[Hyde POV]
Fez's stomach ache got worse and he couldn't stand up.
I drove Fez to the hospital with Eric. He kept whimpering on the back of my seat. Kelso was also there, sobbing, slumping on the chair as his relationship with Jackie was over.
"Fez. Hold it in, Buddy. We're almost there." Eric told him, trying to calm him down.
"Fez, if you blew cheesepuff on the back of my car, I'm going to make you clean it up." I threatened him.
"I can still hold it in." He closed his mouth immediately.
We got to the hospital in a hurry. The doctor put Fez in a wheelchair and pushed him into the emergency ward.
Eric and I stood awkwardly in the waiting room. Kelso was already sitting in the metal chair.
"We should've brought the cards with us, huh?" Eric quipped.
I snorted and we settled into the chairs together, waiting for the doctor to tell us the situation.
"What do you think you'll do tomorrow?" Eric asked me.
I thought about it and said, "I'm not sure. That fatso told me that I need to include everyone. But if I planned a dodgeball game, or exercises, I think they would get mad at me."
Eric laughed and said, "We sure will. Now, do something fun instead. Something that won't make me look lame."
"That's impossible."
"Hey."
Eric glared at me. I laughed and asked, "What kind of games will be fun? Do you play badminton?"
"Once in second grade. But… I can't really do anything once the shuttle is up in the air."
"You're scared of that too huh?"
"Shut– Shut up!" Eric snapped at me. "I can do it now! I won't run away from the shuttle again!"
"Well, I guess having a ball hit you is worse. You already got hit hundreds of times in dodgeball and also while we play basketball."
"That's true." Eric agreed with me.
"I'll buy some rackets and shuttlecocks. There isn't any of this stuff in the school gym."
I went online. Since I had no deliveries right now, I could change the location setting and went to find the equipment in the Asian market.
Then, I found a website from an actual sports wholesale store that sold everything from shoes, nets, strings, rackets, and also shuttlecocks.
They had discounts up to 75% for the rackets. One of them was 4 dollars. Which meant that I only had to pay 80 cents for it.
I bought 30 of those. And also the four nets for 3 dollars each and 20 sets of shuttlecocks that have 12 shuttlecocks each in its container for 1.5 dollars each.
In total, I spent 46 dollars for the equipment. That was pretty cheap. If I bought it in the sports store in our town, it would cost me more than 750 dollars.
Mrs Forman was a nurse here. She came to us after she checked up on Fez.
"He has appendicitis. He has to get surgery. Do you boys want to see him?" Mrs Forman asked.
"Sure." Eric and I agreed casually. Kelso joined us without saying anything, he was still out of it.
In the ward, Fez laid down on the bed while we sat around him, forming a circle.
But we didn't smoke inside the room.
"So, Fez, my mom says your appendix has to come out. Man, you must be in tons of pain." Eric said.
"Wheeeee!" Fez raised his hands up in excitement, feeling giddy. "Cheese puffs out, pain pills in."
"Fez loves his pills." Eric laughed.
Kelso finally spoke, his voice was shaky, "Boy, I wish there was a pill I could take. Get rid of my pain... Forget-about-Jackie pill."
"Hell, if they made that pill, I'd take it." I quipped. I turned to Kelso and said, "I can hit you in the head as hard as I can."
"Why?" Eric looked at me with bewilderment.
"I don't know." I shrugged. "People always lose their memory when they get hit in the head on TV."
Kelso thought about it and said, "That's true. Okay. Just don't tell me when you're going to do it."
Eric was startled once again. "No. Don't do that. You'll get in the next room if you do that."
"Want to know a secret? I'm not wearing anything under my dress. Look!" Fez raised the blanket.
"Whoa! Put that away!" Eric pulled the blanket down hurriedly. He turned to Kelso and said, "Yeah, man, it just sucks when you try to do the right thing. And then she yells at you… for killing her cat."
"Eric, you don't know how lucky you are. I'd give anything to be able to tell Jackie I killed her cat." Kelso said with a blank expression, tears pooling in his eyes.
"Nothing's sadder than when two people break up." I interjected, before smiling, "Except this time when it's funny!"
Fez grimaced slightly, "By the way, Eric, if your mom ever says, ready for your catheter, the answer is no." He squirmed uncomfortably.
We stayed with Fez for a bit in the hospital. Until Mrs Forman told us to go back home.
"You boys have school tomorrow. Don't worry, your little friend will be in good hands." She chased us away.
Since Mrs Forman was taking care of him, we didn't get worried and just left the hospital casually.
…
The next day, Eric and I were the only ones who went to school. Donna was still sad about her cat. Kelso couldn't get out of bed. Jackie was gone, no one heard from her last night.
The classes went on as usual, and it was finally time for the gym. The equipment was already delivered in less than 4 hours.
This was because I contacted the owner of the store and arranged for a pickup service for it. I paid 10 bucks more, and got all of the equipment delivered when I woke up.
"So, you're donating this to the school?" Coach Jefferson said, his eyes were glued on the racket.
It was lighter, made of composite materials and it made a pretty nice sound when it was swung.
Compared to the heavier aluminum and wooden racket in this era, it was really an upgrade. Even the shuttle wasn't wobbling like the current era shuttles.
No one really cared about badminton in the United States. But it was fun to pass around the time in gym class with it.
"Hell no." I told the couch. "I'll take it all back when school is over."
The coach grimaced and said, "Well. Let's see if you know how to teach people about this sport. Half of the class had never played it before."
"It's very instinctive. Just hit the shuttle. I don't think that'll be hard to teach." I said smugly.
I was right even though I was being condescending. Eric helped me set up the nets. There were four courts now, and we played in teams.
Once one match was over, the team would be changed. That's it.
Soon, the sound of shoes skidding on the floor and shuttle being hit filled the gym.
The shuttle flew around while Eric and I stood by the side, talking instead of participating.
"Hyde. This is amazing." Eric said as we stood in front of the girl's court. Watching them bounce around as they jumped, it was truly a wonderful experience.
"We should've played this for the whole year." Timmy, the weird kid interjected.
While I was hitting the shuttle, it went out of the court and dropped softly on top of Tiffany's head.
The drama club girl looked up and grinned at me. "Hyde. What do you do that for?" She picked it up and walked towards me.
"It was an accident. What are you doing?" I walked over to meet her near the net.
"Reading a play. Why don't you stay behind and watch the play today at the school theater?"
"Because I have better things to do in life?" I teased.
She laughed and said, "Come on. I've been asking you for months now. School's almost over. Do this as a favor for me?"
She was being cute, and I was a single man. "Okay. Sure. Eric and I will stop by."
Eric was frazzled. His eyes darted around as he exclaimed, "Why am I getting dragged into this?"
Tiff laughed and said, "Wait. Come tomorrow. So I'll have more time to prepare."
"Sure."
While we were at school, Donna and Jackie met with each other at the Forman's house, sitting on the porch.
–TV–
"Donna, we're supposed to be friends. Would it have killed you to say, "I know you love him, but Michael's a jerk?"" Jackie asked with irritation and sadness
"Jackie, I think my exact words were, I know you love him, but Michael's a jerk." Donna said flatly. "So…have you seen Kelso since…"
"No. He's a liar, and a cheater. Maybe that's how all guys are." Jackie breathed with exasperation.
"I know how you feel. Like, it's bad enough what Eric did to Mr. Bonkers, then he lied to me." Donna complained.
Jackie said sarcastically, "Yeah. Eric put off telling you something because he didn't wanna hurt you. Whoo! That is so much worse than cheating on you with another woman. Oh, wait. No it's not!"
Donna realized it and said, "Oh. Wow. I guess Eric was just trying to be nice. Maybe I'm overreacting."
Jackie snapped at her, "Look. Lemme tell you something, Donna. Until goody-goody Eric cheats on you with your stupid dead cat, I suggest you shut up."
–Tv end–
After school ended, I went back home with Eric. He hangs out with Kelso, listening to him complain about him missing Jackie on the porch while I avoided the drama in the basement.
Eric went to meet with Donna to apologize for killing her cat, and they made up, even started joking around right away.
While I was alone in the basement, Jackie entered through the side door.
I was surprised to see her there.
"Steven. I'm just here to wait for Donna." Jackie told me.
I nodded and ignored her, but she sat next to me and began rambling.
"See. I thought about it, and I realized that Micheal's a jerk. He never brings me the gift that I want. For our one year anniversary, he gave me a plastic chicken."
I snickered and said, "That's fun."
"Stop trying to defend him. Anyway, do you have any idea how long they have been together?"
I widened my eyes and stretched my arms up, trying to avoid answering the question.
"I don't know. I have a buzz most of the time. I don't even know if today is tomorrow, or tomorrow is today."
"Huh?" Jackie was confused. Eric and Donna entered the basement and Eric was deflated when he saw Jackie.
"Great. Jackie. You're here."
Donna scolded him and said, "It is great that she's here. Unlike Kelso. I can't look at him at this moment. Otherwise, I'll bash his head in."
Jackie smiled, feeling touched. "Thank you Donna."
"So, are you feeling fine now?" Donna asked.
Jackie stood in front of the freezer while I went to grab a popsicle.
" So, really, breaking up with Michael could be the start of something great. I am a whole new Jackie."
I said sarcastically, "Really? 'Cause you're babbling like the old Jackie."
She gave me an angry look. Kelso walked in while I was walking behind Eric and Donna.
"Jackie. I've been looking for you." His eyes were red and there's tear on his left cheek.
"Here I am." Jackie pretended to be fine and faced him.
Eric and Donna tried to get up. Eric said, " Okay, so you two probably wanna be alone–"
I stopped him and sat on the armrest next to Eric, "No, Forman! How can this not be good? Come on."
This scene was pure entertainment for me. Finally, the icky feeling I had for a long time had disappeared.
"All right. Jackie, I've done some terrible and stupid things. Too many to even list." Kelso tried to persuade her.
I interjected, "Oh, hey, give it a shot, man. I'll fill in the blanks."
Donna scolded me, "Hyde!"
I gestured with my hand, as if saying, 'What?'
Kelso didn't even look at me. He continued, "All right. But I'm done making excuses. And all I can say is…is that… I'm sorry. And I love you."
He begged, "And I will do whatever I can, every day from now on so that you know that's true. So will you please…please…please take me back?"
Jackie's defenses almost broke. "Oh, Michael." She shook herself out of his magnetic presence, and said firmly, "No. No, you know what? We're through. Forever."
"Whoa, didn't see that coming." I got up and laughed.
"Fine." Kelso rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.
Jackie started to cry. Tears were flowing down her cheek.
"So, um…that, that, that was the smartest thing I've ever done. And, um…and the best." Jackie let out a cry and ran towards Eric and Donna.
Well, I thought she'd go to them. However she blew past them and rushed straight to me.
"Hyde!"
I grimaced, taken aback by her choice. "Why does she always come to me?" I asked Eric and Donna with displeasure.
Eric and Donna shrugged, and I was stuck comforting Jackie as she cried.
I put my hand on her head and patted her awkwardly. "There there."
I didn't really care much about Jackie and Kelso's relationship, so it was hard for me to feel bad for them.
Jackie sniffled while burying her face in my chest. I sat her down and said to Donna, "What are you doing? Get her."
"Oh. Right." Donna quickly hugged Jackie to comfort her.
…
"Finally." I sighed as I drove the car in a rush.
I went to the auto shop after escaping the basement. Eric even wanted to come with me since he didn't want to deal with the whole bashing Kelso party that's going on.
However, I left him alone and escaped by myself.
"Boss, you look horrible," Megan said as I walked in.
I sighed and fixed my hair. "Tell me about it. Hey, you're fine with me postponing the work until summer break, right?"
"You don't have to keep asking me," Megan rolled her eyes slightly. "Besides, I'm really enjoying living close to the town."
"You also don't have to keep reminding me of that," I said, giving her a second look, studying her expression closely.
'Maybe she didn't want to live there? Then why am I even fixing it up?'
I made a mental note to talk to Megan about it later. If she didn't want to stay, I could do the work with contractors, which would make my life easier.
The only reason I was working alone was because she was afraid of some untrustworthy man working at her house.
I had de postpone the talk since I have another purpose for coming here.
Tyrell approached with excitement. "Boss. It's here!"
"Nice. Let's go take a look."
Everyone was standing around the alley next to the shop.
Two cars were parked there. The first one was a green Chevrolet Camaro with black racing stripes.
The second one was a Boss 302 Mustang that looked old and had rust on the door.
"This is the best we can do?" Jeff asked in disbelief. "Why don't we get new ones?"
I rebuked him. "Because if we bought anything after 1974, we'd just humiliate ourselves on the tracks."
The two cars were for the stock races we'd been invited to. We already had one car ready, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird TransAm for this week's race.
We could stick with one car, but I wanted some variation so we could enter more races.
Some races focused on speed, some on control, some on durability.
We were trying to get into all of them.
"The car's done?" Tyrell asked as we walked to the Firebird parked inside the shop.
"It's ready. I think we can dominate the USAC race," I smirked slightly.
The Firebird had a white body, blue stripes, and a shaker hood.
I tuned the Firebird myself, changing parts of the engine such as the camshaft, pistons, and airflow through the heads.
It still had a stock engine, but instead of 375 horsepower, it now had 410.
It had modern tires, 2025 engine oil, upgraded bushings, and new shock suspension that maintained the stock look.
The performance now was roughly;
0–60 mph: ~5.3–5.7 sec
Quarter mile: ~13.2–13.8 sec
But the handling was the best part. With the new suspension system, the car drove better than all of its competitors.
With an experienced driver behind the wheel, I'm confident that we could get the first prize easily.
"This weekend, we're running near Chicago." I smiled.
Everyone else was also excited about the race.
A regional circuit tied to the USAC Stock Car Series. Tracks like short ovals and local speedways around Illinois.
It's intermediate level. Not amateurs, but not the best either.
No one from Point Place had ever reached this stage. A lot of people in town were waiting for the race to support our small town.
Also, this place has scouts coming into the race. If we did well, we may be able to go to NASCAR in a year or two.
"I suddenly feel the pressure," Megan said, holding her stomach.
"You just ate too much," I teased.
She got angry and stammered, "I didn't eat much today!"
"Then go eat." I scolded her.
Getting the two cars also meant I could make two more videos about classic car restoration on YouTube.
My content crate was almost empty, so I needed to create a few more videos to keep posting.
"I can't even skip school. Otherwise I'd be all over this by myself," I sighed.
Right now, I had to depend on Tyrell and Megan, who were only doing quality-check work while they fixed up the cars.
Now that I had a huge operation, I could flip 3–4 cars per day, meaning around 20–25 cars per week.
I looked at my finances and sighed. "I'm going to need to take a new order soon, or I won't be able to sustain this large-scale operation after two months."
The first person to custom-order a car was Bruce. He came by that evening with his brother, Ross.
After putting in his order for a 1972 Road Runner—since he didn't have one in his collection—I talked with him and his brother in the lounge area.
"So, we're trying to make a commercial for my stores," Bruce said.
"RadioShack?" I asked with a squint.
"Not the national—"
"Targeted regional ads, right?" I interjected before he could finish.
Bruce smiled. "See. He knows his stuff."
Ross sighed. "Not that I don't have confidence in him, it's you I'm worried about. Who'd spend 200 grand on a commercial?"
"Two hundred?" I was shocked.
I checked ChatGPT instantly, and it turned out the numbers were normal if Bruce had hired a big, prestigious agency.
"For regionals, it's too much," Ross said firmly. "So we're trying to get a smaller agency to handle the ads—"
"Hi. I'm Steven Hyde, head of the Jekyll Printing and Marketing Agency." I took out a name card and handed it to Bruce and Ross.
They looked at me weirdly. Bruce asked, "You run a marketing agency too?"
"Yes. I've been helping a couple of stores in town with their marketing campaigns and more. Now I can offer you three regional-level ads with seasonal or holiday themes."
"It'll be $25,000 per ad, and I can finish it in three weeks. If you want me to handle everything, including adding a jingle, it'll be $30,000 per ad."
Bruce and Ross looked at each other. Then Bruce asked, "Do you have a plan or a storyboard? I know you're a filmmaker. Your documentary was amazing, but I don't know about the ads."
"Why don't you come back in three days? I'll show you drafts for the commercials. If you're okay with them, we can sign a contract," I offered.
"Deal," Ross agreed on Bruce's behalf. "This is much better than him burning all his money on a short film."
Bruce threw his hands up in disbelief. "The agency said it'll bring a lot of customers."
"Hey, his documentary was watched by 30 million people on Sunday. He'll bring you customers.," Ross laughed.
After the brothers left, Megan approached me, face full off disbelief. "So you're taking another job?"
"I had to. I'm going to make a commercial so good that the main headquarters will see it and co-opt it," I said as I shrugged.
"Hmm. Good luck with that. Wait, whatever happened to the Mustang documentary?" Megan asked.
The Mustang documentary had been bought by ABC. NBC also bought it for cheap after ABC finished its licensing.
My team helped me sell the documentary to local stations across the country, earning another $100,000.
So far, I have made more than half a million dollars from the Mustang documentary alone. Twenty percent of that went to Megan.
After ABC released the Mustang documentary, they shared the ratings statistics with me.
Thirty-seven million people watched it on Sunday. That was almost a national phenomenon.
Right now, ABC was watching everything I did, wanting to be the first to get the rights to my next project.
'Maybe I should do another one?'
I'd checked online and realized that I could hire a writer to write a script for me.
The problem was, I had no idea what I should do for the next project.
'Should I continue the renovation like this, do an ASMR style video, or do a real movie, with real actors? It's pretty cheap to make a movie here in the 70s.'
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