Chapter 15: Unexpected stop

Suzy’s sweet voice blends with the radio as she sings along to Post Malone and Swae Lee’s Sunflower. Parker’s eyes keep darting to hers in the mirror, and Tim keeps yapping about random thing.

He could get used to this. Part of him wishes to stay in this relaxed state, but the system has a different view about it.

[System: comfort is good, but reaching your peak is better.]

’What exactly is my peak?’

[System: what Ben is...and more.]

And more...Parker likes the sound of that. He wants to be more. The comfort of being here with Tim and his family is good, but he knows there’s more. There’s Jessy to win, there’s Ada Justice to impress, and there’s a whole new world to explore.

More sounds good.

"Have a fun trip boys. Tim, call me when you’re safe at the vacation home" Suzy blows a kiss and Tim cringes in embarrassment.

"Mom, stop embarrassing me" he whispers while Parker continues to look at everything but Suzy. Parker’s mind keeps on showing him Mrs. Lane’s parted pussy lips, the sex toy diving into her hole, and the desperate look on her face.

When her eyes meet Parker’s, Parker instantly chokes on air. Embarrassing. That 100 points he lost in confidence was really important, it’s way more important than he had imagined.

Suzy zooms off and Tim sighs.

"My mom keeps forgetting that I’m in college and no longer in high school. If it was up to her, she’s pack me a lunch box, and drive me to school everyday" the other guy complains and Parker shrugs. To him, it only meant that Suzy cared about her son. His own parents didn’t care if he had breakfast or not. Heck, they won’t even find out about his near death experience till he’s old and grey.

The duo spot a number of annoyed students waiting under the sun in front of the bus. It seems to be the bus for the trip.

"Is that the bus we’d be taking?" Parker asks and Tim squints despite wearing glasses that are the size of coca-cola bottles’ bottom. "Yeah...I think so. Those are our bags" Tim says and they both continue to stand side by side.

What next? Who’d make the first move at approaching the bus?

[System: wealth can pause time, but it can’t stop time.]

’Is that an adage?’ Parker asks in his mind and the System’s response comes immediately.

[System: no, Parker. It’s my way of saying move your ass before the bus driver gets fed up!]

"Gee..that’s for telling me nicely" Parker mutters under his breath. He has watched and read a lot of movies and books about getting a system, he never knew they could be this sassy or rude. "Let’s go" Parker says and draws a deep breath before approaching the waiting bus.

The waiting students look up in annoyance the closer Parker and Tim get and both their legs start to wobble.

’Is it too late to back out?’

[System: Your attachment to your loser life is endearing, Parker Ross. Is the sarcasm in my message clear?]

"Are you the ones we’ve been waiting for? Tim Lane and Parker Ross?" a woman dressed up in a driver uniform asks.

"I’m sorry we’re late" Parker speaks up for the both of them. And even though his voice comes out squeaky, the woman’s scowl softens. "Get in the bus, make sure you keep your head down, most of the guys here are mad at you for delaying the trip" she tips them off and Parker immediately ducks his head.

"Thanks" he says before going into the bus. He finds a seat at the back with Tim and they both settle in before anyone would spot them. Most of the guys here may be out of high school, but some of them still have that corny high school mentally. The bullies, the mean guys, and the Bens.

[Stats: Charm – 300. Wealth – 200. Intelligence – 750. Confidence – 100.]

Parker’s eyes light up at the update. He wonders what he did to get the upgrade. When he looks up, he finds the driver staring at him with her front teeth pressing into her bottom lip. Did he accidentally seduce the driver with an apology? Nice! That was a big score. He didn’t have bike or a car, so having someone who drove a bus is definitely a plus.

Parker sinks into his seat and looks out the window as the bus slowly fills up with various students. He doesn’t know everyone in his class, still, he felt odd being on an elite trip like this.

Wow. It’s a whole new experience.

"Students, sit back and relax. This trip will be a mind-blowing one. We will be staying at the vacation mansion of a real estate agent, and if you’re lucky, you might end up meeting the man himself and learn a thing or two about success" the old professor announces and the students start to cheer.

"I’d definitely meet the man" someone says.

"Nah, it’s going to be me" another person argues.

"Now, I’ll have you know that just because you met him doesn’t mean you’ve won a lottery" the professor interrupts the cheering.

"Damn it" someone groans.

"Successful men are not emotional men. If you want to win him over, you have to find something to win him over with" the professor says and takes a seat.

Great...another mystery. He doesn’t need the system to give a notification. He already knows there would be a lot of things to do.

[System: correct, but in the mean time, feel free to indulge.]

Indulge...in what?

Parker looks up, he finds Jessie at the front seat. The busty beauty wiggles her brows at him and he sinks into his seat. Yeah, nope. He still has that embarrassing awkwardness hanging over head.

"I never should have eaten that stupid fried rice" he grumbles.

"It’s a few hours too late to say that, don’t you think so too Parker?" Tim asks and Parker sighs. His folds his arms across his chest and takes a long nap. He’d need to reset and prepare.

[System: get all the rest you need. It’s going to be a long, fun, and long ride.]

Parker tunes the world out and falls into a long sleep.

"Oh no, the bus won’t get us to the destination tonight" Parker hears someone saying.

"What do we do now?" the professor’s voice asks and Parker opens his eyes. It’s already dark outside and the bus is only lit up by its interior light. Some of the students are asleep, some are on their phones, and others are worried.

"We have to stay in this motel for the night" the driver woman says and Parker fully sits up.

Well. Well. Well...