Ravennittes
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System Architect - Ch 41
🕑 Added 2024-10-14 16:00:07 +0000 UTCAfter a week of classes, I considered my situation. The university had almost everything I needed to get my quests done every day. From a pool and a gym to solid wifi for puzzles and arithmetic, I was well equipped. The classes weren’t too bad—after explaining who I was to the professors that is. I was getting solid experience from the classes—more than I had at the community college. I had a hunch that it was from just how much I was learning and relearning.
Like with the community college, the main problem I faced was being a news story. Unlike back then, I didn’t have any parental figured to run interference for me. Thankfully, the campus itself gave some protection from the bigger news organizations. The only one that was intent on getting an interview with me was the school newspaper. I weighed the positives and negatives of actually granting their request before giving in with some stipulations. I forbade them from publishing my name or likeness. That would do a lot to prevent other outlets from latching on and running their own stories—and bothering me again.
We agreed to meet at the cafeteria across from my down between classes at a time when there would be fewer other students around. An hour before lunch was what we came to after some back-and-forth. I picked one of the booths out of the way and sent a text to my newspaper contact.
While I waited for them to arrive, I started eating my lunch. There were two reasons I ultimately decided to do the interview for. The first—and most obvious—was to get the story out of the way. Get the local fame done and over with so I could focus on studying. The other reason was to use the newspaper to promote my writing. Even if it didn’t move the needle much, I hoped to get the message out there with a well-crafted interview.
I considered practicing for it and even tried talking to myself a bit. However, I gave that up quickly. I trusted myself enough to think quickly when the time came. Plus, I was supposed to be six years old. They’d cut me some slack—I hoped they would, anyways.
I saw two students looking around the room, looking lost. I waved to them, guessing they were the ones I was going to talk to. They both came over and sat across from me. They were both women—one taller and pudgier while the other was shorter and skinnier.
“Hello,” the taller woman said. “Are you Eddy?”
“I am,” I answered.
“It’s good to meet you face to face,” she said. “My name is Laura. My partner here is Jess.”
Laura extended her hand to shake, so that’s what I did. I shook Jess’ hand next.
“So we’re here to interview you,” Jess began. “You’re the youngest student this university has ever had—and it’s not even close. We’re excited to have you here!”
“Thanks,” I said.
“I understand that you’re in your second year this year. Where did you transfer from?” Laura asked.
“I went to my local community college last year. It was affordable and close to home.”
“I see,” she said thoughtfully. “And what are you studying?”
“I’m not sure which track yet, but I’m leaning towards business administration.”
“Why that major in particular?”
“I’ve been considering what I can do as a child when I graduate. It’s going to be hard to get a job until I’m much older, so I thought I’d start my own business while I have the safety of my parents to fall back on.”
While Laura and I were talking, Jess was furiously tapping notes down on her phone.
“I see,” she said. “Why did you choose our university over the many others?”
“Again, money,” I said with a shrug. “The dean of the community college knew one of the deans here. That got me in the door. My, uhhh, novelty got me a full ride scholarship offer. Because of that, I chose to study here.”
“Jess, you want to ask a couple while I grab us some water?” Laura asked.
“Sure.”
Laura stood up and left Jess and I alone.
“Outside of studying, what do you do for fun? Have any hobbies?”
“I write stories,” I said. “I also grow things with my Dad and grandfather. He’s got a large plot of land set aside as a garden, so I help him.”
“He?”
“Oh, sorry. My grandfather.”
“That’s ok,” she smiled. “Anything else?”
“I am very active—running, walking, playing. Those kinds of things.”
She nodded.
Laura returned. She placed a full cup of ice water in front of each of us. I thanked her, as did Jess.
“What’d I miss?” Laura asked.
“Hobbies,” Jess said before whispering into Laura’s ear.
I saw Laura’s face light up.
“So you write too!” she exclaimed. “That’s really cool.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I was hoping the school newspaper might feature some of it from time to time, if you’ll let me.”
“I don’t see why not,” she answered. “Just need to submit it to the editor, right Jess?”
“Yeah. Include a note saying it’s from you—as in your name and age and stuff. That’ll make it stand out more.”
“Nothing too long,” Laura added with a chuckle. “We’re not printing books here!”
“Good to know,” I smiled.
The questions continued. The two women asked about my background—where I was from, what my parents did, when I started reading, when I learned math, etc—and anything else they could think of. The interview went on for half an hour. By the time it concluded, the first students were trickling in for their noon-time meal.
“Thank-you for your time,” Jess said, offering her hand.
“Likewise,” I said shaking it.
I shook Laura’s hand next. Then they left me alone. I had another hour-and-a-half before my next class. In that time, I nibbled on the rest of my lunch and got some studying done.
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The fallout from the article wasn’t as bad as I feared it might have been. It made me a minor celebrity on campus for a few weeks before it died down. Withholding my name and image had done a lot to keep the vultures away—or so Jess told me after I’d sent my first piece for her to look at for publication in the paper.
The two short stories I’d written—complete with links to some of my other work—drummed up readers for the apocalypse story. While not a huge number, it helped to spread the ideas. Or so I hoped. There still weren’t any other stories like it, but I thought they might be coming with more time and exposure.
After a handful of weeks playing with Julia and handing out with her parents, I got a side-gig watching her after school during the week. The pay was pretty bad, but I accepted as a way to spend time with someone my age. Activities like tag and video games were our go-tos. That time every day was a fun mental break and I felt it helped me stay on track with my studies.
The school work wasn’t difficult, but it was voluminous. I spent several hours every week for all six classes I was taking. That left me with little free time to work on quests. Even so, I still managed to finish most of my quests every day. The ease of access to all sorts of facilities helped tremendously. As did the skill that gave me an extra experience for each thing I did. Every class I attended? One more experience. Every quest completed? One more experience. It added up. All told, it gave me another 10% more experience—even when accounting for the dead-end quests I sometimes got courtesy of Milestones III.
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Julia’s parents offered to take all of us to a corn maze. Without any transportation of my own—public transit excluded since I couldn’t go alone—I was stuck to where I could walk. The campus was the safest place for me, too. Going off the campus would be a risk without having a companion, so I didn’t. This was my first real opportunity to get away. I accepted.
I sat with Julia in their minivan. The farm was close to the campus—in the valley on the other side of the mountain. It didn’t look like a real working farm to me. No, it was the kind of place that made its money from tourism instead of selling produce. It was expansive insofar as tourist-focused farms went. The farm had far more than just a corn maze. There were places to pick pumpkins, slides, carnival games, and a hayride.
I jumped out of the minivan as soon as we were parked. Julia followed me. Her parents took up the rear. Parking was free but the tickets were not. The entrance fee—which they insisted on paying for—wasn’t terrible. It covered almost everything inside the farm.
“Where do you want to go first?” Greg asked me and Julia.
“Hayride!” Julia exclaimed.
I shrugged. I had no preference.
“Let’s go! Let’s go! LET’S GO!!” Julia bounced.
She ran off. I jogged to keep up. Her parents were out of breath just trying to stay with us. There was a line waiting for the next ride, so we queued in it and waited.
The tractor pulling the hayride came five minutes later. It was stuffed with people holding pumpkins. I waited for them to get off and for the people in front of us to climb onto the trailer. When it was my turn, I hopped up the steps and found an open seat on one of the hay bales. Julia sat with her parents across from me. The attendant came up the steps to chain the gap closed.
“Keep your arms inside at all times,” he said. “Enjoy the ride.”
The attendant walked up to the tractor and signaled that it was time to go. The engine revved. The trailer lurched forward. Julia’s arms flailed and Aly caught her before she could tip over into the person next to her. Aly gave her daughter a hug and a kiss before Julia waved her off.
The tractor pulled us along a narrow path through the woods. There were small fields on the other side of the trees separated by a large pond. On the other side—a little ahead of us—was a wooden shack that looked like it wasn’t in good shape. As we approached the shack, a metal bar swung out with bats and spiders on it.
Julia screamed while I laughed—I’d seen it coming. She glared at me when she calmed down only for the next creepy crawly scare to jump out from behind one of the trees. There were two more jump scares on the way to the pumpkin patch. I thought it was great. Julia and many of the other children were not impressed.
When we got to the pumpkin patch, another attendant let us off the trailer. We searched around for a while before selecting the best pumpkins we could. A quick ride back on the hayride—no scares this time—and a jaunt to the minivan to drop the pumpkins off, we were ready for the next activity.
“Let’s do the corn maze,” I suggested.
It was the reason we’d originally come, after all.
“Sure!” Julia agreed.
Like before, she led the way. The corn maze was on the other side of the farm from where the hayride had been. It was a well-worn trail with many twists and turns through row after row of corn. In the center of the maze was a large pile of dirt with a slide on it. A tall flagpole in the same clearing made the goal visible from the outside.
Julia entered first with me walking behind her. She took random routes and got lost very quickly. I could sense her growing frustration.
“Pick a direction and keep turning that way,” I suggested. “Left or right at every turn. We’ll eventually get there that way.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Definitely.”
She nodded and picked left as that was the direction we had generally been going. That way, we would be less likely to retrod the same paths. Turn after turn, she kept to the plan. Even so, I thought she might not fully believe me. Her parents were talking amongst themselves, oblivious to everything else. Sure, they looked our direction from time to time and generally followed us, but they were much more interested in each other.
“Look!” Julia exclaimed, pointing at the hill with the slide in front of us. “I found it!”
“Good job,” I said.
I raced her up to the top slide. I won handily—those stats were useful when I needed them. The two of us slid down and raced up for at least an hour before she grew tired of the slide. It was time to move on to the next thing.
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We made it back to the campus an hour before dinner.
“Thanks for having me,” I said to Julia’s parents.
“Oh, it was no trouble,” Aly smiled. “You kept Julia busy for us—”
“—and that was worth every penny!” Greg finished.
They both laughed.
Julia was still napping in her seat. I waved goodbye to them and returned to my dorm.
