If there was one thing my father was good at when it came to gift giving, it was the fact that all of us would have the same budget, so while Brenden got several items to enhance the Hellcat, the monetary value of his items were the same as what was spent on all of Xilia’s makeup and vanity.
Meanwhile, as I tore open my packages, I was soon surrounded by varying computer components and tech gear, all of which were clearly a cut above what was available on the market, indicating that he had bought them through Arkadia…something I found funny, yet made sense at the same time.
Honestly, if it were anyone else getting their hands on a Graphics card that wasn’t created until 2023, they probably would lose their mind. Although it would cause a few logistical problems, such as incompatibility with current-gen tech, that wasn’t an issue for me.
Giving my thanks to Dad, who seemed extremely pleased with our reactions, even my muted ones, we carried on with our present haul, with Xilia giving everyone something, followed by Brenden’s gifts.
This was where things got truly interesting because there was a clear line between what was given to the mother-daughter pair of Abuela and Paola vs what we gave each other.
For example, I got Paola an expensive lotion basket, which I had seen her eyeing in the mall recently, and for Abuela, it was some state-of-the-art cooking utensils, such as a costly mixer.
Yet, for the Returners, I upgraded everyone’s equipment to the maximum potential of Beta-Rank, pushing it into the Low Gamma-Grade.
Eventually, things settled down, and Brenden ended up leaving us to go to Emilia’s family to celebrate, having been practically adopted by them just like what had happened in the Origin Timeline, something that wasn’t unusual for Dad and me. Still, Paola and Abuela didn’t seem to like it much.
Especially since the two had been caught making out on several occasions. In Paola’s eyes, Brenden was simply too young to be so involved with someone elses family, but after several long conversations with Dad, she eventually gave up arguing about it.
Frankly, I was still getting used to having a mother figure in my life. Unlike Brenden, who always had one, either through his best friend’s mom in the Origin Timeline or Emilia’s mother, I’d never had such a thing, and even after almost ten years, I was still getting used to being nagged by Paola…not that I hated it or anything.
It was just…you know, a little weird.
Anyway, by the time dinner rolled around and everyone was at the table, it was finally time for something I had been planning for the better part of the last six months.
Getting up and cleaning off my dishes in the sink, I quickly loaded them into the dishwasher and moved over to the couch in the living room before turning on the TV.
Then…with a loud fanfare of exciting music, an announcement of Breaking news showed up on screen.
Over the next minute, several scenes flashed one after another, all from different campuses around the country, with bold and flashy text scrolling across the screen.
("My Fellow Americans, Good evening and Happy Holidays to every one of you.")
’HOLY SHIT IS THAT YOUUUU???’ Xilia, who wasn’t in the know about my little project, screamed into the telepathic connection as she saw Nexus appear on screen in my most recent Gearset for the Hero.
"Oh, oh, oh, are they announcing the results for the Evolver Academies? Good Luck, you Two!" Jumping up and down with excitement, Paola, who was aware that we had "Applied," stopped what she was doing and ran to get her laptop before joining us in the living room.
("I know that many of you may know who I am, but for those who don’t, allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel Nexus of the First US-Hero Squadron. But more importantly, I am overseeing the much anticipated Evolver Academies.")
Another wave of fanfare played through the TV Speakers, and scenes of me valiantly fighting alongside the other heroes appeared on screen before cutting back to Nexus again.
("For over a year now, since the opening of the Trial Tower in Colorado, we have been putting together a program that would allow the youth of our great nation to get prepared to become the next generation of Heros.")
("Schools across the country have held open Applications, and all of the tests have finally concluded, so it is with great pleasure that I am here today, on this fine Christmas Day, to inform you that the results are finally in.")
("While I would like to honor everyone who has been accepted, there are far too many names on the many lists for me to read through them here on television, and as it’s a holiday, I don’t wish to take up too much of your time, so if you would like to look up the status of your application, or whether you’ve been accepted to one of the many soon to be prestigious facilities, all you need to do, is visit your Chosen Academies Website.")
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
("As anticipated, the enrollment will begin on New Year’s Eve, and introduction ceremonies will start promptly at 9 am on New Year’s Day! Congratulations to all those who have been accepted, and for anyone who didn’t make it through the first application and testing process, worry not; applications will open up again on July 4th. Have a Great Evening, everyone, and Merry Christmas.")
With that final line, another wave of fanfare went off before the channel was returned to its regular broadcasting schedule.
"Come on, come on, hurry over; I already opened the website for Central Florida’s Evolver Academy!" Paola chirped as she waved Xilia and me over.
’Come on, Mr.Grumpy, let’s get it over with; even though there’s no mystery involved since you worked your magic and got our aliases in, that doesn’t mean we can’t pretend to be happy.’ Rolling her eyes, Xilia bumped me with her shoulder and sat down next to Paola as the lady used the Control+F function on the website to search for our names.