixties, Ford Motor Company wanted something more
than just sales."
She glanced up, making eye contact with the crowd. She saw me and
brightened up immediately.
"They wanted to win."
A man in the back crossed his arms. "Win what?"
Georgia smiled. "Everything."
A few chuckles."Specifically—24 Hours of Le Mans. At the time, Ferrari had been
dominating it. Year after year."
She took a step to the side, letting the Shelby come fully into view.
"So Ford brought in one man to change that." She tapped the car lightly.
"Carroll Shelby."
Someone near the front nodded immediately.
Georgia caught it and continued.
"Shelby didn't just build fast cars. He built cars that could survive the
race. And drivers who could push them."
She paused and asked, "Does anyone know who that is?"
"Ken Miles." I replied.
Georgia grinned and showed a photo of Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles
which was stuck on the board beside the car.
A few murmurs now. The crowd was hooked.
"What they built went on to beat Ferrari. Not once. But repeatedly."
"And after that… everything changed." She gestured toward the
Mustang. "Because suddenly, American cars weren't just big. It's
considered a cheap, mass produced car.
"But with that race. They were finally taken seriously."
A guy near the back let out a low whistle. "Damn."
Georgia smiled, just a little.
"This car." she said, resting her hand on the Shelby again, "comes from
that era. Now, this is reinforced with new technology. You can check outthe new performance on the board there. Today at 3, there will be a real
demonstration on what this car can do."
One person raised their hand up. It was Bob.
Georgia pointed at him. He smiled and said, "Hi there. So I heard we can
get these cars?"
"Yes. You can bid on them. Just write your name, number and bidding
price on these small papers." She showed the forms she picked next to
the car. "And give it to the head foreman. The winner will be announced
tomorrow before the festival closes."
Bob was excited and said, "Good to know."
I walked to him and asked, "Bob. You just bought a car."
"Oh. Hey. Hyde. No, but this one is patriotic. I didn't know that thing
about the Ferrari."
Bob's patriotism was activated with the story. Hopefully, a lot more
people would react the same way as Bob, so we could sell more cars.
There were 52 cars being displayed right now. Since it was modified, the
base price of each was around 4000 dollars.
Some of it had already reached the high price of seven thousand dollars.
For a second-hand car, the prices were quite extreme. That's why I
prepared the exhibition, the history and the lectures.
Turning it into a game, tapping into people's patriotism, and making it a
spectacle all pushed people to bid more on these cars than necessary.
"Good job Tyrell." I slapped his shoulder slightly. "We can survive for two
more months with the profit today."Tyrell sighed and said, "Being in the red line every month, is really
messing with my blood pressure."
He turned to me and said seriously, "A normal boss would've lay off
maybe half of the people in the company. But you expanded instead."
I laughed and said, "Debt can be good. Also, just leave the budgeting to
me. You need to take care of your health. Otherwise, I'd have to marry
your widow and take care of your children."
He glared at me instantly.
"What? Anne is really hot." I teased.
He scofed, slipping out a laugh.
"I'll leave this place to you then." I said and walked to the other side of
the festival.
As I walked past the tents, some of the store owners called to me.
"Mr Hyde! Thank you for the set up. It's really comfortable here."
"Mr Hyde! Do you want a hotdog? Free of charge!"
"You want some beer, Mr Hyde?"
"Can I take a picture with you?"
I took the pictures and the free stuf. Finally, I saw a familiar face in the
tents.
"Hey Amy."
"Hey.." She smirked teasingly, "... The incredibly popular Mister Hyde."She tied her hair into a ponytail, wearing a floral top and three quarter
jeans as she sold the wooden necklaces.
"So, which is selling more? Your necklace or the hand lotion?" I asked,
sitting on top of her table.
She grinned and took out the skin coloured lotion. "It's my necklace, but
the lotion is also selling really well. Smell it." She put some on her hand
and moved it to my face.
I laughed and snifed it slightly. "It smells good."
"It makes my hand become baby soft too." She said with admiration. "I'm
going to buy 10 of these for myself."
"Pft– I can get you more if you want. You don't have to do that."
"Really! That's great!" Amy smiled excitedly. Suddenly, she saw
something and frowned.
"Heads up. My sister and Chad are coming here."
I turned to take a look at the girl who seduced Amy's ex-boyfriend and
got pregnant. My eyes widened slightly as I saw her.
"Oh shit."
It was the girl from the bar last night– Janine.
Chad and Janine stopped by Amy's tent with serious frown on their
faces.
"Hey Ames." Janine greeted Amy before turning to me. Her eyes were
intense, and slightly promiscuous.
Chad frowned and said, "So you fucked my wife last night?""Yup. She loved it too." I replied casually.
"You bastard–" Chad clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
Amy gasped and turned to me, "You slept with my sister?!"
"I have no idea she's your sister. Or that she's married." I replied to Amy.
Janine snorted mischievously and said, "I did tell you, after you finished."
"You whore–" Chad shouted at Janine, but she snapped at him back.
"If you don't want to sleep with another man, maybe you shouldn't have
slept with my aunt!"
"Aunt Rudy?!" Amy stood up, shocked as she heard the news.
Chad's face turned red. He stomped away with frustration.
Janine sighed and turned to me again. "So Steven. Are you calling me
tonight?"
"No. Mostly because I feel kinda weird doing it with a pregnant lady." I
replied.
She snorted and said, "I'm not pregnant. That's over like two months
ago."
Amy grabbed her arm and asked whisperingly, "Did you get an
abortion?"
"Of course I did. Do you think I want to carry that bastard's child?" Janine
snapped at Amy. "This is all your fault. If you didn't bring him back home,
I wouldn't have been forced to marry him!"
Amy was taken aback.I got pissed off and cut in, my voice laced with sarcasm, "Maybe if you
had kept your legs shut and.. not slept with your sister's boyfriend, this
wouldn't have happened in the first place?"
Janine gasped, fully ofended. She glared at me and then she walked
away. "Don't call me, ever." She gnashed her teeth at me.
Amy sighed in relief.
"Wow, your family's a mess." I chuckled. "Not on my family's level of
mess, but it's getting there. Your family is slowly becoming white trash."
"Hey!" Amy snapped at me. "Don't say that! That's like a prophecy. A
bad prophecy."
I laughed and jumped down from the desk. "Damn, I really thought I had
found someone to mess around with." I grumbled slightly.
Amy was taken aback. "Don't you dare call my sister!"
"What can I do? I'm just a horny teenage boy. And your sister is quite
crazy in bed." I joked.
She grimaced and said, "If you're horny, masturbate. Use your hand! You
crazy bitch."
I laughed and waved goodbye to her before walking to the other tents.
…
"Hey Megan." I greeted as I walked to the largest tent in the festival. The
goodies tent.
Rev It Up merchandise – sunglasses, shirt, cap, pen, were all being sold
here. Megan had just finished up a shirt sale before she turned to me."Steven. You're here." She greeted me happily. Megan wore a light blue
Rev It Up shirt, while the other people there wore a peach colored 'Point
Place AutoShow '77'.
"How's the sales going? Did I invest in the shirts for nothing?" I asked
her cheekily.
Megan sighed and said, "It's been going great. We've sold around
one-fifth of all the stocks. The peak time isn't here yet, so hopefully we
can sell everything this weekend."
I nodded and said, "How's the shirt?"
"It's really great." She ran her hand on her shirt slightly. "It's thick, soft,
but it's quite airy. So it's very comfortable to wear, even in the summer."
Smiling in satisfaction, I said, "That's great. What about the tie-dye
shirt?"
"Oh, that's been selling like crazy." Megan looked annoyed and she
glared at the tent beside her. "I even bought a few of those too. You must
be happy Steven. Both of your stalls are successful."
"Bold of you to assume I just have two stalls." I snickered.
I have a beer stall– imported beers from all over the world. Candy stall,
instant noodle stall, spray on deodorant and sunscreen stall, and a
photobooth.
The workers were my employees from all over my businesses that
wanted to make extra money at the festival.
Since the stage and the sound system alone took almost a quarter
million dollars– which was around 50 thousand in 1977 money– I have to
make sure to recover the cost in this festival."Hey, the command center told me to give you this." Megan gave me a
walkie-talkie.
"Oh. Great. I'm actually going to stop by after this, but I don't have to
now." I took the walkie-talkie from her hand and asked, "How's Talia? Is
she still sick?"
"Her fever's gone down. I think she's coming to the festival this evening."
Megan replied with a smirk. "So, can I have a paid day off whenever
she's sick from now on?" She teased.
I grimaced and said, "Yeah sure. But you're making it up for it by working
overtime for free."
"Oh damn it." She cursed.
The walkie-talkie suddenly crackled and the command center staf– Jef,
began speaking.
"Head's up. Burkhart and his family are going around the festival,
greeting the stall owners and taking credit for stuff he didn't actually do.--
Over," Jeff said with annoyance.
Megan's face turned angry instantly. "What exactly is he doing? Why
aren't you stopping him?-- Over."
I interjected and said, "Yeah. So, just let him do whatever he wants."
"What?" Megan was shocked.
I explained, "Make sure he won't be resentful that he's trying to make
trouble or anything. So if he's trying to claim some small credit, just let
him do that."Jeff went silent for a bit and he said, ""He's saying you're dating his
daughter—and that you take advice from him like a son-in-law. That's
how you made this possible."
"Fuck that!" I cursed instantly. "Where is he?"
"He's near the stage. At the beer stall." Jeff replied.
Megan laughed and teased, "So, you're going to go meet your
father-in-law huh? It's that Jackie chick, right? That's who you're
marrying?"
I grimaced and said to her, "Just for that, you're going to be working on
sales next week."
Megan flinched slightly and shouted, "You know I have no people skills!
BOSS!"
It took me a good half mile to find the Burkharts.
Town Councilman Jack Burkhart stood near the beer stall, dressed in a
full three-piece suit despite the summer heat.
He dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief, forcing a smile as he
greeted Randall.
"My good man," Jack said, extending a hand with practiced confidence,
"you've done a remarkable job here. Truly. The whole town is talking
about it."
Randall stared at him flatly. Being one of my important staff members, he
knew that Jack had nothing to do with this festival. But because of my
order, he had to play nice.
Jack's smile tightened slightly. He realized that people had been
whispering and looking at him with annoyed eyes as he's trying to talk to
people."Now then—would you be so kind as to angle that fan in my direction?
Just for a moment." He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "I'm
roasting alive out here." He laughed self-deprecatingly.
"Sorry. These fans are just for the staff members only." Randall replied
callously.
"Maybe you shouldn't be wearing a three-piece suit to a summer
festival," Pam said dryly, arms crossed as she turned to him.
Jack didn't even turn to her.
"Presentation, Pamela," he said smoothly. "People expect a certain
standard from their public oficials."
Jackie batted her eyes nervously. She saw Donna waving at her from
afar. "Dad, can I go meet my friends now?"
Jack waved absently at a passing couple, his smile instantly switching
back on. "In a moment, sweetheart."
He leaned slightly toward her without breaking his grin. "We're making
appearances. So that the poor people know that we're supporting them."
Jackie nodded, fully supportive of her dad. "Okay. I'll wait for a while
longer."
Pam grimaced and said, "Jack, I want to go to the stage."
"In a second hun. It's important we show support for local enterprises."
"You can go once we've made our rounds," Jack continued, lowering his
voice again. "These people vote. It's important for them to see us if I
want to be Mayor next year.""Daddy! You're finally going to the elections?" Jackie clasped her hand,
excited.
Jackie looked at her with afection and said, "If everything goes well, I
will stay in this town for a year or two. Then, I'll have enough footing to
start my career in Chicago."
I finally caught up with the Burkharts. "Councilman." I called from behind
them.
Jack turned to me with a genial smile on his face. "Oh. Steven Hyde. My
daughter's future husband."
"Daddy!" Jackie whined. She blushed and said, "We're not even dating
yet."
"You're not? I can finally be at ease when you tell me you're no longer
dating that kettlehead Micheal Kelso." Jack grimaced slightly. "You're not
still hanging out with that boy, are you?"
"Um. No?" Jackie replied hesitantly.
"She hung out with him everyday. That's also why I'm not dating her.
She's really hung up on that kettlehead." I interjected.
"Jackie." Jackie threw his head backwards, his blood pressure rising.
Jackie gasped and said, "NO! Daddy! It's not like that!"
Pam Burkhart greeted me and said, "Hello Steven."
I froze slightly as I saw her. The actress playing Jackie's mom was
Brooke Shields.She has perfectly tanned skin, beautiful blown out hair, and no brassiere
even with the loose silk top. Most men in the crowd would stare at her for
as long as they could to admire her beauty.
"Mrs Burkhart. It's the first time you remember my name." I shook her
hand slightly.
She laughed and said, "I remember everyone's name– as long as they
were on TV." She touched my arm and said, "Are you still working on the
TV program?"
"Pam." Jack called her firmly and said, "Don't bother that boy. He
must've been so busy already."
Jackie ran towards me and grabbed my arm, hugging it tightly. "Mom,
dad. I think it's better for me to walk around with Steven, right? It'll look
good for all of us if I do that."
"Oh. Honey, but mommy wants to see the stage." Mrs Burkhart said
pitifully.
Jackie turned to me and asked, "Steven. Can my mom see the stage?""Hey, as long as you stop introducing me as your future son-in-law, I can
do that as a favor to you."
"Really?! Great!" Pam agreed instantly.
"I think I'm going to go back home and change. It's a really bad decision
for me to come here wearing this suit." Jack said begrudgingly. "I think a
blazer is already enough. Steven. I'll leave my wife and daughter in your
hands."
He shook my hand and left.
I sighed in exasperation as I turned at the two bright eyes, narcissistic
women who's staring intensely at me.
"Alright. Let's take a look at the stage."
Chapter 108: Auto Festival (2)
[Hyde POV]
"Here is the stage."
I led the two girls to the front of the stage.
The stage stretched wide across the edge of the field, a raised platform
of dark wood and steel that stood higher than a man's chest.
Thick metal trusses framed it from the ground up, forming a rigid
skeleton that held everything in place. Overhead, a horizontal grid of
beams supported rows of lighting fixtures.
Black drapes hung behind the structure, absorbing the light and hiding
the framework beyond, giving the stage a clean, solid backdrop."What's behind there?" Jackie asked as she looked toward the drapes.
"Equipment and some space for the staff to work," I said casually. "A bit
deeper in, there's a waiting room for the band to get ready."
"Really?" Pam's eyes lit up. "Can we go and see it?"
"We can go, but it's going to be empty. They won't be here until around
three."
"Oh," Pam said, disappointed.
Jackie grabbed my hand. "Hey, Steven. When they come, can I go
backstage to meet them?"
I sighed. "Alright then. I guess I can bring you, since I'm already bringing
Big Red and Forman with me."
Jackie grumbled. "Why are they coming?"
"Because they asked?" I looked at her, confused.
Pam suddenly asked, "What's that?"
On either side, tall speaker stacks rose in vertical columns, layered and
symmetrical, their fronts angled slightly downward toward the field.
Further out, additional speaker towers stood apart from the main
structure, aligned in a straight line across the open space.
"Those are the speakers. Hopefully they'll be enough for fifteen thousand
people." I looked at them with satisfaction.
I didn't even use Build Mode for the stage setup.I let Leslie handle everything and checked it all with Appraisal. Since
there were clear instructions from the company I bought the stage from,
the installation turned out pretty well.
I only helped with the sound tuning to make sure there was no lag or
crackling in the speakers.
"This looks really professional," Pam said with a smile. "Can I test it out?"
"You want to sing?" I asked, surprised.
"No. Not sing." Pam laughed. "Just talk into the microphone a bit."
"Umm…" I hesitated. "Ask Leslie. She's in charge of the stage."
"Who's Leslie?" Jackie asked, slightly jealous.
I smirked. "The organizer."
"There's a guitar here. And a piano. Even drums. So the musicians don't
need to bring their own equipment?" Jackie asked.
"They can. This was just for yesterday's sound setup. Technically… all of
this is mine." I smirked.
At the rear of the platform, a raised riser held a full drum kit, centered
and elevated above the rest. In front of it, microphone stands were
positioned along the front edge, evenly spaced.
To one side, amplifiers were stacked neatly beside guitars resting upright
on stands, their cables coiled tightly at their bases. On the opposite side,
a keyboard setup sat on a double-tier stand, with a synthesizer mounted
above it at a slight angle.
Cables ran along the floor in straight, deliberate lines, secured and
guided toward the back of the stage, where a narrow access path led
behind the drapes.A set of stairs on one side connected the platform to the ground,
reinforced with metal railings.
As I walked to the front, there were numerous metal railings set up to
ensure the crowd wouldn't storm the stage. Once the show started, a
team of guards would stand in the gap to protect the artists.
"We should go back now," I told them.
"Come on. Just a little bit," Pam begged. "I just want to experience
standing in front of the stage. Just… one song?"
"I can't—"
"I'll close my eyes whenever she tries to bring you back to our place after
this," Pam said.
"MOM!" Jackie was embarrassed.
I sighed and turned to Jackie. She made a cute face and begged,
"Please. For my mom? Just this once."
"Fine." I sighed. "I'll let you sing one song. What song do you want?"
"Oh. How about The Monkees—'I'm a Believer'?" Pam suggested
excitedly.
"I'll see if they have the tape. Just stand at the mic."
Jackie pulled my sleeve before I could go. "Look, it's everyone."
Forman, Donna, Kelso, Fez, and Laurie were standing by the railing,
watching us.
I waved at them slightly."I'll watch it from down there," Jackie said casually and left the stage.
I walked to the control panel and took out my phone. "Thank God the
AUX cord works here. Let's see… The Monkees… 'I'm a Believer'
karaoke version. This should be good enough."
I didn't put the speakers at full volume—just enough for the people near
the railing to hear it.
Pam grabbed the microphone excitedly. I gave her a thumbs-up, and she
returned an "okay" sign.
Since the song had a quick start, Pam missed the first lyric. She rushed
into it, but without any intonation, like she was speaking instead of
singing.
"I thought love was only true in fairy tales. Meant for someone else, but
not for me. Ah, love was out to get me. Um… that's the way it seemed.
Disappointment haunted all my dreams… uh."
"Oh my God. She's bombing." Jackie covered her face in
embarrassment.
Pam forced a smile and moved into the chorus. "Then I saw my face,
now I'm a believer! Not a trace of doubt in my mind… I'm in love (mm,
oh)... I'm a believer, I couldn't leave me if I tried."
"Huh?" I frowned and checked the lyrics again. It seemed like she had
changed a few of the words.
Pam gave up and turned to me, asking me to stop the song.
I did and walked back to her. "Well, you gave it a shot."
"Um… the song's too dificult. Can I try something else?" Pam asked
shyly."I don't think so. I still need to go check on the games and the—"
Kelso shouted from the ground. "Hyde! Let her sing another song!"
Fez shouted, "You come here!"
Pam turned to me excitedly.
"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "What song do you want?"
"How about 'At Last' by Etta James?" she asked.
"Um… how about 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'? I don't have 'At Last.'"
"Sure. That's fine too," Pam agreed.
I set up my phone to play just one song and went down to the crowd with
my friends.
Around a hundred people had gathered there, mostly men, which
confused me.
"What is it?" I asked Kelso.
He grabbed me and turned me around immediately, whispering, "Feast
your eyes on the wonders of Jackie's mom's boobs."
My eyes widened slightly as I saw Pam singing. The lights were hitting
her blouse just right from behind, making it almost transparent.
Pam opened her hands wide, propping her chest up, closing her eyes as
she sang.
"♫♪ Stars shining bright above you! Night breezes seem to whisper, "I
love you"! Birds singin' in the sycamore tree! Dream a little dream of
me..♫♪""This is amazing," Eric said with an intoxicated expression.
"Really? She's singing really badly." Donna looked at Eric in confusion.
Jackie stared intensely at me. "Steven. Do you want to walk around the
festival together?"
"I—"
"You remember we had a deal? Have a magical summer together? We
need to keep up appearances if I want to trick everyone."
I sighed. "Fine."
Jackie giggled and grabbed my arm giddily.
"♫♪ Say "nighty-night" and kiss me! Just hold me tight and tell me
you'll miss me!While I'm alone, and blue as can be! Dream a little
dream of me~♫♪"
"♫♪ Stars fading, but I linger on, dear! Still craving your kiss! I'm
longing to linger 'til dawn, dear! Just saying this♫♪"
More and more people started coming to the stage. Mostly men. Some
girls saw what the men saw and gasped.
"♫♪Sweet dreams, 'til sunbeams nd you! Sweet dreams, that leave all
worries behind you! But in your dreams, whatever they be! Dream a
little dream of me♫♪"
Pam finished singing and the crowd applauded her. She smiled in
satisfaction and said, "Thank you! Thank you everyone! Do you want to
hear another song?!"
"YES!" Kelso, Fez, Eric, and every man over there shouted their answer.I grimaced as I walked to the stage again and pushed Pam away from
the microphone.
I turned to the crowd and spoke into the microphone, "The concert isn't
starting yet. So go back to the festival. Do check out the goodies section
and the autoshow at 3."
People exclaimed in disappointment.
I added, "We have food from all over the world, so check that out too.
Enjoy the festival. Have a good day everyone."
After waving at them, I rejoined my friend group.
Pam was annoyed at me. "I'm no longer going to be gracing this place
with my presence."
"There's a photo studio here we hadn't checked out yet mom." Jackie
placated Pam.
"Okay. Let's go take some pictures." Pam laughed and her mood
brightened up instantly.
…
Everyone went together to the photo studio. I had set up a few
backdrops for people to choose from.
The festival name and a really wild Mustang car next to it, the concert
stage, and the picture of the Point Place town.
"Damn. 5 dollars for one picture. This is a scam." Fez said angrily as he
saw the price tag.
"You can get it within 10 minutes, and it's very high quality." I told Fez.Linda walked towards us with a huge smile on her face. She saw me and
said, "Steven! You're here! I've been waiting for you all morning."
Jackie got jealous again.
"Wait. Linda from the concert?" Eric was surprised when he saw her.
Donna greeted Linda happily with a hug. "It's so nice to see you again."
Jackie grabbed my arm and hugged it tightly. "Steven, why don't we take
a picture first? Just the two of us."
"Then, a group picture." Fez said quickly.
"Wait. Where's Laurie?" Kelso finally realized his girlfriend was gone.
"Who cares!?" Eric exclaimed.
We took several pictures together. Donna and Eric holding hands
together. Kelso and Fez aiming their imaginary gun. Jackie and I with a
peace sign on Jackie's ear.
Then, a group picture where everyone was trying to prank each other.
The boys only picture. And finally, the girls only picture.
"This is amazing." Jackie stared at the picture intently. "I'm definitely
framing this."
Linda called me secretly and asked, "Steven. Can I have a picture with
you too?"
"Sure." I agreed easily.
"No you cannot!" Jackie pulled my hand and said, "He's my boyfriend
today!"Donna snorted and said, "Still aren't giving up huh?"
"Shut up. I know that girlfriend is fake." Jackie said seriously.
"Oh damn it. Who told you?" I asked and looked at the group.
Eric and Fez flinched slightly.
"It's the two of you huh?" I narrowed my eyes on them.
"I- It's Fez." Eric pointed at Fez instantly. "I tried to stop him."
"What can I do? Jackie was being nice to me. It just came out." Fez
whimpered slightly.
"Simp!" I scolded him.
Jackie laughed and said, "Steven. You're really working too hard to avoid
facing your feelings. I know you really do like me."
My walkie-talkie crackled at the time. "Command to Eagle 1. Come in
Eagle 1."
I picked it up and said, "Eagle 1 here, over."
"Councilman Bruce from Kenosha is here. And also, there's another
person who wants to meet you, over."
"I'll be right there, over."
After talking on the walkie, I turned to my friends and said, "Got to go."
"Wait. Steven. Can I come with you?" Jackie asked.
"Do whatever you want." I said with defeat.
Jackie squealed and turned to Donna. "This is amazing."…
I showed Bruce and his wife the festival.
"You've built something here." Mrs Rockwell complimented me. "My
husband never did something like this when he was councilman."
"Honey. I'm busy with council work. I don't have any free time like he
does." Bruce whined slightly.
"You have too much free time. You even went to California to invest in
movies." Mrs Rockwell pinched his waist, causing him to yelp in pain.
Jackie giggled slightly and turned to me. "Steven, where did you get the
stage?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. I'm curious about that too." Bruce turned to me instantly.
Realizing Jackie had guided the conversation towards me, I took the
chance and said, "It's my stage. I bought it and will be renting it out for
festivals. Well, when I'm not having festivals around here."
"You're doing more of these?" Mrs Rockwell was surprised.
"Sure. It'd be a waste of summer and fall if I don't." I smirked slightly.
Bruce exclaimed in admiration. Mrs Rockwell whispered something to
him.
Jackie was satisfied and she looked at me intently, as if asking, 'Did I do
good?'
"You know what? I'll sponsor one of the concerts myself." Bruce said
excitedly. "We can make money if we sell the concert footage, right?"
"Well. You'll have to collaborate with the bands themselves. Yes, you canmake money from it. But there's some research you'd need to do first."
Bruce grimaced and said, "Why are you using 'you', when I'm clearly
using 'we'?"
I chuckled and said, "I'm not going to let myself get trapped by you. I'm
busy enough already."
Both of us burst into laughter. Mrs Rockwell giggled and said, "But as the
co-owner of the–"
I cupped Jackie's ear immediately and shook my head intensely at Mrs
Rockwell.
Both her and Bruce were taken aback.
"What– Co-owner of what?" Jackie asked.
"No-nothing." Mrs Rockwell caught my hint and said, "I'm just joking
around."
Jackie grumbled slightly. Bruce laughed dryly and said, "So, we're going
to see the dunk tank now."
"Do try the games here too. Also, make sure you spend as much as you
can." I made a money gesture.
He grimaced slightly while his wife laughed.
I waved Bruce goodbye as he and his wife went to check out the festival.
Jackie asked me, "Who is the next guest?"
"You know who she is." I said playfully as I walked backstage. "She's a
very famous singer."
"Who?" Jackie was confused. "It's not someone from ABBA is it?""Hell no. I have no money to call ABBA here." I scofed slightly. As we
walked past the curtain, the guest was already there, standing beside
Leslie.
Jackie widened her eyes as she saw the guest.
"Teacher Gloria."
"Jackie Burkhart! It's so nice to see you again."
The African-American singer hugged Jackie tightly. She has an afro, a
thick body and she wore a golden bracelet on her hand.
Gloria Gaynor. The singer who wrote and sang the famous songs, "I Will
Survive", and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".
She's an icon in the 70s, and canonically she's a teacher in That 70s
Show universe.
"And Steven Hyde. I really didn't expect you to change so much." The
English teacher hugged me slightly too.
"You too Miss Gaynor." I said cheekily. "You surely have more blings
now."
She laughed and shook her bangle slightly.
"Why are you here, Teach?" Jackie asked curiously. "Are you going to
sing at the concert?"
"I just found out about the concert yesterday." Miss Gaynor glared at me
slightly.
"Don't look at me like that. I did contact your agent. He said no." I quickly
defended myself.
"He did?" Gloria was taken aback.Leslie nodded and said, "Yes. You're the top of the list when he asked
me to find artists for the show. I called your agents seven times. He
rejected me every time."
"What– why?" Gloria was angry.
"I guess he thought this town was beneath you." Jackie said casually.
"Compared to other big cities, it's just really small."
"I agree with Jackie," I said, nodding slightly. "I mean, it's hard for us to
find anyone, actually." I laughed self-deprecatingly.
Gloria's eyes flickered slightly. "So, do you still want me to get on
stage?" She asked.
My eyes lit up immediately. "I do, but will you be okay? Shouldn't you
have your bandmates here with you?"
"It's fine. They are all here too." Miss Gaynor said casually. "I really didn't
expect my agent to do this. This is my hometown. But he's trying to keep
me away from it."
Leslie interjected and said, "If you're doing it, we need to sign some
contracts and move things around. I can let you go after Van Halen,
before the headliner– Blue Oyster Cult."
"So she'd be like a co-headliner." Jackie was excited.
"No. Put her as the closer." I interjected. "That way, we can close tonight
in a fun way."
Miss Gloria pointed at me and said, "I love that."
"Ah, I'm also going to pay you the same rate as the Blue Oyster Cult
guys. So you can use that if your agent got mad–""No!" Miss Gloria interjected angrily. "I'm not going to charge you
anything for this. How can a teacher charge her students if they want to
see her perform?"
"I like your style, Teach. But I'm still going to pay you. I'm the head of the
festival. I'm not going to take advantage of the artist performing here."
I laughed and joked, "Besides, I can't not pay the only female, also
African American artist who's on the roster tonight. How would that make
me look?"
Miss Gloria finally gave up and said, "You have really grown up Steven
Hyde. To think that you used to put fart pouches underneath Coach
Jeferson's chair."
She touched my face slightly and said, "I'm so proud of you."
Her compliment made me feel quite warm inside. She was our teacher
for over two years.
From my freshman year, to my sophomore year, she's one of the
teachers who always remembered who her students were and cared
deeply for them. So I have a lot of respect for her.
"Miss Gaynor. The auto show is about to start. Do you want to go and
watch it?" Jackie asked her excitedly. She followed Leslie and Miss
Gaynor along to sign the contract.
Jackie asked, "Also, you can give me your autograph, right? Do you
know ABBA?"
"This is really unexpected." I smiled in satisfaction. "Now, I just need to
wait for the concert to begin."