52 Chapter 52

"Haha, I still can't believe he got the duck. You did record it, right?"

"Yep, I did. He looked so serious too."

"That's a hard worker for you."

"It's funnier if they're not serious though. I thought it was funny when Felix fooled around as a dog. It really brought out his inner self."

"His inner self? Is his inner self brave? I read in an article that dogs represent bravery."

"I thought they symbolized loyalty and protection since they're humankind's best friend?"

"I read that dogs represent innocence and childishness."

"Felix is the opposite of brave. Did he not start freaking out in that one reality show when a cockroach started flying at him?"

"So you're saying you wouldn't freak out if a 2-inch cockroach started flying at you?"

"Good point."

"What do Ducks represent, then?"

"It's got many meanings. It can be a warning to not get too excited too soon or a symbol of sadness. It can also mean love, family, or happiness."

"It can also mean to take charge of your life and let go of insignificant things from the past."

"Is Jessica a duck then? She's the real significance of happiness."

"Oh, thank you, John."

"Of course. By the way, do you still have the flashcards? I want to see which animal I'd get."

"Choose."

"Huh, a gorilla?"

"Haha, that definitely suits you. Loving and caring but will get aggressive when they need to survive."

"No way."

"Did Charlie not think you were going to stab him?"

"Ah, stop reminding me of that shameful moment. I did not mean to chase him around like that."

…

10 days later, Wednesday.

"Charlieeee how do I solve this problem?"

"...Did you lose all of your intellect overnight?"

"My brain is just fried. I can't think anymore."

"Why? What happened?"

"I dunno I just didn't sleep much."

She grabbed my arm lazily and began swinging it around like a total drunkard.

"Haha don't hit yourself."

I frowned as she threw my arm at my stomach.

"Stop hitting yourself," she commanded looking very serious, though not so serious as she was still throwing my arm at my face.

Not a second later, Natsumi began bursting into giggles.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" I turned to Reed.

"Nope, it's the first time I've ever seen such a case of a sugar rush. Rather, it's the first time I've ever seen her have a sugar rush."

"What are you talking about?" She stood up dramatically, "I haven't even eaten any candy or anything or breakfast."

The rest of the groups of three looked at us.

We were doing group projects and it was fate's decision to leave me with the drunkard, Natsumi, and the clueless, Reed.

I sighed into my hand.

...

"Charlie," Blake called out my name as I entered the room we've been going to every day since last week's Monday. Even the weekend days were not spared.

"Good day, Blake."

"Good day. We have a few topics to go through today."

He motioned for me to sit on the chair in front of him.

[Modeling has gained 3.3 points.]

So far I've been learning a few things on how to position, express, and do things as a 'Model' should.

Though there are no rules, there is a standard for the models that will be participating in the Winter Show. Many of the world's fashion elites will be there after all.

I've also turned off my Silver Tongue and have tried suppressing the charm cloud telling me how to do things elegantly so that I can do them myself instead of relying on the system.

I think it'll be better for me overall and will improve my skills much more. Then, I'll just enable them when I get to the Winter Show.

"How do you feel about our sessions so far? Do you feel ready for the winter show?"

"Not very much. I've been improving but there's more I could be doing, I think there are still gaps in the topic that I'm still inexperienced with," I said and he nodded back at me.

"True. It is good that you can acknowledge what you're lacking in."

He turned on the projector that we've been using every day after Monday and turned off the lights.

The projector lit up his face and the wall behind him to show an orange C with an energy bolt in the middle of it.

Gatorade..?

But with a C?

Catorade?

Blake stared at my puzzled face and I stared back at him in confusion.

[Modeling has gained 3.3 points.]

"Do you know what this is?"

"...No."

"This is Crocodile. The world's biggest sports drink brand and distributor."

Crocodile… Gatorade?

Gator

Alligator.

Ah, useless thoughts get out of here.

"Ah, Crocodile. Will we be shooting an ad with them?"

[Deduction has gained 10 points.]

Dang is getting points for this skill hard.

He looked at me perplexed.

"Yes…"

He continued after consolidating his thoughts,

"You will be shooting an ad with Crocodile. They have placed huge trust in us, and especially in you. They're not very convinced you're going to be the most efficient and all since you're a rookie, that's why your role won't be that big. Still, they did not complain at all when we informed them that a rookie would be taking up the ad. The theme will be athletic and more daily-life, rather than intense sports athleticism." He passed me a paper script.

"According to the script, you'll just be riding a bicycle and drinking one of their newest drinks. Then you just have to say 'What a good life' and the ad will end there."

"Riding a bicycle…" I whispered in dread.

Ah, shit.

Fuck. It's the first time I've cursed in a while.

Ah, god damn.

I have to ride a bicycle?

I looked at Blake and he stared back at me.

"...I do not know how to ride a bicycle."

"..."

"..."

"...How old are you again?"

"..."

"..."

"...16."

He nodded at me. "We will go ride bikes now."

Abruptly, he closed the projector and opened the door. I closed the door and followed after him hurriedly.

Holy. Is he serious walking or something? Why is he so fast?

Ah, is it perfect body control or something? God dang.

He took out his phone and called Jessica. After two rings, she answered the call.

"Hello, could we take out two bicycles?"

"Hello. Yes, they're in the lobby."

"...You brought bicycles?" Blake seemed confused, and I was too.

"Yes. Did you not see them in the morning?"

'How convenient' I murmured trying to think of a reason why they would have bicycles.

Did they spy on me my entire life? Or asked my parents?

…

"You're an incredibly fast learner. Were you pretending you didn't know how to ride the bicycle?"

[The skill 'Biking' has been added to the host's arsenal.]

I rode around the parking lot with the bike with heavy concentration as to not fall.

In the past, my parents wanted me to learn the bicycle, and I did; but when I fell once and scraped my knee I never rode it again and as I grew up I forgot how to.

"I didn't know I would be this talented at biking."

Not that I am, it's just the system is a cheat.

Seeing as this body has no sign of such a scar, I take it Pangaea Charlie never biked at all or even tried to.

I slipped up and almost tumbled into the floor but regained my balance and let go of the bike.

Dangit I hate this thing. Even with the system, I'm still falling????????

...

"We will keep practicing the Bike a little bit every day until you're confident enough to bike while drinking a beverage."

There's no doubt about it anymore. I hate biking.

…

The next day Thursday.

So far, the sessions have been two hours a day, and usually after I go straight to the gym. Today, I didn't do that as we will be bowling.

The last time I went to the bowling alley was very many years ago on Earth and I did not do very well. Since then, I've always had the itch to go bowling since not only is it very fun to play with friends, I don't like being bad at games that feature a ball.

Odd trait of mine, but whether it be Football, Tennis, Ping Pong, Basketball, or a sport featuring a ball I've worked hard to at least be decent at them.

"Charlie, are you enjoying the movie?" Arlo sitting to the left of me whispered.

"Yes, it's interesting," I whispered back.

"I've watched it three times."

"What, why?"

"Amelia really likes watching this movie. Look, here's the part where they—"

"Arlo, shhhhh," Alex to his right shushed him.

"Wait, what's happening?" Reed to my right whispered and leaned over to grab some popcorn.

"Hey! Don't take so much." Arlo whisper-yelled at him.

"They're not even yours. They're Charlie's." Reed whisper-yelled back.

"Alright alright children, share."

They both looked at me and I felt someone slap my head.

We looked behind to see Catherine and Natsumi grinning at me from the top.

"Can I have some popcorn?" Natsumi threw a v-sign at me.

Reed and Arlo threw their stares at me.

"Don't do it," I heard them murmur.

I shrugged. A simp move? It's just the gym buddy alliance.

…

Ronan patted my shoulder,

"Charlie, I thought I would come out of the ranking today as the last place but today you take my spot in the leaderboards."

We were four people per alley but at the end of the game, we combined the leaderboards to form it into just one.

Honestly, I don't know what to say about my bowling ability.

I thought I had it in the bag but apparently, the bowling was not on my side today.

We were seated at a table discussing just how bad at bowling I was.

My first roll was a lucky strike, but after that, all the rest were horrible.

"Well, this is the first time Ronan isn't last."

"Also the first time Ella isn't first. Natsumi did you become a bowling machine or something?"

"Hehe."

"Let's play another one. I'll get first this time."

…

"Wooo! Charlie! Why is it that both times your first tries were strikes?"

"I dunno, I just get lucky I think. Watch me miss the next one, though."

…

"Do one for the boys Charlie!" Reed yelled at me from the other alley.

Everyone stopped to stare at me.

I shrugged and placed my hand over my eyes to blind myself.

'Strike!'

"What the hell?!"

…

"Another one Charlie!"

'Strike!'

…

Well, I guess this is how my luck turns out. If I just close my eyes and let luck decide my points, I'll surely win.

Dang, I should've thought of that at first. Just rely on my two stars of luck.

I closed my eyes again.

'Strike!'

"CHARLIE WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?!?!"

…

"Charlie…"

"...You striked every single roll with your eyes closed."

"Were you fooling around the first game or something?"

"I dunno I guess I was just lucky."

"Well, I'm last place again."

"Destiny, Ronan."

"Natsumi did you practice over the weekends or something? You got first place the first game and would've gotten first place this game if it weren't for Charlie."

"Hehe, I haven't played at all since last time."

[Author Note:

Hello!

This was just a rest chapter to transition into the more frequent time skips.

The chapter might have been boring if you were looking for plot progression, rather than dialogue and characters interacting so I apologize.

If you did enjoy it, I'm glad you did.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments. Thank you very much!:)

Song Recommendations:

nvr/mnd - are you losing interest? (feat. syn beats)

CUCO - Lover is a day]