[Hyde POV]
As I got home, I saw Kelso's new van on the driveway.
It was a Dodge A-100 van from 1965. It has a wooden bumper at the back which held the plate number, and it also served as a step ladder to get into the back of the van.
The gray van has lots of obvious patchwork on it. It looked really rundown too.
And when I walked beside it after parking my car on the streets, I saw the camera was on me, and then, I heard some moans coming from the inside of the van.
I was holding a meatball sandwich– Nicole's lunch that I stored in the system after she was gone. I was eating it as I heard what was going on.
"Laurie. No. Laurie No… (moans) Yes."
I grimaced as I heard Kelso's voice coming from inside the truck.
As I turned back to leave them alone, my notification suddenly popped.
[-10 favorability]
'Huh? Why?'
I took another step further, and it dropped even more.
[-25 favorability]
'I have 99 favorability before. But I dropped 35 of it just by walking away?'
Confused, I realized I was holding the meatball sub. The same sub I told Jackie to bribe me with to make sure I took care of Kelso on her behalf.
'Oh damn it.'
I picked a hose from nearby and returned to the van. Then, I opened the door abruptly, and saw Laurie straddling Micheal, just riding him like a cowgirl while the two were half naked.
"Hyde!" Kelso was alarmed. Laurie grinned and said, "Shut the door–"
I sprayed them with cold water from the outdoor hose.
"AHHHHH!" Laurie and Kelso yelled girlishly and tried to cover the water from their hands. Laurie ran away hurriedly to get inside the house and Kelso ran away from me.
[+40 favorability]
[Congratulations on passing the 100/150 mark. You're now a well-liked side character….]
I could almost hear the sound of the audience applauding. I haven't read the notification fully yet.
I wiped my hand clean, ate the sandwich and left.
"Hyde! Why?!" Kelso whined, looking at me with eyes that were full of betrayal.
"Hey man, I'm just keeping my promise." I told him as I showed the sandwich to him.
[+10 favorability.]
The situation was quite iffy anyway since it seemed like Laurie was coercing him. So I didn't mind interfering with it. The scene cuts away and I could relax a little.
I went to the basement and changed into more casual clothes. A black, Led Zeppelin shirt and jeans. Then, I sat at my usual spot by the tv.
I think the scene was paused for a bit so I checked on the system notification.
{Congratulations on passing the 100/150 favorability level. You had gone up from tolerable side character to well liked side character.
You will receive two gifts. You may choose them from the five options. Or choose random for both.
The storage slot expanded from 5 to 10 slots.
You may choose 1 character trait.}
"Character traits?" I muttered with a slight amusement.
I think the traits were based on a writing rule in sitcoms and the audience perception of the character.
Like in the Office. Micheal Scott was a great salesman.
In Modern Family, Phil Dunphy was a great realtor.
In Brooklyn 99, Jake Peralta was a genius detective.
In Friends, Joey was an actor, Monica was a cook, Chandler was a sassy sarcastic man.
Everyone has their own traits.
In this show, my traits were a conspiracy nut job. But it was very limiting and it felt small, very easily overshadowed by the others.
I clicked on the notifications, and the traits were to be picked out first.
[Pick 1 Trait out of Five.
Extraordinary Salesmen. Chances of sales +40 percent.
Secret Prodigy. 20% effort to gain 100% skills.
Drug Lord. Chances of getting busted by police lowers by 50%.
Artist. 50% increase in artistic skills.
Schemer. 30% more chance in convincing your friends to do stupid stuff. ]
I thought seriously about the matter.
'Will the traits have to be used in the sitcom scenes? If they build a plot around it, I should be careful about what I should pick.'
If the traits were for a sitcom scene, then number 2 and 3 are the worst choice.
For number 3, I would be going down the path of a dealer. So that could be striked off.
For number 2, if I was a character on a sitcom and everything came easy to me, the audience would be turned off by it.
Schemer was based on what I usually do in the story. Getting my friends in trouble.
"I get everything else… but 'artist'?" I was confused. "I don't think I have shown any artistic talents in the show. Or… in real life. Where did it come from?"
I was quite attracted to that trait for some reason. So I picked it.
As I clicked on it, the options disappeared. I tried to sense any changes, but nothing happened.
"Did it kick in yet?"
"What needs to kick in?" Eric suddenly appeared from upstairs and asked. Fez was walking behind him.
"Um, a new type of stash." I told him. "What? You found a new type?!" Eric was elated.
"Yeah, it's premium stash. More expensive. But cleaner smoke." I told him.
"Great!" Eric said. "Bring it out. Let's try it."
Fez and Eric were excited. I took out my 0,5 g blunt which I rolled with my future weed that has 10% THC.
Eric lit up the incense to cover the smell. I took out a deodorizer from my room.
I used a lighter to light up the blunt. As I smoked it, I gave a drag to Eric.
That's what we always did in the basement. We didn't have one each unless it was really a special occasion.
Eric coughed slightly and groaned, "This is quite strong. But you're right, it's smooth."
Suddenly, the circle scene appeared while Eric was talking. I was stunned yet again.
I think this was my first circle scene with the weed in four episodes. So I was quite nervous.
The camera panned to Eric as he said, "So, is this what you sold your soul for?"
Then, the camera turned to Fez after he took a drag and gave the blunt back to me.
"Ay Eric. Lay off him. He's buying us food, and new premium stash. What more do you want from him?" Fez admonished Eric.
The camera panned to me after I took a drag and gave it back to Eric. I realized the blunt would never be shown in the shot, only the smoke.
I smiled, feeling the giggles and said, "Guys. I thought about it. I think I'm going to drop out of school."
"What?!" Eric was shocked. Then, he burst into laughter. "Oh my god, this stuff is so strong. I thought I heard you say you're dropping out of school."
Fez also laughed and said, "Yeah Eric. I heard the same thing."
"I'm serious. I'm learning nothing at school anyway." I said seriously.
Eric's face turned solemn. Before he could say anything, Kelso came into the basement and joined the circle.
He took a drag and immediately said, "Hyde. You bastard. You blue balled me!"
"What's going on?" Eric asked.
Fez laughed and said, "Hyde kicked Kelso in the balls. Now, it has turned blue."
"Fez. That's not what it meant." I turned to Fez before turning back to Kelso, "Hey man. You did this to yourself. If you want to screw around with Forman's sister, find someplace… other than her father's driveway!" I shouted at him.
Micheal was taken aback and said, "I don't care. You owe me some sexy time with Eric's sister."
"You're fooling around with my sister?" Eric was shocked and disgusted.
Kelso laughed as he turned to Eric and said, "Oh. Yeah. I did it with her halfway."
"Then, his balls turned blue and she was scared." Fez said, fully high.
"Fez, again. That's not what it meant." I said to Fez before turning to Kelso again, "And you, I owe you nothing."
"Oh yeah–" Micheal almost snapped, but the weed made him giggle and mellow out. "Man, what's in this? This is really pulling away all of my anger."
"By the way Kelso. How's Eric's sister?" I asked. Eric was shocked, and Micheal laughed.
Fez said, "Oh yes. Eric's hot sister."
"It was awesome. She lets me–"
"Kelso! I swear to god! One more word from you, and I'm telling Jackie." Eric warned him seriously.
I burst into laughter as I saw Kelso's face of realization.
"Damn. I forgot about Jackie." Kelso said with a sad face.
I laughed out loud and said sarcastically. "Right, right. You forgot you have this huge, bitchy anchor tied around your neck. (snorted derisively) I mean, it could happen to anyone."
Kelso was becoming more deflated and worried. I laughed out loud and the circle scene ended in the sitcom.
In real life, we were talking and smoking a bit more.
"What should I do?" Kelso asked.
"I don't know. I have places to go. So I'm leaving." I said and stood up abruptly.
"Where are you going?" Eric asked.
"To see Nicole and Bonnie." I replied.
"Oooh, two girls. Who are they?" Fez asked teasingly.
"Linda's roommates." I replied with a smirk.
Micheal immediately stood up and went beside me, asking, "Are they hot?"
"Very hot." I said with a chuckle.
"I thought you were down because Linda stood you up!" Eric snapped at me.
I smiled and said, "She did. But her roommates didn't. And guess what I did with them last night in the hotel room? Hint. It was something we all dreamt about since we were in 8th grade."
Eric's face fell. Fez breathed heavily. Micheal's face turned blank.
"Oh my god!" Eric shouted.
"HYDE! YOU'RE A GOD!" Micheal raised my hands up in celebration.
"HYDE! YOU'RE MY IDOL!" Fez shouted and tried to hug me, but I stopped him by pushing his head away.
…
I went to Linda's apartment. Linda opened the door and was surprised as she saw me.
"Steven? Why are you here?" She asked. "You cannot be here."
"I'm not here for you." I replied. "Are Bonnie and Nicole around?"
"Bonnie? Nicole?" Linda was confused. The door opened wide, and the two girls smiled at me.
"Hey Steven!" Nicole greeted gleefully. Bonnie walked towards me and kissed me on the lip.
Linda opened her mouth wide and froze in her place. Then, Nicole kissed me too. They dragged me into their room.
"What the hell is going on!" Linda yelled from outside.
Nicole and Bonnie giggled, extremely satisfied with Linda's reaction. I sat on one of the beds–the room has two single beds in it, one for each girl.
"Hyde. We're sorry for bringing the steam cleaner back without your permission." Bonnie said while flashing her sad puppy eyes.
I chuckled and said, "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Did you use it to clean your room?"
"No. We did our next door neighbor's room and got around 50 bucks." Nicole said as she sat next to me and began kissing my neck.
"Sounds a bit prostitute-y." I teased. Nicole inhaled deeply as she was amused and teased, "If that makes us hookers, then you'll be our pimp."
"I'm fine with that." I laughed. Bonnie took out the cash and asked, "How should we split this?"
"You can take it." I reached for my wallet and took out 60 bucks to pay them. "Here, the payment for the afternoon."
"Now it feels more and more like prostitution." Nicole rolled her eyes and took the money.
I laughed and teased her while brushing her hair, "Aww. Did I not pay you enough? Want to double that?"
"Yes." She mewed softly. "In fact, I want to triple, and quadruple it."
"We need a bit more money to pay the rent. And get our TV back from the pawn shop."
Bonnie said softly as she sat next to me.
"So, we're thinking… Can we borrow your equipment for a few days? We can hit up 2-3 houses per weekend, and maybe one or two on weekdays. W-We will split the profit with you though!" She added.
I thought about it and asked, "What kind of service do you girls offer?"
"Just some mold and tar cleaning." Nicole replied.
"The results are like something a pro had done, so we already got a recommendation for the next job." Bonnie said cautiously.
"Alright then. You don't really have to pay me anything except for maybe the price for the chemicals and gloves. I bought the steam cleaner to clean Victoria's apartment, so now that it's done, I will just store it away."
"Oh! That's great!" Bonnie clapped once and said, "So we got your permission right?"
"Yeah. Sure. Do it." I chuckled.
"Nice!" Nicole smiled in elation. "Thanks pimp. We're really tired, so we're not going to do it like last night."
"Oh." I replied with a bit of disappointment.
"So just a quickie." Bonnie replied, which made me smile again.
"Since you're both tired, I'll do all the work today." I added, which made both of them giggle.
Soon, moaning sounds could be heard all over the apartment. The two girls were being loud on purpose.
Linda couldn't handle it and left the house, slamming the door. The girls giggled as they heard it.
They were using me, and I was fine with it.
…
I came back around 10, and saw Eric and Fez playing cards by the kitchen dining table. I entered through the sliding door and greeted them. As soon as I entered, the camera started rolling.
During this, I finally learned to just ignore the system notification for it and wasn't being panicked anymore.
"Hey."
"Back from your trip so soon?" Eric teased.
"Soon? It's been two hours." I said.
"Wait. We've been playing poker for 2 hours?" Fez was shocked.
"Oh, Steven," she said, marching toward me with that smile she uses when she's about to mother someone into submission. "I heard about your plans. And I don't like them. Not one bit."
"Mrs. Forman," I sighed, bracing myself. "I'm not exactly thriving at school. Everyone learns differently. If you judge a fish and a monkey on climbing a tree, of course the monkey wins. School's like that."
She frowned. "So what are you saying? You're a fish, so you think you should be judged on swimming instead of climbing?"
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"You can't swim. Your hair will get all frizzed out." Fez interjected.
Mrs Forman blinked… then nodded slowly. "Well… that does make sense…"
"MOM!" Eric howled. "No! Don't let him fish his way out of this!"
Kitty folded her arms. "Eric, not everyone is a monkey like you."
I chuckled a little while Eric was astonished.
Fez perked up. "Yes. Some of us are tropical birds. Very beautiful. Very delicate."
I was about to escape when Red walked in and immediately sensed the stupidity in the air. He looked like he had been drinking.
"What the hell is going on in here?" he barked.
Eric pointed at me. "Dad, Hyde says he's a fish! Cause he's a fish, he's dropping out of school cause we're all monkeys… Wait, how do I explain it?" He was confused at the end.
Red stared at me like he was trying to identify which part of me was gilled.
Then he sighed.
"Boy… fish, monkey… I don't care what animal you think you are. If you quit school, I will kick your ass so hard you'll evolve legs just to run away."
"But Red." I tried to convince him.
He stopped me and said seriously, "You're not a monkey. You're not a fish. You're you. And if you told me that you really have tried in school and it's not for you, then I will let you drop out. But you never tried, didn't you?"
"I–" I hesitated. Then, I sighed in defeat and said, "Alright. I won't drop out."
Eric, Fez and Kitty exclaimed in celebration.
The scene ended, but the episode didn't. I didn't know when it was going to end, but my scene was done.
"So, there's no drinking at a pub scene huh?" I muttered in disappointment.
Maybe it was because I've been hustling for the past couple of days, Red's mindset had changed a little. Therefore he wasn't depressed badly about losing his job.
The episode ended at midnight. I saw the full episode, and saw how Red spent his day, how Kelso and Laurie ended up in the van, and what Jackie and Donna were talking about after they visited me at work.
The Red and Kitty part was quite emotional. With Kitty telling Red they have gone through worse, but Red asked her when. Since this was the worst thing that ever happened to them after Red came back from war.
[Old episode rating: 6.3
New episode rating: 8.1]
It was a highly rated episode. I was quite surprised by it. I got 1.8 points to use in the future.
Before I slept, I checked on the choices the system gave. Last time, I picked a random one, and got the bulbs.
Even though the bulb was a good thing and gave me a lot of money, this time, I figured I should pick the practical choices. I could pick two after all. If the choices weren't good, then I'll pick the random one next.
The system gave me 5 options.
[1. Two Inches.]
"Two inches of what?" I was confused.
[ 2. Complete Garage Workshop Set (2025 Grade).
(A fully stocked DIY-to-professional-level auto & home repair workshop. Includes:)
Air compressor (60–80 gallon, quiet series), HVLP spray gun + paint cups, portable paint booth / plastic draping system, Orbital sander + sanding discs, Impact driver + drill + bit sets, Engine diagnostic scanner (2025 OBD+ wireless streaming).Car creeper + hydraulic jack + jack stands. LED shop lights. Heat gun, body filler tools, dent puller kit. Wet/Dry shop vac. All common hand tools–wrenches, pliers, torque wrench, sockets, screwdrivers, etc. Small mobile tool chest. Pressure washer.
Additional: Rustoleum and Eastwood paint hookup. ]
"That's a lot of tools." I rubbed my chin in contemplation. "How do I hide it though?"
[ 3. Skill Package: "Master of One" (Practical Skill Boost).
(Instant unlocking of one full vocational skill tree — no learning time required. Can choose one of the following when redeemed:)
Automotive Repair (complete)
House Renovation (complete: electrical, plumbing, carpentry basics)
HVAC Technician (complete)
Appliance Repair (complete)
Welding (complete steel & aluminum) ]
"That's pretty cool." I muttered. "The practical choices… is really about practicality huh? I want to flip cars, and it gave me options for that. I want to smoke, it gave me an option for that too.
[ 4. Indoor Hydroponic Growing System.
(Everything needed to build a full indoor cultivation room. Includes:)
Grow tents, LED grow lights, fans, ducting, timers. pH kits, nutrients, soil mixes, buckets, tubing. Carbon filters (for smell control). Dehumidifier + temperature controller. ]
"They are trying to get me to become a drug lord." I mumbled.
The last one was pretty great too.
[5. Story coupon. Plan your story ahead of time.]
"System, if I pick number 2, will all of the tools fall out from the system storage?" I asked warily.
[System bundle pack could fit one system slot.] The system replied.
"Alright. I'll pick that tone. It was the most expensive one."
I picked number 2 for my first option. One of my storage slots was suddenly filled with all of the items. I estimated the value of the items to be around 5000 dollars.
In the system shop, I saw the Rustoleum and Eastwood paint options. When I clicked on them, there were a lot of options for the paint color, types of paints whether its spray can or the actual paint, primer, clear coat, undercoat, and more.
I could buy them easily like the bulbs. Just pay for it, and it would be in my hand in a couple of seconds.
"The second choice is very tricky." I mumbled. I eliminated the hydroponic farm, and the planned story option.
So I have a choice whether to get the skills, or the 2 inches.
I didn't know what the 2 inches was for. Maybe it was 2 inches of height. Maybe 2 inches of hair. Or 2 inches of dick length. Or two inches of gold.
It could be anything. The system refused to clarify it, so it was quite disconcerting.
"I'll sleep on it and pick tomorrow." I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.
However, the system beeped, which made me open it back up.
[Options refresh in 2 minutes.]
"Oh shit." I was surprised. Since I had to pick two, the system gave me some leeway with the options. It thought I was dissatisfied so it was going to change it.
I didn't know whether the next choice would be better. And since it was going to change, I immediately realized what choice I wanted to pick.
"Give me the two inches." I picked hurriedly.
I was 5'11 and a half. For someone who lived in the 2025 modern dating nightmare, I was quite fixated on the height factor.
So I picked that one, and hoped it could give me the boost I needed to break the 6 feet ceiling.
["Physical enhancement: 2 inches. Completion time: 3 months."]
"Oh, so it is height." I mumbled. I felt pretty bad since I also want the automotive repair skills, but I think 2025 tools and Youtube videos would still help me with that.