February 20, 2010.
Winter was winding down in California, though the morning air still carried a chill—softer now, but present. Marcus sat outside the house with his coffee, letting the pale sunlight warm his face. It was Saturday, and he was taking it easy.
The light spilled over the neighborhood in that hazy way it did before spring fully arrived. He could feel it—the warmth creeping back after months of cold. He sighed, feeling oddly reflective.
'It's been a while since I landed in this world,' he thought. At first, being stuck in a broken family had felt pretty hopeless. But then the System activated and changed everything. Thanks to it, he'd made his first film and managed to land a $370,000 deal.
The money wasn't in his hands yet—and the state would tax it heavily regardless of him being sixteen—but he was still in a good mood.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the growl of a motorcycle rolling to a stop. Amy swung off the bike, with Katherine seated behind her. He rose and walked over to meet them. "Ms. Katherine. Amy. You made it."
Katherine nodded, pulling off her helmet with a smile. "I heard you finally got a deal with Summit?"
They'd already heard the news from Marcus and Nathan, but Katherine clearly wanted details.
Marcus grinned. "Yeah. I got a pretty solid deal out of them."
Katherine and Amy both looked excited.
"Can you break down the deal for us?" Katherine asked. She had an agreed profit share with Marcus, so she had a vested interest.
Marcus walked them through it.
A few minutes later, Katherine and Amy were staring at him with genuine admiration.
"That's unbelievable," Amy said, shaking her head. "A fifteen-thousand-dollar movie just got you three hundred seventy grand?"
"How did you pull that off?" Katherine asked, clearly impressed.
Marcus leaned back with a cocky smile. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just that good of a negotiator." Though honestly, he was grateful Summit had agreed to his terms at all.
"Anyway," Katherine said, her tone turning more serious. "Let's talk about that 2x recoupment clause. Are you really confident Summit will earn double what they spend, and you'll actually see that thirteen percent gross profit?"
It was a fair question. In the entertainment industry, nothing was certain. Box office success depended on a lot of factors—name recognition, star power, marketing budgets. Even with that recoupment clause protecting him from Hollywood accounting tricks, there was still a risk Marcus wouldn't see a dime from that thirteen percent.
Marcus was confident that if he used the same marketing tactics from his previous life, the film would make serious money. But he also knew this world might not respond the same way—even if the students from his school were already hyping it up.
Still, he had no choice but to project confidence. "I believe our film's gonna be a huge success. Summit will hit 2x, and after that, it's pure profit."
He paused. "And I'm allocating three percent of gross to you, like we discussed."
Katherine smiled warmly at that.
"I'm sorry I didn't consult you before pushing for gross instead of net," Marcus added. "There's a chance we don't make anything from it."
Katherine waved it off. "It's fine. That's pretty normal in this industry—not every movie earns. Even if that three percent doesn't pay out, I won't be upset. Honestly, I loved acting in your project." She smiled. "So even if I only walk away with five hundred bucks, I'll be happy."
Marcus felt genuinely touched by that. Katherine really was understanding.
Later, he talked with Arya and Ryan. Both of them had no problem with the deal either. They agreed to take one percent of gross profit each, just happy to be part of it.
By Sunday, Marcus met Alden from Summit at the café near Nathan's studio. Katherine, Arya, and Ryan came with him. Nathan tagged along too.
Nathan stood off to the side, watching them hash out the details. When Alden confirmed the $370,000 figure, Nathan felt his chest tighten. 'That much money for a fifteen-thousand-dollar student film?'
"I want to split my gross profit share with my actress and my crew," Marcus said.
Alden nodded, listening. Katherine would get 3%, while Arya and Ryan would each get 1%. "No problem. I'll have my team draft the paperwork."
Nathan shifted his weight, trying not to look bothered. His son was giving shares to everyone who'd helped—except him. 'I'm the one who helped him the most,' he thought, but kept his mouth shut. This was Marcus's first real project. Nathan hadn't expected it to turn out like this at all.
If he'd known, he would've had that conversation early on.
But whatever. He could live with it. He was proud of his kid—that mattered more than money.
'Who would've thought the cash I squeezed out of that cheating bastard would lead to this?'
---
The next day at NoHo High School, Paranormal Activity was all anyone could talk about.
Word had spread fast. Even students who hadn't been at the screening had heard about "Marcus's horror movie" from friends. The hype was real.
Marcus had gone from nobody to somebody practically overnight. Even Principal Green was friendlier to him now. Girls who'd never given him the time of day were suddenly making conversation.
But not everyone was impressed.
Frank—the blonde kid who'd tried to embarrass Marcus before—sat with his crew near the lockers, glaring across the hallway. "What's so great about his movie anyway? How'd this guy become the school's golden boy overnight?"
"Right? It's so overblown," one of his friends agreed.
"I heard he shot the whole thing on a handycam," another sneered. "Like, seriously?"
They were clearly jealous. Marcus had been a nobody before. Now everyone treated him like he was the next Stefan Kingswell or something.
"You know what? I could make a movie with my family's camera and get just as popular," one of them joked.
Frank's eyes lit up. "Wait. That's actually a great idea."
His friends turned to him, confused.
"Listen," Frank said, leaning in. "What if we make our own movie? We shoot it on a handycam, show it to the whole school, and boom—instant fame. We make a horror film just like Marcus did. We'll be legends. And we'll get so many girls."
His friends perked up at that.
"What about actors?" one asked. "Marcus got Ms. Katherine. We'd need someone like that."
"We'll ask her," Frank said confidently. "And if she says no, we find someone else."
"What about money?"
"Please. My dad's a VP at a Fortune 500 company. The second I tell him I'm working on something meaningful, he'll hand me a few thousand bucks, no questions asked."
Frank looked across the hallway at Marcus—the guy who'd embarrassed him in front of the whole class. His jaw set. 'I'm gonna beat him at his own game.'
---
Later that week, Frank approached Katherine after class.
"Ms. Katherine, I'm putting together a film project. I'd love to have you as the lead."
Katherine looked up from organizing her papers. "What kind of project?"
Frank launched into his pitch—a horror movie, handycam style, just like Marcus's. He was clearly trying to ride the hype.
Katherine kept her expression neutral. "Can I see a script?"
Frank handed her a few pages. She skimmed it. It was a mess—derivative, no real structure, no creativity. Just a blatant attempt to copy what Marcus had done.
"I appreciate the offer, Frank, but I'll have to pass."
Frank's jaw clenched. "Why? You did Marcus's movie."
"Marcus had a clear vision and a well-thought-out concept," Katherine said evenly. "I'm not going to act in a project that's just trying to copy someone else's success."
She handed the pages back and walked out, leaving Frank fuming.
---
Marcus had no idea someone was trying to rip him off. He was too busy grinding through quests and laying the groundwork for Netflicks.
The system had even given him a Major Quest for it:
[Major Quest: Launch Netflicks]
[Objective: Develop and launch a functional streaming platform.]
[Description: Using knowledge from your previous world, create a video streaming service that will revolutionize home entertainment. Build the foundation for what will become a major platform.]
[Time Limit: Six Months]
[Reward: +45 Points]
That was huge. If he pulled it off, it'd be the biggest point haul he'd ever gotten.
Points were everything. He could buy skills from the shop, grab focus potions for a mental boost—all kinds of useful stuff.
But he knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed help building Netflicks from scratch.
Fortunately, he had a friend who was an actual nerd with real programming chops. Ryan was the obvious choice.
At school the next day, Marcus pitched the idea to Arya and Ryan during lunch.
"Wait, wait," Arya said, eyes wide. "You want to make a service where people can watch movies and shows at home—without buying DVDs or tapes? They just... stream it? And pay monthly?"
"Exactly." Marcus nodded.
"That's insane," Arya said. "There's nothing like that out there."
"Which is exactly why it could work." Marcus turned to Ryan. "And I need your help building it."
Ryan blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah. I can't do this by myself." Even with the Advanced Programming skill he'd bought from the system, having another programmer would make everything go faster.
Ryan scratched his head. "I mean, it sounds simple when you say it like that. But the more I think about it... dude, that's gonna be complicated as hell."
"I've already mapped out a plan," Marcus said confidently. "Trust me, I know what we're doing."
Thanks to the Questclopedia, he had access to multiple versions of Netflix's technical architecture. He'd picked one that matched this world's current technology.
"Wait, what about me?" Arya cut in. "You're not leaving me out of this, right?"
Marcus smiled. "Of course not." Honestly, Arya wouldn't help much with the coding, but she could learn the basics and handle other stuff—testing, feedback, maybe even some design input.
He already had the budget. The upfront payment from Summit would cover development costs for a basic version of Netflicks.
---
Time flew by. Marcus, Ryan, and Arya dove into building the platform.
Marcus and Ryan coded the front-end, then moved on to video playback. HTML5 was starting to emerge, so they used it for the player—with a Flash fallback for browsers that didn't support it yet.
Everything was moving smoothly. Ryan was impressed by how well Marcus had planned everything out, though he didn't ask too many questions about where all this expertise was coming from.
Meanwhile, on March 3rd, Marcus received his first payment from Summit.
It was split into two installments—he was only getting half of the $370,000 upfront. But still, $185,000 was a serious amount of money.
Marcus met Alden at the café near Nathan's studio to sign the final paperwork. When Alden handed him the check, Marcus felt a rush he'd never experienced—not even in his previous life.
He stared at the number. 'This is real.'
Alden sipped his coffee, watching Marcus with an amused smile. "Congrats, kid."
Marcus grinned. "This is a lot of money. But I'm not stopping here. I want more."
Alden laughed. "Easy there. You just got your first check and you're already hungry for the next one?"
"Who wouldn't be?"
Alden had to admit, the kid had a point. Anyone with ambition wanted more. That was just human nature.
"Anyway," Alden said, "we're about to start planning the marketing strategy for your movie. You're welcome to sit in on those meetings if you want."
Marcus perked up. He'd almost forgotten—the Questclopedia had the entire original marketing strategy from his previous life.
"Actually," Marcus said, "I've got some ideas that might help. Could even save you guys some money."
Alden raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Let's hear it."
"You'll find out more at the meeting," Marcus said with a slight smile.
Alden's brows rose higher at the mystery. But he chuckled to himself and shrugged. "Alright, keeping your cards close. I can respect that."