[Steven POV]
Mrs Forman came to our table and said, "Boys, how's your business going?" She cackled loudly, looking really proud.
"It's going great." Eric said. "We made 50 cents."
I raised an eyebrow and looked at him with disbelief, "We?"
Kitty smiled proudly and said, "You boys have done really well! Come on in, I'll make you some manwiches!"
"I'll stay for a bit longer Mrs Forman." I replied to Kitty. She raised her arms up and said, "Okay Hardworking man! I won't disturb you! But if you're hungry, you know where to find the manwiches!"
She left. Eric laughed at me and said, "Mom is already giving up on the garage sale. It seems that you owe me 10 bucks for the magic bean bet."
"I still have some time." I replied.
I was surprised to see when Mrs Forman came, the recording started again.
It didn't start when I was working on the typewriter though. It seemed that the system was curious about the magic bean storyline, and wanted to let me know it was looking forward to it.
Eric went inside to get some sandwiches. Bob came by at this time, bringing the plate he took with him before. I saw him and placed the magic beans on the table secretly.
"Sorry. I forgot this is Kitty's plate." He said with an idiotic grin. Then, his intrigue was piqued as he saw the packet.
"What's this? Professor Copperfield's Miracle Legumes?" He picked it up and read it.
I acted surprised, and immediately said, "How did that get out there?"
"Hmm?" Bob became more interested. "What is this Steven?"
With a serious tone, I looked into his eyes and whispered, "Yesterday I went out with a girl and took a wrong turn. This guy came in– dragging a cart with him. He's selling these.
"He told me things about myself that he couldn't possibly have known."
Bob was really interested now.
"So I bought some. I turn the corner. I feel like an idiot. So I went to get my money back, but he was gone."
Bob's lips twitched in amusement and he said while holding back a laugh, "So you want to sell me some magic beans?" He burst into laughter.
"Correction. I did not want to sell you Professor Copperfield's Miracle Legumes." I said seriously and took the packet back from him.
Bob laughed mockingly and said, "Nice try. No– Terrible try. Terrible… Terrible try." He laughed out loud and then left the table.
Eric came in, also laughing while I kept a straight face.
"Man… that was horrible." He laughed. He couldn't even keep standing straight because of it. "But it was really… really funny!" He added.
"I will share that with everyone we know. Now… pay up." He beckoned me to pay with his hand.
I smiled at him and said, "It's not over yet. Until the garage sale ends."
The recording was paused again. Maybe the scene where Fez kisses Jackie was going on right now.
I had another customer for the typing job. It was a 4 page essay from a college student that needs to be typed out. He already made it on his notepad, I just need to copy it down.
I did that in just 4 minutes, now I got 2 extra bucks.
"Are there a lot of hot chicks at Point Place Junior College?" I asked him.
He grinned and said, "Well, most of the ones who go there can't get to an actual college… So yeah, there's a lot of bimbos there."
"Cool." I nodded in excitement. Eric nodded along and said, "So cool."
A few more grannies came by, all bringing their recipes with them. It was a hassle to do what they wanted, but I got some candies from them and two more dollars, so it was still good.
The garage sale was almost over.
The recording started again, so I put the packet back on the table.
Bob walked past again and saw the bean packet. He sighed and said, "Hyde. Put that away. It's not funny the second time."
I snatched the packet from the desk and immediately put it back in my pocket. "Sorry. Eric must've put those up."
"Okay. Just out of curiosity. What are the claims for the beans again?" He approached the table.
"It's legumes Bob– and if you just want to make fun of me, why would I even tell you?" I pretended to be disgruntled and slightly defensive.
He stared at me for a while before he scoffed. "Pshh."
"Alright. That's it." I stood up and crunched the packet exaggeratedly before throwing it on the floor and stomping on it. Then, I threw it in the trash can beside the table.
Bob kept his silence, but his gaze told me that his mind had thought about the possibility of it being real for a bit.
Eric returned to the table, eating a manwich while mocking me, "Now will you pay up?"
"No. It's not over yet." I smiled haughtily.
Eric furrowed his eyebrows and said, "The beans are destroyed. You lost."
"Just wait and see." I sat down lazily again.
"Alright, fine. It doesn't matter to me if you lose now or you lose later." Eric laughed mockingly before he went inside the house.
I smiled confidently, which made him hesitate for a few seconds. Then, he muttered, "Ah. There's no way."
…
Two minutes before the garage sales ended. I had made around six bucks from the typewriting job. Ten if Pax came tomorrow and loved the embellished resumes.
I was packing up the typewriter and papers. Eric snickered as he looked at me from the porch.
Suddenly, Bob and Midge walked past again. I pretended not to notice them.
Midge however, approached me. So Bob had to stop too.
"Hyde, did you really try to sell Bob some magic beans?" Midge asked with a laugh.
Bob guffawed and then looked at the trash can. He wanted to pick up the packet and show it to his wife.
"OH MY GOD!" Bob was stunned when he saw the packet being intact in the trash can. His eyes shook as he looked at me, his jaw dropped in disbelief.
I mimicked his expression and said, "That's impossible! It- It's impossible… Right Bob?"
"I don't– I don't know how–" Bob sweat profusely. Midge became flustered and asked, "Bob! What is it? Is it really magic beans?!"
"Hyde… Um…" Bob laughed nervously. He pretended to be friendly and said, "Why do I take this away from you? It's probably worthless anyway."
"Probably." I said ambiguously before I tried to grab the packet back, but he held it with an iron claw.
"Bob. Let it go."
"Hyde! I'll pay you 50 bucks for the magic beans!"
Eric threw his hands up in the air with disbelief. Red saw the commotion and walked outside while I was talking with Bob.
"What the hell is happening out here?" Red asked grumpily.
Eric told him with a laugh. "We're witnessing the scam of a lifetime where Hyde just sold some magic beans to Bob for over 50 bucks."
Bob walked towards Red happily after getting the bean packet.
"Look Red! We got some magic beans!" Midge said happily.
As Bob and Midge laughed in satisfaction, Red looked at them like idiots.
"You idiots." He scolded them. "How can you fall for that?!"
Eric added, "How much did you pay for it?"
"I paid nothing." Bob grinned. "Well, nothing yet."
"Oh my god, did you mortgage your house Bob?" Red asked with disbelief.
Midge smiled and said, "No. Hyde didn't want any money."
"He didn't want money?" Red was slightly taken aback. "Then what does he want?" He asked.
"He wants a job at Bargain Bob for a week. He's working full time while he's suspended, as a salesman." Bob said cheekily.
"All for some magic beans?" Red looked at him with disbelief.
"Well, I don't think it's a waste Red. If the beans are fake, and I was really scammed, then… I lost nothing. My store would've hired a monster of a salesman. A salesman so good– he could sell some magic beans. So it's win-win for me."
[+20 Favorability]
I celebrated with a secretive fist pump as I got the notification.
Red's eyes also changed when he heard it. Then, he looked at me with a slight admiration.
Eric's eyes were the same. "Oh my god, Hyde is good at something!" He mumbled.
…
The system chimed after the outdoor scene was wrapped.
{Congratulations on passing the 50/150 favorability level. You had gone up from hated side character to tolerable side character.
A gift is prepared for you in the system storage.}
'Wait. Does the system have a storage function?' I muttered.
The panel returned, as if it was summoned with my mind, and I saw some cubic boxes meant to store inventory in.
It looked like the minecraft storage system.
I could stack some same object into one slot, but I would need two slots just to store black pen and red pen in the inventory.
However, I could fit in a wallet filled with cash and cards, or a bucket filled with rocks and toys into the slot. Even a house, or a car in there. There wasn't any size limit– or one I could find yet.
Right now, I only have 5 slots available for me to use.
"This is pretty cool." I muttered.
Eric called before I could explore the present from the system. We were wrapping up the garage sale.
I went to the basement to store all of the stuff and saw Kelso and Fez inside. The recording started immediately as I walked past the door.
"Hey, what's going on?" Eric asked the duo. "Did you guys fight?"
I laughed and blurted out, "What? Did Fez kiss Jackie or something?"
Kelso and Fez were shocked.
"How-how did you know that?" Kelso was astonished.
Eric was surprised. "Oh my god, Fez kissed Jackie?! Did Jackie know?"
Kelso was stunned, and Fez was confused.
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course she knows!" Fez snapped.
I laughed and sat on my usual chair. "Kelso, should I put it in the bro-code? A bro should never kiss another bro's girlfriend?"
"Yes! You should definitely do that!" Kelso agreed instantly. Eric also agreed with the rule. "Yes, we should definitely do that!" He picked up my notepad and gave it to me.
"Alright then. So, before I write it, I need to ask. Does it go the same way with an ex-girlfriend or someone you already made out with?"
I crossed my legs and put the pencil on my mouth. Kelso was confused and he replied flatly, "I guess."
"Are you sure? This made it impossible for you to make a move on Donna if by any chance she dumped Eric." I said teasingly.
Eric was baffled and panicked instantly. "Why-Why would she dump me?!"
"Wait. No! I want to be able to make a move. So just put girlfriend, not ex-girlfriend in the rule." Kelso said decisively.
"NO!! Exes should definitely be there!!" Eric argued, pushing Kelso away to come close to me.
Fez grimaced and said, "Hyde. Will there be a punishment if someone breaks the rule?"
"Yeah. We will go with the traditional bros' punishment. Something that has been adhered and respected through several generations."
"What is it?" Fez asked nervously.
"Castration." I said, which made both Kelso and Fez cover their crotch.
"NO! This rule should never be on there! I vote for it to not be included in the bro-code!" Kelso said urgently.
"Yeah! It shouldn't be there!" Fez agreed with him.
Eric stood by my side and said dramatically, "I vote for it to be on there!"
"And I'll stand by Forman's side since I already broke the code once." I said casually, just adding fuels to the fire.
"Thanks Hyde." Eric said casually while patting my shoulder.
Donna and Jackie entered the basement after they finished talking about kissing outside.
"Hey what are you guys arguing about?" Donna asked.
"Whether or not kissing your friend's girlfriend should be included in the bro-code." Kelso said as he put Eric into a headlock. Then, Eric twisted his nipple and broke free.
I chuckled before I asked, "Hey Jackie. Who's a better kisser? Fez or Kelso?"
Jackie gasped, feeling offended and slightly shameful. "Micheal! You told them?"
"N-NO!" Kelso said hurriedly. Jackie turned to Fez angrily, "Fez. You bragged about it?"
"N-No! Um… Kelso doesn't want to put the rule into the book because he wants to kiss Donna."
"HEY!" Kelso was taken aback when Fez sold him out.
"He wants to do what?!" Donna raised an eyebrow.
Donna and Jackie were really offended by the statement.
"I, for one, am strongly pro for the bill to be passed." Eric said as he jumped over the couch to get to Donna.
Kelso was trying hard to convince Jackie that not adding the rule was a good thing, but she wasn't buying it. She hit his arm and said, "Vote for the rule Micheal! I don't want to kiss your other friend Micheal!"
"Fineee!" Kelso snapped. "No kissing other people's girlfriends!"
"Not other people. Just us. You can kiss someone else's girlfriend– who's not in the group." I clarified for him, and he beamed in excitement, "Really?"
Then he got smacked by Jackie again. "OWW! God, I'm just asking so that I wouldn't do such a thing!"
"What about exes?" I asked.
"Yes." Eric voted pro. "No kissing the other bros exes too."
"I mean. That's really up to them. If they really fall for each other, a stupid rule won't be able to stop that." Donna said, which shocked Eric.
"Donna?" Eric asked nervously. Donna immediately turned to him and said defensively, "I'm not saying I want to. I'm just saying there's a lot of moving parts there…"
"Donna?!" Eric whispered pitifully.
Before we could decide on it, Laurie walked down the stairs.
"What do you want, Brownie face?" Eric said.
Kelso began to laugh while Laurie got pissed. Then, she smiled devilishly as she looked at me.
"Don't worry. I'm not here for you. I'm here for Hyde." Laurie said. "Right now, my daddy and mom are eating your brownies in the kitchen."
I turned to her with confusion and said, "I don't have any more brownies."
"No. You have one. A 'special' brownie you made just for my mom and dad." Laurie said hintingly.
I shrugged, not really understanding it. Laurie snapped and said, "Your 'special' brownies Hyde. One that can make then high!"
"Oh my god!" Eric exclaimed with bewilderment. He turned to me and scolded, "Hyde! You said you didn't make one!"
"I didn't." I clarified. "I have run out of the special ingredients, so I can't even make one if I wanted to."
Laurie was taken aback and became slightly flustered. "Well, It doesn't matter since they think it was your brownies anyway. And once they eat it, they will kick you out of the house!"
Fez gasped and said, "You're evil!"
Eric was also worried. "Laurie. There's no way that's going to work."
"Yeah. Mrs Forman was with me the entire time I was making the brownies. And I spent the entire evening outside selling magic beans to Bob. How can I even have time to make a new batch of brownies?" I asked casually.
Donna got pissed and said, "You sold magic beans to my dad?!"
"Not for money. In exchange for a job at his store." Eric clarified, calming her down.
"Oh. That's fine then." Donna said casually.
Laurie became increasingly flustered when she realized no one was taking her threats seriously.
I turned to her and laughed at her face. "Laurie. When they eat it, I think the only one who'll get in trouble, is you."
"Damn it!" Laurie rushed upstairs to stop the parents from eating the brownies. Eric went with him.
I turned to Donna and said, "You should go too. I saw Bob and Midge in the kitchen, and Mrs Forman would definitely invite them to eat together."
Donna's face turned blank with realization and she immediately ran upstairs.
They were all too late though since the brownies were already gone when they got there.
Micheal kept getting scolded by Jackie. She wasn't letting go of his lies.
"Take me home Micheal!" Jackie ordered.
Kelso pointed at me and said, "Hyde! This is not over! You hear me!"
Fez ran away as I whispered, 'Castration' to him, yelling, "Kelso. Wait for me!"
The recording stopped, and I had some free time. So I checked the system's gift while sitting on my white chair in the basement.
"A random gift or a practical one?"
The panel was split into two choices. I couldn't check what they were before I picked one, and I couldn't change my choice once I did.
My brain told me to pick the practical option.
However, my finger kept moving toward the random option. I even held my wrist to stop it from pressing the random option panel.
In the end, I lost the battle with myself and picked the random option.
{Congratulations. You received 1000 LED bulbs.}
"Light bulbs?" I was surprised when I saw the image on the panel.
A white-glow 11W bulb with a 25,000-hour lifespan, which was far better than the 60W incandescent yellow-glow bulbs with only 1,000 hours of lifespan in the '70s.
"Can I check what the practical choices were?" I muttered meekly.
The system heard my begging and showed me the list of gifts I could've picked from the practical choice.
500 dollars in cash.
"Oh, that would've been nice."
A bedroom set. (Mattress, Bedframe, Closet, Rug, Study Table, Lamp)
"Damn. That was a huge gift." I said with a slight regret.
One 1967 Mustang Car – Pre-loved (10 years). Black fastback model. Engine in good condition. Minor rust along lower panels. Slight paint chipping on the hood and doors. Interior well-maintained.
My mind went blank for a bit. "Fuccckkkkk." I exhaled deeply.
…
"My dad sold the Vista Cruiser. Me and Laurie are going to go get it back. You want to come?" Eric asked as I rested in the room.
"Seriously?... Well…No." I hesitated at first, but rejected it since it wasn't a recorded scene.
I knew there was already a circle scene with the high parents, but I stayed away from them since it was more of a Laurie and Eric scene right now.
"Damn it. That's what I thought." Eric closed the door again. Then, he opened it the second time. "Oh. I do need someone to keep an eye on my mom."
"Alright. I'll do that." I said flatly.
Surprisingly, when I came downstairs, Kitty was dancing in the kitchen while simultaneously trying to put a pot into the oven.
"What are you doing Mrs Forman?" I asked with a look of amusement.
Kitty turned around instantly and cackled out loud. "Boiling water for the mac and cheese."
I flinched and immediately rushed to take out the pot from the oven. "That's not how you do it Mrs Forman."
"Do what?" Kitty asked, confused.
I snickered and said, "Oh. You're not going to remember anything you're doing right now, won't you?"