Chapter 30

Edward stepped into the billiard hall, where the familiar scent of chalk and the bustling atmosphere warmly greeted him.

His friends awaited him in their usual corner, and as he made his way over, they all greeted each other with enthusiastic handshakes, laughed, and joyfully caught up on things.

Edward had just finished a week of repetitive and uneventful classes. Despite the lack of any complex or exciting occurrences, he couldn't shake off the stress that had accumulated during this time.

However, now that he was with his friends, he felt more relaxed, and the stress that had weighed him down was gradually dissipating.

"You know Liam?"

"That arrogant cousin of yours? Yeah, why?"

"Exactly, my cousin! Well, he was in the class next to mine, and on Thursday, just this week, he confessed to a classmate of mine! It was so amusing, bro! I should've recorded his expression when he got rejected in front of his friends!"

"Wow!"

"How about this: do you know the female teacher in the sports department?"

"Who? Is she attractive?"

"Yeah, her name is Rachel. I don't know her last name, though. I forgot. Anyway, during the third class, she came to our class with thin clothes, and I swear, I can see her bras, and her skirt was very short, and her legs are so white!"

"Wow, I'm so envious!"

"Oh, my turn! There's a rumor that there's a girl who cries in the men's bathroom at school every night. Rumor has it her name is Annie, and she died in the '80s or '70s, and she was a victim of rape. Some say a professor was involved and that she was buried there!"

"No way, that can't be true!"

"I swear it's true. I checked the records on the internet, and there really was a girl who went missing at our school during that time, and her name was Annie!"

"Okay, let's change the topic; this is getting creepy!"

"Yeah, let's not talk about scary stories like that!"

The group chatted, sharing stories they had experienced, which made everyone laugh and brought a lot of cheer to the gathering.

Then, sensing the right moment, Edward decided to drop a bombshell on his friends.

"Remember that time when I spent less time with the group?" Edward said, causing everyone to look at him curiously.

"Yeah, so?" Jake responded nonchalantly.

"At that time, I mentioned I was working on something and wanted to surprise you."

"Come on, Ed! Don't beat around the bush. I swear you're acting like you're involved in a crime! Are we going to bury someone?" Alfred scolded playfully, drawing laughter from the group.

"Tsk, well, fine, I'm famous!"

"..."

Everyone looked confused, so he casually took out his smartphone and showed them his YouTube account.

"Is that an iPhone 4?"

"Isn't that pretty expensive?"

"Wow, Ed, when did you become rich all of a sudden?"

"..."

Edward felt a headache and honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He was showing them his YouTube account, not his smartphone!

"I'll explain later, but for now, take a look at my YouTube account first," he assured them.

"23,560 subscribers!"

"140k views!"

"No way, is this real?"

"It must've been Photoshopped! Ed must be pranking us!"

"Idiot! Don't you see the page is loading? How can it be a photo?"

"This... is this real?"

It was a moment of dawning realization as their eyes remained glued to the smartphone screen. Some speculated that it might be photoshopped, but they quickly grasped the reality as the page loaded before their eyes.

"It's real. It started a few months ago..."

With a smile, Edward nodded and started explaining how he began making videos.

Naturally, he didn't spill everything, choosing to keep certain things under wraps, such as his time travel, as that was his biggest secret after all.

But anyway, here's how the story unfolded:

He stumbled upon a YouTube advertisement for the Partner Program, which piqued his interest.

Eager to test it out, he decided to give it a try and began creating and posting content on YouTube.

After about a month, he received approval for the Partner Program, and earlier this month, he started earning some money from his content.

"How much?"

"Not too much, just a few thousand."

Edward didn't want them to treat him differently, so he didn't elaborate on how much he had earned.

Instead, he told them it was just a few thousand.

Even so, that was enough to shock them.

After all, they were only sixteen or seventeen at the time, and the idea of earning thousands at this age was unbelievable.

"So that's how you got your iPhone 4?"

"Yes!"

"And that's how you treat us at that expensive restaurant?"

"Yes."

"But you're only 16?"

"You're 16 too?"

"It's different! We can't earn money like you!"

"I can also help you earn money."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"How?"

"Well..."

Edward smiled and began telling them that he planned to create another account, and on that account, he intended to post different types of videos.

"What type of videos?"

"Skits! They're short, funny performances where people act out humorous scenes or stories, like in comedy shows or online videos!"

"And what are we going to do?"

"We're going to act in them!"

"Then how are we going to earn money?"

"Well, we can't earn anything at the beginning; we need to get enough subscribers and viewing hours first in order to join the monetization program of YouTube, then..."

Edward patiently explained the process to them for a while and then paused to let them process the information.

"Then what should we do then? How do we shoot skits?" Angela raised her arms and asked, making others nod in agreement as they were also interested in it.

"There are also a lot of things to pay attention to; first of all, the most important thing is to write a good script!"

"Script?"

"Yes! A script is the core of the skits; it must be unique..."

Edward patiently explained the key elements of making YouTube skits to his friends, and they were all ears for an hour.

First, he stressed the importance of a good script—one that's funny, relatable, and easy to follow. They needed the right words to make people laugh.

Next came acting. Edward explained to them how to bring characters to life with expressive faces and timing. He even cracked a few jokes to illustrate.

Then they talked props. Everyday items could become hilarious tools in their skits. Creativity was the name of the game.

Editing was another big deal. Edward explained how to use simple software to make their videos look polished, adding music and effects for comedic timing.

Lastly, they discussed locations. A good setting could boost the humor.

Around six in the afternoon, the group disbanded reluctantly, and Edward made his way back to his parents' apartment.