[Two months later]
"The damn window camper killed !"
Andrew heard Howard's voice through his headset. They were playing a match of the new Call of Duty: World at War. It was a multiplayer match with Leonard and Howard in Hardcore Team Deathmatch mode.
Of course, Andrew was recording the gaplay to edit and upload to YouTube later. Howard and Leonard's comntary would be in the video, which made it way more entertaining compared to playing alone.
This wasn't the first video Andrew uploaded featuring Leonard and Howard. He'd already posted two others, and they were very well received.
At this mont, Andrew's YouTube channel had surpassed an incredible milestone—10,000 subscribers. He hit that number in just three months—or to be exact, 88 days—since uploading his first video.
"Co on, Ringo, stop dying!" Andrew said as he circled a building, closing in on the camper Howard hadn't been able to take out.
Leonard burst out laughing when he heard Andrew call Howard Ringo. He'd heard it before, but it was still hilarious.
Ringo is the nickna Howard uses in the videos, though he didn't choose it. Leonard and Andrew gave it to him.
"That's not my nickna! I told you my gartag is ProMan69," Howard said angrily.
"Oh yeah, maybe when you stop dying and get a girlfriend, we'll call you that," Leonard comnted, and Andrew laughed as he killed the camper with a sneak attack from behind.
"Shut up, Wazowski. When you grow a few inches, you can join this conversation," Howard shot back mockingly. That was the nickna he gave Leonard due to his short stature and broad build.
'Here we go again...' Andrew thought with a faint smile as he landed a headshot on another camper.
"When you beat in kills, we'll talk, Ringo," Leonard said, igniting another round of bickering.
Andrew found them fighting in a knife duel in a highly dangerous area. Since it was hardcore mode, friendly fire was enabled. But if you killed too many teammates, you'd lose points or even get kicked from the match.
"Co closer, Wazowski. Or are you as cowardly as you are in real life?" Howard taunted, trying to provoke Leonard.
"I'll show you how the pros play, Ringo," Leonard replied.
And so, the two began fighting each other, completely forgetting about the match.
Andrew, too, forgot that they were in the final phase of the ga. He was too entertained watching his two friends stabbing each other with knives.
'A grenade?' Andrew thought as he noticed a grenade drop right in the middle of their fight.
BOOM!
The explosion went off instantly, killing both Howard and Leonard in a double kill. Andrew didn't even have ti to react or locate the enemy who threw the grenade before his character was riddled with bullets and died.
After this triple kill, the match ended with Andrew's team losing.
Andrew, Ringo, and Wazowski sat in silence, staring at the defeat screen.
At that mont, a voice broke through the voice chat.
"Сукины дети! Обратите внимание на игру!"
"Really? A Russian's insulting us?" Leonard asked, lanting the lost match. Losing a hardcore ga always left a bitter taste.
"What did you expect? We killed each other..." Howard said, resigned.
"Look at the chat. He's still insulting us," Andrew said, half amused. He had no idea what the Russian was typing, but it couldn't be anything good.
"Why did he switch to text chat?" Leonard asked.
"His mom probably scolded him for yelling," Howard replied, then started responding to the Russian in his own language, saying exactly what he had just ntioned.
'This video is going to be fun,' Andrew thought as he left the lobby and closed the ga.
"Aren't you playing another one? It's still early," Leonard asked, noticing that Andrew had logged off.
"No, I have sothing to do..." Andrew answered, being vague.
"What? Talk to your girlfriend?" Howard asked in a jealous tone, having just finished arguing with the Russian.
By girlfriend, he was referring to Pippa. It had been two months since Andrew had shared his first kiss with her.
"Yeah, I'll talk to her, but she's not my girlfriend yet... for now," Andrew replied, smiling slightly as he rembered the kiss they'd shared in Pippa's room months ago.
Since that mont, his relationship with Pippa had improved significantly. They understood each other well and had a great ti together.
At this point, Andrew and Pippa were in the dating phase. They spent a lot of ti together, as if they were a couple, but they hadn't explicitly defined their relationship. They'd gone to the movies, out to eat, and other places, enjoying their ti together. Even though they acted like a couple, they hadn't formally said what kind of relationship they had.
Tomorrow, Friday, was the last ga of the regular season. It was an important match, even though they had already secured a spot in the regional playoffs regardless of the outco.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is divided into 10 main sections, and Andrew's school belongs to the CIF-LACS (Los Angeles City Section).
In this section, there are 32 teams in Division 5, one of which is Andrew's school.
During the regular season, these 32 teams are divided into 4 groups of 8. Each team plays gas within their group, facing each other from September to November.
At the end of the regular season, the teams with the best win-loss records across the section qualify for the regional playoffs. In this case, 16 of the 32 teams will advance to the regional playoffs.
Andrew's team had won 5 gas and lost only 1 so far. With this record, the team was already among the top 16 in the section, guaranteeing their spot in the regional playoffs.
Although tomorrow's ga wasn't crucial, it held strategic importance. The better the record at the end of the regular season, the better their playoff seeding, which ant facing a weaker team in the first round.
"You haven't made it official yet? You two are practically glued to each other all day," Leonard comnted in a strange tone.
"No, but I'm asking her officially tomorrow. I've got it all planned out. We'll win, I'll have a great ga, we'll qualify for regionals with an amazing record, and the cherry on top will be that we'll officially be boyfriend and girlfriend," Andrew said, already envisioning the plan in his head.
Cam, his dad, had taught him that special monts should be grand, done with style, and given the importance they deserved. What better way to make it official than to ask Pippa to be his girlfriend right after the final ga of the regular season?
"Don't tell you're still doubting she'll say yes. You two already act like a couple; the only thing missing is saying it," Howard added.
"I know, but it has to be said explicitly, and it's even better if it's grand, so everyone knows," Andrew replied.
"Wow, take it easy, Roo," Howard said.
"What's wrong with that?" Andrew asked.
"Do you think Pippa will be comfortable with you doing it so publicly? She'll beco the center of attention for everyone on the field," Howard asked.
This last ga was being played at ho, so almost the entire school would be attending. The team had never had such a good winning streak, and this was the first ti in several years they were qualifying for the regional playoffs.
After the final whistle, everyone who wanted to could enter the field to celebrate with the team—family, friends, and classmates.
Andrew paused for a mont, thinking. Howard's question made sense.
Pippa had always been pretty low-key when it ca to being in the spotlight, though things had changed a bit since they started seeing each other two months ago.
Andrew, as the quarterback who earned his starting position in an epic way and led the team to victory after victory, had beco one of the most popular students in high school. And he was just a junior who had only started high school a few months ago.
The attention on him also made everyone focus on Pippa, the girl who walked hand in hand with him down the hallways and acted very affectionate and close.
While Pippa didn't seem to seek attention and couldn't care less about popularity, she also didn't seem bothered by being in the spotlight. She didn't have a problem with it.
'I doubt she'll mind. At most, she'll blush a little, and she's so cute when she does...' Andrew thought, deciding he would go ahead with the grand gesture anyway.
"Don't tell you're going to listen to Howard? Seriously? He's never even had a girlfriend," Leonard said, breaking the silence from Andrew.
"Of course not. I'm doing it no matter what he says, Ringo," Andrew finally replied, as Leonard laughed and Howard started ranting, as usual.
Andrew ended the call with the guys. He took off his headphones, turned off the mic, and grabbed his phone. He called Pippa, and as the phone began to ring, he moved his mouse with his left hand to click on his browser.
His gaze shifted between his PC screen and his phone, as though he wanted to do everything at once.
He held the phone with his shoulder, pressing it against his ear, while scrolling through the Internet and heading to his email. He hadn't checked it all day.
The inbox appeared. Among the usual emails, one stood out in a way that made him freeze.
His eyes widened as he read the subject line, written in clear letters:
[YouTube Partner Invitation]
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