ADDISON: That game was incredible.
PAYTON: Yeah! I finally get why Julian’s always so worried about practicing. Football is hard!
JULIAN: Heh. Well, it’s no cake walk. But what you did wasn’t easy, either. Those floats were pro.
PAYTON: Thanks!
AUTUMN: Hey! There’s the big football star! I might have been sitting with the Hearst High fans, but I was cheering for you!
JULIAN: Oh. Yeah?
AUTUMN: Yeah, people started throwing things at me and telling me to shut up… but I was just so excited! You were awesome out there!
JULIAN: Heh. No big deal!
ADDISON: Don’t be so modest. It was epic.
PAYTON: Yeah. You guys did an a-ma-zing job! Now it’s time to celebrate! Autumn, this Homecoming Dance has a no-Hearst-High policy, but I think we can make an exception for you.
AUTUMN: Aw! Let’s go to the dance!
Later, at the Homecoming Dance, you celebrate the Homecoming victory with Julian, Autumn, Payton, and all of your friends!
ADDISON: Julian! Payton! This is such an awesome party! The two of you make a great team!
PAYTON: Yeah, we do! Go Team Pulian! Team Jayton? Hmm, neither of those sound right…
JULIAN: Heh, well, while you work it out, I actually got you something. I remember you always liked it after a celebration…
ADDISON: Heh, let me guess… you got her… A lamb kebab.
PAYTON: What? I would never eat a baby lamb!
JULIAN: Yeah, that’s a really weird thing for you to jump to, Addison… Because what I got Payton is a peppermint latte!
PAYTON: Yay! You remembered!
Julian hands Payton her latte. For one second, their hands touch…
PAYTON: You know, Julian… you’re a pretty okay guy…
JULIAN: You’re not bad yourself, Prep.
AUTUMN: Guys! I’ve got great news! My dad thought your Homecoming was great!
JULIAN: So does that mean…?
AUTUMN: It means exactly what you think it means! He’s going to let me transfer!
JULIAN: Sweet!
Julian sweeps Autumn up in a tight bear-hug before quickly putting her down and stepping back. Payton watches, a sad look on her face, before glancing away.
JULIAN: I, uh, mean… congrats.
AUTUMN: Hee hee! Thanks. I’m so happy!
PAYTON: If we weren’t ALREADY at a dance, I’d totally throw you a party!
AUTUMN: I’m going to go start enrolling right now! Just… one last thing. I’ve seen the jocks hanging out together and the nerds over in their building… the preps have a place to go, too. Do you have somewhere for artists like me to hang out?
[ Have 1 Artist Hangout | None | Autumn, 1425xp ]
JULIAN: So, what do you think? This is where artsy people like you hang out.
AUTUMN: I love it! It’s the perfect place to draw inspiration!
JULIAN: Yeah, you can draw anything you want! Horses… fruit… horses eating fruit…
AUTUMN: Thanks for showing me around, guys!
ADDISON: I’m just glad you’re finally enrolling.
AUTUMN: Me too!
JULIAN: There’s still one thing I want to know about. Where di Max get that quadrodactyl thing he used to spy on us? That thing was seriously high tech.
AUTUMN: I have an idea… but I won’t be able to verify it without going back to Hearst High. The guy I’m thinking of always hangs out in the science department.
ADDISON: I can meet you there, Autumn. We’ll check it out together.
AUTUMN: Uh, no offense, but you’re not exactly welcome there…
ADDISON: No, I’m not… which is why I’ll need to go in undercover!
[ Addison, Autumn | 30m | 1000c, 1425xp ]
AUTUMN: Okay, are you ready to go in undercover?
ADDISON: Ready as I’ll ever be…
AUTUMN: That’s the spirit! Now, the first step is figuring out your character. What do you want to be your cover?
ADDISON: A janitor.
AUTUMN: ...an interesting choice.
ADDISON: No one ever suspects a janitor! All I have to do is walk around pushing a broom and looking surly, and everyone’ll get out of my way!
AUTUMN: It’s true! But just in case you get questioned, you’ll need to know your character’s backstory…
ADDISON: Wait, what?
AUTUMN: Let’s see… maybe you’re a troubled youth with a shadowy past and a secret passion… a passion for sweeping!
ADDISON: Maybe we could just focus on how to look surly…
AUTUMN: Yeah, yeah...
A little while later, you walk through the halls of Hearst High…
ADDISON: Grumble grumble… it’s just me, Scruffy the janitor… sweeping some floors and doing some chores…
Pretty soon, you’ve almost made it to the science department when…
MIA: Hey! You! What do you think you’re doing?!
ADDISON: I…
MIA: You’re a janitor, right? Well, I’m supposed to have my locker shined and polished every morning, and look! Look! There’s a fingerprint smudge right in the middle of it!
ADDISON: Uh… I don’t really think that’s part of my job…
MIA: Are you kidding me? Do you even know who I am? My dad’s the principal. My big brother is the school star. That means you have to do whatever I want!
ADDISON: But… I mean, I…
MIA: Ugh, you’re going to really make this difficult, aren’t you? Here, have some money. Would a 20 cover it? That’s about what you make in a week, right? Say… wait a minute… you look kind of familiar… do I--
Just then, a voice shouting from across the halls cuts her off.
KARA: Mia! There you are! Cheerleading practice is starting!
MIA: Ugh, whatever. I hate today…
Mia walks off.
ADDISON: Whew, that was a close call!
You rush over to the science department, where Autumn is waiting for you! Inside a science classroom, a guy and a girl are working on some kind of robot…
NISHAN: Hmm… it’s a start… but if we’re going to make the greatest Battlebot ever, we’ll need to come up with some anti-grav thrusters…
SAKURA: Come on, Nishan, you know we don’t have time for that. We need to get back to prepping those cheat sheets for Max and Kara…
AUTUMN: Hey Nishan! We need to talk.
Nishan excuses himself and comes over.
NISHAN: Autumn. Random stranger. How can I help you?
AUTUMN: Nishan, Max recently tried to record our football practice using some kind of advanced helicopter… robot… model… thing.
NISHAN: Ah. That would PROBABLY be the stealth quadrocopter I built for him.
AUTUMN: Nishan! How could you do that?
NISHAN: What? I didn’t know he was going to steal anything! I figured he wanted it for, I don’t know, a prep rally or a sportsball game! Besides, it’s not like I could say no. Max keeps the bullies off me, and I do whatever he wants. That’s the deal.
AUTUMN: Come on, Nishan, is that really how you see yourself? As someone’s lackey? Don’t you want to be your own guy, work on your projects, to just be yourself? You should think about transferring, like I did!
NISHAN: Oh man, I am really bad at awkward social situations like this. Is there a polite way I can say no? Or do I just throw a smoke bomb and run? Look, no offense, but Hearst’s got the best academic reputation in the state. The way I see it, high school’s just one dinky step on the way to college… which is a step on the way to my PhD… which is a step to running a research facility… And from there, it’s just a few easy steps to becoming an ageless, all-powerful cyborg… and that’s just a step to--
AUTUMN: Nishan! Just come by and visit us once. Keep an open mind. I promise you’ll be impressed by all the lack of bullying we have to offer.
NISHAN: Fine. I’ll stop by to check out your academics. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work I need to do for Max.
Nishan walks off. Autumn turns to you…
AUTUMN: Come on, Addison! Let’s go build up our academic program so it can compete with Hearst!
[ Have 1 Upgraded Classroom | None | 2850xp ]
ADDISON: Well? How’s that?
AUTUMN: Looking pretty nerdy… and just in time! There’s Nishan!
NISHAN: Well, well, so this is the new school. From all the talk at Hearst, I was expecting more of a sprawling garbage dump meets post-apocalyptic wasteland… But instead, it looks like you’ve got a state-of-the-art learning facility! I haven’t been this pleasantly surprised since I tried to create synthetic peanut butter. It was totally inedible. Just awful. But it worked amazingly as an industrial sealant! Where was I? Oh yeah! Nice school.
ADDISON: So… you’re impressed?
NISHAN: I mean, the place is nice and all… but it’s no Hearst. I mean, Hearst has connections and snobby faculty and a robotics club!
AUTUMN: Hmmm… a robotics club could be a really fun addition to the school! What do you think of that, Addison?
[ Spend 5000 coins, Add a plot of land, Level a Nerd | None | 2850xp ]
NISHAN: There was something you wanted me to see?
ADDISON: Oh, not much. Just our brand new robotics club!
NISHAN: Huh… looks like you’ve got a battle arena… a workshop… and some people already building robots! This is pretty good! Needs more lasers, though… but then again, what doesn’t, am I right? Look, I… I couldn’t leave Hearst even if I wanted to. I owe Max. He’s kept me safe from bullies for years!
AUTUMN: Nishan, he’s exploiting you! Is this like some kind of advanced stage of Stockholm syndrome?
NISHAN: No. Maybe. Look, we’ve got a symbiotic relationship, like those little fish that cling to sharks. Hmm… that reminds me… I need to go check on my fish tank…
AUTUMN: Do you realize that in your own metaphor, you’re a tiny fish clinging to a SHARK?
NISHAN: This is high school, Autumn! Open your eyes. Jocks rule the school and pick on nerds. No one cares about your personality until you get to college.
AUTUMN: You’re wrong. It’s not like that here. I’ll prove it.
[ Complete a Successful Date with a Nerd, Complete a Party with a Nerd | None | 2000c, 2850xp ]
NISHAN: Okay. I’ll admit I’m surprised. Do you think if I came here, I’d be able to throw a party? I’ve always imagined I’d make quite the host. I know a stunning amount of magic tricks…
ADDISON: At this school, you can be yourself! And everyone will support you.
NISHAN: There’s just one last thing…
ADDISON: Are we going to have to build a rocket?
NISHAN: No. Well, yes, later. But right now, I’m worried about the… how do I put this nicely… musclebound, chest-thumping monkeymen.
ADDISON: You mean… jocks?
NISHAN: Sure, call them what you want. I… I realize now that the way the jocks treated me at Hearst was not okay. But I don’t want to go from a frying pan to… well, another frying pan, I guess. I saw that Julian joined your school. That guy was not exactly nice to me back when we were at Hearst together.
AUTUMN: Julian can be a little rough around the edges, but his bullying days are behind him.
NISHAN: Yeah? Prove it.
[ Julian | 1h | 2850xp ]
JULIAN: What’s Hide-And-Go-Geek doing here?
AUTUMN: Ahem… we’re actually trying to recruit him to our school… and we need your help! You see, according to Nishan, you haven’t exactly been nice to him in the past.
JULIAN: Yeah, okay. I might’ve been kind of hard on the guy. So what do you want to do to settle the score, little guy? Wanna punch me in the face a couple times? I can take it.
NISHAN: Given my soft, delicate hands, I think I’ll pass on the punching. I suggest a game of wits! You against me on the checkered field of battle. Knights and bishops, kings and rooks! A true game of gentlemen!
JULIAN: Are you… hitting on me?
NISHAN: I’m challenging you to a game of chess!
JULIAN: All right, fine. How do I attack you with my horses?
NISHAN: Those are knights, actually, and they move two spaces in one direction and one in another, like so.
JULIAN: Of course. ‘Cause that’s exactly how horses move. And then I move my wizard here…
NISHAN: He’s a bishop, but hey, close enough. I move my queen to D5, and that’s checkmate.
JULIAN: Aw… so you won?
NISHAN: Oh yes, very much so. But you actually held your own very well. I was impressed when you sacrificed your pawn for control of the center.
JULIAN: You gotta go big or go home.
NISHAN: I’ve got to say, you surprised me. I never thought you’d have the patience to just sit there and learn an intellectual game, especially a game with no actual combat. You’re all right, Julian.
JULIAN: Thanks, Dorktopus. You’re not bad either.
NISHAN: I don’t want to alarm anyone… but I’m pretty sure the Dark Lord of Evil and his Ice Queen are right over there…
Max and Kara stand in your school’s parking lot. Max points to Nishan and beckons him to come over.
NISHAN: Is he going to hit me? Because I have a shockingly low pain threshold…
ADDISON: Don’t worry, Nishan. I’ll make sure you have plenty of backup.
[ A Level 5+ Classmate, A Level 5+ Classmate (Dale, Finley) | 2h | Nishan, 2750xp ]
NISHAN: You guys sure you’ve got my back? Because Max has the strength of a bull with the speed of a cheetah. Hmmm… Note to self: add ‘cheetah-bull’ to genetic hybrid list… Beetah? Cheebull?
DALE: Don’t worry, Nishan. Max won’t try anything with us around.
FINLEY: We’ve got you covered no matter what that cheebull tries.
NISHAN: Uh, hey, Max. You wanted to talk to me? With words and preferably not punches?
MAX: Punches? Why would I punch you, Nishan? We just came here to talk! Didn’t we, Kara?
Kara rolls her eyes and speaks in a flat, bored voice…
KARA: Yes, Nishan. We came here because we miss you so much. Please don’t transfer away. That would be sad. Blah blah.
DALE: This is… not what I expected…
FINLEY: Are we still supposed to fight them?
MAX: I’m serious, Nishan. I don’t know what crazy ideas these losers have put in your head, but you do not want to transfer. You’re a valued student at Hearst!
NISHAN: Are you just saying that because I build you things? Because I’m your little shark-cleaning fish?
MAX: I don’t know what that means, but… is that so bad? I help you, you help me, no one gets hurt… except for these losers here, of course.
NISHAN: Wow, Max, I have to say thanks… But no thanks.
MAX: What?!
NISHAN: You know, I always figured I had it pretty good for a nerd… I was being lovingly exploited after all! But now I realize that things don’t have to be that way. People don’t have to treat each other like that. Not here. I mean, look at Julian! I spent years terrified of that guy… and the two of us just played a game of chess!
KARA: Julian played chess?! Did he, like, eat the pieces?
NISHAN: See? That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what I want to get away from. The people here don’t just want me for what I can do for them. They want me for ME. And that’s why I’m transferring.
MAX: You just burned your last bridge, Nishan. When my dad’s done calling his buddies on the college board, there won’t be a single school in the state that’ll consider you!
KARA: And what about that little nerd-girl you’re always staring at, huh? Think she’ll still want to build nerdbots with a TRAITOR?
NISHAN: Sakura? She… she…
MAX: Come on, Kara. Let’s get out of here.
Max and Kara walk off. You rush over to join Nishan.
NISHAN: I really just did that, didn’t I? I’m not imagining it?
ADDISON: Nope. You just stood up for yourself. And made the best decision of your life.
AUTUMN: I can reach out to Sakura, you know… see if she wants to transfer.
NISHAN: No, it’s… it’s okay. She’s happy at Hearst. Don’t bother her. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.
ADDISON: In that case… welcome aboard, Nishan.
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