Yangfan
Inactive Member
Thomas Chen had a big smile on his face as he stepped out of the classroom. It was Friday, and Thomas had a relaxing weekend to look forward to. Sure, he would have to spend it in the family estate, and he didn't really get along with his family that well, but anything was better than being stuck in the drab school dormitories for another day.
Several Geshrin girls walked up to him. "Oh Tommy," one of them cooed. "We are going hiking in the mountains tomorrow, want to come with?" Another one of the girls briefly rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, Remi," replied Thomas with his most charming smile. "I promised mom that I'd spend more time with the family. My grandparents moved here just a few weeks ago."
"Well... It's important to spend time with your family, Tommy. Um, bye..." said Remi as Thomas nodded and walked away.
"What a jerk!" One of her companions commented.
"Shut up! Find me one other guy who'll listen to his mother!"
"What about his two cousins? They are nice guys, and they are way smarter than that inconsiderate dolt."
"Eww... You have strange taste in men, Miyuko. One of them has a glass eye, and the other one looks like a girl!"
"It's not glass! It's cybernetic! ... And stop being so superficial!"
"Whoa... I stand in awe of a legend... the nerd groupie..."
"That's it, Remi! You're a dead girl!"
Miyuko took a swipe at Remi, missed, and began chasing after her in the hallway.
Meanwhile, Thomas had made his way to one of the small parking lots on campus. He looked around, trying to remember which car Sam said he'd bring.
"You're late," said a young man leaning by a black, stylish luxury car.
"I missed you, too, Sam," replied Thomas with a toothy smile. "And I'm glad that you drove here in our best car this time. It shows that you still care about your little cousin."
"Ugh. Don't remind me," said Sam, flicking back his ponytail as he got back into the driver's seat. "This car has a terrible Kilojoules-to-mileage ratio. It's wasteful to the extreme. I would've taken a smaller car, but Grandma worried about things like safety and stuff... It's not like I'm picking up PNUgen's Chairman or something..."
Thomas tried hard not to laugh as he settled into the front passenger seat.
Sam drove the car out of the parking out. Within minutes, they were on the highway leading out of Tania. The skyscrapers of the city's commercial district zoomed past the elevated highway on both sides. Both men knew that it would be a long, awkward drive home.
"Got your homework?" asked Sam.
"Yes! In my data-pads! Man, you sound like my mother."
"We are just looking out for you, you know?"
"I'm 18, not 8."
"Yeah... In the olden days, you'd be on your own by now..."
"Exactly. So stop treating me like a kid."
"... with your own little farm, your own horse, maybe even an ox. When you go home after a day of backbreaking work, your wife would complain about the shoddy log cabin that you all live in..."
Thomas shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Sam really scared him sometimes.
Eventually, the cityscape outside of the car's windows was replaced by a suburban residential neighborhood.
"So... How goes the job search?" Thomas suddenly asked.
"Eh. It could be better, could be worse. There's not a lot of demand for field researchers on this planet anymore."
"I'm sure PNUgen would always be glad to have you."
"Yeah, they would, wouldn't they? Heaven forbid that one of the prodigies raised under their care should be unable to find a job... Anyway, I'd rather not. You know how Henry feels about it."
"You could always go back to the YSA," commented Thomas.
"No... Never. Not after what they did to my uncle... Not after what they did to Ralfaris."
Thomas turned to look at Sam's saddened face, and felt sympathy for him. Attachment and loyalty to one's extended family was something Thomas could relate to.
After a period of silence, the scene outside the car's windows changed to a rural landscape.
"Grandpa and Grandma are adjusting to the place really well, I think," commented Thomas.
"Really? I'm glad."
"You might find some more small changes around the estate."
"I think we are all used to that by now. Grandpa is still settling in as the family patriarch. It's only natural that he'll want to assert some authority around the place."
Slowly, the sprawling Chen Estate came into view. The estate was just one of the many spread throughout the countryside. PNUgen treated its top scientists well.
As they drew near, Thomas noticed that a new flagpole had been erected beside the old one outside the main building. A greenish flag now flew beside the purple Imperial flag bearing the Kikyo flower.
Thomas took out his portable holo-camera from its holster, and used the zoom-in feature to check out the new flag's design.
"A bit over the top, don't you think?" said Thomas.
"Grandpa likes it. Humor an old man, won't you?"
"Of course."
Sam drove the car up to the closed main gate, and stopped. An armed Nekovalkyrja guard looked inside the car while another stood nearby. The guard smiled as she recognized the two young men. The gates were momentarily opened to allow the car access to the Chen Estate.
Several Geshrin girls walked up to him. "Oh Tommy," one of them cooed. "We are going hiking in the mountains tomorrow, want to come with?" Another one of the girls briefly rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, Remi," replied Thomas with his most charming smile. "I promised mom that I'd spend more time with the family. My grandparents moved here just a few weeks ago."
"Well... It's important to spend time with your family, Tommy. Um, bye..." said Remi as Thomas nodded and walked away.
"What a jerk!" One of her companions commented.
"Shut up! Find me one other guy who'll listen to his mother!"
"What about his two cousins? They are nice guys, and they are way smarter than that inconsiderate dolt."
"Eww... You have strange taste in men, Miyuko. One of them has a glass eye, and the other one looks like a girl!"
"It's not glass! It's cybernetic! ... And stop being so superficial!"
"Whoa... I stand in awe of a legend... the nerd groupie..."
"That's it, Remi! You're a dead girl!"
Miyuko took a swipe at Remi, missed, and began chasing after her in the hallway.
Meanwhile, Thomas had made his way to one of the small parking lots on campus. He looked around, trying to remember which car Sam said he'd bring.
"You're late," said a young man leaning by a black, stylish luxury car.
"I missed you, too, Sam," replied Thomas with a toothy smile. "And I'm glad that you drove here in our best car this time. It shows that you still care about your little cousin."
"Ugh. Don't remind me," said Sam, flicking back his ponytail as he got back into the driver's seat. "This car has a terrible Kilojoules-to-mileage ratio. It's wasteful to the extreme. I would've taken a smaller car, but Grandma worried about things like safety and stuff... It's not like I'm picking up PNUgen's Chairman or something..."
Thomas tried hard not to laugh as he settled into the front passenger seat.
Sam drove the car out of the parking out. Within minutes, they were on the highway leading out of Tania. The skyscrapers of the city's commercial district zoomed past the elevated highway on both sides. Both men knew that it would be a long, awkward drive home.
"Got your homework?" asked Sam.
"Yes! In my data-pads! Man, you sound like my mother."
"We are just looking out for you, you know?"
"I'm 18, not 8."
"Yeah... In the olden days, you'd be on your own by now..."
"Exactly. So stop treating me like a kid."
"... with your own little farm, your own horse, maybe even an ox. When you go home after a day of backbreaking work, your wife would complain about the shoddy log cabin that you all live in..."
Thomas shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Sam really scared him sometimes.
Eventually, the cityscape outside of the car's windows was replaced by a suburban residential neighborhood.
"So... How goes the job search?" Thomas suddenly asked.
"Eh. It could be better, could be worse. There's not a lot of demand for field researchers on this planet anymore."
"I'm sure PNUgen would always be glad to have you."
"Yeah, they would, wouldn't they? Heaven forbid that one of the prodigies raised under their care should be unable to find a job... Anyway, I'd rather not. You know how Henry feels about it."
"You could always go back to the YSA," commented Thomas.
"No... Never. Not after what they did to my uncle... Not after what they did to Ralfaris."
Thomas turned to look at Sam's saddened face, and felt sympathy for him. Attachment and loyalty to one's extended family was something Thomas could relate to.
After a period of silence, the scene outside the car's windows changed to a rural landscape.
"Grandpa and Grandma are adjusting to the place really well, I think," commented Thomas.
"Really? I'm glad."
"You might find some more small changes around the estate."
"I think we are all used to that by now. Grandpa is still settling in as the family patriarch. It's only natural that he'll want to assert some authority around the place."
Slowly, the sprawling Chen Estate came into view. The estate was just one of the many spread throughout the countryside. PNUgen treated its top scientists well.
As they drew near, Thomas noticed that a new flagpole had been erected beside the old one outside the main building. A greenish flag now flew beside the purple Imperial flag bearing the Kikyo flower.
Thomas took out his portable holo-camera from its holster, and used the zoom-in feature to check out the new flag's design.
"A bit over the top, don't you think?" said Thomas.
"Grandpa likes it. Humor an old man, won't you?"
"Of course."
Sam drove the car up to the closed main gate, and stopped. An armed Nekovalkyrja guard looked inside the car while another stood nearby. The guard smiled as she recognized the two young men. The gates were momentarily opened to allow the car access to the Chen Estate.
