The Lonely Genius

Chapter 3: Sober

"Why are you alive?!"

"You should've died instead of them!"

"You're useless!"

" What a wonderful dream that was..." I woke up from my oh so sweet slumber and checked the time.

8.20 a.m.

"Yeah, I'm late for school." Oh, wait. I accepted that old man's offer. Oh, I guess he's also my gramps now? Life is weird.

"I'll pick you up at nine tomorrow in front of the school."

That's what he said yesterday. I guess Imma get ready. I live in a run-down shack on the outskirts of Greenwood. This little shack doesn't have running water nor electricity. The walls are also seconds away from collapsing. I don't have any neighbors either. So, if I wanna wash my face or shower, I need to walk half a mile to the nearest gas station. At least I don't have to pay the rent.

I basically am homeless. Most of the time I would spend the night at my jobs. My bosses are usually informed of my conditions and let me sleep in the locker room or something as long as I keep it clean. Although sometimes they do deduct my paycheck because of it. Also sometimes the cafeteria or some old couple would give me free food so life isn't too bad.

The only reason I returned to that old shack today is to pack up some stuff to bring along with me. Thankfully because of my nomadic lifestyle, I do not own a lot of things. In fact, I packed up everything in just my school backpack. No, I am not a minimalist. I just can't afford to buy lots of stuff.

. . . . .

It's quarter past 9 now. I'm standing in front of the school gate like an idiot. The security guard is also glaring at me pretty suspiciously. Look, I don't wanna be here too. This whole deal is probably a scam, right? Now that I think about it clearly, that old man may just want to fuck my life up a bit more. Hold up... If he indeed knew my dad, obviously he should hate me. After all, I did cause his death. Or maybe he hates my father and wanted to take revenge on his son or something. Considering how shitty my luck has always been, that's probably it.

I even quitted all of my jobs. I dropped out of school too. I'm such an idiot for falling for such an obvious trap. The best part is, I'm the one who fucked up my whole life. They were right. I am a failure. Sorry, dad, mom, Alan. I have brought shame to the family. Don't worry, no one has any proof of me being part of the family. All the records have been wiped off the face off the planet by your lovely sister, oh dear mother. She even forced me to change my last name to 'Pierce'. After I get rid of the living disgrace, that is Brian Pierce, no one will ever know about my existence.

Now to make sure my body is never found, maybe doing the deed in the forest behind my shack is not too bad of an idea. If I can jump into a meat grinder, that would be ideal. But then I need a foolproof plan to sneak into a factory that has one. I neither have the time nor the resource needed to do so. If I can get my hands on some acid, that would be good enough I think. I just need to melt off my fingerprints and face... Wait, no. They might be able to do a DNA test on my remains. Crap. I knew it the forest plan is my best bet. I need to build an elaborate contraption to dump lots of dirt on me. I can use parts of the shack itself as building materials. Building the contraption is gonna take a few days tho. I need to stock up on enough food. I mustn't starve to death after all. Yes, this is gonna be my greatest work yet.

Hehehehehhehehehehehehhehehehehehehhehehehehehhehehehehehehehehehehhehe-

"You okay there, young man?"

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I was forcefully dragged into reality from it. Then I saw the old man standing in front of me.

"Oh, umm... When did you get here?" I asked weakly.

"I just got here. The traffic was pretty bad so I was being held up for a bit. But more importantly, are you okay? You don't seem too well." Charles said.

"Oh. T-the heat is just getting to me. I'll be fine with some water."

Phew, that was cutting it a bit too close. I can almost feel the grim reaper's scythe on my neck.

"Let's get you some water in the car then. Is that all your luggage?"

"Ah, yes. I am an ultra-poor guy after all." I said. I then followed Charles to the back seat of the car.

. . . . .

"Thank you."

I finally calmed down after a glass of water. There were 4 people in the car including me, Charles, his driver, and who I presume to be his bodyguard. Damn, I feel rich just sitting here.

"Where are we headed, by the way?" I asked Charles.

"We're going to a helipad. We'll reach the academy via my private helicopter."

That is some rich people talk right there. I mean the academy is located on a private island, but still. God damn!

"Also before I forgot, here." Charles hands me a tablet.

Oh, it's a bank account. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7... Holy crap! That's a lot of zeroes. But I feel like its a little lacking for a rich guy like him. Maybe it's one of his spare accounts. Still, that's a lot of money.

"This sure is a lot of money. Is this one of your spare bank accounts?" I asked.

"That's yours, actually" he replied.

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Wait, what?!?!?!?!?!?"

"Hahahahahaha! Exactly the reaction I was looking for."

"Hold up, hold up, hold up. Are you serious? Why? Oh, is this the scholarship? That kinda makes sense."

"No, your tuition fees have already been taken care of. That is your new personal bank account."

"Okay, why? Why are you giving me this much money? This is absurd!"

"That is just a little gift for you, my new grandson, and also my heir."

"What?!!?!?! Wait, you're serious about that whole adopting thingy? Also, why am I your heir? Shouldn't your actual son or grandson be carrying that title instead?"

"I don't have a son. I don't even have a wife."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"But still, this doesn't make any sense! Are you sure you want to make me your successor? We just met a couple days ago!" I continued.

"Well, I have been looking for an heir for a while. I was thinking of entrusting it to one of my students but then you came along. So I thought, why not?"

"Are you insane?"

"I am still very healthy, thank you for asking."

".....Is this my responsibility as your grandson?"

"Only Grandson."

God, this is heavy. I really wasn't prepared for this.

"As my grandson, I will be monitoring you very closely. If I ever deem you unworthy, I shall disown you and search for a new heir. Oh, I won't be asking you to return the money you have to me though. Those are my gifts to you after all. Do your best kid."

And so with those words, the journey was filled with silence as Brian contemplates the gravity of his current situation. Regrets are slowly seeping into his mind as he recalled every important decision in his life. Alas, such is the fate of our poor protagonist.

~To Be Continued~