Chapter 465: Building A PC

After school, the gang found themselves at the Oakland Mall, where Sasha, Malo, and Bambi settled inside one of the eateries while waiting for Faye and Beam to return. Malo had already started complaining about the delay, but Sasha was too busy chatting with Haley on her phone to pay him any attention, while Bambi scrolled through her device.

Meanwhile, Faye and Beam were inside an IT store, surrounded by shelves filled with computer parts and accessories. They had spent almost an hour there, most of it answering Faye’s endless questions.

Beam patiently explained everything, starting with the motherboard and CPU before moving on to the cooling fan, RAM, power supply, and other components they needed to build a PC. Unfortunately, explaining something to Faye once was never enough. The girl would listen and nod as though she understood, only to ask another question that forced Beam to start all over again.

At some point, Beam had to wonder whether Faye was genuinely interested in learning or simply enjoyed watching her struggle.

Nevertheless, she continued walking Faye through the different components until the girl finally decided what she wanted. Faye paid for everything with her credit card, including a few extra accessories that caught her attention while they were shopping.

By the time they returned to the eatery, the others were already getting impatient.

"Finally! What took you two so long?" Malo complained as they joined the table.

"Some of us were actually doing something useful instead sitting here," Beam replied, pulling out a chair.

"Excuse you! Sitting is a tough job..."

"Of course it is," Sasha muttered without looking up from her phone.

Faye ignored their bickering and settled into her seat. They ordered their food, ate together, and spent some time talking before getting up to leave.

Unfortunately, their trip to the mall was not quite over.

As they made their way towards the exit, someone approached them, catching Faye’s attention.

It was Nora Deanson.

She was accompanied by another girl around her age, who appeared to be her girlfriend. However, what caught Faye’s attention was Nora herself. During their previous encounter, Nora had been cold and distant, making it clear that she had no interest in entertaining strangers. This time, that attitude seemed to have disappeared, replaced by a friendly smile that made her look like an entirely different person.

"Faye Grande, right?" Nora asked as she approached them.

"Yes, I am," Faye answered.

Nora smiled and extended her hand for a handshake.

Unfortunately for her, Faye remembered their previous encounter perfectly well. She had waved at Nora and her aunt back then, only for both of them to ignore her as though she did not exist. Now that Nora was suddenly acting friendly, Faye saw no reason to pretend nothing had happened.

Instead of accepting the handshake, she stared at the outstretched hand before lifting her gaze to meet Nora’s eyes. Her cold expression made it obvious that she had no intention of returning the friendliness.

"Ohhh..."

Nora withdrew her hand, looking slightly embarrassed by the rejection. Rather than getting offended, however, she laughed it off, giggling like a child who had been caught doing something silly.

"It’s fine, I understand why you did that. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing," she reasoned, apparently unwilling to make a big deal out of it.

"I’m glad you understand. So, bye," Faye replied, already turning towards her friends.

She had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with someone she barely knew, especially when that person belonged to a family she had every reason to distrust.

However, just as she was about to leave, Nora called after her.

"Hey, I heard that you’re Princess Kings’s girl. Can we hang out for a bit? My girlfriend and I have just been roaming around the mall, and it’s getting boring. If you and your friends don’t mind, we could go inside one of the arcade shops and play some fun games together."

Faye opened her mouth to respond, but Beam interrupted before she could speak.

"Sorry, Nora, we’re busy, so maybe next time," she said with a polite smile.

"Okay, too bad. The next time I see you all, we’re definitely playing some arcade games together. Chow chow!"

Nora waved cheerfully before turning towards her girlfriend. The two exchanged a few words and continued towards another section of the mall, leaving Faye and her friends near the exit.

Once Nora was out of earshot, Malo turned to Faye with a serious expression.

"Heads up, Faye. There’s only one rule in Oakland: never mingle with a Deanson."

"They’re very cunning. Worse than a fox," Beam added, her smile disappearing as she watched Nora walk away.

Faye glanced at them, looking completely unimpressed.

"I wasn’t even planning to be friends with that girl. She looks too good to be a friend."

Malo stared at her for a moment but decided against asking what she meant.

"Good. Now let’s leave before she comes back."

Nobody argued, and the gang quickly made their way out of the mall.

Back at Princess’s game house, everyone returned to their favourite activities.

Malo was already inside the ball pit, swimming through the colourful plastic balls as though he had been born there. Every now and then, he disappeared beneath the surface before popping up somewhere else, completely unbothered by the fact that he was supposed to be a grown boy.

Sasha had claimed one of the arcade machines, playing while keeping her video call with Haley open. Her attention shifted between the game and the screen, where Haley was apparently telling her something amusing.

Meanwhile, Bambi sat at the racing simulator, gripping the steering wheel as she concentrated on the road displayed on the screen.

Beam and Faye, on the other hand, were having a completely different experience.

Faye was supposed to be learning how to build a PC, but the scattered components suggested that the lesson was turning into a disaster. She kept doing the exact opposite of what Beam showed her, forcing her instructor to intervene before she made another mistake.

Thank goodness Beam was the one teaching her. Anyone with less patience would probably have abandoned Faye halfway through and left her alone with the computer parts.

Unfortunately for Beam, that was not an option. Faye was determined to build the PC herself, even if it meant testing her instructor’s patience at every turn.

After inspecting the components and correcting a few mistakes, Beam finally decided they had to start again.

"All right, we’re doing this from scratch," she announced, pulling everything closer. "And this time, please pay attention to what I’m showing you instead of doing whatever comes into your head."

Faye nodded seriously.

"I am paying attention."

"Then why did you just try to install that in the wrong place?"

Faye glanced at the component in her hand before quietly putting it down.

"Okay, maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention."

Beam sighed and continued the lesson.

They started with the motherboard before moving on to the CPU. Under Beam’s watchful eye, Faye installed the processor and attached the cooler, ensuring everything was properly secured before proceeding to the RAM and other components.

Beam checked her work at every stage, correcting mistakes and explaining what needed to be done differently. Although the process took longer than expected, Faye gradually began to understand how everything fitted together.

Once the main components were in place, they installed the power supply and worked on the wiring. Beam assisted with the connections while Faye handled the remaining tasks.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they finished.

Beam stepped back to inspect their work, while Faye stared at the computer with a mixture of pride and nervousness.

"Well, go on," Beam encouraged her. "Turn it on."

Faye rubbed her palms together, crossed her fingers, and pressed the power button.

For a moment, she watched the PC without breathing, waiting to see whether anything would happen.

Then the computer came to life.

The screen lit up, and the system booted without any problems.

"Congratulations, Faye Grande! You have built your first PC!" Beam announced.

Faye immediately broke into a happy smile.

"YES!"

She threw her hands into the air as though she had just won a championship. Beam laughed at her excitement before running a few tests to ensure everything was working correctly.

Fortunately, the PC worked perfectly.

With the technical part out of the way, Faye moved on to what she had been looking forward to the most: customising it.

She brought out the stickers and decorative prints she had bought at the mall, spreading them across the table as she considered where to place each one. Most were clearly meant for Princess. There were stickers bearing Faye’s name, little kisses, messages declaring her love, Princess’s name, and even four adorable puppy stickers.

Beam watched as Faye decorated the computer, adding one sticker after another until the plain-looking PC had become something much more personal.

She could only stare at the finished result and shake her head.

Princess was going to love it anyway, so there was no point in questioning Faye’s artistic choices.

Once satisfied with the design, Faye carefully packed the PC into its box. However, the computer was not the only thing she had bought for Princess. She added a teddy bear, a robe, pink koala slippers, and a cosy hoodie, arranging everything neatly before closing the lid.

By the time she finished, the box looked less like it contained computer equipment and more like a carefully prepared birthday present.

Beam glanced at the box, then at Faye, who seemed rather pleased with herself.

At least one person was going to have a very interesting birthday.

"Faye, look! I beat the high score!" Bambi suddenly shouted from the racing simulator, her excitement carrying across the room.

Beam’s head snapped towards her.

"That is not a good sign."

Bambi turned to look at her, confused by the reaction.

"Why? I won!"

"Because that was Princess’s high score, and she hates it when someone tampers with her records," Beam explained. "You do realise she’s going to find out, right?"

Bambi looked back at the screen, her excitement slowly fading as the meaning of Beam’s words sank in.

Faye, however, simply waved away their concerns.

"It’s fine. I’ll talk to Princess about it when she comes back."

Beam gave her a doubtful look but decided not to argue. If Faye believed she could handle the situation, she could explain everything to Princess herself.

Just as the conversation ended, Kiara entered the game house.

She walked over to one of the gaming chairs, settled into it, and switched on her monitor. After getting comfortable, she began playing as though she had not missed anything important.

However, when she overheard Malo talking about their encounter with Nora at the mall, Kiara paused her game and turned towards them.

"You should have been friends with that girl," she remarked casually.

Faye looked at her, clearly surprised by the suggestion.

"Why?"

Kiara turned away from the monitor long enough to meet her gaze.

"Because it’s good to be friends with the enemy. That way, it would be easier to figure out their weakness..."