Leonard had always been resourceful when it came to finding quiet corners within the bustling school campus. Today was no exception. He wandered through the labyrinthine hallways until he stumbled upon a seldom-used storage room on the third floor of the engineering building. The room was dimly lit, with dusty shelves of forgotten equipment, and it was blessedly free of the usual chatter and footfalls echoing through the school's corridors.Taking a seat on an upturned crate, Leonard pulled out his sleek, portable computer. He had received an anonymous message, cryptic and enigmatic, urging him to come to this very place and log into the school's restricted system software. His curiosity had driven him to this obscure location, far from prying eyes.As he connected to the system, Leonard couldn't help but feel a shiver of anticipation. The instructions he found on the screen were unlike anything he had encountered before. They were written in a code only he and a few others could deci
After a particularly grueling day at school, Leonard and Daniel decided it was finally time to confront their long-standing tormentor, Edgar once and for all. His relentless bullying had taken a toll on them both, and they couldn't endure it any longer. With newfound determination, they made their way to Andrew's house after school. When they arrived at Andrew's house, they found him sitting in his room, engrossed in a book. They exchanged greetings before Leonard hesitated, then took a deep breath and finally spoke up. "Andrew," he began, "we need your help with something."Daniel nodded in agreement, and together, they explained the ongoing nightmare they endured at the hands of Edgar, detailing the cruel taunts, the physical threats, and the constant anxiety they felt.Andrew listened attentively, his expression growing increasingly grave. After Leonard and Daniel had finished recounting their experiences, he sighed and said, "I've had my suspicions about Edgar for a while now. He
Leonard and Daniel stood side by side, their nervous anticipation palpable as they approached the head of the education office in their city. They had endured countless hardships, from the relentless bullying by Edgar and his cohorts to the seemingly endless indifference of the school administration. But today was different. Today, they had taken a stand.As they entered the office, the man behind the desk looked up from his paperwork and smiled warmly at them. "You two have been very brave throughout all of this," he said, his voice filled with admiration. "I'm proud of you."Leonard and Daniel exchanged glances, their chests swelling with pride. They had faced their fears, and spoke up for themselves, and now they were finally being recognized for their courage.The man leaned forward, his expression growing serious. "I want you to know that this is the end of the road for both Edgar and his parents. We take issues of bullying very seriously, and your bravery in coming forward will
“Leonard! Hurry before the bus leaves!” Mrs Tanner shouted as she stood at the doorway of their small house, staring at the bus that was just some distance away from the house.With how hard their life was, she knew that if her son missed the bus, he was going to spend the next two hours walking to school.“I’m out already, Mom,” Leonard said, pulling her in for a quick hug. After that, he rushed out, meeting with the bus just in time.He looked out the window, watching his mother’s frail figure as she kept on waving at him. As soon as she was out of sight, he sighed, leaning his head back on the seat.Despite having woken up very early and gotten ready for school, Leonard had deliberately stayed till the last moment so that his mother wouldn’t realize that he had left the last meal she had made for him.At the age of seventeen, he has come to see his mom as the most important person to him and with the country’s economy falling, surviving for people like them also got a lot more diff
As soon as the classes for the day ended, Leonard packed his bag. Unlike most of his classmates, he didn’t have a cellphone, thus making it impossible for him to send a message to Susan.But as they needed to meet to study together for an hour, Leonard stalled for time, allowing most of the students to clear out.“Leonard, how about we start studying tomorrow? I have yet to inform my family and our driver would be waiting outside already,” Susan explained as soon as the class emptied out.Looking at how worried she really seemed, Leonard shrugged, not minding if they started today or not.“I would start work on the project tonight and then share whatever progress I have made with you tomorrow,”Susan let out a sigh of relief upon hearing his words and her face lit up with a smile.Still grinning, she added, “I just knew that working with you would be so easy!”“Let’s share our numbers so that we can talk more when we get home,” she added and pulled out her phone from the pocket of the
“Ugh,” Leonard groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he did was to try and move, but pain wracked through his body immediately.As he had a job that didn’t even allow them to miss a day, he didn’t give up and tried to stand up again. This time, he had a better result than before and was able to sit up on the floor of the dark alley.“Host bonding completed. Welcome to the world domination system!” A mechanical voice rang out.Leonard looked around, wondering where the voice had come from.Although the area surrounding their school was naturally safe. It was also still an alley. Thinking that someone out there could be watching him, Leonard’s already weak body was fueled up with adrenaline, and he rushed to stand up.Up until he ran out of the alley and into the normal road, he didn’t see anyone or hear anything again.He checked the watch on his left wrist and saw that he was already about ten minutes late for his work.“Think of Mother,” he encouraged himself as h
“Host is expected to get up at the crack of dawn for physical training.” The already familiar voice of the system rang out, waking Leonard up.Leonard peered outside and confirmed that it was still dark outside. However, he stood up and headed outside his room.He opened the door carefully, making sure that he didn’t wake his mother up before heading outside.“Before considering martial arts, the most important thing is to build the physical body to an optimal condition using strength training….”Leonard listened attentively to all the instructions the guardian gave. Very quickly, he ran several laps around their neighbourhood until he was panting and dripping with sweat, and even when he felt like he was going to drop dead from lack of breath, the guardian’s instructions didn’t ring out.After running and lifting objects up the hill for about an hour, the system's guardian finally said he could stop.“Mental strength +2!”“Physical strength +0.5!”Although it wasn’t anything importan
Susan’s eyes dulled while her face flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled with her head bowed and her fingers interlocked.Seeing her reaction, Leonard felt a little guilty, but he had not planned to get a phone anytime soon. After all, the most important person to him was his mother.If he needed a phone to communicate with her, it would mean that she would also need a phone also.Their finances couldn’t handle that kind of luxury and, most especially not a brand that was this expensive.He sighed as he looked at Susan’s already dull expression.“Although I don’t have the money now, I’ll work hard to pay you back. So let’s see this as if you are giving me a loan.”As he talked, he tore out a page from his jotting book and started to draft an IOU between them. Since she had used her savings for it, it was only appropriate to pay her back, but as the phone itself was probably more expensive than his entire net worth, this was the best solution.Susan nodded as her eyes r