7 Approaching SAT [3]

The next day, I was focused on getting that blog up and running. I thought to myself, "Just the dreams I've been having solo might make for some pretty interesting chatter," and the fact that I've gotten a bit smarter should spice up my story for folks. So, I cracked open my laptop and dove into setting up the blog.

The backend action was a piece of cake. I rolled with Django, and with its built-in functions, it was smooth sailing. I cooked up a simple Postgres database and threw in some models for posts, comments, and user accounts. In no time, I made a REST API from scratch.

For the front end, I went with Vue, it seemed to be a modern framework. I skimmed through the docs at lightning speed and laid down a design that screamed "modern" I figured that'd be the way to catch people's eyes and keep them coming back for more.

During the time I was getting the blog off the ground, my buddy Alex took a different path and dived headfirst into the books. I guess he was worried about the SAT too.

Now, normally, he's the one getting better grades, so he never really asked for help, not even that day.

"Alex, have you had a chance to check my invite to the group? We're planning to go out the day before the SAT."

"Man, I haven't even glanced at my messages," Alex replied with a nonchalant tone.

Suddenly, Alex pulled out his phone and his eyes widened as he read the message.

"Yo, bro, I totally forgot to mention this, but Olivia came up to me after Math class yesterday, asking for your number. Looks like she won't need it now. What's up with you, man? Seems like you've been driving all the girls wild lately."

I grinned and gave Alex a playful nudge. "Don't worry, buddy. Your time will come."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

I felt like I needed a break from the lines of code. So, I spent the rest of my day knee-deep in Calculus I.

Now, I wasn't exactly a stranger to Integrals; they'd popped up in some other books I'd flipped through before.

But this time, I needed to really get into them. I picked up one technique for cracking those Integrals, and it was like unlocking a secret code. I could breeze through all the examples in the book without breaking a sweat.

I kept climbing the ladder, tackling the ones that required a bunch of techniques. I went back over those and knocked out over a hundred Integrals like a champ in just one day. It was a real math marathon, I tell ya.

The following day marked the long-awaited moment to get that blog up on a server. I'd dabbled in a book about system architecture in the past, but it never really clicked for me back then.

Now, though, it was crystal clear that you gotta keep your options open in this game. You don't always need to go overboard with all that redundancy and microservices jazz.

As much as I'd fancy diving into Kubernetes and making a web of communication channels while setting up secrets with Volt or something, I decided to keep it real simple. Just a couple of Docker containers – one for Django and another for Vue – were more than enough to get the job done. Sometimes, less is more.

After successfully getting the blog up and running on the server, I was all set to dive into Calculus II, the one with all that transcendental analysis.

But just when I was about to hunt it down, I stumbled upon a book with Lucas's name on the cover.

Now, Holy Shit, that cover was raising some eyebrows, to say the least.

So, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to do a quick internet search to see how this book of his was doing. Lo and behold, that crafty bastard had managed to sell over 10,000 copies in just a month!

'Why the fuck is he staying in this cheap ass apartment'

...

On the third day, I wrapped up the Calculus II book and decided to make a trip to the library to borrow a copy of Calculus III. The school was unusually empty, with everyone grinding for the SAT. 

Upon my return, I started brainstorming ways to hustle up some real cash.

The notion of jumping on one of the websites where you could pocket some money by solving math problems did cross my mind, no doubt. But let's keep it real, I had to admit I wasn't quite there yet with my skills.

...

At least that's what I thought.

Those comet dreams kept hitting me night after night, like a recurring feature film.

The last time around, there were a whopping six green comets and one standout blue one.

But this time, it was a different story. Two of them blue beauties showed up, and let me tell ya when I woke up, it felt like a sudden surge of heat just washed over me, like dipping into scalding hot water. 

For a hot minute there, I thought I was coming down with a fever, but just as quickly as it came, it vanished. What still remained though was this tranquil sensation, like I didn't have a single care in the world.

That day, after I fired up Fizy, a website where you could help students tackle their questions, even the university-level queries felt like a walk in the park.

It was like all the data I'd been soaking up in the past few days were connected together, creating clear pathways to solving those questions.

I went ahead and applied for a teacher's account on the website, and fortunately, all they really checked was your knowledge. I had a chat with a dude there and answered his questions.

Now hear me out... I gotta admit, that I did stretch the truth on a few things...

I didn't stop there. I powered through those Calculus books and even dove into an online "Discrete Mathematics" course.

But my thirst for knowledge wasn't satisfied just yet. I decided to crank things up a notch and added College Physics to the mix.

Gotta keep that brain running at full throttle!

Time zoomed by, and here we were on the day before the SAT.

I squeezed in a few blog posts, mainly concerning those mysterious dreams. Meanwhile, me and Alex were gearing up for the karaoke bash we had planned for the day.

I was decked out in a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a vintage graphic tee, and some high-top sneakers. Topped it off with a beanie and a trusty old denim jacket.

Alex, on the other hand, went for that laid-back yet stylish vibe. He was sporting a crisp white t-shirt, fitted jeans, and a pair of fresh sneakers. His outfit was complete with a sleek bomber jacket.

We double-checked the meeting details in our group chat and hit the streets of the city. Our designated rendezvous point for the Karaoke night was none other than "Harmony Haven," a trendy spot in the heart of New York, known for its killer karaoke sessions.

As we approached our meetup spot, two girls sauntered down the opposite sidewalk.

And my gaze involuntarily fixated on one of them...

She was dressed in a sleek, form-fitting black leather jacket that hugged her curves in all the right places. Her legs were accentuated by a pair of thigh-high boots with killer stiletto heels that clicked with every step,  she topped it off with some smoky eye makeup that added a touch of mystique. It was none other than Olivia.

Damn, I was not ready for Olivia to come through looking like a straight-up knockout.

.