Locking In With My Life System

Fall break ended and the students of Silverlake High begrudgingly returned to school for the last half of the fall session.

The seniors especially found themselves in a bit of a pickle.

Afterall, so many of them had skimped out on their studies and had lived their lives to the fullest in their fall break, they’d completely sidelined their approaching exams.

Now that they were back in the school grounds and halls, the realization was dawning on them that they were actually cooked if they didn’t buckle up for it.

Clarissa wasn’t one of such students... but she did skimp out on some of her studies.

It was also why she’d hijacked Aiden from his class to rope him into her study session in one of the secluded nooks in the library.

”What am I doing here again exactly?” Aiden asked as he sat from the opposite end of the table.

”Being a good friend,” Clarissa replied without looking up from her textbook.

”Uh-huh,” Aiden hummed in response.

”And helping a drop-dead gorgeous lady with some mathematical and statistical jargon,” the queen bee shamelessly added to which the coal-haired youth replied with an amused smile;

”That works too, I guess.”

Clarissa finally looked up, a mischievous smile already tugging at her lips as she winked at him and said;

”Or maybe I just enjoy your company.”

”Study session, remember? Let’s keep the serial flirting in the cupboard today.” Aiden reminded her, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he pointed at her book.

”Fine, fine. Help me with this.” she giggled before sliding her textbook across the table.

Glancing down at the highlighted pages for a moment, Aiden asked;

”What exactly are you struggling with?”

”This section,” she leaned over slightly and tapped at the page with her pen;

”I understand the basics, but some of these equations and theories are starting to blur together,”

”The hell is one, independent and paired-sample t-tests? Oh, and did I mention a little something called regressions? I especially hate those ones.” she squinted at the text like she had a personal vendetta against it.

Reading through it briefly, another light chuckle escaping his lips, Aiden then began explaining it in a much simpler way a moment after.

Through it all, Clarissa listened intently, occasionally asking questions whenever something wasn’t clear and jotting down important notes into a sticky pad she brought along.

For the next thirty minutes following that, it was all focused work. A few minutes after that, their conversation naturally drifted away from equations and statistical syntaxes.

”Acting?” Aiden repeated, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.

”Yeah.” Clarissa chuckled, her chin rested against her palm.

”But I don’t mean Hollywood actress,” she casually waved her hand dismissively with the other hand whilst adding;

”That’s really not my thing.”

”So, what is?” Aiden curiously asked.

”Indie films. Theatre, maybe. Smaller productions, generally.”

This time, Aiden leaned back, genuinely interested.

”Why?” he asked.

”’Cause I think I’d look fantastic on an indie movie poster.” Clarissa tilted her head slightly, her expression playful.

”I’m sure you would.” Aiden reciprocated with a light smile.

”Careful there, North. No serial flirting, remember?” she teased to which Aiden then remarked;

”Sure, sure.”

”Seriously though. Why?” he asked again.

”Because I don’t want to be famous ’famous’,” Clarissa employed her air-quotes as she added;

”That feels like too much of a hassle.”

”Well. I’d have never expected to hear that coming from the queen bee herself.” Aiden amusedly remarked, though the hint of surprise in his tone was unmistakable.

”High school’s essentially a little playground compared to the real world. And I’m not interested in dealing with that big ball of yarn.” Clarissa shrugged, then added, a smug smile tracing her lips;

”Besides, I want a drama-free life devoid of constant scrutiny from people whose opinions I couldn’t be bothered to care about.”

”Valid reasoning.” Aiden bobbed his head in acknowledgement, a thoughtful expression on his features.

For a moment, Clarissa simply watched him, her gaze lingering on his visage a tad bit longer than necessary.

Then she asked, her tone curious as she picked up her pen;

”Enough about me. What about you?”

”Still figuring things out,” Aiden replied honestly, his smile relaxed.

”Oh. And here I thought you’d have had everything planned out by now.” the queen bee’s hazel irises reflected her genuine surprise.

”Not, everything,” Aiden laughed softly, his fingers drumming softly against the table.

”My~. The suspense’s killing me already.” Clarissa joked, her brows arched invitingly.

Again, Aiden found himself chuckling. Then he expatiated;

”I don’t think going down the route of entrepreneurship ever allows you to plan everything out.”

In response to that, Clarissa hummed thoughtfully, slowly twirling her pen between her fingers.

Then she replied a moment after;

”Fair point. Entrepreneurship does sound like one giant game of ’whack a mole.’”

”Pretty much.” Aiden chuckled, then added;

”Just opportunities and missed opportunities.”

”Still...” the lady tilted her head, studying him for a moment.

”You strike me as the kind of person who’d already have a backup plan for the backup plan.”

”Might just call me the caped crusader then.” Aiden joked in response, earning a chuckle from the queen bee.

”I wouldn’t go that far, though. I just sort of happen to figure out a lot of things on the fly these days.” he then replied properly.

”Mm-hmm,” she narrowed her eyes playfully.

”You say that, but I’ve watched you turn a school fundraiser into a functioning business operation in under ten minutes.” she pointed out.

To that, Aiden shook his head, a faint smile touching his lips.

”But honestly, I think that’s better,” the queen bee leaned back into her chair, her expression becoming a little more thoughtful.

”How so?” Aiden asked, arms gently folded across his chest with a knowing smile.

”Not having everything figured out.” she shrugged, her expression honest as she continued;

”People act like you need to know exactly where you’re going at eighteen, nineteen, whatever...”

”Surprisingly, you don’t. Heck, half the adults giving us career advice are still figuring themselves out.” she briefly gestured with an open palm and a little bob of her head.

”Such wise words...” Aiden teased her.

”Excuse you?” she placed a hand against her chest in mock offense.

”I’m wise all the time.”

”You’re also a bit of a serial flirt.” Aiden pointed out.

”Those aren’t mutually exclusive...” she flashed him a grin, then winked as she said;

”Especially when you’re involved.”

”See. Statistical jargons aren’t that hard. That’s a real-world application right there.” he flashed her a similar grin.

”Oh, screw you, Aiden North!” Clarissa remarked, her hazel-irises glimmering in amusement as she placed both palms on the table and leaned forward, eyes locked onto his;

”Keep ignoring me and I’ll grow on you like a mushroom before you know it.”

”Sure, sure, Your Highness.” Aiden dismissed her with a vague gesture of his hand, a light smile on his lips as he pointed at her textbooks and said;

”We’re straying off course. Let’s head back.”

Clarissa on the other hand beamed, a rosy-red tinting her cheeks. Aiden had begun calling her by that more and more in recent memory so she couldn’t help it.

Still, she managed to speak whilst tapping her pen against the textbook;

”Whatever you end up doing, though... I think you’ll be good at it.”

Aiden’s expression softened slightly, his smile warm as he replied;

”Thanks, Clarissa.”

”Now, now. Don’t get sentimental on me.” she grinned at him then said;

”You’ll ruin your mysterious entrepreneur image.”

Yet again, Aiden laughed softly, leaning forwards as he proceeded to continue helping out Clarissa with her studies.

...

...

...

The closing bell for the day rang.

While so many students were making their way out into the halls and out the doors to head home, a couple other students hung back, waiting on their AP classes to begin.

Aiden, naturally, was one of such students, his gaze skimming through the post he’d dropped earlier in the day.

-

TUES YOUR ADVENTURE

Assimilation it is.

The hawk’s heartbeat suddenly reverberates through you.

THUMP.

Its muscles contract.

THUMP.

Its blood rushes through its veins.

And suddenly... it begins folding in on itself with you at the center.

Your body begins to glow.

The hawk convulses.

Its digestive fluids suddenly stop burning.

Instead...

They begin feeding you, and you in turn, can feel something awaken.

-------------------------------

{SYSTEM UPDATE}

Evolution complete!

New Trait Acquired!

◈ Avian Adaptation

Your body has absorbed the biological blueprint of a flying predator.

Effects:Enhanced balance, kinetic control and reduced gravitational resistance.

-

New Ability Acquired!

◈ Aerial Lift (Lv. 1)

You cannot fly... yet. But you can levitate briefly.

-

Resonance Detection has evolved!

◈ Spatial Detection (Lv. 3)

You can now perceive the world properly.

-

Assimilation Successful.

Memory Fragments Obtained.

-

You ignore the memories for now as color floods your vision.

You can now distinctly perceive the world the world around you as any normal person would.

You roll toward the edge of the nest.

You realize how high above you are.

High enough that a fall from this height could seriously injure you, if not end you.

You are uncertain of how to get down.

Yet, the city below calls to you.

What do you do?

└ A] Carefully roll down the outcrop

└ B] Attempt to levitate down.

└ C] Geronimo!

-

Aiden was just about to head into the comment section when the door to the class opened and Mr. Lazlow walked in... five minutes just before the AP Calculus class was set to begin.

Pocketing his phone, the youth got up from his chair and proceeded to speak to his homeroom teacher about the decathlon.

When he in fact did, much to Mr. Lazlow’s genuine excitement... his system waltzed right into his field of view.

-

[Ding!]

[Exclusive Quests Updated!]

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