Locke silently condemned those shameless, vulgar classmates in his heart. If they hadn't brought it up today, he could swear to God he would have forgotten who Wanda even was.
And now?
Locke looked at Pietro—who had run to him instead of Sam Malik to join the football team—and asked curiously,
"I recall you passed the tryouts yesterday, didn't you?"
The football league, currently known as the High School League Super Bowl, had just kicked off, but the selection of new team members for the semester was also underway.
During yesterday's tryouts, Locke had been dragged along by Sam to lend some "presidential presence" to the field. This was part of the trade he made to solidify his position as Student Council President.
Pietro's performance at the time had been quite good, and Wanda had been cheering happily on the sidelines. However, Locke's attention hadn't been on the game itself, so he wasn't entirely clear on the specifics.
Pietro, who was the same age as Locke, shrugged.
"I passed. Then, this morning, Malik kicked me out. I don't think it's fair."
Locke raised an eyebrow.
Locke found it somewhat intriguing.
"Why did he kick you out?"
Pietro shrugged again. "He asked me why I wanted to join the football team. I told him that as the quarterback, it's very easy to pick up girls."
Locke: "..."
'You've only been in the States for a month, and you've already mastered the unspoken rules of high school, haven't you?'
In reality, it wasn't just the quarterback; the captains of the basketball and baseball teams were also very popular.
But... those were the rules of "Happy Education" high schools. Midtown High followed "Elite Education."
Wait.
Locke had a vague idea of what Wanda's personality was like, but was Quicksilver's personality always like this?
Locke flipped through his internal database. Information on Quicksilver was actually quite sparse. After all, despite being the "fastest man alive," his exit speed from the scene was arguably the fastest among superheroes.
But...
A beard?
Lack of sleep?
Dark circles?
Locke found a photo of Pietro from a certain film and compared it to the somewhat immature version in front of him. This Pietro had a beard coming in, but it was just a bit of stubble. No matter how he looked at it, the kid looked like the poster child for overindulgence.
Could it be...
Is this why Quicksilver was supposedly the fastest but still got taken out by a single bullet?
He was physically drained.
This wouldn't do. This was a bad habit that had to be corrected.
At the thought of his future brother-in-law dying pointlessly because of overindulgence, Locke's brow furrowed.
Wait?
Brother-in-law?
Locke shook his head, snapped back to reality, and looked at Pietro.
"Sorry, I don't interfere with football team affairs."
Pietro froze for a moment. "You're the Student Council President. You can't control the football team?"
Locke smiled. "Of course I can."
The Student Council wasn't subordinate to the Board of Directors; it existed independently and followed a "separation of powers" model.
To put it simply, Mrs. Corder was technically an employee of the Student Council, not the school administration. The school buses, for example, were entirely provided by the Student Council, with all funding and personnel managed by them.
"But..."
Locke shook his head. "The Super Bowl has already started. It's not good to meddle in football affairs right now. Maybe you can try again next year."
Regardless, they would only be in the eleventh grade next year. By then, Sam Malik would be in the twelfth grade. According to Sam's plan, after winning this Super Bowl honor, he would retire at the peak to prepare for Yale University—the "Cradle of Politicians."
After all, if he relied solely on grades, Sam's profile was a bit lacking for Yale. But with this athletic honor, getting in would be a breeze.
Sam was now considered a friend, and looking out for friends was one of Locke's defining virtues.
With that said, Locke looked toward the door at the Student Council President of Regis High, who had just been led in by a female council member. Locke stood up, smiled, and walked over.
"Rhodes! I've finally been looking forward to your arrival! Hahaha!"
As long as he settled Regis High, there would be no more obstacles.
...
Soon, after discussing the details of the "New York State High School Student Council Knowledge Competition Platform"—such as the resources and seats each school's council would enjoy—both parties signed their names in the conference room.
A moment later, after the Regis president left, the room erupted in thunderous applause.
Locke smiled at his team of council officers, all of whom he had personally promoted. He waved the twenty documents—identical in content but different in school names—and announced,
"It's done."
Everyone cheered instantly.
If this competition platform grew big and strong, it would be a brilliant highlight on their resumes. As long as high schools existed, this event would exist, and they, as the founding members, would never be forgotten.
There was another founder: Trinity High.
They had essentially bought their way in. But then again, they were Trinity. As the saying goes, compared to Trinity, Midtown High was at most "new money," but Trinity was genuine "old money" royalty.
"Betty."
"President."
"Coordinate with Trinity's news department for joint promotion. As for the press conference, since we aren't picking Midtown, don't pick Trinity either. Choose a neutral location."
"Understood."
Locke said to Betty, "The first month of promotion is the most important for your side. Don't drop the ball."
Betty laughed. "Don't worry, I won't."
Gwen added from the side, "I'll schedule a time with Aunt Finn later to see if she can help us out. Maybe we can get a spot for our news on the New York One evening broadcast."
Betty turned to Gwen, her eyes lighting up. "Is that possible?"
Gwen nodded.
"If all else fails, I'll go ask my dad."
If George asked Patty Finn, it would definitely succeed. As for Helen, George could just say it's for official business, not personal, and keep it on the down-low.
Ever since the special segment of *Exploring the Mysterious* aired, the show—which had been on the verge of cancellation—was revived.
Furthermore, Patty, who had seemingly reached an official spokesperson agreement with the Peerless Assassin, now held an even more solid position at the station.
Asking for a favor, even for a free thirty-second broadcast, shouldn't be much of a problem.
"Right."
Gwen seemed to think of something and said to Betty,
"How about you try to record a promotional video? I'll take it to show Aunt Finn when the time comes."
Betty nodded. "That's a great idea."
If they could use their own promo, it would be even better.
Betty said, "I can be the producer. Carrie and Wanda can be the hosts. Then we'll find a few photogenic classmates to play random passersby."
Carrie, who was sitting nearby, and Wanda, who had been dragged into the meeting by Betty, both looked up when they heard their names.
Gwen laughed.
"Do whatever you like, but don't make it too long. Just thirty seconds. If it's longer, I'm afraid Aunt Finn might find it difficult to accommodate."
Cindy also spoke to Betty.
"I'll go home and ask my dad. I remember one of his colleagues has a girlfriend who is the deputy editor-in-chief of the *Wall Street Journal*. Maybe we can get some buzz there too."
Betty's eyes crinkled into lines from smiling. Investing in Locke back then was truly paying off with interest now.
Locke listened to the girls' discussion but chose not to intervene. He only cared about the result.
He didn't care about the process, especially since this was the fundamental law of the States: a lawyer ensures you live safely, but connections ensure you live *better*.
...
Later that afternoon after school, once Gwen got into the car, she pulled her phone from her bag and dialed Patty Finn.
Locke wasn't in a hurry to drive.
Soon, Gwen said thank you to Patty on the other end and hung up. She said with surprise,
"I thought I'd have to ask Dad to step in, but she agreed immediately."
Locke chuckled.
People with ulterior motives—or persistent hearts—usually agree that quickly. After all, Gwen was George's daughter. And George's Achilles' heel was his daughter.
"Let's go."
Gwen put her bag away and looked at Locke.
"Let's go to Chester's restaurant to celebrate. My treat?"
Locke smiled. "Let's go somewhere else."
"Why?"
"How about we consider not going there for, say, six months?"
"Huh?"
"His old flame came back with him from Texas two weeks ago."
"..."
Gwen blinked.
"Old flame?"
Locke nodded.
This was exactly why he hadn't sought out Chester since the semester started, even though he knew Chester had returned from Texas two weeks ago.
Agatha Harkness was a legendary witch.
Moreover, she was now Carrie's witchcraft teacher. If Agatha discovered anything unusual from Carrie's power, and decided to... well, "change management," Locke frankly didn't know if he would refuse or agree.
After all, Chester was his godfather.
If his godfather's old flame became his subordinate and the truth came out later... it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Locke thought for a moment. "How about the revolving restaurant at the Empire State Building?"
Gwen smiled. "Sounds good."
Locke hummed in agreement and drove out.
On the other side, Carrie was also preparing to head home. However, as she was leaving, Betty walked over, bringing Wanda along. "Carrie, let's go to your place tonight. We can outline the preliminary concept for the promotional video together?"
Carrie froze for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
She truly enjoyed her current life. And she was more than happy to blend in.
***
Well folks we're at 412/500 goal
I'll drop 3 chapters if we hit 500 before Monday reset.
Thanks for the support 🙏
***
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