Chapter 7:

Ace finished up his routine with the last set of handstand pushups and quickly stepped into the shower, sweat pouring out of him like a waterfall, he had noticed that due to the extreme exercise, he tended to sweat a lot more, his body doing its best to relieve the pressure it was put under. He had started to add some martial arts exercises, he hoped that this combined with the flexibility exercises he had been doing now for weeks, would give him an advantage in his classes at the gym. His brain and body now worked in wonderful ways, he was able to watch videos or read books on the movements he should practice and his body was instantaneously able to replicate them, and with practice, adapt them slightly so they would feel more comfortable for his shorter frame, whilst not losing any of their effectiveness. He had begun doing them as a way to perfect his exercise routine but he had soon realised that it would not be a bad idea to learn how to fight, just in case he got into any scuffles at school, he was hoping nothing would happen but had no idea. He rinsed himself again, after rubbing his skin almost raw, he had realised after the change that he was quickly becoming even better looking, but in slight ways, his complexion was now fully clear, dead skin and any grease spots he had in his body were clearly shredded, a weird feeling that felt surprisingly refreshing, if a bit odd. In addition to this, his hair now seemed cleaner and his blue eyes brighter, they now seemed to almost give off an eery blue light that made him stand out even more. His grandmother had also implied that he should have a haircut, his hair now was extremely messy, and she was hoping for him to do it before doing anything else, so that was one of his plans today.

He put on some comfortable clothes and went into the kitchen to have breakfast, thinking over his plan for the day. The package was due to arrive today, but he was unsure as to whether it was all coming together at once or if it was coming in different packages, he assumed the latter.

He would also start building his PC, and finish doing his research on the high schools in his area, in preparation for his grandmother's message. He would also take breaks in order to study anything that interested him, and then, warning the maids of his impending package, stepped off into the street, having already looked at the styling salon he would cut his hair at.

He stepped into the hairdresser's, it was a large open space, decorated in a more antique fashion, with various spaces set out for washing, drying and cutting hair, all while leaving a modicum amount of space between the clients, it was clearly a top-end place, yet not as expensive-looking as some others. There were not many people cutting their hair, only a few men, and an older man that seemed in his early forties that was having a hot razor shave.

Ace asked for one of the cutters to help him and quickly, a young man came, he had an eccentric look, with a short-cropped beard and a weird hairstyle that for all its oddness, was still intricately done. He looked at Ace, over from head to toes and back again, as if measuring every inch of his body and face, then asked Ace to turn around and Ace complied with the odd request, he internally shrugged, letting the master practise its craft.

"How would you like it?", the man asked, in an almost worried tone.

"I don't know, however you see fit.", Ace responded, sure this was the answer the man was looking for.

And as he guessed, the man smiled, a wide smile that seemed right in place on his face.

He led Ace into one of the seats, preparing to work his magic…

Ace left the salon with a dazzled look on his face, the man had said the haircut was called a 'spiky quiff with short sides' and said that it would complement his head structure, and Ace had to agree.

He went back home, and to his surprise, found that various packages had arrived, he started opening them carefully, with almost surgical precision and set each piece slowly on the table. From what he could see, most places had arrived, and he could start assembling the computer. He had chosen the colour motif to be white and black, with some purple highlight, colours that would go with the decoration of is now proclaimed 'gaming room' without looking too drab thanks to the purple.

After assembling all he could, he looked at his phone, he had received a few messages that his packages should be arriving the next day but that his piano would still take a few days to arrive, and the process would be longer. As it would not fit through the door, they would have to disassemble one of the windows and use a crane to place it inside his house. The people that would do it would arrive early in the morning and would hopefully be done by early afternoon. He notified the maids that they would have visitors arrive in the next few days, and for them to prepare extra food and stock the coffee and tea cabinets.

He then sat down and started finishing up the research of the high schools, he thought he had already decided. He was unsure as to whether he would even take part in any extra-curricular activities but he had chosen The Gold Institute, a prestigious high school, alma mater to various famous individuals, from actors to businessmen and women and politicians. He was sure his grandmother would approve, considering she was one of the board members and one of the highest investors in the school's success. It had been hard to find out this detail, it was only stated briefly at the end of the webpage, embedded in an almost hidden link. Nevertheless, because of this, he was sure his grandmother would allow him to attend.

He had already laid out the various plans for the few months that were left before the start of the year, he would most likely have to also do an interview with the departmental leads of the school in order to complete his application. In addition to this, Ace was eager to start playing games and he would also start learning languages, he assumed that if he was truly forced, he could simply join a languages club, and leave it at that.