14 Chapter 14: Pilot begins. 

(A/N: Stone me!)

-Edward POV-

The problem with Ted's business wasn't his skill in seafaring or the condition of his ship. The problem was a lack of customers and an outdated business model.

"I'm going to create a website for your business. I need you to get me your business details, registration, et cetera so that I can create a credit card payment system online."

"Isn't that dangerous? What if 'hackers' break into the system? They can steal every credit card detail registered there." Ted expressed his concern.

'Please. My system will be even more secure than the bank's system nowadays. I played around last night, and if I wanted to, I could shut down the department of traffic in the town and let the city fall under chaos.'

But I didn't do that as I wouldn't want to get a record if, by any miraculous chance, someone knew I did it.

"Not at all. Don't worry about the website's defense. Leave it all to me. But I'm going to need some money to get started." I said and asked for Ted's credit card.

He reluctantly gave me his credit card after I repeatedly emphasized to him the benefits of moving his company into the digital age before his competitors.

"You'll get more party-addicted young models in your ship from now on as they are the main target for online tickets. I see this as nothing but a win for you." I teased.

"Not giving up on trying to make me hook up with the models I see." Ted played along.

Ted listened to my ideas and explanations without interjecting much. I could see that the numbers, bombs, and theories were too much for him. Therefore I decided to guide him slowly.

"How do you know about this stuff?" Ted expressed his shock. 'Who is this kid in front of me? When did Ed become so smart?' Ted thought secretly as he looked at me with wary eyes.

"Dad. It's the 21st century. People can learn everything through the internet nowadays." I lied. I only used my knowledge from the companies I had worked with in my past life and implemented them into my dad's business.

Ted was a bonafide sailor. In his 20s, he traveled the world through the seas. His experience visiting exotics land was plenty, and he always had some stories to tell his customers buying tickets for his ship.

He could still stay in business because most of his customers were recurring customers and loved getting aboard his ship. Most of his skills were on seafaring, with only a little bit on business matters.

"There will be a hard few months in front of you because of the changes. But, it'll be better than selling your ship. How about it, dad? Do you want to try it?" I asked.

Ted walked closer and pulled me into his embrace suddenly. I was shocked by the sudden action, but I didn't push him away when I heard his following words. "Thank you for thinking of me, Ed. I will try to build my business back up, so we don't have to move."

"I don't care about that," I said casually, causing Ted to be confused. "Didn't you learn all this stuff, so we don't have to move to Wisconsin?" Ted asked.

"Nuh-uh. I am doing this 'cause it's pretty stupid for your business to be bankrupt just because you don't know how to run it." I said sarcastically.

Ted was stunned and wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't find the words to do it. He sighed, smiled softly at his son, and said, "Sure. That's the reason."

I was weirded out by his sudden change, but I didn't say anything as his change was helping me to help him.

"I will also create a program to schedule your trips more efficiently. That way, you don't have to stay in the Marina all day long while waiting for the customer to come." I said and showed him the UI design of the website that I sketched on a piece of paper.

"Give me 3 days," I said confidently to my dad before getting to school. "Take a lot of pics of your trips, ship space, and facilities. I am going to need it."

"Okay. I will rent a digital camera for it." Ted said. I stared at him with distrust in my eyes.

"This is the number of community college teachers teaching photography as a subject. Call him, and ask for a list of students that took that course in the last few years. Let them take pictures of your ship and everything else I want. If they do their job well, you should hire them to be the official photographer for your party."

Ted seemed anxious, so I added, "Just say it's for an internship if you don't want to pay them. You can even reach an agreement with their lecturer for that."

"I-I see," Ted replied hesitatingly.

"There's nothing more intoxicating for the rich people who get on board your ship than taking pictures of their wealth and rubbing it into their friends' faces. A photographer service will bring many rich people on board your ship." I said reassuringly.

Before I left, I said in a solemn tone, "Dad. You really should find someone to run the business with you. You can't do all of this alone."

"I will try," Ted replied with a wry smile.

Now that I have my laptop, I plan to create a few websites and games to sell, but first, I will help my dad stabilize his current situation.

…

Although I was consistently bothered at school by the slutty stalker, I managed to end the day peacefully. Some of the boys in love with Jenna wanted to cause some trouble with me, but with Jacob standing at my side, no one dared to come forward. If only they knew that the potato kid was a coward who would run away at the first sight of trouble.

I felt dejected as I didn't meet with Alex today. It's as if she was hiding from me. I was looking forward to being her friend, but she didn't feel the same way.

Before I went home, I saw Claire sitting in her minivan in front of the school. She had just picked up Luke and was waiting for Alex to exit the school. I walked by and greeted her and Luke.

"Hello, Mrs. Dunphy."

"Edward, Hi. Sorry to hear about the fire." Claire said, trying to empathize with my situation, but her expression seemed insincere even when she really was.

"It's okay. The owners have recommended me to a few live music cafes in the area, so I will have more opportunities in the future." I replied.

"Good for you. Also, I'm really sorry that Luke stole your dessert." Claire said casually. I widened my eyes and turned to Luke, sitting in the back seat.

"That was you!?" I was surprised by the sudden piece of information.

"You…you don't know?" Claire said, looking guiltily as she turned at Luke and then at me.

"I thought my dad brought it to work. I billed him 50 bucks this morning because he didn't tell me about it. He said he didn't, and we had a big fight."

"Oh, my god. I am so sorry!" Claire was highly flabbergasted when she heard it. Of course, I lied. I was just messing with her and Luke.

"Edward. I'm sorry. I didn't think it through! I will NEVER steal a cake from YOUR house again, despite how delicious…and creamy…and very delicious-"

"Okay, stop." Claire scolded her son. "You need to make this right, Luke. I told you to apologize to him last night, but you didn't. You won't even get a piece of the desert for a month."

Luke was shocked, but he didn't object to the punishment. Claire turned to me and said, "I will pay you for the cake. I will also explain the matter to your father…."

"That's okay. My dad and I had already made up. We blamed it on the raccoons instead. Now I know who the raccoon was. I will make sure to put locks on the fridge when Luke comes and visits."

"Wait. You're not mad?" Luke asked.

"Nah. It was a mistake made in a moment of weakness. I can understand it, but don't do it again. Okay?"

"Hmmm…Okay." Luke replied. "We're still friends?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. We are." I said with a sincere smile.

"That's…very kind of you Edward…" Claire said, hiding her disbelief. "You know what, I'm going to bake a cake this Sunday. I will make an extra one for you." Claire offered.

"Can I watch how it gets made? I do like baking and making desserts." I asked. Claire thought for a while and replied as if she had no choice, "Okay. Sunday morning. 10 a.m. Come by the house."

"It's a date," I replied before I cycled away. "No. It's not a date!" Claire shouted from afar, but I ignored her.

[Claire's commentary.]

Sitting on the sofa in her blue blouse and hair let loose, Claire fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke, "Okay. He's a nice kid. He's very understanding too. After the dinner, I thought he was interested in Alex…."

Claire's eyes turned troubled. "But…He is more interested in…me?"

[Commentary ends]

-3rd Party POV-

After Edward moved away from the SUV, Alex finally entered the car–stealthily, like a ninja.

"Arghh!" Luke yelled in surprise when Alex suddenly opened the car door.

"Don't make a noise! Be still!" Alex said in frustration.

"Alex, when did you become a kidnapper?" Claire asked. Alex ignored the remark and closed the car door quickly.

"Why did Edward come here? Did he ask why I didn't text him back? What did he say?" Alex asked hurriedly.

Claire widened her eyes in surprise. "You guys are texting each other?" She asked inquisitively.

"Are you guys dating?" Luke asked.

"No!!" Alex replied hurriedly. "He asked me to be his friend yesterday and asked for my number. He texted me, but I didn't reply yet. That's it." Alex explained after she knew she didn't have a way out after unconsciously blurting out the information.

"I don't want to meet him until I know how to explain why I don't text him back," Alex said.

"That will be quite difficult," Claire said.

"Why?" Alex asked knowingly.

"Because mom invited him to our house on Sunday," Luke interjected as he laughed at Alex's misery.

"MOM!" Alex called out in horror.

[Claire's commentary]

"I was wrong. He's using me to get close to Alex. Not in a million years!... But I cannot cancel on Sunday…Damn it!"

…

-Edward POV-

After I got home, I threw myself into building the website. It was fun to return to my previous job as I was working in easy mode this time.

The bad thing was there were only so many shared codes I could find. So I need to build my own code from scratch.

I spent the whole afternoon building the website, payment system, and online booking.

"I also need to create some adverts online. It will help trick susceptible customers into buying things they don't need."

I could run the ads legally and illegally, but as my father's business was legit, I needed to run the ads the legal way. The illegal ways will consist more of virus type ads – like the hot milf in your area ads that will pop out at random sites.

On Saturday, Manny came to play at my house. Gloria and Jay came too, but only to drop Manny over here. They then went to the mall after telling Manny they would come to pick him up in an hour.

I kept fixing the state of the house slowly throughout the week, and it looked much better now that I was almost done.

The 'forest' in the backyard was removed, and I planted some sunflowers near the picket fence. It would bloom in the summer, but I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I would in my grandpa's ranch at that time.

"Manny. Vamos." I said as I called him to the backyard.

"I am thinking out loud here, but we can play the other game I bought, not foot- soccer," Manny said as he stood at the backdoor.

"Hmm? Empire? That'll be good too. Or we can play chess. My father has the set in his room."

Manny became smug after chess was mentioned. "You might be good at soccer, but I'm great at chess. I played it with my mom all the time."

"Okay. We'll play chess, but after, we'll practice for a little while." I said.

"Why?" Manny asked in confusion. I stared at his bulging belly and said, "No reason. I just want to sweat a little bit."

Although confused, Manny did practice his play before we played chess. As expected, I beat him in all 10 games we played.

"How are you so good? I could win against my mom 3 out of 10 times, but I couldn't win against you once."

I saw him become increasingly frustrated, so I smirked and said, "Do you want to play one more time? This time, I'll play with my left hand to give you a handicap."

"Okay!" Manny beamed up in excitement. He felt something was weird, but he was too excited to care about it as he wanted to win against me at least once.

After 5 more games, Jay and Gloria returned to the house to pick up Manny.

"Ayyy Papi, What's wrong? Why are you so sad?" Gloria said as she saw a sullen Manny.

"It turns out I'm not that good at chess, mom," Manny whined. "I lost 15 times against Edward. And he gave me a handicap in the last 5 matches."

"Handicap? How?" Jay asked.

"He played with his left hand- Wait a minute!" Manny widened his eyes after he realized the entire situation.

"Oh, Geez," Jay exclaimed in disappointment when he knew Manny had fallen for a prank.

I laughed loudly, causing the kid to fume in anger.

"Don't be mad, Manny. Hahaha. You did well in the matches. You can surely beat Jay and Phil if you play against them."

"Why me? What do you even know about me?" Jay asked in dissatisfaction.

"I know you will lose against Manny," I said decisively.

"You know what? We will play chess together at home." Jay said and grabbed Manny's shoulder before he urged Manny to get into the car.

"Why do you always provoke him?" Gloria asked after Jay was out of earshot.

"Why are you mad at me? Now, Manny and Jay will spend more time together. I sensed that they aren't that close with each other, am I right?"

Gloria was slightly surprised and replied, "That's true. Manny still couldn't accept Jay fully. I tried hard, but they were both… too stubborn." She vented a little.

"Yeah. I guessed that." I replied. Gloria flashed a soft smile and patted my head. "You're a good kid. I hope you can continue…being friends with Manny."

"Okay. I will. His soccer match is tomorrow, right? Tell him I said Good Luck with his match. Also, tell him Brenda Feldman has a boyfriend, so he will get shot down if he confesses to her."

Gloria's face changed into a shocked expression. "He wants to confess? But he's a 10-year-old boy…and she's… 16??"

…

-Dunphy's house. 3rd Party POV-

"Why is he coming again?" Haley asked in confusion after Claire told her about Edward's visit tomorrow. She had planned to invite Dylan to her house to watch a movie, but she texted Dylan not to come after hearing about the visit.

"I made a promise with him. It's just for an afternoon." Claire said to persuade Haley as she knew Haley and Edward were fighting.

"Besides, your father is already too excited for it that nothing you say will change anything." Claire said casually. Haley opened her mouth, but no words would come out.

[Haley's commentary]

Sitting with her arms crossed on the sofa, Haley has a complicated expression on her face.

"I told Dylan about Edward. And he's a bit…angry. I know he'll pick a fight if he meets him, so I tell Dylan not to come." Haley confessed.

"He's being stupid, and I don't want him to meet my mom and dad like this. The band was in the wrong, but he insisted on following Brian's word against mine."

"Now. I'm the one who had to suffer for it." Haley said while flipping her hair.

[Commentary ends]

Sunday morning came, and Dunphy's house was hectic from the start.

"Children! Breakfast!" Claire, still dressed in her robes, shouted out to her children from the kitchen, even though they were all on the second level. She was standing between the refrigerator and the kitchen island, removing food from the refrigerator to serve her family.

Claire's husband, Phil, stood on her left with a game console in his hand. He focused so hard on his game that he tuned out what his wife was talking about and only responded periodically.

"Kids?" Claire called out again, but there was still no response. She sighed and said to her husband, "Phil. Will you get them?"

"Yeah. One sec." Phil said, not prying his face away from the console. As Claire turned to the kitchen island, Phil grabbed a fruit snack from the fridge and closed the fridge door halfway.

"Kids!" Claire called out again. After getting the vegetables out, she turned to store them inside the fridge, but she crashed into the fridge door that Phil had changed. All the vegetables fall down on the floor, causing Phil to raise his face at a scary-faced Claire.

Phil quickly listened to her wife's words and shouted, "Kids! Get down here!"

Haley walked into the kitchen wearing a tight white top and a mini skirt.

"Why are you guys yelling at us when we are wayyy upstairs. Just text me." Haley said.

"All right," Phil replied casually. "That's not going to happen." Claire quickly admonished both her husband and her daughter.

Claire saw what Haley was wearing, and she said, "Wow! You're not wearing that outfit!"

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Haley asked in puzzlement.

"Honey, don't you have anything to tell your daughter about her skirt?" Claire asked, and she found Phil was focusing on the game again. "Honey!" She called in frustration.

"Sorry," Phil said and raised his head to look at his daughter's outfit. Haley was posing for Phil to see what's wrong with her clothes.

"Aww...That looks really cute, sweetheart." Phil said lovingly.

"Thanks," Haley said, face full of smiles. Claire was frustrated and took the matter into her hands, "No. It's way too short. People know you're a girl. You don't need to prove it to them."

Alex walked into the kitchen and said, "Luke got his head stuck in the banister again."

Phil quickly responded, "I got it. Where's the baby oil?"

Claire replied, "It's on our bedside-" She silenced herself before exposing her private life with Phil. "I don't know, Phil. Find it." Claire said after rearranging her words.

*Ding dong.*

The doorbell rang as Phil was inside his room searching for the baby oil. Claire walked to the front door and opened it. "Hi, Edward. You're early."

Dressed in a long-sleeved, black checkered shirt with the sleeves folded and worn-out jeans, Edward said, "It's…9.30? You told me to come at 10. I thought it would be polite to come early. I also thought I could score some breakfast here. Is that okay?"

Claire paused for a while as her mind raced through multiple thought processes. She replied,

"It's okay. Come on in."