Chapter 62: Divvy Up
The night before, Aiden had slept earlier than usual so he could equally wake up earlier than usual to knock out all of his daily quests before meeting with the committee at school by 8 am.
Just as he was rounding up his workout sets, he got a system notification.
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[Stats updated!]
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Clearly surprised, but nonetheless certain of the stat that had increased, Aiden pulled up his system to assess it.
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[Aiden North] – Life Points – [0.81]
⸢Stats
› Mind — B-
› Strength — E+ » D-
› Stamina — D
› Agility — E-
› Charm — B
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Considering Aiden had been looking forward to upgrading that particular attribute, he was more than glad to see it tick up a notch without him having to invest any Life Points into it.
Dismissing the panel, he promptly dressed up and proceeded to go for his run.
Half an hour later, he arrived back home, greeted his Pops whom had already woken up, made their meals, ate and then, made his way upstairs to shower and knock out the last of his daily quest.
Twenty-five minutes later, he was done reading the required number of pages from an advanced level textbook for college students regarding Calculus he’d borrowed from the school library.
As his system updated in sync, Aiden simply proceeded to check his gig account and other side hustles to see if he had any.
Thankfully, there were two, both of whom had already placed $100 each, thereby bumping up the previous $300 on his dashboard to $500.
Glancing over to the lower-right corner of his laptop’s screen to check the time though, assessing briefly if he could manage to get some work in, he realized he did in fact have an hour and a half to work with before he had to meet up with the committee.
Quickly, he messaged both clients. Then, after a bit of back and forth, all of which lasted about twenty minutes, he’d gotten a clear vision of what they wanted.
Promptly he got down to work on the first one.
About an hour later of focused work, he rounded it up. As for the second, he’d decided he’d come back to it later in the day.
Hibernating the system, he promptly stood up from the chair, grabbed the messenger bag he’d placed the printed copies of the spreadsheet he’d made and proceeded to make his way downstairs.
Waving his father goodbye, Aiden soon stepped out the front door, the messenger bag’s strap slung diagonally across his upper torso.
Greeting his neighbors whom were currently outside to water their little garden, Aiden was almost about to walk past when something caught his eye.
Casually, he made their way over to them, hoping they wouldn’t mind what he was about to request.
*
(Minutes earlier...)
Damian, Megan and the members of the committee alongside a couple volunteers which included Clarissa and Lizzie sat on the front lawns of Silverlake High.
Waiting for the other students to arrive, they simply engaged in a couple mundane discussions here and there.
Each of them also seemed to be have one tool or the other in their hands, ranging from simple fixing tools like hammers and wrenches, to cutting tools like shears, and even cleaning tools like scrub brushes and chemical supplies.
Someone even brought a full retractable ladder and was currently seated on its sturdy edges while snipping at the grass with his fingers.
Having handed over a list of equipment they would need to the committee a day prior, they’d all done their best to procure said tools in an effort to mitigate any time-wasting and unnecessary perambulations today.
At the same time, it also did a good job of preventing anyone from bringing duplicate items when it wasn’t necessary.
That said, it didn’t take long before the lawn started to get more and more populated with other volunteers.
Around that exact time, Aiden arrived at the gates, bringing the standard bicycle he was riding to a clean, swerving halt.
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[Ding!]
[Skills Updated!]
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Dismissing the notification, Aiden got down from the bicycle and carefully placed it to lean against the nearest wall.
And though, his actions had drawn attention, Aiden wasn’t even aware of it.
But maybe he should’ve... especially since he was dressed in a faded black undershirt, washed black jeans, and black slip-ons.
Honestly, Aiden’s dress code should’ve come off as lazy--because it actually was--especially when he’d actually left his hair as messy at it was after drying it with his towel earlier this morning.
Instead, it actually did a good job of highlighting the sleeper build that was typically hidden under his usual dress code and gave him an almost effortlessly capable image.
Clarissa found herself subconsciously gulping, a reaction that didn’t go unnoticed by Lizzie and a couple other ladies whom had been standing close-by.
That said, the youth in question had retrieved the messenger bag from the bicycle’s front basket which now also had a hedge clipper placed in and made his way over to the group as he collectively greeted;
"Mornin’, everyone."
A wave of responses followed, one that he simply nodded in acknowledgement to as he walked up to Damian and Megan whilst removing the spreadsheets from his bag.
"Here, the list I made." he handed them over, one that had both Damian and Megan, alongside other core members of the committee genuinely stunned.
The fuck did he mean a list?!
This was a spreadsheet! A very detailed one at that!
In fact, most of them were expectant and even ready for some form or the other of the inevitable disorderliness to surface, an issue that had sprung up the last time they’d done it with their seniors.
However, with such informative yet concise details in the spreadsheet, they could effectively divvy up the work without any unnecessary overlapping or chance-medley.
To that effect, Damian soon patted Aiden’s shoulder and remarked;
"I don’t know where you’ve been all this while, but you, my friend, are an asset."
Unsurprisingly, Megan and the others nodded in agreement, one that Aiden politely offered an acknowledging yet thankful nod as he replied;
"Glad to be of service."
Then, after they’d distributed the spreadsheet, Aiden then asked, his arms folded across his chest;
"Now, who’s going to be teamed up with who?"
"Though I do have to say that I’m calling first dibs on Residence 21." he added with a gestured finger to which Damian simply nodded, mulling over how to go about it.
Before the President had managed to begin assigning everyone, Clarissa casually appeared beside Aiden and said, her tone thoughtful as she stared at the sheet in her hands;
"Residence 21, hmm?"
"Well, I’ve got a rake, a little spade, some thick gloves and a sturdy boot. I think garden cleaning’s definitely up my forte." she declared.
"Besides, I ever tell you I’ve got a green thumb, Aiden?" she turned to look up at him, her upturned gaze catching the rays of the sunlight just right and giving her hazel-irises the faintest gleam.
"I mean, even if you didn’t, you did win that award for the Save the Trees Foundation last year." Aiden on the other hand casually replied, tilting his head over with a light smile as he continued;
"Congratulations by the way. Don’t think I’ve ever said it out loud but I think that’s really great and you should be lauded more for it,"
"You’re honestly fabulous." he coolly added to which Clarissa shamelessly jumped at the chance, her head already swelling;
"You could praise me again?"
"I will dump a bucket of cold water on your head, Clarissa." Aiden joked, a light smile touching his lips.
"Oh, my! Where’s the gentleman who walked me down the parade?!" the lady gasped and placed her hand on her chest in mock disbelief.
"When you two are done flirting, know that Lizzie, Megan, and Ben will be joining you at Residence 21 once their done with their business at Residence 20." Damian casually remarked.
In response, Aiden simply nodded and Clarissa quietly giggled.
"As for the rest of you..." Damian proceeded to begin assigning everyone their posts based on the equipment they had on hand.
Soon enough, everyone had been given their portion.
Casually, Aiden made his way over to the bicycle and placed all of the equipment she’d brought into it... managing to properly fit them into it somehow.
Then he called out to the queen bee whom was currently tying her hair into a messy up-do bun, a piece of rubber dangling from her lips;
"You coming, Your Highness?"
"And miss the chance to ride on your majestic chariot?! Not a chance!" Clarissa laughed as she ran over, her legs easily slipping onto and steadying on the back axle of the bike as she stood.
Placing one hand on Aiden’s shoulder, she then commanded, the other hand pointed towards the gate;
"Now ride, my loyal subject! Take us to our destination!"
To that, Aiden simply rolled his eyes in amusement with a light shake of his head and pedaled away... much to the intrigue of everyone else whom had watched their interaction.
Honestly, they still couldn’t tell if the duo just happened to be really good friends or there was something more going on.
Still, they all opted to ignore it for now and return their focus to the tasks at hand...
...well, everyone except for Lizzie whom had finally reached her breaking point and had now decided that she was going to confront Clarissa about what was really going on between them today.