Woogie Boogie Bugle Boy

A/N: Hey guys hope you've been enjoying the novel as much as I have writing it. I can't wait to go through all the Pre-War stuff and finally move on to the actual Fallout. I know some of you may be annoyed about all this build up but trust me it paves the way for the mc's success.

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(Manuel POV)

It has already been a year since I was enrolled in Sleepy Hollow elementary school. I entered the new classroom that I will have to endure for the remainder of the school year. The first sight to greet me this morning was Sharon and Frederick going at each others throats again with Alisson trying to calm down the both of them.

During my time in the 1st Grade of Sleepy Hollow I was able to deepen my bonds with Sharon, Frederick, and Alisson. We all became fast friends despite the usual bickering of the quippy blonde and the fiery redhead.

We were able to get up into numerous shenanigans that almost got us into trouble from time to time. I also learned a lot about Alisson despite her not saying much during the beginning of the year.

It seems that her family also owns a ranch in Texas, a cattle ranch known as "Red Hoof", it was widely known to be the largest cattle ranch this side of the west coast. She was also an avid reader with one of her favorites being Frankenstein.

Anyways as I approached them they seemed to take notice of my presence as they started to walk up to me. Frederick greeted me with an elegant hello as he went to shake my hand. Then there was Sharon who greeted me with a nobleman's curtsy. Sometimes I forget that these two come from old money, but then they pull this type of noble shit which amuses me to no end.

Then comes in Alisson with a shy hello and a wave of her hand. Despite a year of trying to get her to come out of her shell and be more open with us she still has quite the shy personality. As we finished our greetings to each other Ms. Ross enters the classroom which surprised all of us.

"Hey ya'll! I know you were expecting a new teacher this year, but it seems I'll still be with you all. I hope ya'll don't mind."

We all rejoiced because she was such a good teacher, and that's not me being influenced by my child body. She was incredibly charismatic and was a great communicator, I bet if we were to get her to use one of those vigor machines she would get a 10 in Charisma for her S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat.

As everyone got settled in we sat down and started with the lessons.

(Time skip-7 months)

As the year progressed me and my friends engaged in some youthful shenanigans such as but not limited to, hiding a frog in the principal's table, putting laxatives in the meatloaf in the cafeteria, and smuggling contraband items such as junk food and comics.

It was honestly quite fun to do these things despite my advanced age. I thought that I would have to feign my happiness in front of them, but it's fun to be a kid again. To just forget about the problems of the world for a little while.

This doesn't mean that I've slacked of mind you, I also spent my time studying various things such as computer science and tailoring. While it was seen that post-apocalyptic America had people wearing salvaged clothes, it didn't mean that they would just come out of the rubble spick and span.

So in my free time I asked my parents to drive me to the public library to soak up as much knowledge as possible in order to properly optimize myself for the upcoming apocalypse. I soaked up different types of knowledge on tailoring, hunting, survival, and even herbology.

These were the main factors that would help me the most when travelling the Wasteland. I could learn more about technology, weapons, and combat at a later time. For now however, I need to get the basics of survival down first.

I also asked my parents to enroll me in a junior red cross program that would allow me to learn the basics of first-aid. This of course, surprised my parents at first but they were excited about the idea as it had a lot of merit with it.

Along with all of these preparations I also asked to help around the ranch with my dad. He was apprehensive about the idea at first but after a month of nagging and asking he relented to my relentless questioning.

I was to be a stable boy, basically I feed the horses at their appropriate meal times and sometimes I have to clean up the shit that was left in their stables. It's hard work, nut it's an honest life that brings a sense of fulfillment to me.

I also spent this time getting closer with the other 3 a lot more. There were a bunch of birthdays, mine included, as well as some sleepovers and just general play dates that were organized by our parents.

Right now however I was in a car with Sharon and Frederick as we were being driven to Alisson's family's ranch. As I looked out the window while the other two were arguing again I noticed that out in the distance were a couple of abandoned oil drills in what I assume was a once bountiflu oil field.

Ever since the oil fields in Texas ran dry more and more American oil tycoons fell from grace. Some were able to salvage what was left of their legacy in Mexico and the rest were left to fade in obscurity, forever in the shadow of their once proud legacy. I was happy to know that Frederick's family belonged to the category of the former.

After a few more minutes of driving and continuous bickering we finally arrived to the ranch home. It was quite the sight to be honest, It seemed to have 3 floors and could probably be considered a million dollar mansion.

The varnished wood that served as the walls glistened in the blistering high noon sun. As I was marveling at the architecture of this building I heard a loud bang as I saw Alisson rushing out of her house with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face.

She stopped just in front of us as we let her catch her breath a bit. After a few moments of panting she finally looked up at us and with a gasping voice exclaimed:

"I'm so happy you're here!"

As soon as she finished that sentence a cloud seemed to cover the sun for but a moment, allowing a ray to shine solely upon her. As I rubbed my eyes to see if I was hallucinating I looked at the other two who seemed to have the same exasperated expression as I did.

We eventually entered her home, and I was quite pleased by the vibes around here, it was quite homely despite some of the decorations and trinkets that looked like it could provide a middle class family enough Cram to last them 2 lifetimes.

As we wondered through the house with Alisson giving us a tour of the place we eventually found ourselves in the backyard. They had a pool back there and a little garden table with an umbrella staked in the middle of it. 

We spent our time playing in the pool, wearing the swimsuits that we brought along. After an hour or so playing in the pool we were called to lunch by Alisson's mom. Eveline Duke, a woman that could put Marilyn Monroe to shame, with a perfect hourglass figure and cascading curly blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. She was a classical beauty with mild makeup and a mole just below her right eye that gleamed an iridescent green in the light.

"Come in now kids, I've baked you all a wonderful pizza pie!" 

Everyday I thank the Lord above that he created Italians.

As we exited the pool and quickly dried ourselves with the towels provided by the Mr. Handy, we all quickly ran inside the house and were greeted with the smell of pizza wafting through the air. We took our seats at the table, still in our swimsuits since we were all very eager to eat.

After a few more minutes the Mr. Handy along with Mrs. Duke entered the dining room, each of them carrying to circular platters with a pizza on them. There were two cheese pizzas and two pepperoni pizzas. After the table was set by the Mr. Handy we were joined by Alisson's dad, John Greene Duke.

He was a tall and lanky man with long black hair that was back to just below the base of his neck. He wore a pair of glasses with round lenses that rested on the bridge of his nose. He had numerous freckles that littered his face.

He sat down with us as we all chatted and ate together happily. After an hour or so all the kids and I went back to play in the pool. After a while I was thirsty so I excused myself from the pool and headed towards the kitchen after drying myself. 

As I got myself a glass of water I caught a glimpse of Mr. and Mrs. Duke on the couch watching the news. I wasn't really all that interested in the local celebrity drama so I started to walk away, but before I did I heard something that reminded me exactly what type of world I'm in.

"In recent news, as of April 14th of 2052, the European Commonwealth has officially declared war on Saudi Arabia."

That's right, it was finally the start of the war between Europe and the Middle East.

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A/N: How are you guys? Hope ya'll are doing well. Got to say I have been obsessed with Fallout recently and I've been doing a lot of deep dives into the lore of it all. Anyways, I hope ya'll are enjoying this so far, see you in the next chapter!