Modern Family: New Life

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Several days had passed since Andrew started school. The next day, Friday, the team would play their first game, although it was just a friendly match.

The regular season wouldn't begin this Friday but the next, lasting until late October or early November. They would face neighboring schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

The teams with the best win-loss records during the regular season advance to the regional playoffs, which are single-elimination games.

Andrew's school hadn't made it to the playoffs in many years. Their district was highly competitive, and they were just a regular public school. However, since Andrew and his peers joined, everyone in the school community believed this year could be different.

At the middle school linked to the same high school, they had won two district championships in a row, something unprecedented in the school's history, fueling high hopes.

There was only one current issue: the seniors and the coach. Although the seniors didn't make it to the playoffs last year, they came very close. Replacing them as starters with ninth-grade students was seen as a drastic move.

Additionally, the coach was Jason's uncle, the team's quarterback. Despite Andrew outperforming Jason in every aspect during practice—pass accuracy, running, endurance, decision-making, etc.—he was still not the starting quarterback and would most likely watch tomorrow's game from the bench.

Even so, Andrew didn't mind. He understood that's how things worked in sports teams. No matter how good you are, you won't get the starting position right away unless you're a world-renowned player joining a new team. Besides, the first game was just a friendly to warm up, so he didn't care much about playing or not. Still, there was a lot of anticipation as it would set the tone for the team's season.

Andrew wasn't paying much attention to the first friendly game of the season. For the first time in his life, his mind was more preoccupied with something other than football: his YouTube channel. It had been about twelve days since he uploaded his first video, and things had escalated far beyond what he ever imagined, even in his wildest dreams.

In those days, he had uploaded a total of five videos, all featuring Call of Duty matches. They followed the same format Leonard and Howard had seen in the first video: chill commentary, informative content, and an effort to be charismatic so it wasn't just a silent gameplay.

His channel had already accumulated approximately 35,000 views. Part of this unexpected success was thanks to Leonard and Howard, who had shared his videos on forums and social media platforms like Facebook and Reddit. They already had accounts with some reputation in niche gaming forums.

As for subscribers, he had reached the incredible number of 786 in just 12 days. Although, considering the percentage relative to the views, it wasn't a huge figure.

At this rate, it wouldn't take long to reach the milestone of 1,000 subscribers, a number he once saw as distant and hadn't even had time to process mentally. The success had come so quickly that even he hadn't anticipated it.

'I should edit and upload the video today,' Andrew thought, analyzing his day and figuring out when he'd have some free time to do it. Last night, he recorded a match—it went really well, with a ton of kills and on a newly added map. He was confident people would find it useful to get to know the map better.

Andrew slung his backpack over his shoulder, said goodbye to Cam (Mitch had to leave for work earlier), and started heading toward the door.

"Wait, Andy! You're forgetting your lunch," Cam said, holding out a container as he hurried toward Andrew, who had already opened the door.

"Oh, right," Andrew replied, his thoughts still on YouTuber stuff.

"It's unusual for you to forget your lunch. I'd ask if you're thinking about your girlfriend, but given the truth about that relationship…" Cam said as he handed him the container, letting out a slight sigh.

Andrew couldn't help but sigh when he heard Cam. He had to go out with Veronica last Saturday and Sunday, and it was very likely the same would happen this weekend.

The two dates were endless, with Veronica only talking about herself. Then there were the never-ending phone calls where Veronica wouldn't tire of talking, and Andrew would respond with monosyllables. Sometimes, he'd leave the phone on the table and go to the bathroom. When he came back, she'd still be talking as if nothing had happened.

"You need to break up with her," Cam said, noticing Andrew's sigh. He had seen him go on those dates and talk with Veronica. It was clear Andrew wasn't interested.

"Yeah… soon," Andrew said, putting the matter off. He didn't like confrontations with friends or loved ones and wasn't great at handling such situations. He was already the kind of person who found it hard to say no and was always willing to help others.

The only time he was truly competitive was in football, where the last thing on his mind was the feelings of his opponents.

"The bus isn't here yet… Mr. Harrison is always late," Andrew complained, glancing down the street.

"I should ride my bike," he added.

"Absolutely not. It's 8 kilometers to school. You'd arrive sweaty, and it's dangerous at the speed you ride your bike," Cam said firmly.

A normal student might take 30 minutes to cover 8 kilometers by bike, but Andrew could do it in 15 minutes. However, the speed he'd be riding at was far too fast and dangerous for Cam's liking.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the bus arrived, and Andrew got on.

The school day passed without any issues. In his programming class, they had already progressed beyond the simple first program from the initial class: HelloWorld.

"All right, class, listen up," said Professor Smith. "Today, I'm introducing your first major project. It's a group assignment."

"You will work in pairs to create a functional and creative app. It can be a simple game, a useful tool, or something that solves a daily problem. The important thing is that it reflects what we'll be learning these months: from programming logic to basic interfaces. You will have flexibility to choose your idea, but I want it to be something that motivates you," explained Smith.

A slight buzz spread through the class. Smith raised his hand to calm the students. "Pick your partners now. If you have any questions about your project, come ask me. This won't just be fun; it will be a very important assignment for your grade."

Andrew looked toward the front, where Leonard and Howard were already discussing which app to make. Despite spending more time with them in the last few days, his friendship with Leonard and Howard was still superficial.

Their friendship had started just over twelve days ago. They were a well-established duo, and he was the new friend who still hadn't fully fit in. When it came to choosing groups, being left out was almost inevitable.

In this class, Andrew didn't have any other friends besides Leonard and Howard. As he looked around, searching for options, his eyes landed on Pippa, who was already watching him with an arched eyebrow.

His relationship with Pippa had improved in the past few days. They were now programming partners who helped each other, although he was the only one getting help from the smart and perfectionist girl—a quality he had noticed in the past days. She didn't hesitate to point out flaws in his code with surgical precision.

Sometimes, her tone could seem slightly intrusive, but not because she wanted to be condescending or boastful. It was just her way of being: direct and determined to help.

For someone who didn't know her, her enthusiasm for correcting could come off as arrogance, but Andrew had already learned there was no ill intention behind her words.

"Looks like we're the only ones without a group. Partners?" Pippa asked directly.

"Yeah, sure, partners," Andrew said with a somewhat relieved smile, happy not to be left alone. Plus, it's good to have someone smart as a partner.

"Although I warn you that I'm not a genius at this like you," Andrew added.

Pippa rolled her eyes with an funny smile. "Oh, please. I've only corrected you a couple of times."

'Only a couple of times?' thought Andrew, but he said nothing. She even corrected the spelling mistakes in his notes if she happened to see any.

Professor Smith paired up each student with their partner and then explained the main points of the project before the class ended.

"We need to decide what kind of functional app we'll make," Pippa commented while meticulously organizing her notes on the desk. Her movements were precise, as if each sheet had an exact place.

"The professor gave us time until Monday to come up with a basic idea. It's not much, but enough to come up with something solid, though not final," she added.

"I have practice now, and tomorrow is the first game," Andrew said, looking thoughtful. He needed to find a slot in his schedule, maybe on Saturday or Sunday.

Pippa watched him for a few seconds. "We'll decide tomorrow," she said finally, surprising Andrew. He had expected her to insist on solving it right away, true to her perfectionist nature.

"Aren't you going to insist we do it now?" Andrew asked, half-joking.

"I can be reasonable," Pippa replied with a slight shrug, as if it were obvious. "Although you might not believe it, I understand that not everyone's priorities revolve around programming."

"Wow, is that empathy?" Andrew joked as he packed up his things.

"Call it whatever you want. But don't take advantage of it," Pippa replied with a half-smile.

"I'll only be lenient because tomorrow is your first game, and from what I can see, the whole school is excited. But don't think I'll forget about the project," she added.

"I knew there was a catch," Andrew said, chuckling under his breath.

"Consider this a patience loan. But if you don't start contributing after the game, I won't hesitate to talk to the professor," Pippa said, pointing at him with her pen.

"Got it, boss," Andrew replied, raising his hands in surrender as they walked toward the classroom door.

Pippa rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "See you tomorrow. And good luck with the game."

Andrew watched her leave. He wanted to ask if she was going to watch the game, but there was no time.

'I hope she goes, although I'll probably play on the bench,' he thought shaking his head, as he headed off to training.

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