Chapter 11: This is Not My Limit

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Tommy Hawk, a student at Lincoln High School, which was a public high school established by the Rhode Island state government during the so-called baby boom of the 1960s, shares the name of America's greatest President, Lincoln, with thousands of various schools across the nation. However, it's clear that Warwick City's Lincoln Public High School is one of those rubbish schools that dishonors the presidential namesake.

Although its ranking is rubbish, the school's physical facilities are not bad. On the contrary, they seem to have everything, covering seventy acres, complete with a gymnasium, swimming pool, and even a campus theater. The school directs and encourages students to establish a variety of interest groups such as drama, art, choir, photography, cheerleading, guitar, the school newspaper, robotics club, mock trial, and even a Dungeons & Dragons club, and so on.

Sports offerings are even more robust with baseball, basketball, hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, and even American wrestling, among other activities. Last year, a ping-pong team was established, but its performance was somewhat lacking, with the best athletic result being the top eight in state high school competitions.

The school's original intention of encouraging diverse development of students is wonderful, but the reality is cruel. In more than twenty years since the high school was founded, the honor display room's wall of notable alumni remains blank.

The lack of notable alumni is a symbol of a rubbish school. In over twenty years since its establishment, with dozens of clubs and more than ten thousand graduates, Lincoln High School has not produced even one alum worth commemorating. According to this year's school newspaper prediction, the most likely recent graduate to appear on the wall won't happen for another three years.

That was a hockey athlete who graduated last year and got into Providence College. If he continues to perform as well as before and remains injury-free, then after college, he should be able to participate in the hockey league draft and is very likely to be picked in the first round. By then, Lincoln High School might be able to put his photo on the wall and boast a little.

Adding together all grades, the school has a total of more than five hundred students. Tommy Hawk is in the eleventh grade and, according to his own calculations, he should have completed all the credits necessary for graduation in at most another two days. By then, he would no longer need to waste his time every day on some ineffective courses.

No sooner had Tommy parked his bicycle in the parking lot than two high school friends came over to greet him from afar: "Hey, Tommy!"

"Hey, Dennis, hey, Pam!" Tommy Hawk, with a shoulder bag containing his lunch, greeted them back.

Lincoln High School has no concept of classes, only grades, and even the concept of grades is quite vague. Thus, the concept of being in the same class with the same classmates from the start of school, as in China, does not exist here.

Perhaps you are with a group of classmates in the last chemistry lab class, but in the next drama performance class, you might be with a completely different group. The advantage of this is that your social network in school can be very wide. After all, if you often encounter the same students in different classrooms, it usually means you have similar interests, and it's easier to become friends.

Dennis and Pam are just Tommy Hawk's friends, or rather, the high school buddies of the rubbish Tommy who hadn't been reborn yet.

"Thanks to your answer, Pam and I got an A on our math homework last week. This is for you." Dennis handed Tommy a Gatorade: "Thanks, buddy, you know, I have also prepared another thank-you gift for you. It was supposed to be a reward for Pam and me, but plans have changed, and now, it's yours."

As he spoke, Dennis lowered his voice, took a black card out of his pocket, and said as if presenting a treasure: "Heaven, a day pass to the Paradise Club."

Tommy did not reach for it: "Dude, you know I'm not interested in these things lately."

Paradise Club is a strip club in Providence, the dream venue for countless high school boys. In order to get in and get a taste of life, they have come up with countless methods.

A day pass is a daily unlimited admission ticket to the club, priced at fifteen US dollars. With it, the holder can immerse themselves in the club without limits on the day of purchase, for as long and as often as they wish.

"What? Bro, what's wrong with your brain? This thing sells for fifteen US dollars, a day pass that allows you free access to the club for today, where you can have a great time! It's just like its name, it's heaven!" Dennis, hearing that Tommy wasn't interested, spun his finger around his temple: "No man would be uninterested in this, unless you're a damn queer."

"I'm not a queer, it's just that for me right now, paradise would be a university," Tommy Hawk said with a smile.

Dennis glanced around, carefully stuffed the black card into Tommy's hand, and asked him with a righteous tone, "If it wasn't for the fact that I have found the most important goal of my life before I graduate and am about to achieve it today, and you helped my homework get an A, I wouldn't give it to you. Go check it out. You've completely changed over the past two months. Where has the Tommy gone who used to share magazine insights with us every day? Brother, you've fallen! You have to find the old you and think about one question, what did you grow up for? Surely not for some damn college? No! It's for the beautiful girls!"

Meanwhile, Pam gave a considerate reminder: "Remember to give the white doorman the password, don't pay attention to the black guard, and he won't check your ID if you say the correct password. When he asks if you're of age, you're not supposed to show him your ID but give the password, 'Bruce on Hill Street', then he'll let you in."

"OK, OK, thanks, I'll check it out," Tommy took it, waved it a little and walked with them toward the school building, laughing as he walked: "So, I didn't come to school yesterday, what's the news?"

"Of course, yesterday I spent five hours with Pam doing something big, pal, Pam and my moment of glory is approaching!" Dennis, with a porcupine hairstyle, opened the corridor locker, threw in his backpack, and spoke in a hushed voice.

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"That's right, definitely an event for the school history books, Tommy," Pam said excitedly in a hushed tone beside him.

This piqued Tommy's interest. He knew his two buddies well, Dennis was prone to exaggeration, but Pam was a typical homebody who seldom made empty claims.

The guy was somewhat skinny, with messy hair and thick glasses that rivaled a dictionary in thickness. He was quiet, and most of the time, either Dennis or Tommy acted as his spokesperson. He looked like the kind of genius who was academically gifted but not sociable. In reality, though, he had great practical skills but was an authentic slacker in his studies. Now in eleventh grade, essay assignments from seventh grade were still a big challenge for him. His future plan was to attend a community college to study culinary arts and become a chef, reasoning that it would make it easier to chat up the pretty waitresses.

To be honest, Tommy had always been concerned that if the temperature in the kitchen fogged up his lenses, Pam, who was practically blind without his glasses, might end up in the local news for poisoning or manslaughter.

"What did you guys do?" Tommy Hawk asked Pam.

Pam looked at Dennis, who placed his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture, signaling Pam to keep it a secret from Tommy for now as he began to speak:

"The title of Lincoln High School's most influential person of the year belongs to me, Tommy. Anyway, you really should…"

But before Dennis could finish, a man's voice already came from not too far away: "Tommy Hawk, come here a moment."

Tommy turned around and saw Lincoln High School's college guidance counselor, Ronnie Williams, holding a cup of coffee and poking his head out of his office, greeting Tommy Hawk.

"See you third period," Dennis patted Tommy on the shoulder, then quickly left with Pam, greeting Ronnie Williams as they passed by.

"Good morning, Mr. Williams," Tommy Hawk said as he entered Ronnie Williams's office and realized there was another woman present.

With light golden medium-length hair, a black suit, and no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, she had the look of a female teacher that matched every male high school student's fantasy. There was no denying that she was, to borrow the words often mentioned by the host of the American dating show "My That Someone," an absolute 3S-level beauty.

This 3S beauty was now smiling, looking at Tommy Hawk who Ronnie had called in.

"Let me introduce you to Ottilia Farrell, Lincoln High School's new guidance counselor," Ronnie took a sip of his coffee and said seriously to Tommy Hawk, "I'm sorry, Tommy… I can't help you any longer, I've run into some issues with my work, and I regret that…"

Seeing Ronnie Williams with a downcast expression like that of an unemployed man, Tommy Hawk was startled and then said understandingly, "Oh, Mr. Williams, you've worked at this school for seventeen years, I mean maybe the principal was a bit hasty in…"

"I'm starting a new job at the student safety and health office of the state government! Kid!" Ronnie, observing Tommy's sympathetic expression, suddenly changed his demeanor and exclaimed excitedly, "It's only a five-minute walk from the sports field. I won't have to worry about missing the Pilgrims Team's games due to traffic jams anymore!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Williams," Tommy first gazed at Ronnie in stupor for a few seconds, then offered his insincere congratulations, "That's really great news."

"So, going forward, your college admission inquiries will be handled by Miss Ottilia Farrell, and she will also take over some of the school club guidance," Ronnie Williams teased Tommy before turning to the new guidance counselor, Ottilia, and introducing him, "Tommy Hawk, this guy is the only one in our school who's taken six AP classes concurrently for the past three years! In three weeks, everyone in school will know what he's capable of."

He was referring to the AP course exams which were due in three weeks.

"Hello, Miss Farrell," Tommy greeted her politely.

"Hello, Tommy Hawk," Ottilia Farrell said with a surprised smile, "Sorry, I don't mean to sound discriminating, but I'm not quite sure what Ronnie meant. Is it unusual to take six AP courses at Lincoln High in Warwick? If I remember correctly, when I was studying at Andover Phillips Academy, there were thirty-four AP courses for the college preparatory track, with most students taking five or six as required, and seven or eight wasn't uncommon either."

"No, Miss, it's not that I can only take six AP courses, it's because of the lack of educational resources, our school can only offer up to six AP courses," Tommy Hawk replied to Ottilia Farrell, who had revealed her prestigious private high school background, with a wry smile:

"It's not my limit, it's the limit of education resources the United States is willing to bestow upon poor high school students destined for public schools."