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School Event

Mark’s morning started with vomiting once more. This time he vomited blood and not oil, although his blood was slightly darker than it used to be.

He made breakfast for his granddaughters, and Maria helped drag Melinda out of her bed. She had stayed up late at night watching the same Drama Series Mark had noticed them watching the other day.

After they finished, he took them to the school, which hadn’t officially started yet, but he had to get them there early for a welcoming event.

[So, are you going to use that event to find our first target?] The Truck asked.

‘He most likely will be there. But I have some questions for you.‘ Mark replied.

Mark knew that the voice wouldn’t help him much since he got more questions with each answer, but he wanted to learn as much as possible.

[What do you want to learn? Just try not to waste my time with foolish questions]  The Truck stated.

Mark wasn’t sure what he meant about that. What else was it doing since it couldn’t go anywhere else by itself?

‘Why is it that today I vomited blood while yesterday it was oil? I thought  the more I lost, the changes would increase in effect.’ Mark questioned.

He was curious about it, as his blood had an almost oil-like texture, but not too noticeable.

[What you said is true. The effects will increase, but on the first day, it had the most significant impact so that your body gets adjusted to the System. After that, your blood will become like that again if you have less than 20% of your HP. Other changes will also follow, but most of them will start appearing only if you increase your HP.]

‘I can increase my HP? Is that what the Level is about?‘ Mark asked.

He remembered his daughter playing one video game where the character was leveling up, and its HP would increase with its Level. But, of course, their HP was different in the game than what it was for him.

[It is one factor. There are other ways, but you should find out about them  after completing some assignments.] The Voice answered.

‘What about the money reward? How does that work? What do I need to do to get it?‘ Mark questioned further.‘

He didn’t know how much he would get, but any extra help at his budget was a welcome change.

[Just be creative and follow the Truck-kun way.] The Voice said casually.

Mark sighed at this answer since as usual, it wasn’t helpful at all.

Luckily,  he got into the school and found a parking space nearby, as once more,  since another truck was leaving its space. So it seemed like his luck had become better these days.

But then, Melinda slipped and fell to the ground as they got out of the truck to walk to the school area. There was a banana peel fallen on the ground that Melinda stepped on, and it made her fall.

WHO PUT THAT THERE?” the young girl shouted as she got herself back up on her feet.

“Oh…. sorry. My bad.“

Mark and his granddaughters turned towards the source of the voice and noticed a boy of close age range to Maria and Melinda. He was currently in the middle of eating an unpeeled banana.

His voice contained almost no emotions and had one of its eyes covered with his hair.

“Are you ok?“ the boy asked with his voice that didn’t seem to show him really caring about it.

Melinda stood up and wanted to head toward him, but her grandfather stood in her way. Mark knew that his granddaughter could start a fight at any moment, especially for something so unimportant, and he couldn’t have it happen, especially to another student.

“Next time, you should throw them in a can and not on the street,“ Mark said in a calm voice.

The boy nodded and started walking towards the school area while still eating his banana.

“What an as…. “

“Language! Young lady…“ Mark interrupted Melinda before she could finish her sentence.

“You should be more careful where you step, sis. He was at fault for littering the space, but you also should have seen it being there and not stepped on it. “

Melinda was angry for her own family not being at her side, and instead, they scolded her, but she said nothing. Instead, she just left out a sigh and walked with them towards the school area.

On their way there, Mark kept looking around for a specific individual.

“Oh, Mr.  Henderson. You are here earlier than usual,“ an old woman spotted Mark and walked towards him. She was still a bit younger than him, though.

Henderson was Mark’s family name, and people he wasn’t too close to or spoke formally used it to talk to him.

“Good morning, Miss Sarah. We, fortunately, found a parking space early today.“ Mark replied.

It was the school’s headteacher Mark who knew her well enough, as his daughter also went to this school. Back then, she was just a young teacher.

“Well then, you better hurry to get a good seat. Here is the pamphlet for today’s event. I am looking forward to seeing the progress that the next generation of Hendersons will make. “

She paused for a second, and then her eyes realized that she had just said something wrong.

“I am sorry if my comment reminded you of your loss. Anastasia was a bright girl and one of my most outstanding students. “

“It is ok, Miss Sarah. The past belongs to the past, and I try to keep it there.“ Mark spoke.

He chuckled a bit at his comment, but it was easy to tell that there was some sadness in his voice.

“Well, I  hope you three have a great time at this event. I have to make sure  that everything is ok, so I have to leave you for now.” Miss Sarah said before walking away.

“Are you ok, Gramps?“ Maria asked him with a concerned voice.

“Of course. There is nothing to worry about. Let’s move on,” he said with a smile on his face.

They headed towards a giant amphitheater, which was built for events like this.

Mark led the way as they looked to get some seats but didn’t get seats at the front. Instead, they picked some close to the middle.

He stood in front of a boy that was currently reading a notebook intensely.

“Are those seats kept by you for someone?“ Mark questioned the boy.

The boy had left some books and his jacket on the two seats on his left. The boy didn’t hear him, so he loudly coughed to get his attention.

The boy raised his head and saw the old man looking at him.

“Mr.…Mr. Henderson?“ the boy said.

“Hey Tam, mind if we sit here?“ the old man said in return.

The boy turned his head towards the two seats he had occupied with his things and stood up and started putting them in his bag.

Mark sat right next to the boy, and his granddaughters sat next to him. There was an extra seat free already that the boy called Tam hadn’t occupied.

The boy checked his watch, and after seeing what time it was, he turned towards the old man.

“I found a parking space earlier than usual,“ Mark said before the young man got the chance to ask him.

He was friends with the family of Tam, and he actually tried to look after the boy after his mother died. His father worked almost all day to take care of their expenses, which Mark knew just how hard it was.

Mark cared about Tam’s family since the mother of Tam died in the same accident that his daughter and her husband had died in. It was a large-scale accident that had almost a dozen deaths and even more injured people.

He also knew something that only a few others were aware of, and that was that Tam’s father had an untreatable disease. He wasn’t on his deathbed yet,  but that would change soon.

Tam’s father had asked Mark to take care of his son when he was gone and that he would have put aside as much saving as he could when that day arrived.

Mark kept this secret even from his granddaughters and Tam, and he always hoped that he could do something about it.

Now... he got his chance to do so.

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