Jas woke up the next morning to his phone buzzing nonstop on the nightstand.
He picked it up and saw hundreds of notifications filling the screen while ssages, missed calls, stream clips, news alerts, and contact requests from random people he didn’t know scrolled past faster than he could read them. His na was still everywhere across every Challenger network and news site, with people calling him the Necromancer of Team Zero in every headline.
He ignored most of it while scrolling through the noise until he stopped at a ssage from an unfamiliar number.
Unknown: Hey Jas, this is Alia.
Unknown: From high school. I don’t know if you rember .
Unknown: We’re having a class gathering tonight.
Unknown: A few people asked if you could co after seeing the stream.
Jas typed back.
Jas: How did you get my number?
The reply ca quickly.
Alia: Soone still had it from the old class contact list.
Alia: I understand if you don’t want to co, but the gathering is tonight and I thought I should ask.
Jas almost ignored the ssage entirely before he rembered Ethan, Mark, and the others while their faces ca back sharp and clear in his mind.
He decided to go because he wanted them to see him now.
Jas: Okay.
Alia: Really?
Jas: Yeah.
Alia: I’ll add you to the group chat so they know you’re coming.
Jas didn’t answer after that because he only wanted to watch what happened next.
Alia added Jas to the old class group chat a minute later.
Jas didn’t reply in the group.
He only read while the chat started moving imdiately.
Alia added Jas Ganner
Ryan: Wait.
Mia: Is that actually him?
Chloe: No way.
Ryan: Jas?
Liam: Bro, that was you on the stream?
Mia: He’s really coming?
Alia: He said okay.
Ryan: This is mad.
Chloe: I thought people were joking.
Ethan: Lol.
Jas’s eyes stopped on Ethan’s ssage because Ethan was one of the boys who used to make his school life miserable, and even now, he didn’t need to say much.
Jas still said nothing while more ssages flooded in, but he put the phone down before reading everything.
Jas went to the kitchen where his mother was making tea when she noticed his expression and asked what happened.
"My old classmates invited to a gathering," Jas said.
His mother beca quiet.
She rembered enough even though Jas never told her everything, but she knew high school wasn’t good for him because she rembered how often he ca ho silent and how often he said he was fine when he clearly wasn’t.
"Are you sure you want to go?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Are you going because you want to see them or because you want them to see you?"
Jas didn’t answer imdiately.
Then he said, "Both."
His mother didn’t scold him because she understood the wound behind the answer. She only asked what he planned to wear.
Jas pulled out sothing from his wardrobe.
She rejected it imdiately. "No. Not for them."
Jas said clothes didn’t matter.
"They do tonight," his mother said before adding, "You’re not going to et people who mocked you looking like you still owe them an apology."
His mother took him shopping, but the trip was fast because the goal wasn’t fashion but preparation.
They went to a good clothing store where so staff recognized Jas from the stream and whispered to each other, but his mother ignored them while focusing on finding sothing sharp for him.
She walked through the racks with purpose before pulling out options and holding them up against him. Jas reached for a gray shirt, but she shook her head before putting it back. He tried a black jacket while she rejected that too.
"This one," she said while handing him fitted dark trousers, a clean white shirt, a well-cut black jacket, polished shoes, and a simple watch from the display case.
Jas kept picking other clothes whenever she turned away.
His mother kept catching him before putting them back.
"Looking good is not arrogance," she told him. "It’s respect. For yourself."
Jas eventually stopped arguing before letting her choose.
He also paid for a few things for her, but she tried to refuse until Jas told her to pick sothing. She gave him a long look before finally accepting a scarf she’d been eyeing earlier.
After shopping, Jas decided to buy a car because he’d already been thinking about it after the stream payout, but the gathering gave him a reason to stop delaying while his mother didn’t fully approve but didn’t stop him either because she knew tonight wasn’t just about seeing old classmates but about closing a Chapter that had stayed open too long.
They went to a luxury dealership where the showroom floor glead under bright lights while expensive cars sat displayed. A salesman approached quickly when they entered, but his practiced smile shifted when he recognized Jas from the news coverage.
Jas walked past sedans and SUVs before stopping at a black sports car.
The salesman explained the specifications while Jas listened, but he’d already decided.
The staff recognized him and treated him carefully while processing the purchase. His mother stood beside him during the paperwork before warning him not to drive like an idiot just because the car was fast.
Jas ntioned he had a license because his mother had forced him to learn and get one when he was sixteen. Back then he’d complained about the cost and the ti. Now he was grateful she’d made him do it.
Back ho, Jas got ready for the gathering while his mother adjusted his collar before fixing small details and studying him properly because he looked different now.
"Don’t go there looking for trouble," his mother said.
"I’m not."
"Don’t let old anger control you."
"I only want them to see ."
His mother nodded before telling him to hold his head high.
By evening, Jas left in his new car while the engine purred smoothly beneath him. He didn’t feel nervous like he would for a date because this feeling was colder and more controlled when he thought about closing a mory instead of reconnecting with anyone.
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