9 Change of attitude

[+50 popularity, +20 admiration from students, +10 excitement from girls]

Jake fled from the students who tried to start a conversation with him.

He ran straight home, ignoring those who got in his way.

He decided not to attend his date with Teresa because he didn't feel like it, especially not to go shopping with some superficial girls.

Upon his return, he found the house empty. This didn't bother him, and he locked himself in his room to finish his movie.

But before that, he couldn't help but admire his own appearance in the mirror.

Jake was a white boy with black hair of medium length, slightly wavy. Everything about him seemed so normal; he wasn't ugly, but he wasn't particularly handsome either.

But when he closed his eyes and reopened them, sharp and sinister red eyes stared back at him.

How cool!

If there was one thing to admit about the Sharingan, it was that it had a very beautiful and cool design.

After deactivating the Sharingan, Jake decided to meditate because he felt very tired after abusing his eyes.

After only an hour of deep sleep, Jake woke up full of energy and continued finishing his movie.

After just one hour, he had finished it, and feeling bored, he began browsing social media.

His accounts were filled with friend requests and messages.

Five messages caught his attention. They were all from girls, but these five in particular claimed they would have sex with him if he agreed to go on a date with them.

How daring! He thought to himself, but at the same time, he checked the profiles of the girls.

While he was doing that, he heard the doorbell ring. When he went downstairs, he found the three women of the house.

For some reason, Roob was nowhere to be found.

"Hello," he said as he descended the stairs.

The three looked at him strangely for a few seconds before continuing as usual.

Diane prepared the food and served it. The four sat down to eat in silence until Gwen spoke up.

"Um... Congratulations on awakening, Jake."

Jake was very surprised to hear such words from someone who practically despised and treated him with indifference.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," he responded somewhat awkwardly.

At least Lena remained as silent and uncommunicative as ever.

After eating together, Lena went out to train, and Gwen went out with her friends, leaving Jake and Diane alone.

"It seems we're alone," Jake shrugged. "Why don't we watch a movie?"

"I don't know," Diane seemed unsure; after all, it hadn't been long since they watched a movie, and what happened happened.

"Hey, now you can't back out!" Jake approached her with a serious face. "You promised you'd be my first audience."

"Oh!" Diane was surprised. "Did you make a movie?"

"Of course," Jake flopped onto the couch with a smile. "Don't you want to watch it?"

Diane hesitated a lot about what to do about it. But then she remembered how her husband Roob had taken it out on her and her daughters for what he called 'being talentless trash.'

At this moment, he must be drowning in alcohol and lamenting his mediocre life.

Diane sat on the couch too.

"Okay," Jake nodded and asked for Diane's hand. "But before we start, you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"If you like the movie, you have to help me with a problem I have."

Diane didn't think much before agreeing. Whether the movie was good or bad, she already planned to say she liked it. One, not to hurt his feelings, and two, to help him with his little problem.

The movie began with Chris Gardner waking up his son.

Slowly, the movie unfolded, and Diane became completely hooked.

Jake didn't know it, but Diane identified a lot with Chris's struggles. The fights, insults, and humiliations he received from his partner.

Diane became anxious when she saw Chris being robbed and unable to apply for the new job.

Similarly, she became anxious when Chris was solving the Rubik's cube. When the taxi meter kept going up and seeing Chris had no money in his pocket, Diane felt like her heart was in her throat.

When he ran, violating his own principles and values, Diane felt relieved, but she still felt bad for him.

But in the following scenes, when Chris loses the machine, his wife leaves him, and he is arrested, her anxiety returned.

When Chris and his son talk about dreams on the basketball court, it moved her a lot. But when she reached the scene of Chris and his son in the public restroom, Diane couldn't hold back any longer and started crying along with Chris.

The song in the church seemed to give her strength too, breaking down in tears as well, not to mention the ending.

This part of my life, this little part... It's called happiness.

Even minutes after the movie ended, Diane couldn't stop staring into space and reflecting.

"Diane, are you okay?" Jake asked, a little worried.

"Yes, I'm fine," Diane nodded. "Just that the movie was very good."

"Oh, now that you've admitted it, you know you owe me a favor."

"Yes," she said as she wiped away her tears. "You know? You should publish your movie; maybe you can make some money with it."

...

Jake followed Diane's advice and published the movie. After that, he went to train in his room.

He couldn't go to the forest because he didn't have money for his food. If he entered the fetal position but didn't replenish his nutrients, he would only harm himself.

Since he only needed an hour of sleep, the rest of the time he spent checking his social media and starting to create another movie.