Chapter 16: My Girlfriend
As our conversation with Rick ended, he smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do, Graham."
Rick informed me that a limousine would be picking me up the next morning. He said that I shouldn't drive myself.
With that settled, I left the building with Emily by my side.
After leaving, I drove Emily home.
"How about a movie tomorrow?" I suggested. Tomorrow would be Friday so it was the perfect time to go to the cinema.
"Sure, sounds great!" she replied, smiling.
I pulled up in front of a modest apartment building. This was Emily's place—the second time I'd been here. Her family wasn't wealthy, but they weren't struggling either.
Walking her to the entrance, I bid her goodbye with a kiss before watching her disappear into the building. Then I walked back into my car and drove away.
Pulling into the driveway of my house, I stepped out of the car and made my way inside.
As soon as I entered, Susan walked down the stairs, clad in a sleek black and white maid outfit that accentuated her curves perfectly. Her short curly hair framed her face in an adorable way that I couldn't get enough of.
"Graham," she greeted me with a warm smile. "How was your day?"
"Good, Susan," I replied, returning her smile. "I'm feeling hungry though."
She nodded understandingly. "I can make you some chicken, cheese, and spinach spaghetti. Sound good?"
"Absolutely." I nodded, watching as she gracefully walked to the kitchen.
"Thank you, Susan. By the way, I'd like some time for meditation. Could you not disturb me until dinner?
Susan simply nodded.
I made my way upstairs to my room, laying out a mat on the floor. Sitting down in a half-lotus position, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, trying to calm my nerves.
With my eyes closed, I began my meditation. Occasionally, I looked down at the swirl of green and blue lines swirling around my heart.
After about ten minutes, I noticed a change—the whirl slowed, and there seemed to be more blue lines present. I wasn't sure what it meant, but if I had to guess, perhaps it had something to do with temperature. The calmer I became, the cooler the colors.
After some time, I decided to try something for the first time. I visualized a ceiling fan above me, its breeze passing through my body and pushing at my heart.
As I concentrated, I glanced down at the swirling lines, and sure enough, there was movement. It seemed like my Kainen was attempting to break free from its circular flow but lacked the energy to do so, eventually being pulled back into the loop again.
I couldn't imagine how those who couldn't see their Kainen flow trained.
As I concentrated harder, I imagined the ceiling fan accelerating, spinning faster and faster. Reaching its maximum speed. The ceiling barely held it down with equal force.
More and more lines started to break away from the spiral flow, their color changing from blue to green; they went down to my stomach, looped back up to my heart, then went down to my crotch, and then came back up.
As long as I visualized the fan blowing, the flow was established, spreading across my torso.
But I quickly felt the strain of the workout. I stopped visualizing and took a deep breath.
I could feel sweat running down my face. It was more tiring than if I had done 500 push-ups.
After a moment, I stood up, wiping my face with a towel, and made my way downstairs.
I caught sight of Susan just as she was finishing plating the spaghetti.
Susan smiled as she set the plate of spaghetti in front of me. "You've arrived just in time. Please, enjoy," she said warmly.
I took a bite and looked up at her. "This is great, Susan. Thank you."
She beamed at the praise. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No. Not at the moment," I said.
As she turned to leave, I stopped her, suddenly remembering something. "Actually, Susan, do you know anything about fashion?" I asked.
A hint of surprise flickered across her face before she nodded. "A little bit, yes,"
I told her I wanted to buy some new clothes and asked if she could help me pick them out tomorrow after school.
She smiled and agreed.
I felt better knowing that someone with good taste was there to help me. At least I hoped she had good taste.
...
The next morning came and I got ready to leave for uni. When I got outside, I saw a Lincoln limousine with the Maxwell Mafia scarlet wings hood ornament at the front.
A big guy got out of the driver's side of the car. I knew he wasn't a nobody because of the red highlights in his hair. A Pioneer on the level of Rick was working as my driver and even opened the door for me.
I got inside and relaxed. There was even soda and booze, but I didn't drink any.
As we pulled up to campus, the limo stopped, and I stepped out to a gathering crowd.
The driver stood by my side, making everyone take notice. I think they knew who he was. They looked from him to me in astonishment.
In the crowd, I spotted some familiar faces. The girl from the swimming club hung back, not coming over this time. I wondered if Emily had said hi for me. I think her name was Lena.
Nearby, a bunch of delinquent-looking girls smoked cigarrets and chatted about me, making their boyfriends uncomfortable.
Word was spreading about me, with students whispering and staring as I walked into the building. It seemed like everyone was talking about me. I would like to know what they were saying.
Just then, two guys approached me and said, "We finally found you, Graham Maxwell!"
In that moment, out of nowhere, Jack appeared from behind me and stepped up in front of them.
"What do you guys want from him?" he demanded.
Jack was wearing some old-fashioned clothes that did not look right on him.
I placed my hand on his arm and said, "Don't worry. I know these guys. They're just some random bullies."
"We're not bullies!" one of them protested.
I frowned. "You clearly bullied a girl from my class," I said firmly.
The other guy with a bigger build spoke up, "We were just trying to strike a conversation with her."
I observed the two boys closely, remembering the scene. They were ganging up on Ruby and pressing her to the wall.
"You must be joking," I said incredulously. "You think I'm stupid?"
They exchanged uncertain glances before one of them admitted, "Okay, maybe we were a bit too aggressive. You can believe us or not, but we didn't mean to cause any harm."
Yeah... I didn't believe them at all.
Jack looked at me funny. "If you want me to beat them up, just ask me," he said.
I folded my arms and looked at them. "What do you even want from me? Do you want to fight?"
The bigger guy said his name was Rio and his smaller friend was called Tim. Tim nodded his head to everything his friend Rio said.
"We've seen your skills, and we wanted to invite you to the kickboxing club," Rio explained.
"And why would I join your club?" I asked.
"To train. We just want to help you improve, you know?" Rio replied casually, but I sensed there was more to it than that.
I didn't even mind; I guess that if there was someone stronger in their club, then it could actually help me in some way.
"I'll think about it," I said, not committing to anything as I turned and walked away.
As I entered the classroom, the professor made a small quip about our new classmate, Jack, appearing out of nowhere. Once everyone was comfortable, we started the lesson, which was mostly about drawing anatomy.
Towards the end of class, Ashley turned to me casually. "We're planning a camping trip with some friends this weekend. Would you like to join?"
I pondered for a moment. "Hmm. I am not sure. Is anyone I know going?"
Ashley pointed at Ruby. "Ruby said she's in."
"Sounds great," I replied, considering the offer. "But can I invite someone to join us?"
Ashley tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear and gave me a curious look. "And who would that be?" she asked.
I smiled. "My girlfriend," I said simply.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone