"I have a special task for you to undergo," Eugene explains as he drives me to his own house. "It doesn't have to be right now or in the close future, though."

"A special task?"

"Yes."

"What kind of task?"

"Have you ever played guitar before?"

"No, sir."

"You're going to start."

"What? Why would I do that?"

We reach his house at the front of the lot and Eugene turns the truck off.

"It will teach you some patience," he says, getting off the truck and entering his house. "Please, do come in. Make yourself comfortable."

I do as instructed and enter through the back door that leads to a kitchen area. Eugene gets lost going through another door and comes back with a guitar in its case.

"It's not a spanking new one, but it will serve you right."

"But, Eugene, I don't know how to play guitar..."

"Then learn! You have the internet, use it! There's nothing you can't learn on the internet."

"I didn't expect such a reply from you," I say, taking the guitar from him. "I kind of expected a more 'get a teacher' approach."

"Heh, that could be the best course of action," he replies. "But I'm sure you'll have enough catching up with your new school and training with Ajax."

"Nothing can be done about the new school, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Eugene says. "You're officially a student of your new school now and there's nothing I can do to reverse that."

"I'm going to miss Maple Heights High," I say, surprising myself. "I already met a lot of people there and it will be rough for me to start over in a new place." And being the new celebrity, drawing attention from every corner of the new school.

"I tried talking to your mother against it, trust me," he explains. "But there's no dissuading Elizabeth once her mind is set."

"You know my mother by name?"

"We were born and raised here, John. Everyone knows each other in Maple Heights."

"Right. I keep forgetting I'm the only one who doesn't know the story of my parents here."

"You should try talking to them more," Eugene says. "There are interesting stories there, some of them include me."

"You could tell me those stories yourself, you know," I retort, and he laughs.

"I could, but you need to communicate better with them, not with me."

"I'd rather not know a damn thing, then."

"Why not?"

"I don't get along with my parents since we moved here."

"Why is that?"

I briefly tell him the story of how I was forced to move here and what I had to give up on because of that. About my friendship with Martin, and about Veronica. About Alex and Aunt Sugar. About Dad's friendship with Uncle Owen.

"So that's where Owen ended up!" Eugene says, smiling. "And he has his own pizzeria, you say? That's amazing. It was his long life dream."

"Really?"

"Yes!" Eugene seems very enthusiastic about this for some reason. "Coolest guy in town. I'm glad to see his life got to be the way he desired. Wish him all the best next time you get to see him."

"I'm sorry to break your heart on this, but I'm never coming back there."

"You're not?" Eugene looks genuinely surprised hearing this. "By what you told me, you had a pretty good life there. And there's nothing for you here, either."

"That's where you're wrong, see? Nobody gets it," I say with frustration. "I left Celadon Bay behind without as much as a goodbye. While here at least I have people to protect. A farm where I want to help and work. I have a purpose here for the first time in my life."

"Your grades may not be anything superlative, but even with that you can get a college degree, aspire for more than just a farming life surrounded by delinquents. Think if this is what your mother expects of you."

"What my mother expects of me is none of my business. That's why I didn't go to school today. I'm done being her puppet and moved around like a chess pawn for her own convenience."

"That's a harsh thing to say about your mother, John."

"You saw her in action when she switched me to another school. She's always doing what's convenient to her and never asks me what I think." Not true, she did tell me there was a chance we'd end up in Maple Heights and I didn't take her seriously enough.

"That's what parents do, John," Eugene says, trying to calm me down. "They try their best for their children, sometimes doing things that don't make sense to them. Your mother didn't change you to another school because she wanted you to wake up at five and be miserable. She saw you were threatened in Maple Heights High School and acted in consequence."

"And that's because she doesn't know the first thing about me!" I snap. "I was close to dismantling the whole group of bullies in school and make it safer for everyone."

"How did you intend to do that?"

"Beating them up like you did with Allen," I reply, clenching a fist in front of him.

"And then how would you be any different from them?"

"I'd be doing it for the right reasons."

"You'd be just another new bully in school. People would be afraid of you." He points at the guitar in my hand. "Hence, patience. You don't have to solve everyone's problems all by yourself."

"But I have to do my part..."

"Your part was done when you informed me about what was going on with the Newton family," Eugene scolds me in his Zeus tone. "There was no need to fight Rudolph unexpectedly like you did."

"My father had to stop that fight himself the night before," I explain to Eugene. "Rude was waiting for me outside Sad Aloha."

"Sad Aloha?"

"Dad's restaurant?"

"Ah, I see. Why sad, though?"

"Because it's exactly, and I mean exactly like the one Uncle Owen has, except it's a sad carbon copy. Dad hasn't realized yet that the one thing he needs for Sad Aloha to be the one he envisions is Uncle Owen instead of making it look exactly like the old one."

"Seems like all three of you lost something coming to Maple Heights."

"Dad lost his bestie. Mom was the one who decided to bring us all here so she doesn't count. And apparently I'm the one not done losing things. Now I also lost my school."

"But you left a clean Maple Heights High for everyone else to enjoy."

Yeah. For everyone to enjoy except me. What a bargain. And then, to make it worse, my phone rings. My mother.