"Go to the beach?" Harry said bluntly.
Gwen and I froze the moment we heard him.
We were at his place, working on an update.
And Harry just brought up the beach.
"…Huh? Why now?"
"Dude, we gotta chill a bit, don't we?"
"But… we've got school tomorrow!"
"Just ask for a day off, you're a good student anyway!"
So I turned to look at Gwen.
Uh yeah, she was staring at me with those sparkling eyes, no doubt about it.
"So where are you planning to go?"
"Hawaii."
"…Can't we at least finish the game update first?"
"Eh, if you want."
And so, we set our sights on a trip to Hawaii.
But there was one problem.
"We're not old enough," I said, scratching my head.
"We need an adult, but I don't know any adults," Harry said, checking his phone.
"What about you, Gwen?"
"Nope!"
"Uhh…"
This was tough. I didn't know who to invite to the beach.
*Ring ring ring!*
My phone rang, and I picked it up.
"Who's this?"
"Peter?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"It's me! Bruce Banner!"
Bruce? Why was he calling me?
"Hey, wanna… go to the beach in Hawaii with me?"
"?"
What a coincidence?!
"When are you planning to go?"
"December."
December? After the first semester exams?
I turned to Harry and Gwen.
"Hey, let's push the trip back."
"Push it back?"
"Yeah, a friend of mine invited me to the beach too, in December, so like three weeks from now."
"Three weeks? That's after the first semester—"
Suddenly, Harry froze like a rock.
"…What's wrong, Harry?"
Harry clutched his face, looking pained.
"I… I haven't studied at all."
…
"Uh, Bruce, thanks. Can I bring some friends?"
"Sure! The more, the merrier!"
"Oh, awesome, thanks!"
I hung up and looked at Harry.
"Gwen, keep an eye on him. It'll be really bad if his grades tank."
"Got it! What about you?"
"I'll handle the update. The important thing is to make sure Harry studies!"
Low semester grades would be a disaster…
"Nooo, Peter!! I don't wanna study!"
"Dude, you're the son of the Oscorp chairman. What do you think your dad will do if you flunk??"
"Ugh…"
"Don't worry, I'll finish this update and then help you study. I don't trust Gwen to handle it."
"Hey! I can do it!" Gwen protested.
"Then try helping him with his math homework."
So Gwen started tutoring Harry in math.
…Yeah, well… tutoring Asian style.
"Oi oi oi! You can't even do that? And you call yourself Peter's best friend?! Don't you feel ashamed?!" Gwen tied Harry up and started pummeling him like a punching bag.
"Ow ow ow! Stop it!!" Harry cried, his face swollen as he begged.
I knew it—leaving it to Gwen would destroy him…
So I had to finish this update as fast as possible. Hold on, Harry!
4 or 5 hours later...
"Well… Done! Ugh, my back…" I stretched, looking at my update and smiling.
I'll call this update… Uh, Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning Remastered Edition!
Added a bunch of new characters and tons of Easter eggs! Especially the character Null!
…This game was meant to mock horror games, but now it's become a famous horror game itself. So ironic.
"Alright, let's see how Harry's studying is going."
I headed to his room and opened the door.
"…?"
Harry was sprawled on the floor, striking a Family Guy death pose.
And Gwen was poking him with a stick.
"…What happened?"
"Earlier, Harry got mad and said he was done with studying, so I punched him in the head. Now he's like this," Gwen said, pointing at him.
"…"
This is beyond saving… Gwen's too brutal.
Oh well… I'll take him to the library tomorrow to study. Maybe that'll work better.
Yeah, that's a good idea!
[Why do I get so little screen time?]
"Not your business."
[You jerk! I'll cry for you to hear now!]
Ignoring the noisy outer god, I started planning Harry's study schedule.
***
"Let me read the question, listen carefully! Determine the truth or falsity of the following statements:
a) All prime numbers are odd.
b) The equation x² + 1 = 0 has two distinct integer solutions.
c) Every odd integer is not divisible by 2.
There, solve it!"
"WHAT'S WITH STATEMENTS AND X SQUARED AND ALL THAT???" Harry clutched his head in agony.
"Shh! We're in the library!"
I know studying math is tough, but if you don't study, you're done for, so try harder, my friend!
I tried explaining to Harry, but his eyes just kept drifting further apart.
How is it that Harry from another universe is so smart, but in my universe, he's this clueless?
"Gwen, get me a glass of water."
"Okay!"
After drinking, I looked around.
The library was pretty crowded—makes sense, with exams coming up.
And yet, here we were, working on a game at a time like this. Gotta hand it to us.
"Come on, this is super easy! You can't do it?"
"Dude… I'm done."
"Ugh… Statement a) is false because the prime number 2 is even. Got it?"
"How am I supposed to get that?? This stuff is way too advanced!"
…Okay, I get why Gwen got violent now. Harry complains too much.
"Hm? Oh, that's the girl we helped the other day!" Harry looked up and pointed at her.
"So what? We helped her, that's all. We don't even know—"
I stopped, looking at her face.
One eye was swollen and bruised, and she had multiple bandages.
"…Someone's been violent with her!"
"Huh? You two know her?" Gwen asked curiously.
"Not exactly know her. I just helped her escape some bullies by chance, but who'd have thought things got worse?"
"Really? She's in my class, and no one's close to her. She's always sitting alone in a corner."
"…Yeah, that makes sense. Those kinds of people are always targets for bullying."
She sat at a table, pulled out a book to study, but then three people approached her.
Panicked and anxious, she started to leave but realized she knew them.
"…It's you."
"Uh, hi? Why's your face… like that?" I asked.
She quickly covered her face with her hand and turned to leave.
"Hey, hey, calm down! I'm not gonna hurt you!"
"That's not the issue!" Her voice rose, drawing everyone's attention to us.
"…Just stay away from me. I'm fine."
And then she left.
"…You know, that's a sign of someone with problems who doesn't want to drag others into it," Harry said.
"You're stating the obvious?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Hey! Let me have my cool moment, okay??"
"…" I stood there, watching as the girl disappeared.
Did I… Did my help somehow make things worse for her?
"…Ugh, if I don't do anything, I'll regret it. Gwen, do you know anything about her?"
I decided to choose to help.