Chapter 278 - 276: My Name is Jameson Stone

Soon, someone walked out from inside. He was a man who looked to be around fifty years old.

"What are you doing here so late?"

Mr. Lawson was a bit surprised to see Jameson Stone and asked offhandedly, "What’s up? Bike break down?"

Jameson Stone smiled and nodded. "My classmate’s bike is broken. Someone kicked it so hard the wheel rim is bent out of shape. Could you please fix it for him?"

"Sure thing. But you’ll have to bring it inside. It’s gotten dark out, too dark to work."

So Jameson Stone ran back up, hoisted Ethan Sterling’s bike onto his shoulder, and smiled at him. "Come on, let’s wait inside. It’s too cold out here."

The repair shop was tiny, with the distinct smell of dust and motor oil in the air. All kinds of repair tools and bike parts were piled everywhere.

Mr. Lawson had been fixing bikes for decades and knew his stuff. When he saw Ethan Sterling’s bike, he let out an involuntary gasp. "Well, I’ll be... It’s a Trek!"

Seeing his reaction, Ethan Sterling stepped forward. "Sorry to trouble you, sir," he said. "This bike is very important to me. You have to help me fix it."

"Don’t worry," Jameson Stone said, patting Ethan Sterling’s shoulder reassuringly. "Mr. Lawson’s been fixing bikes for half his life. He’s really good."

Mr. Lawson first inspected the frame, then took out his professional tools and began disassembling it to realign the parts.

Ethan Sterling and Jameson Stone stood to the side, watching. After a moment, Jameson Stone spoke up. "Even though it’s a new bike, the dealership won’t cover this under warranty since it was vandalized. If you sent it back to the factory for repairs, you’d probably have to wait a month or two. The college entrance exams would be right around the corner by then."

Ethan Sterling nodded in understanding.

Then Jameson Stone asked curiously, "How much did this bike cost? Your parents really splurge on you!"

"My sister bought it for me," Ethan Sterling said quietly. "It was really expensive, which is why I’m so heartbroken."

Jameson Stone raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. "Wow, your sister’s really good to you. So it’s just the two of you in your family?"

"Three. I have two older sisters."

"Huh?"

Ethan Sterling looked at him and nodded.

The bike was fixed in about half an hour. It just goes to show you should leave it to the professionals. Mr. Lawson barely used any brute force. He simply disassembled the front, realigned all the parts, and put it back together, straightening out the handlebars.

But the bent wheel rim was irreversibly damaged.

"I can’t get this front rim perfectly straight," Mr. Lawson said, looking at Ethan Sterling. "The rim is the most fragile part of a bike, and the easiest to damage. I’ve restored it as best I could, though. You shouldn’t have any major problems riding it. But if you want it exactly like it was before, you’ll have to order a new rim from the original manufacturer. Bring it here when it arrives, and I’ll put it on for you."

"Okay, thank you, sir," Ethan Sterling said gratefully, then quickly asked, "How much do I owe you?"

Mr. Lawson chuckled. "I didn’t use any of my parts. Fifty will be fine."

Ethan Sterling paid him without hesitation, thanked Mr. Lawson again, and then left the shop with Jameson Stone.

"Alright, your bike’s fixed now. Stop looking so miserable."

Back on the roadside, Jameson Stone smiled at Ethan Sterling. "You should head back now. I’m going to get my bike."

Seeing him about to leave, Ethan Sterling quickly spoke up. "Hey, thanks for your help today. I was in a bad mood earlier, so... I’m sorry."

He was an expressive person who always spoke his mind freely, without feeling embarrassed.

Jameson Stone was a little surprised by his frank apology and nodded in acceptance. "I get it. If it were me, I would’ve totally lost it."

"Let me call a cab for you."

"No need. It’s only two kilometers. I can walk it in ten minutes if I hurry. We didn’t even get a separate cab on the way here, so calling one to go back would be defeating the purpose, right?"

But Ethan Sterling felt bad. After Jameson had gone out of his way to help him find a repair shop, how could he just let him walk back alone?

The only problem was, his bike didn’t have a rear rack, so he couldn’t give anyone a ride.

That is, until he saw the crossbar in front of the seat. "How about... you sit on the front, and I’ll ride you back?"

"Huh?"

Jameson Stone’s eyes widened. He glanced at the crossbar, then back at Ethan Sterling. "No way. I’m not sitting there."

’What’s the difference between sitting on that bar and sitting in his lap?’

’So embarrassing!’

"What’s the big deal? I can do it!" Ethan Sterling didn’t see the problem. When Jameson Stone started to walk away, Ethan reached out and grabbed his arm. "Come on, get on."

"I’m not doing it. Just go home already!"

"Seriously, it’s no problem."

Seeing how persistent he was, Jameson Stone turned back to him. "If anyone’s giving someone a ride, it’ll be me giving you one!"

"Fine by me!" Ethan Sterling nodded without a second thought.

Ten seconds later, he regretted everything.

At five-foot-ten, he had to sit sideways on the bike’s crossbar, scrunching his body up. Behind him was Jameson Stone’s chest, making the whole scene incredibly awkward. It looked like he was curled up in Jameson’s arms.

But Jameson Stone had long arms and legs, so even with Ethan Sterling sitting in front of him, he had no trouble pedaling.

"So, you know the mechanic well?"

Ethan Sterling initiated the conversation, trying to relieve the awkwardness of the situation.

"I’ve always taken my bike to Mr. Lawson’s. You used to see a few repair stalls or little shops like his outside these old residential complexes, but they’ve gotten rarer over the years. As far as I know, his is the only one left around here."

"Are you cold? I can slow down if you want."

The faster they went, the stronger the wind.

"I’m not cold. Just go faster," Ethan Sterling said. He just wanted to get off the bike as soon as possible.

With a few hard pushes on the pedals, the two-kilometer ride was over in no time. Ethan Sterling jumped off the bike the first chance he got, and when he turned around, he saw Jameson Stone looking at him with a grin.

His face scrunched up. "What are you smiling about?"

"You. Just look at the state you were in!"

As he spoke, Jameson Stone handed the bike back to Ethan Sterling. Then he pointed toward a corner of the roof, high up on the far side of the bike shed. Ethan followed his finger and saw a device with a flashing red light.

A security camera!

"There’s a camera up there. You can check the footage at school tomorrow and see which asshole smashed your bike."

"I doubt it was one of our students, though. Probably just someone passing by, or maybe one of the local delinquents who hangs around the school. That bike of yours is expensive; with this much damage, you could definitely file a police report. Whoever smashed it must not have known what it was worth. They probably just saw it was new and flashy. If they knew the price, you’d have to be a real idiot to mess with it."

Hearing this, Ethan Sterling had to admit that Jameson made a good point.

"Okay, I’ll check it tomorrow. It’s getting late, you should head home too. I’ll find a way to properly thank you for today."

Seeing his earnest expression, Jameson Stone broke into another one of his carefree grins. "No need for thanks. Just consider yourself lucky you ran into me today. By the way, what’s your name?"

"Ethan Sterling."

"I’m Jameson Stone!"