[Hyde POV]
That night, I invited Kat to the basement and grabbed her hand, walking sneakily while I watched out for Red and Kitty.
"Steven. What are we doing here? Fill me in." Kat asked with a whisper, her eyes were full of excitement.
"Red's trying to get me to move upstairs. So I'm avoiding him." I said and led her into my bedroom.
She took off her jacket, revealing her cropped halter top. It was white with orange streaks and floral prints on it.
"What are we doing today?" She asked. "Besides, making out. Or we can do that first." She batted her eyes at me. "And last." She added playfully.
I laughed and said, "Want to watch a documentary?"
"No. Documentaries are boring." She sulked.
"I mean, the one I made."
"OH!" Her eyes widened and she bounced happily, "yes! I do want to watch it."
"Great. Then, you'll be my first audience." I replied.
"You really know how to make a girl feel special." She said while swooning. I actually 'borrowed' a 16mm Bell and Howell film projector from school over the weekends.
I will give them back tomorrow.
Kat and I sat together on the bed, the projector was anchored to the ceiling with some drill and brackets.
The Mustang documentary film was projected on the white screen I had installed on the wall.
Kat watched the one hour film excitedly. I studied her reaction closely, to make sure she wasn't bored by it.
The ending credit rolled, and I shut down the projector. "So, what do you think?"
She wiped her eyes a bit and said, "That's beautiful. Especially the ending part. With the song."
"Great. Any suggestions?" I asked.
She was taken aback, blushed slightly and said. "No. I think it's really good."
I grimaced a bit, quite disappointed.
"So, do you want to make out now?" She asked, wanting to change the subject.
"Sure." I replied and pounced on her on the bed. She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck again.
We only made out this time too. I wanted to go further, but as soon as my hands were leading to third base, she pulled me back to second.
"We'll study at my place tomorrow. Okay?" She said after we finished making out.
"That's cool." I replied, lipstick marks all over my face.
…
The next morning, I realized the episode had begun, but I was already on the way to school.
Red went with Eric to Laurie's house this morning, and I was pretty sure Red saw Laurie living with a man.
Red was highly conservative, daddy's girl. Seeing his daughter like that shook him to his core. He came back to the house yelling.
The episode paused again as we have school today.
"Hey Hyde. We should go find some rat's corpses." Fez said excitedly as I saw him by the locker.
"So we can brew our own plague?" I asked. "That's cool. I'm in. There's too many people in the world anyway."
Fez was taken aback and said, "Nevermind."
Kat walked past me, clutching some books in her hand. She waved at me and giggled with all of her friends.
"So, you and Kat." Fez sighed in defeat. "Now, this is your fifth girl. When is the time for Fez to get a whore?"
"Why don't you flirt with Patty?" I told him as I saw Patty, the girl we went on a blind date with, putting some stuff in her locker. "You've been putting some poems into her locker, right?"
"Patty?" Fez froze nervously. "I don't think I'm ready yet."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Isn't that paradoxical? You want to get girls, but you're afraid to go and talk to them."
"I'm not afraid to go and talk to them. I'm just afraid that they will talk back." Fez confessed.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Suddenly, I was called by Amy.
"Hey Steven." She was a bit lethargic this morning.
"Rough night?" I asked.
"I made … hundred beads last night." She yawned.
"Sorry, what? How many necklaces" Fez asked.
"Two hundred?" Amy was annoyed. "You didn't get that?"
"You said 'hundred beads'. Even I'm confused." I said with a teasing grin.
Amy was flabbergasted and apologized immediately, "Sorry. Sometimes when I'm too tired, I forget to say certain words."
"That's fine." Fez laughed.
"So, can you go away now?" Amy asked him firmly.
He was flabbergasted and left in a hurry. "I'll be out of your hair."
"That's pretty rude." I told her.
She was taken aback and said, "I'll apologize to him later. So, Hyde, are you really dating Kat Peterson?"
"Yeah." I replied casually.
"She's not good, you know? She's a status chaser." Amy grimaced.
She added, "Once she has a bigger target, she'll dump you. Like she did Isiah, the captain of the football team. She dumped him because he didn't get a football scholarship."
"What are you saying?" I asked her firmly.
"I mean that, you shouldn't get your hopes up too much. Or you're going to get burned." Amy said and left.
I shrugged and whispered, "I already knew all of that."
I couldn't date anyone for long anyway since the plot wouldn't let me.
During lunch time, Kat sat next to me in the cafeteria, and made out with me in front of everyone at school.
Jody, the brunette girl interjected while giggling, "Hey Steven. Kat told us you finished the documentary. Can we come and watch it?"
"I don't have lots of space in my room." I told her, pausing the kiss for a bit. "But you can come to the screening if you want."
"What screening?" Kat pulled her head back as I tried to start up the kissing again, asking me directly.
"I'm thinking about holding a screening for it. Maybe rent out a hall, and I already bought a cinema projector."
It was a used Barco film projector I bought from E-bay.
It has around 1000 hours of usage time, which was quite good for a pre-2010 machine. I bought it since it has analogue buttons instead of a digital screen.
The film projector was used by someone for their private theater, so it still worked really well.
It cost around 5000 dollars in 2025, which meant I got it for around 1000 dollars. Still expensive, but hey, now I could actually open a movie theater if I want.
'Maybe I would.' I thought to myself. 'We don't have a movie theater around here. How much would it take me to do that?"
Kat turned away and said, "Are you going to invite Megan to the screening?"
"The one the documentary is about? Sure." I replied, a bit sarcastic.
"You sure are close to Megan." Kat said politely, but her eyes weren't.
"We work together." I replied. "Do you have any problem with me having some friends?"
"No." She turned away, pretending to be fine with it. "I just think it's funny. You work countless hours together. And she's a widow– a hot widow. Are you sure you're just friends with her?"
"If you're that insecure, even before we start dating, then I guess this is a bad idea." I stood up and left the table.
Kat's jaw dropped, and she looked at me with disbelief. Jody, Madelyn, and Tara were also flabbergasted by my decision.
I meant every word. If I keep going, and keep my eyes blind to the red flags, I'd be the one to suffer.
"Wait. Steven." Kat called, but I ignored her.
"Damn, now that she mentioned Megan, I feel pretty bad for ignoring her house and only doing a day's worth of work."
She'd understood it probably. I told her it would take months anyway.
I had to stay behind for PE. I even skipped the metal shop and joined the senior's PE session because I needed the time.
The school will end in one month. Next week was the final exam, and then, the seniors would take their SATs. I had to complete all 20 hours of gym before that happened.
"And then, the senior prom." I said with disbelief. "There's too many dances in the school."
Wearing a gym shirt and long tracksuit, I went to the gym with Kelso.
He skipped a lot of schools too, but he wasn't going to be held back as he has better attendance than me.
He just went in to help me, and the teachers allowed him too.
Probably because it was a hazard to keep him in the metal shop. Last time, he almost sawed Fez's fingers.
This was also the reason why I couldn't hate him. He had my back no matter what.
"Hyde! Wear the gym shorts!" Coach Fergerson scolded me again.
I turned to Kelso and said, "You've slept with his wife, right?"
Kelso burst into a silent laughter, and nodded slightly. I smirked and showed a middle finger to the coach while he wasn't looking.
Kelso wasn't the only one who slept with the coach's wife in the gym. I knew Chuck did too. And several others.
The woman was thirsty. She kept hanging around bars and grocery stores, trying to get laid.
The Coach knew about it, which made it even sadder.
"Or he could just be turned on by it." I shuddered.
"There's a lot of swingers in the town. He could be a cuckold, excited to see his wife getting piped down by another guy."
Kelso laughed and said, "Man. I couldn't be that way."
I couldn't hide my disdain for the coach. He targeted me the entire time at school. Random spot checks, taking away my playboy magazines, and my knives…
'Maybe I'm the problem?'
"Hyde! Wear the shorts!" The couch blew his whistle at me as I ran around the gym.
"Fuck you." I whispered as I sweated heavily in gym class. "Ah, I'm done. I think I'll just go to summer school. They have a different coach…"
I almost gave up on trying to get the hours.
Suddenly, my homeroom teacher walked into the gym and approached the coach.
"Mrs Ling? Why are you here?" The coach was confused.
"Special permission signed by the principal, allowing Hyde to wear long pants because of his belief."
"What– he doesn't believe in anything!" The coach was taken aback.
I looked at her in shock, and Mrs Ling gave me a discreet thumbs up. Knowing I was looked after, that feeling was quite nice.
"Hey, It's Ching Chong Ling Ling." A freshman kid suddenly insulted her. "Show us your tits, you chink!" He shouted.
"Mason!" Coach Fergerson shouted at him. "Do 500 pushups now!"
"Fuck you!" He cursed at the coach. The bell rang, and he ran away.
"That's it! You're suspended, you hear me!" The couch yelled at the problem child.
Kelso was bursting into laughter.
"Kelso, you know that kid?" I asked.
"Yeah, he lives near me." Kelso replied, still laughing.
"Well, we're going to pay him a visit."
"Awesome. I'm IN! He kept saying I look like a retarded Fonzie! I don't look like Fonzie, or am I retarded!"
"I mean…" I agreed with that secretly, but I didn't tell Kelso.
…
-Tv-
After school ended, the plot started again. Fez, Kelso, Eric and I sat on our usual spot in the basement, and lit up a blunt.
My fist had some bruises from beating up the senior, but the bruises were gone when the recording started.
"I could use this." I muttered, excited about the feature.
'I wonder if I shaved my sideburns, it'll grow back if the recording begins.'
The episode followed the plot from yesterday pretty closely.
Eric passed the blunt to Fez. He laughed, in a really good mood today. "Laurie's busted! This is, and I don't think I'm exaggerating here, the greatest day in the history of time."
Fez passed the blunt to me, "Except maybe the day cheese was invented. I loe (love) the cheese!"
I took a drag and gave the blunt to Kelso, "Wow man, she's gone one day, and she's already got a new guy. Kelso you heartbreaker you…"
Kelso crossed his arms together and leaned back. "I'm having a horrible day. Laurie's gone and Jackie is all suspicious of me, and I'm getting no lovin'. None!"
He leaned forward slightly, "I can't be me without lovin'."
He passed the blunt to Eric.
I sighed and said, " Kelso, if you wanna keep Jackie man, and trust me, you don't, , let's practice."
I asked abruptly, "So, did you fool around with Laurie?"
He shouted at me with annoyance, "You know I did!"
"Dumbass NO MAN! Complete denial! Watergate! Learn!" I scolded him, then, I asked casually, "Did you fool around with Laurie?"
Kelso still replied honestly, "Yeah." he realized it and stammered, " I mean NO, I mean..yeah, SEE this isn't gonna work!" He pulled back, crossed his arms and pouted.
Eric was still reveling in the fact that his sister got caught by Red. Laurie was never disciplined by Red before. Now, Red was actively angry at her, which made Eric's long resentment melt away.
" It's just so perfect if I could go back in time, I'd just relive that moment over and over again." He mimicked her expression and used a girly voice, "Hi daddy!"
He did it two more times, laughing in satisfaction afterward.
Fez eyes Kelso and said, "Just tell Jackie the truth. Then, if she leaves you for another man, whoever he might be, no hard feelings. You do not need Jackie." He lost himself in his own imagination. " Sweet, luscious Jackie…"
I turned to him with a smile, " You are an evil little foreign man. Don't ever change."
Then, I turned to Kelso, "Look Kelso allright, I'll help you out with Jackie man, I'll talk you through the whole thing step by step."
[-2 Favorability]
Since he followed me to beat up the senior before we came back here, I'd take the hits for now.
Kelso said sincerely."Thanks man. Yeah I guess it was wrong what I did with Laurie, but I was just amusing myself you know. And that's the key to life right? Never stop amusing yourself."
Eric and I stared at him flatly.
Fez added, "Unless it starts to chafe. Then you should take a week off." He settled in his seats slightly and winced. "Today's Tuesday right?"
…
-Tv-
Eric was sitting at the table eating a sandwich after our session. Red went through the revolving door and immediately went to him.
"Eric, I'm asking you, have I been a bad father?" Red asked, and turned away slightly.
Eric snickered, trying really hard to hold back his laughter. As Red turned back to him, he had his poker face on again.
" Maybe I've been too hard on her." He turned around, and Eric snickered again, " I mean for God's sake, I think I'm a fair man."
Eric snorted, and held his sandwich with shaky hands. He almost lost it.
"Hey? Eric, I'm talking to you!" Red snapped at him.
Eric showed his sandwich to Red and asked, "Does this need more mayonnaise?" He lost it and sniggered.
Red grimaced and snapped at him, "Get outta here!"
Eric put his sandwich down and said, "Thank you!" he ran away through the sliding door hurriedly before bursting into laughter outside the house.
Red walked to Mrs Forman who was folding laundry, "Boy, Kitty we've got a pair to beat a full house, that's for sure."
"Well Red, relax. You're overreacting." Kitty tried to placate him.
Red got even more pissed. " I'M overreacting?!" He said seriously, "Well I'll tell you what Kitty, people are gonna talk... Her living with that guy."
Kitty said dismissively, " Red, it doesn't matter if people talk, Laurie is still a part of this family, which is why I invited her to dinner tonight."
"Oh no no no, Kitty, I'm not ready for that." Red turned and placed his hand on the kitchen counter to try to calm himself down.
"Oh that's sweet. The way you say that like you have a choice." Kitty laughed at him.
"Look Kitty…" Red was against it, but Kitty was decisive. " She's coming!" Kitty took the laundry basket and left.
…
I went to the kitchen and saw Red standing by the kitchen counter.
"Red, do you need a beer?" I asked him.
He sighed and said, "That might help. Sure."
I took two and gave him one. He stared at me and said, "You're getting a beer?"
"Service tax." I replied. He grabbed the beer from me angrily and placed it down in front of him.
"Stingy." I scoffed and saw a perfectly good piece of sandwich on the table. No one even touched it yet.
"Who's the sandwich for?" I asked Red.
"Huh? You can eat it if you want." Red said gruffly and sighed.
I sat in the dining room and munched on the sandwich. "It needs more mayonnaise." I grimaced.
"So, you're still mad?" I asked him.
"I'm not having this conversation with you." Red replied.
"I'm all you got." I smiled.
He sighed and asked, "Do you think I'm being unfair?"
"Nope. You're being perfectly reasonable." I replied.
He turned to me, feeling justified and said, "I know that, you know that. Why couldn't Laurie and Kitty know that?"
"Woman huh?" I laughed slightly.
[-4 Favorability]
Red was still looking for the answer.
I swallowed the sandwich and said, "Well Red." I ate the sandwich and said, "All of my life, I've been called white trash, problem child, scum, delinquent, recently; orphan–"
[+4 Favorability]
"Get to the point." Red snapped.
"The thing is, you can't control what other people say. You're scared of the town people talking? They'll talk no matter what."
I ate some chips, "But you can control what you're feeling. You just need time to process the feeling of betrayal inside you."
I added casually, " You're not angry because she's living with another guy. You're angry and hurt, because your daughter didn't trust you enough to include you in her life."
Red slammed his hands down angrily and stood up. "What a load of crap!" he left in a huff.
I shrugged and ate the sandwich, I didn't even realize the conversation was being recorded.
[+4 Favorability]
"Hmm?" I was confused, and ate the sandwich anyway. Eric entered through the sliding door and scolded me.
"That's my sandwich you ass!" he grabbed the half eaten sandwich on the plate away from me.
"Hey!" I yelled angrily. "You snooze, you lose! Give me back!"
"Make your own damn sandwich!" He shouted at me and left angrily.
I scoffed and said, "All of the Formans know how to make a dramatic exit."