[Hyde POV]
With Jackie around, my work on the Impala became quite slow.
"Jackie, it's almost 10. Go home." I told her.
"You know what? You're right. My parents will be home soon." Jackie agreed with me and left quickly in her dad's Lincoln.
She was talking for 2 straight hours. I was more tired hearing her than I was about fixing the car.
The episode ended without my presence needed. After the scene where Jackie tortured me, the camera never got back to me.
The episode rating stayed the same. A 7.2 . So I didn't get any rating points.
I watched the episode after it was done, and saw when Kelso got to Chicago, only then Eric and Fez told him Jackie's 'study' invitation was for them to do it, but he burned her.
He tried to grab the keys and rushed back, but it was too late for him. He knew he would be in trouble anyway, so he decided to just have fun at the club.
I was having fun too, fixing the car. With the tools, the work became easy and enjoyable. The Impala was standing on a car stand, which allowed me extra room to work underneath it.
"Wait. Jackie." I stopped her before she got in the car.
"What is it? If you want me to make out with you, I'm not going to." She said with an annoying face.
I grimaced and said, "No. I don't want to make out with you."
She looked relieved and said, "Alright. What do you want?"
"Tell your dad about the Beetle." I said.
She looked annoyed and replied, "My dad's rich. He won't be interested in that."
"Not for him." I smirked. "Your dad's well connected. So if by any chance he knows a collector for this car. Or, he wants to buy it as a gift to bribe someone with it, it would help me out."
Jackie made a mocking expression before she sighed and said, "Alright. I'll mention it to him. But don't expect anything to happen."
I shrugged and said, "That's already good enough."
She left afterward.
I have taken out all the control arms for the suspensions to replace the bushing. I didn't even have to use the shop press for it.
In my tools, I have a ball joint press equipment, specifically made for bushing change.
But, I waited till midnight for the internet to return before searching references on how to replace the bushing properly.
I saw one video on Chris Fix channel on Youtube that showed me how.
It took me until 3 am to learn how to fix the broken parts of the Impala.
"It will take me 660 dollars, just for the parts." I sucked in air with my teeth as I saw the cost.
If I changed it with current day parts– the 1977 parts, it would take me around 540 dollars to fix the brake lines, suspension bushings, steering linkage, oil leaks, and the exhaust fixes.
I would have to spend 132 dollars of 1977 money if I bought the stuff from the internet, so it was still cheaper.
I added 80 more bucks just for the express delivery for me to finish working on the car on the weekends.
I took out the car and cleaned it up. Then, I flushed out the coolant.
I worked on removing rust from the underbody with a wire brush grinder. I saw someone do it on Youtube and was learning from it.
My freshly painted car was put in the storage system while I was doing all of this to prevent it getting dirty.
After removing all the rust, I sprayed rust treatment on the undercoat and left it there.
"I'll continue working on it tomorrow. After meeting the VW buyer."
It was 4 in the morning. The buyer would come by at noon.
I went back home, took a shower and scrubbed off the oils and dirt from my body. Even though I have worn gloves, I was still dirty.
…
Saturday afternoon. I woke up and went to the kitchen where I found Red there, eating his lunch.
I massaged my shoulder and sat on the table to drink my coffee.
"You went all out last night." Red grimaced. "Painting your car, and then, taking off the bushings on the Impala. Just pace yourself. You don't want to get burned out so soon."
I sipped the coffee and said, "It's fine Red. I like doing it. And did you see the new paint job? How is it?"
Red smiled proudly and said, "That's the cheap paint job huh? It looks really great. Especially out in the driveway. The two tone color is really amazing."
I snickered and said, "Wants me to paint your car next?"
He stopped and said, "There's no need to waste any money." He ate his sandwich and spoke, "Oh. By the way, Jackie's father called. Burkhart said he's bringing a Kenosha councilman to take a look at the Beetle."
"Hmm." I nodded slightly. Red smirked and said, "I brought them to see it this morning."
I widened my eyes in shock. "Really? What did they say?"
"He loved the car. He said it was the smoothest standard Beetle he ever drove. He really wants it, but I told him I have to ask you first."
"Well, Pax said he's bringing his cousin to see it this afternoon." I muttered.
Red frowned and said, "I did that too. He came an hour ago. But he offered less money than the councilman."
"Really? How much did the councilman offer?" I asked curiously.
Red smirked and said, "Twenty-one hundred."
My cup rattled slightly as my hand shook. Red smiled in excitement and snickered as he saw my reaction.
"By the way, Pax's cousin offered eighteen hundred for it. So you're going to profit from it either way."
I nodded and smiled in satisfaction. "Just sell it to the councilman. Take cash if you can."
Red shook his head and said, "No. Hyde. I thought about it. I think you should make this business official."
"What do you mean?" I asked, taken aback.
"Sell it through the store. Put it in the books. Pay taxes on it."
"What–"
He stopped me before I could react.
"Listen first. I know, paying taxes sounds terrifying for you. 30% of its profit will be gone. But, if the shop and the car flip ties together, we can deduct a lot from the rental, the cost of running the operation, and the cost of materials."
He paused as he saw my hesitation. "A councilman buys a car from a shop. Not from some kid in a driveway."
"I talked to Jackie's dad," Red continued. "He agrees. This is how you make it real. If you make it legitimate, it will really protect you. Especially from other people's jealousy."
I realized what he was talking about. If a 17 year old was making money that a normal mechanic shop struggled to make, they might report the shop to the city inspector or the IRS. And then, we would get shut down.
"You'll be a partner in the store. I won't touch the profit from your flips — that stays yours. This just puts a roof over it." Red calmly promised.
"So," he finished, "what do you say?"
"Alright." I agreed after thinking for a while.
He smiled and asked, "So, what's the cost for the VW?"
I recounted it and said, "The car is 200 bucks. The fan belt, 40 bucks. The oils, 120. The paint and all the materials for the paint, 750."
"This… Do you have any receipt on it?" Red was taken aback when he heard about the high cost.
"Yeah. I do." I replied easily. I did get all of the receipt from the paint purchases. It showed the prices I paid for the 2025 market, so it looked really expensive.
The profit would go down to 990. So I would have to pay 297 dollars in taxes and get 693 dollars in actual returns.
Since my actual cost was 700 bucks instead of 1100, I would have a free 400 bucks for me to spend on.
My actual profit was 1093 dollars. For one car flip.
Red went to sell the VW that afternoon while I painted Vaughn's car for 300 bucks.
He wanted his 69' Mustang to have the same green metallic paint as my Nova. The dark jade green metallic color.
Painting the car went from 2 in the evening to 12 midnight.
While waiting for the paint to dry, since I didn't use the system this time– Red was there, I worked on the Impala with Red and Eric.
We took out all of the seats to clean up. I gave Eric the Shark Stain Striker Vacuum and Carpet cleaner that could extract deep stains in the seats. Eric happily did it since he got 150 bucks from the last detailing job.
He was good at the detailing job, cleaning things up. Red was good with the rust treatment, and engine work. I was good at diagnosing what was wrong, and what needed to be fixed, painting, and buying new parts for the car.
A few people come by to get Red to tune their cars. Around 7 people came by since the morning.
So Red got around 350 bucks, almost pure profit without needing any cost since he already got the tools.
The bushings arrived at 7 o'clock at night, with the other parts too. When we went home for dinner, I picked everything up and installed it in the car.
Red was elated when he saw the ball joint bushing equipment. With another tool in place, his auto shop could out compete others in the business.
I continued the work on the Impala on Sunday. Most of the issues were gone by Sunday evening.
"Now, it was time for paint."
Tuesday. February second. The Impala was now ready to be sold. A few people came by to the car shop to check out the new looks of the Impala.
Vaughn came by to check out the car. I sat next to him as he test drove the car.
"Damn, this feels so solid." He was shocked when he drove it on the highway.
"There's no clunk, the steering is tight, the braking is stable, there's no rattling… I'm tempted to get it back."
"You probably couldn't afford it." I smirked.
He smiled wryly and said, "I know that."
I did a two tone job on the car too. A white top and blue bottom. It looked really good with the chrome details.
With all of the services I've made, even the horsepower of the car was restored.
The cost was 300 bucks for the car. The parts, 660. The oils and coolant, 120. New filters, 30. The total I've spent on paper was 1200.
What I actually spent was 300 dollars for the part, 300 dollars for the car.
I've sold it for 2500 dollars to a ready buyer– Vaughn's cousin. I paid 390 dollars in taxes, and got back 1510 in profit.
Red shouted at me, "Steven! Take a break."
He did that after I bought a new one. A 72' Celica.
"We need a bigger place." Red mumbled to himself. The customers were flooding in, and the two car bays were not enough.
We needed at least four car bays. Two for me, two for Red. But since we have paid rent for the month, we would be moving out after the contract was over.
…
Wednesday. At school. In the hallway.
I was putting my stuff in the locker, with Fez standing next to me. Kelso and Jackie were arguing again. Eric and Donna were flirting at Eric's locker.
"Hyde. You have a lot of money now. Why don't we go somewhere nice?"
Fez kept bugging me about bringing everyone to a restaurant. I had promised them to take them out once I got my paycheck, but I never did.
"Didn't I bring back KFC for you guys?" I asked with exasperation as I slammed the locker door shut. I wore a thick sheepskin jacket and jeans for school today.
"It's not the same as dining outside." Fez whined. "You never want to take me anywhere nice."
"What are you, my wife?" I grimaced. Fez was taken aback and he chuckled nervously.
Suddenly, a blond girl approached me.
"Hi Steven." She greeted, her expression slightly nervous.
Fez gasped and whispered, "Barbara Manson. Why is she talking to us?"
I squinted my eyes slightly. "Hi." I greeted flatly.
The 5'6, blonde girl with a huge rack, and a Sydney Sweeney type face, was taken aback and said. "Um, I heard you've opened an auto shop. Congrats."
"Thanks." I replied flatly again, not really interested in talking. I turned to Fez and said, "What about Pizza? I'll buy like 10 pizzas. And you'll all shut up about it."
"Hyde. She's talking to you." Fez said nervously, his eyes glued to the girl.
"Um, can I stop by sometime? I think I need to get my car looked at." She said, a bit red on her cheek.
"Sure. You can bring it to Red. He's the mechanic." I replied easily.
She was taken aback and asked, "Oh. So, what do you do?"
"He buys cars and fixes them up." Fez interjected. "He also paints them."
"Oh." Her eyes lit up in admiration, and excitement. "Hey Hyde. In Biology class, we need to partner up and write the lab report for the peanut experiment. Why don't we do it together?"
"We're in the same Bio class?" I was shocked. "When did we do an experiment?"
Fez said, "I did it. You slept by my side."
"Oh yeah. I remember that." I nodded slightly and smiled. "That's a good nap."
"Fez is my lab partner." I told her. "I think?" I turned to Fez, a bit confused. Fez nodded slightly.
Barbara didn't give up and said, "He can partner up with my friend, Amy."
"Amy? The brunette who always looks like she's mad?" Fez asked, a bit afraid.
"Yes. She just broke up with her boyfriend. So–"
Fez turned to me immediately and said, "Hyde! Please! She just broke up with her boyfriend. I can be her rebound."
"What, Fez–"
"Pleaseeeeeeee!!" he begged me forcefully.
"Alright!" I snapped. Barbara smiled and said, "Great. We can do it after school today. You can take me home in your car."
She left happily. I sighed and slapped the back of Fez's head, but he didn't even flinch. He was very happy because he can partner up with a girl.
"Can we even change lab partners? Our data is different, right?" I asked.
"Even if we can't, it will be fun studying with the girls." Fez said with excitement.
His excitement soon deflated when school was over. I stood by my car, and saw four football players surrounding Fez, the blonde and the brunette.
One of them was shouting at the brunette.
"Amy! I didn't mean to do it!"
"What? Sleeping with my sister?! Surely that is a common mistake one could make!" Amy argued back sarcastically.
"Hey Chuck." I greeted one of the guys there casually as I walked towards them.
"Hey Hyde." He greeted me back. The tall, varsity jacket wearing boy was a casual friend of ours. He usually came by whenever we threw a party.
"It's been a while since the last party." He chuckled.
"I have two cases of imported beers. But no place to party." I shook my head, pretending to be difficult.
Chuck widened his eyes in excitement and said, "We can do it at my place. Tonight?"
"Sure. I'll bring it to the party you're throwing." I said casually.
"Awesome! Chad, we're having a party tonight!" Chuck shouted to the man arguing with his ex girlfriend.
"Shut up Chuck!" The rich boy with a punchable face shouted.
He saw me and said angrily to the girl, "So I made a mistake? So what?! I'm still much better than the orphan boy with a whore mother. He's a fucking burnout. With weird… foreign friends."
My forehead vein throbbed a little.
"Hey, don't talk about him like that!" Fez shouted at the rich boy.
"What the fuck did you say to me?" He shouted, wanting to punch him. Fez's teeth clattered and his face was full of fear.
I stood in between the two and said seriously, "You've crossed the line. Apologize. Or you're going to apologize with your face."
Chad laughed angrily and said, "Oh. Even the orphan boy thinks I'm a wuss. What are you gonna do, orphan boy?"
Chuck stepped in immediately. "Hey, Chad. You're crossing the line."
"Shut up. All of you. Shut up." Chad barked, puffing his chest like he owned the place.
I looked at him for a second, then spoke calmly.
"Alright. Square up. Or you'll whine later and say I sucker-punched you."
"What— you motherfucker—"
He swung his hand.
I shifted my weight to the side, just enough for his fist to pass. My left hand came up in one clean motion. I balled it into a fist and drove it straight into his face.
*BAM.*
Chad went down hard. His head snapped sideways as he hit the ground, blood already at the corner of his mouth.
"CHAD!"
Amy dropped beside him immediately, checking his face.
I looked down at him and said evenly, "I told you to apologize."
For a second, his eyes were wild. Then something clicked. The anger drained out, replaced by shock and humiliation.
Chuck moved fast, stepping between us with his hands out. "Alright. That's enough. Let's end it here."
"What are you doing?!" Chad spat. "Hit him!"
Chuck didn't even look at him. He looked at me. "No." He grimaced. "I'm not doing that."
The other guys shifted uncomfortably. One of them glanced at Chuck. Another looked at me. No one moved forward.
Everyone there knew what that meant.
A guy who could bring in cases of imported beer didn't get jumped. Not in this town. Not in Wisconsin. You didn't burn that bridge unless you wanted every weekend to be dry.
I stepped back, turned, and walked to my car.
"Move," I said flatly, not even looking at them.
They did.
As I opened the door, I glanced at Barbara. "Find someone else for the lab report," I said. "Hanging around seems like a hassle."
Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
Fez got in the car without a sound. I didn't even know when he got there and was slightly surprised.
The engine turned over, while Chad slowly pushed himself back onto his feet, avoiding everyone's eyes.
Was I worried it would turn into something bigger?
No.
This was the seventies.
Around here, if someone insulted your name or your family and you didn't answer it, that followed you longer than a punch ever would.
"Well at the very least, he knows that his ex still loves him." I muttered sarcastically as I saw the brunette comforting him.
"Aww." Fez exclaimed with disappointment.
But then, both of us see Chad saying something to Amy, and she clenched her fist and punched him next. Although she didn't drop him to the ground, it still looked really humiliating.
"Oh my god. The whole school can see it." Fez muttered with excitement. He wasn't joking. The entire thing was watched by like, most of the student body who's still at the parking area.
I left the scene in my Nova, and went to the Hub to hang out with Fez. Kelso joined us a couple minutes later while I was buying some food. Hotdog, fries and soda.
"Hyde! What are you doing?!" Kelso asked, seemingly mad about something.
"Do what?" I asked casually.
"You blow off Barbara Manson man! She have…like the hugest jug in the whole school!" Kelso shouted angrily and full of disappointment. "Now I'm going to lose my bet with Eric," he added.
"You made a bet with Eric? What bet?" I asked, a bit irritated.
Kelso immediately went silent and said, "Nothing."
I punched him in the arm. "Oww! What you do that for?"
"Talk, or I'm going to hit you again!" I threatened.
"Alright! FINE!" He exclaimed loudly. "I made a bet saying you'll cheat too. So that's why I told Barbara you have invented something, and you're making a buttload of money."
I grimaced at him and said flatly, "Idiot." I lost interest and went to eat at the table. Kelso joined us and said, "So there's a party at Chuck tonight. We going?"
"Yeah. We're going." Fez said excitedly.
(Read up to chapter 70 on my patreon.
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