In Three days

My fingers danced across the keyboard as I navigated through pages of charts and websites of financial news, my attention laser-focused on the CRT screen.

With another series of clicks, I went back to the stock page, and scrolled, observing the labyrinth of stock tickers and price charts as the indexes fluctuated steadily.

Scrolling down, I stopped the moment the companies I invested in came up and sighed softly when I saw no significant changes in their market prices.

Today marked the second day after my successful and eventful trip to Vegas.

After the transaction was completed, the driver took me to the park, and from there, I flew back to my motel room and packed my things.

The next morning, early dawn, I took a bus back home and immediately started working on my next phase, buying stocks.

I didn't remember or know much about the financial market around this time but after an intensive amount of digging prior to my trip, I got the companies worth investing into.

They were Microsoft, Google, and Apple, future tech giants that would basically have their claws in every tech industry in the future.

So after dividing my one point four million into three equal parts, I spread it all into the stocks of these three companies which had a price range of thirty to fifty-six dollars per share.

Very cheap, considering their insane stock prices in the future.

Moving on, in the last day or so, I had been stalking the stock market, trying to find an opportunity to increase my funds and it hasn't been going smoothly.

But it was understandable. For companies like these, short-term investment wasn't the best course of action.

Long term was the best option, especially in this period, because in a couple of years, probably two or three, Apple would release the iPhone.

That alone was a killer move, not to talk of whatever innovations Google and Microsoft had in mind.

So all I had to do was play the waiting game. I just had to be patient and in no time, I would double or even triple my money.

But it was easier said than done, especially when my greed for money was at an all-time high...

The corners of my eyes caught the sight of the time at the bottom of the screen as I closed the tabs.

It was seven-fourteen, meaning I had sixteen minutes to get to school before classes commenced.

Dad had already left since he no longer had to drive me so if I was late, he wouldn't be able to save me from getting drilled by the teachers.

Sigh, when would all this torture end?

Switching off the computer, I stood up from my chair, took my bag from the floor, and slung it across my back.

I walked out of my bedroom briskly, climbed down the stairs, and stepped into the kitchen.

I saw my keys on the kitchen counter and grabbed them before moving out of the quiet house, and locked it.

A small smile spread on my face as I saw the familiar stylish black car parked near the driveway upon turning and sauntered to it.

It was my car, the Pontiac Solstice. It came from the shop a day ago...just enough time for me to fall in love with it.

Inserting the car key, I opened the car and sat inside, placing my bag on the passenger's seat.

I closed the door, sparked the car, and after enjoying the beautiful growl of the engine for a few seconds, pressed on the pedal and drove away.

The engine's edgy growl transitioned into a mechanical howl as I accelerated, the air kissing my face and hair as the car ran on the road, almost making my blood boil in excitement.

With a wide smile on my face, I drove along the roads, being careful not to break any speeding laws, and in no time, I arrived at the school.

The surroundings were almost empty with only a few students practically dashing towards the main building.

I slowed down and went to the parking lot, parking the car at a spot near my dad's car.

I got out of the car after switching off the car and grabbing my bag, closed the door, and skipped towards the building like the rest of them, my keys jingling in my hand.

My efforts paid off as I reached the brown wooden door of my first class quickly and taking a second to breathe and insert my keys into my bag, I opened the door and walked in.

The teacher was just moving to the board while the seated students were removing their books so I quickly stepped to my seat and sat down as the siren rang.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, the hateful part of the day begins, school...

•••

The classroom became chaotic as the siren rang again with students shuffling and chattering as they moved out of the class.

Grabbing my bag, I slung it across my back and followed suit. The hallway was packed and noisy as usual.

Walking towards the cafeteria, I saw and heard a bunch of girls or cheerleaders in their full shells, halting people and proudly trying to convince them to vote for Jackie during the Homecoming Queen elections next three days.

I chuckled at the sight of this and shook my head, changing my route to avoid them.

Homecoming, despite the general buzz and excitement surrounding it, made me uneasy. It was during that event that Sylar came to the school for Claire.

I didn't know if the butterfly effect I had caused would affect the event positively or negatively.

Maybe, he wouldn't come, maybe he would and this time, he would be far more powerful than the original.

Maybe he would come but not at the event, maybe he would just pass through town to another place.

Maybe he would be in town but because he wouldn't know who Claire is because she didn't make a headline this time, he would just leave.

The possibilities were almost incalculable and it made me kinda restless. But at this point, I wasn't scared anymore.

If he came, I was ready for him. If he didn't, then life would just go on. Still, I had to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Meaning, in the next three days, I was going to train like my life depended on it. No holding back...

"Hey, Xander." A familiar voice called me and when I looked up to see the person, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Standing in front of me was Jackie, with a bitchy smirk on her face, and an entourage of three pretty cheerleaders, all of them in their white and red full shells.

Now my morning had been officially ruined...

"What do you want Jackie?" I asked her stoically as I stopped near the lockers, my tone showing my uninterest.

"Nothing really, I just saw my old pal walking by and just wanted to say hi." She said casually with a fake smile, her voice stressed to make it sound like we were friends.

"Well now, you've said it," I took a step towards them. "If you'll excuse me. I have places to be."

She stepped forward to meet me while her girls also stepped to the sides, blocking every path.

I sighed at the sight of this and leaned on one of the lockers with my shoulder, crossing my arms beneath my chest, my uninterested gaze boring into hers.

"We aren't done Xander," She said softly, her fake smile widening a little. "Just hear me out for a minute."

"Clock's ticking Jackie," I said tersely and the corner of her lips twitched.

"So, as the most outstanding sophomore this year, I wanted to know I'll get your support for the upcoming elections." She said politely with a fake humble smile.

"I'll think about it," I replied stoically. There was no way in hell I was going to vote for her though.

"Great. I know you'll make the right choice," She clapped her hands lightly with a bright smile. "After all, you wouldn't want to be on the loser's side right?" She asked rhetorically with a meaningful smirk.

"Can I go now?" I denied her an answer and asked impatiently, looking behind her as I stopped leaning on it.

"...Sure." Her smile froze and she stepped aside. Immediately, without looking at her or any of her girls, I walked past her calmly.

"What a jerk." I heard a chirpy voice whisper behind me but I ignored it and continued my walk towards the cafeteria.

Hopefully, some grub with Claire would brighten up my soiled mood...