6 Jake's Crisis

Jake read the mood correctly and decided not to pester Daniel anymore. Luckily, it was also at this time that their homeroom teacher has finally arrived. Since Jake is sitting behind Daniel, the two of them didn't really get the chance to interact with each other during class so the both of them simply listened diligently to the lecture until lunch break arrived.

"So, did anything happen to you yesterday after what happened? I heard the meteorite crashed towards us! I even saw the broken glass windows when I commuted to school when I passed by the unshielded areas!" Jake exclaimed with much fanfare.

"Thank you so much for your 'worry'. If you really have cared about me, then wouldn't you have asked about my situation the second after the celestial event happened?" Daniel sneered at Jake's happy-go-lucky attitude.

"Rude!" Jake acted offended by Daniel's accusations and replied in a slightly sarcastic tone. "It's not like I don't care about you or anything, but since I was playing COD22 with my VR machine at the time, I didn't realize what was going on until waking up this morning! When I woke up and saw the status on your SNS was 'ALIVE', I simply assumed that you pussied out and didn't go to the mountain and stayed home like me yesterday evening."

"Well, it's always nice that my friend thinks of me as a coward." Daniel continued with his cynicism. "But I really went to the mountain yesterday evening. Luckily, I didn't make it to the summit, or else I would have been pulverized instantly by that stupid meteorite! F**k those so-called scientists who said that the meteor shower was 'safe'. I'm gonna sue them for the emotional damages caused when I saw my life flash right through my eyes back then!"

Jake simply shrugged while Daniel continued to curse against the scientists for quite a while. "So that's the reason you looked like sh*t this morning." He gave and exaggerated sigh before patting his palm against Daniel to 'soothe' the other from his pain. Though, he actually patted a little too hard on Daniel's back and almost made the other vomit all the food that had just went down to his stomach earlier.

"Sorry to break your bubble, but I'm afraid that even if you wanted to sue those scientists, it wouldn't work as they would always play it safe and say that there's a 'tiny, miniscule chance that the meteorite would impact on the Earth's surface', while encouraging people that it's safe for people to go outside to view the meteor shower. By saying this, the liability of getting hurt while viewing the meteor shower would be transferred over to the victims, since they clearly 'warned' us about the chances of a meteor strike." Jake explained with his technical know-how, acting all smug and lawyer-like as he schooled Daniel while using a hand to lift up his invisible pair of smart glasses.

"I was just joking earlier, okay!" Daniel retorted with an ugly expression. "Besides, why would I even want to file a civil lawsuit against them when I get nothing substantive in return even if I were to win? The most that those scientists would get are demerits on their work record. Do you really think that the government would sacrifice their oh-so-important scientists when they simply made a purported 'mathematical error'?"

"Good to know that you're back to your usual cynical self, Daniel." Jake laughed off all of Daniel's comments as usual as he moved his chair closer towards Daniel's desk. "Thank god the both of us live within the protected zones, or else we would have had to line up for who knows how long just to file the paperwork for compensation at the police station!"

"You've always been luckier than me when it comes with these types of stuff." Daniel looked at Jake with slight jealousy within his eyes. "While I was out there shi*ting my pants yesterday, you were happily playing games at home. While I needed to use my identity as an orphan to get an apartment within the protected zones, you won a slot within the zone through the lottery. Hell, a few days ago, you even managed to win free premium coffee for a year at Sanbacks!"

Jake simply shrugged and replied in a sly manner, "Maybe I saved a sage from a previous life, or my ancestors saved the world during the immemorial age? Besides, I'm only slightly more lucky than other people, I'm still bat sh*t at school! At least you can get a GPA of 90! Look at me! I'm still stuck in elementary Physics!"

"That's cause you don't ever try to study." Daniel sneered in reply. "While I have to get every chance if I were to succeed in life. Without the advantage of having a parent's connections, how am I going to get a job in the future?"

"With more than 10% of the population culled from the last war, there's an abundant amount of jobs available right now, so I'm not sure why you're so anxious about it." Jake waved his hand dismissively while showing a nonchalant look. "Besides, this is a meritocratic society, even if my dad is friends with the Secretary-General of the Federation, he still wouldn't be able to pull any strings for me due to the constant supervision of the Minerva System. On the other hand, since your parents were war heroes, I'm sure much more people will become sympathetic and look at you with a different light after seeing your resume."

"I don't need anyone's pity, thank you very much." Daniel sneered, even though he was inwardly glad that Jake have never been one to mince his words, or show a hypocritical look of pity towards him, unlike the many other people that he had encountered in his life. "But as long as we live in a human society, connections are always going to be important, especially since I want to be a politician in the future."

"I don't even get why you want to enter that quagmire of an occupation. To me, becoming a politician is like jumping off a cliff!" Jake exclaimed. "Constantly politicking left and right, never being able to feel safe since you might get stabbed in the back, how can anyone even want such a job where you won't even be able to sleep happily at night?"

"Well, what career path are you going to take then?" Daniel didn't answer Jake's question and simply changed the subject.

"Hah!" Jake placed his arms on Daniel's classroom desk before putting his head down towards it, cushioning his forehead from the cold surface. "I'm already fed up with my counselor and my parents always asking me this question, not you too? Can't I just enjoy my youthful years in peace without worries and think about it later?"

"By then it would be too late." Daniel sneered, always acting as a cruel reality check for his friend. "If you really don't know what you want to do with your life, just think of something you're good at and turn it into a career path. From your grades last year, I know you have knack for the arts. Can't you just become an artist in the future?"

"And what? Become a jobless idiot that only receives UBI from the government as income?" Jake sneered as he tilted his head upwards to face Daniel. There was a slight look of annoyance in his eyes as he continued, "Who would even give a f**k about drawing nowadays when you can just dive into a fictional VR world and enjoy being the protagonist of a fictional story? People would rather spend time fake f**king within their fantasies than view a random piece of drawing with paint slapped on a canvas."

"I'm sure that out of the billions of people out there, there would still be some who prefer to appreciate a piece of artwork than to indulge themselves in debauchery. Though, you're right about artistry being a niche career. Most artists nowadays are simply graphic designers that want to draw on a notepad from time to time." Daniel contemplated before speaking slowly, hoping not to dash Jake's dreams in one go.

Jake however, still felt a little depressed about this and spoke, "Well at least now that the government ensures every citizen would get food and shelter for free, even if I become an artist, I wouldn't turn into a homeless hobo like the ones we see from history lessons."

Daniel nodded and agreed. "True that. I can't even fathom how, just a little over two centuries ago, people are that heartless enough to allow people to starve and sleep on the streets while remaining indifferent as they suffer from famine and war."

"Well, war I get since we just had one 20 years ago. Those Martians really like making trouble for us, don't they? Even after the peace treaty, they still dare to mess with us…"