Summertime Loving

The classroom began to empty as students filed out, but Travis remained seated, facing Ms. Bissette.

"Travis, I'm really glad to see you again. I heard about your father. I'm so sorry for your loss," she said, her voice gentle and comforting.

"Yeah, it's alright though. I noticed my grades. I'm really failing your class, aren't I?" he replied, cringing at the thought.

Ms. Bissette offered a reassuring smile. "Oh, don't worry. You're not the only student who's behind. That's why I thought maybe you'd like to take after-school classes to help lift your grades. There's also private tutoring if that interests you. You can choose what works best for you. Please visit me after school, and we'll talk about it, okay?"

Travis nodded, relieved but still feeling the weight of his situation. "Oh, can we skip to tomorrow morning? I have something to do today."

"That's perfectly fine. Now hurry on to your next class. Here's your timetable," she said, handing it to him. "Bonne journée!"

With a quick smile and a wave, Travis made his way out of the classroom, ready to tackle the rest of the day.

After leaving Ms. Bissette's classroom, Travis glanced at his timetable and saw that his next class was Math. It was a subject he didn't particularly hate, but he certainly didn't enjoy it either. His teacher was some random guy named Mr. T. Nickles.

'He probably has cameras in the girls' bathrooms or something,' Travis thought as he approached the classroom.

As he entered, he noticed students were already deep into their lesson. Scanning the room for a seat, he spotted the emo girl, Eve, sitting nearby. He'd never quite understood why her storyline seemed so prolonged; maybe the creators had a soft spot for her. With a friendly smile, he took the seat next to her.

"Yo Eve, been a while, hasn't it?" he greeted.

Eve looked up, her expression brightening. "Yeah, it's been like a whole month. I heard about your dad. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks, but don't worry about it. I'm trying to move on and focus on school," Travis replied, trying to sound optimistic.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. Trust me, I know how hard it can be," she said earnestly.

"Guess I have a therapist now," he joked, earning a smile from her.

"You're so silly. So, how's school going so far?" she asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. Can't say I hate it, though."

"Yeah, it's not bad if you look for the good parts."

"Oh, so there are bad parts? Mind sharing?"

"I don't mind, but not here. Why don't we meet up at the park? There's a big fountain I like to sit by. It's really calming, and I get some time to draw whatever's on my mind. It's a nice place to clear my thoughts."

"Sounds good. Expect me to be there at 9; I'll be busy before that."

"Perfect. Just bring a jacket; it gets chilly sometimes, and I can't predict the weather," she said with a light chuckle.

"Will do," he replied, feeling a sense of relief.

They both turned their attention back to Mr. Nickles, who was droning on about concepts Travis struggled to care about. But he knew he needed to pay attention or he'd fail.

'I should really make a study timetable or I'm doomed,' he thought, already planning out his day in his mind.

Class went well as far as Travis could tell; he couldn't even focus for a second and kept getting distracted by his thoughts. Then again, he did have a plan, which included studying at home, of course. He found the comfort of his humble room better compared to this class that, for some reason, smelled like feet. The bell rang, and he packed his stuff; he saw that everyone wasn't doing the same, which confused him.

He took out his timetable and saw that they were here for another 40 minutes. Travis crumbled into despair; this all happened in his head, by the way. He wanted to kill the person who made this timetable—who the hell makes a double Math period on Monday? Worst of all, this is advanced math, so it's more boring.

'I know I'm smart and all, but damn, I don't wanna be in this class. Don't have a choice, though, so fuck it,' he thought.

He calmed himself down and began to think of ways to make time go faster. He then remembered that he had a phone, but that would risk it being confiscated. Also, he's in the same class as Annie, who's a freakin' Nazi when it comes to rules. He can't wait to make her submit to his cock one day. Well, he realizes that the only way to take her down is to take down Mrs. Smith; unlike her, she sort of has a bit of humanity in his opinion, while Annie is worse in every way possible. So yeah, he'll have to think about that before he does anything in the future.

He then remembered Ronda. He finds her easy in many ways. First of all, Ronda likes sports and is basically a sports holic; she's addicted to it and has an extreme obsession over it. She's basically Ronaldo on drugs, more specifically crack. By the way, CR7 is the GOAT of football; if you don't think the same way, then I hope you have a good day.

So how do you take down such a S-tier challenge easily? By beating her at everything she cherishes in sports. He has to be faster, he has to be stronger, and he has to be extremely good-looking while doing all of this. Sure, he isn't that much of a looker, but he's confident in being a better-looking guy than anyone here. Basically, Ronda isn't that much of a problem.

The person who'll be hard to fuck here is probably Jane, the gym teacher, Lily, the girl at the mall who sells games and action figures, the mayor's wife, her daughter—even though she's a slut—and Eve's sister, Grace.

Other than these people, Travis thinks everyone else is going to be easy—not extremely easy, just easy—since all he has to do is follow the plot or even do something they like since he knows them.

Before he knew it, the 40 minutes flashed by. The bell rang, and everyone packed their things. Travis got up and put his stuff in his bag.

"Hey Eve, is there any class with assigned seats?" Travis asked as they walked out together.

"No, not really. You can sit anywhere. Why? You want to sit with me or something?" she teased.

"Something like that. I'm not really accustomed to anything here," he admitted.

"Well, you don't have to worry. I'll personally give you a tour," she said with a bright smile.

"Thanks, that would be great," he replied, feeling a little more at ease with the prospect of navigating the school.

Their next class was science, which meant Travis needed to retrieve something from Ms. Okita's office to stay in her class. He couldn't shake the feeling that things would be different here, especially with actual people around, unlike in the game. He wondered what incident would trigger their arcs.

Eve and Travis walked into the science classroom and took a seat together at the back. As the room filled up, Ms. Okita began her lecture.

"Alright, I'd like for you all to open your textbooks to page 67 and take notes. After that, answer the questions on the following page. Travis, I'd like to speak with you outside," she instructed.

Travis sighed, getting up to follow her. Once in the hallway, she turned to him.

"This is your first time in my class, so you'll need a coat and goggles. You'll also need an actual textbook, but all those items are locked up in my office, and Mrs. Smith has the code. You'll have to figure out a way to get those items. As for the textbook, just ask your partner to lend you theirs, or you could take pictures," she said in her usual blank, emotionless tone.

"Is there any way to access those things from your office? And why are you locked out?" he asked, curiosity piqued.

"Well, I've been conducting research that isn't really allowed in this school, especially since I have some illegal materials, like uranium, for which I don't have a license. So, that's why I'm locked out of my office. They can't fire me, though; every year I help students achieve distinctions—except for that boy Dexter; I don't think he's going anywhere in life, but you never know," she said, shrugging.

"Moving on, yes, there is a way to get the code. It's inside her office, but she's usually there. However, during breaks, she's in the teachers' lounge. If you're confident in your abilities, you could try, but I'm not getting involved if you get caught."

Travis thought it over. He could order everything online, but that would mean missing out on Eve's route. He needed to take the risk.

"Alright, I'll do it. But I want to see what you've been researching in return," he said with a smirk.

"Well, I don't mind. I've been looking for a person to experiment on, so thanks for volunteering," she replied, her expression deadpan.

TO BE CONTINUED