Locking In With My Life System

”Dàjiā dōu hěn xiǎng nǐ!” Mrs. Bao finally got around to greeting Aiden properly when their lunch break came around, the woman’s motherly warmth on full-display as she gently pulled his cheeks.

”You’ve gotten so much taller! And handsomer too!” she added as well, clearly proud of him as she stepped back a bit to look at him in his entirety.

”Thank you, Mrs. Bao. I missed you guys too.” Aiden inferred what she meant, a warm chuckle escaping him.

”How’s your family? Doing well, I trust?” the youth followed up to which she replied;

”Yes. They all came back home recently to spend their college break so the house has been pretty lively.”

”That’s good to hear.” Aiden smiled in response.

Jermaine, cool and suave as ever, came around as well, the man given the youth an impressed nod as he said;

”I see you’ve been working out. It looks good on you.”

”Thanks Jermaine. Appreciate it.” Aiden dapped the man up, the gesture perfect as they exchanged light grins.

”I’m guessing you just graduated high school?” the man then asked as they eased out their palms, his tone curious.

”Yeah. Two weeks ago, to be exact. It’s been a tad bit surreal, I won’t lie.” the youth responded, an slight hint of wistfulness to his voice.

”That’s how it usually is, you know?” Cody whom had finally served the customer he’d been attending joined the conversation, a nostalgic smile on his lips as he vaguely gestured into the air.

”But trust me, college will be more fun. I may be a college dropout, but that’s the one thing I can assure you of,” he placed a palm on the youth’s shoulder and shook it in assurance.

Then he ominously grinned and added;

”For your first year, that is.”

”The rest of it’s a meat grinder that will rip and tear you apart continuously,” Cody continued.

”Then it’ll sauté you with a barbecue grill and char your remains just to make a statement,” he chuckled darkly whilst shaking his head.

”Be ready, bud. You’re gonna need it--”

”Stop, trying, to scare him!” Mrs. Bao gripped his ear with her special twist, earning a low yelp from Cody.

”Ow! Mrs. Bao! Timeout! Timeout!” he begged, wincing in pain as he gestured with his palms.

”I was just giving him the honest truth, I swear!” he tried to defend himself.

Before long, Aiden and Jermaine found themselves laughing. Thankfully, they were in an empty corner of the dining area, enough that their interactions wouldn’t disturb those eating.

Soon enough, they all settled into the empty chairs, discussing a few more things and catching up on things.

Though Aiden didn’t tell them everything he’d been up to, he did at least inform them that he’d won the decathlon and would be enrolling at Pacific Heights on scholarship come early September.

Roughly thirty minutes later, Aiden and his Pops finally decided to take their leave.

At the same time, the trio of workers left the establishment as well as their shift was over.

Waving each other goodbye once more, Richard drove out of the parking lot, his vehicle merging into the traffic of the busy streets.

Considering they’d met up with every establishment they’d intended to today, there was only one other place Aiden and his Pops intended to stop by to round up their little trip.

A vending machine supplier just off Third Avenue.

Which was why Aiden was rather concerned when Richard suddenly took an unusual turn into a different street;

”Um, Pops?”

”Third Ave’s that way?” he respectfully gestured with his thumb.

”I know.” Richard simply smiled in response.

”Okay...” Aiden remarked curiously, his eyes creasing into a slight squint.

”So, where are we headed then?” he then asked.

”You’ll see.” Richard remained tight-lipped as he kept driving.

Knowing fully well he wasn’t going to be getting any answers from the man, Aiden curiously stared at him for a brief moment and then leaned back into the chair with a relaxed air.

Not that it stopped his anticipation from building.

Soon enough, the vehicle pulled up into the tush streets of Chelsea, parking just across from a newly built art gallery that immediately caught the youth’s attention.

Slipping out of the vehicle a moment after, one that had Aiden looking at his Pops in genuine surprise, Richard casually walked over to stand beside him, one hand tucked into his pocket as he said;

”I’m always telling you to pump the brakes every now and then. Do something a bit different from your usual schedule to keep yourself motivated,”

”Since you’ve got a knack for drawing just like your mum, and you’ve been journaling in recent memory, I figured it’d be a nice experience for you to take part in one of her favorite past times before we had you.” he concluded with a gentle smile.

Then, gesturing with a slight tilt of his head, Richard said to his son as he crossed the surprisingly quiet street;

”Come on, Champ. Let’s head in.”

Still floored by the gesture, and clearly unsure of what to say in appreciation for such thoughtfulness from his Pops, Aiden donned a warm smile and followed his old man.

Soon enough, they were within the white-painted, modernly decorated yet quietly exquisite halls of Mils Fleurs gallery.

It had quite the understated feel, one that lent it a quietly expensive air, and its pieces were displayed in a natural ambient lighting that filtered the sunlight through its floor to ceiling windows.

Several individuals roamed about, the casuals taking pictures while the aesthetes amongst them sat or stood before the benches, taking in the beauty and talent behind each work.

As Aiden and his Pops found themselves moving from one piece to the other every five to seven minutes, Richard found himself smiling as his son sketched a few notes at intervals into his journal, a sense of awe and wonder in his eyes.

Granted he wasn’t as inclined towards the art from asides from being good at it due to his line of work, he was at least glad to see that his son and his late wife shared a similar taste in hobbies.

”Not to demean the artist’s work ’cause it looks amazing, but I bet you could make something just as good, if not better than that.” Richard briefly gestured at the art piece they were currently studying.

”Yeah... yeah, I bet I could.” Aiden audibly muttered, a sense of realization washing over him.

Jotting down yet another note, he moved over to the next piece with a genuine smile on his features after a while, his Pops trailing behind him.

For a long while now, Aiden had been doing things that focused on establishing ventures that would ensure he was barreling straight towards retiring his Pops and gaining his financial freedom.

However, it was in this very moment that he realized he should also have ventures that weren’t necessarily inclined towards making money first and foremost.

Things that were solely for his heart and soul. Something he could be passionate about and would be a source of decompression for him whenever he got around to do it.

It was also why, after stepping out of the gallery roughly an hour and thirty minutes later, Aiden leaned on the bonnet of his Pop’s vehicle as he sketched the building and scribbled into his journal;

Mils Fleurs in Chelsea. Very first art gallery I ever visited. Has me thinking... I’d like one of my very own as well.

With a reserved smile, Aiden flipped the journal shut and looked to the gallery once more, his expression one of impassioned determination.

At the exact same time, his Pops whom had just captured a perfect picture of his son as he was, bobbed in satisfaction as he stared at the shot for a brief while.

Tucking the device into his pocket afterwards, he then said;

”Alright, champ. Let’s head on over to that vending supplier.”

Within twenty minutes, they’d reached said supplier, discussed pricing and then, settled on the day it would be transported to Silverlake High.

Yes. Silverlake High.

That, had been the second hub asides Haute Cuisine he’d planned to market Death Wish.

From the moment Aiden had decided he would go down the route of beverage production, he’d always considered his high school as the perfect hub to get his products out there.

If there was one major thing he’d learnt over the course of marketing, it was that word of mouth was the most effective form of them all.

Teenagers, especially, were easily impressionable, hence making them the perfect candidates to test the market and ensure that the word spread as fast as it could through social media.

That said, Aiden wasn’t only doing it because he was only thinking about his own gains.

Rather, he had purposely decided to donate the vending machine to his school as his own way of appreciating all they’d done for him... one he’d informed Principal Walter’s about the very same day he’d called up all the establishments he’d intended to market his product to.

Unsurprisingly, the man had been more than supportive of it, hence giving him the avenue to be the one to stock the vending machines first with his own drink on the day the product finally launched.

Now, there was only one potential hub left, one that would either be a hit or a miss.

”Did you just say Luna Park?” Richard looked at his son in clear disbelief as they both sat on the couch in the living room having arrived a couple minutes ago.

”Yep. I have a... contact there, who owes me a favor.” Aiden grinned in response to which his Pops kept staring at him in genuine bewilderment.