"Damn it, Winston! He's around the corner! There! There! Shoot him!"
"I'm trying! You know I can't run that fast with a LMG!"
"Nick, watch your six!"
"My what?! Speak English, Schmidt!"
"Fuck! Grenade! Scatter!"
Mathew yelled into his headset as he dolphin dived into a nearby room just as a Semtex grenade landed in front of his character. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he managed to survive by the skin of his teeth. The same couldn't be said for Coach.
"No! My kill streaks! I was this close to getting an attack helicopter!" Coach cried out before pressing square to respawn.
"I'll avenge you!" Winston cried while running into the open courtyard in the center of the map, Slums. Only to be immediately be gunned down by the opposing team. "Well… I tried."
Mathew chuckled as their game continued.
He and his friends, minus Jess and Cece, had been immersed in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 for the past 3 hours. Throughout that time, they've all shared laughs, bouts of anger, and yells of excitement during their different matches. The first-person shooter was one of their favorite games to play online with one another, among several others.
"Matt, watch my back! I'm going 20-0! I CANNOT die right now!" Schmidt yelled with sweaty palms as he shit down another enemy using his weapon of choice, the MP7.
"I gotcha. Everyone, zero in on Schmidt and watch his blind spots." Mathew tapped away at his PS3 remote furiously as he controlled his character. Everyone agreed and moved closer to help Schmidt achieve a game-ending kill streak. The MOAB.
With the knowledge of their friend being so close to the game's secret kill streak, everyone poured all their focus into helping Schmidt net a few more kills.
Unfortunately for the 5, one of the enemy team's players threw a tomahawk at the sky with no real ambitions of netting a kill. That player would later shout in happiness as their tomahawk skewered itself into Schmidt's head. Killing him right before he could achieve his last kill to win a MOAB. The frustration was palpable, the air thick with disappointment and disbelief.
At the sight of Schmidt's in-game character lying dead, everyone stopped moving due to their one in-a-hundred chance of a random tomahawk killing one of them.
"That's it. I'm out."
"Me, too."
"It was time to feed Furguson anyway."
They weren't able to hear Schmidt's response because he had suddenly been wound offline and had left the game.
"Okay. That's game, everyone. Happy New Year," Mathew said in a dead tone while everyone wished one another a Happy New Year before going offline. "Man. Schmidt must be going apeshit. I know I would."
After shutting his console off, Mathew rolled over to his computer and checked on the progress of his personal program created by him and his father. The program was designed to mine Bitcoin on its own. Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency.
When a bitcoin is successfully mined, the miner receives a predetermined amount of bitcoin. With this program, Mathew slowly gained even more Bitcoin to add to his past purchase amount. As a bonus to helping his father create the self-automated program, his programming skill had jumped several points.
[Skill: Programming: 57]
Leaning back with a sigh, Mathew rested his hands behind his head and kicked his feet up onto his desk. "Improving mental-based skills is easier than developing physically reliant skills. While it's convenient, it can be frustrating that I can't enhance my physical abilities as quickly. Oh well, can't win 'em all."
At the sound of a few knocks, Mathew turned to see his Mother step into his room. "Alright, Matt. Your father and I are about to head out. Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Alex invited me over, so I'll be over at the Dunphy's for most of the night."
Sasha smiled and said goodbye. She and Jefferson were heading to his office at the Apple headquarters to celebrate the New Year, leaving Mathew on his own.
Once they were gone, Mathew turned back to his computer and pulled up a folder containing several old boxing videos. The videos were taken from the tapes Natalia had let him borrow, showing off several of Harrison's old boxing matches. Leaning forward, he had a look of intense focus as he watched how Harrison moved and fought.
Watching old boxing videos from legendary boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Julio Cesasr Chavez, Harrison Davis, Rocky Balboa, and Apollo Creed. This was Mathew's substitute for having no official couch at his side to help him learn several tactics and maneuvers. With his spar against Jason right around the corner, he wanted to be as prepared as he could.
Unknown to him, he was using his hyper-observational skills while watching his downloaded videos.
"...and Apollo unleashes punch after punch onto the Italian Stallion. What's this?! RockyBalboa strikes back with several powerful blows into the champion's side! His face is scrunched up in agony!" The fight announcer said as the epic fight between Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa played.
Mathew clenched and unclenched his hands as a swell of nervous energy burst within him. Standing up, he began to shadow box within his room, his eyes staring straight ahead of him as if an invisible enemy stood before him. Slipping under an invisible punch, Mathew glared at the shadowed mental image of Jason.
"One step at a time... one punch at a time... one round at a time."
••o••o••o••
"Go on, pay up."
"This is highway robbery. I want to speak to your supervisor."
"I am he. Maybe next time don't fall on water works. Now pay, you peasant."
Luke groaned and counted a few bills from his stack of monopoly money before handing it to Mathew. Manny shook his head as he took his own turn, moving his Scotty dog token across the board.
"Haley, you're up," Alex said as she looked over to her older sister. Beside her, Lily was eyeing the board with a childish calculation.
"Okay, okay. Oh! Regent Street is all mine!" Haley smiled as she handed the required money to Alex, who was the game's banker. After counting the money, Alex handed Haley her property card.
"My turn!" Lily said and shook the pair of dice.
Tossing them on the table, Lily moved her piece several times before stopping on the Electric Company space, which was owned by Mathew. She glared at him and handed Mathew the required rent money. Their game was interrupted due to the Dunphy's doorbell going off.
"Oh! That's for me!" Luke said, moving away from the table to rush to the front door. "Hey. Come on in." He said to two young girls. Haley, Alex, and Mathew looked at them in confusion as Manny walked up beside Luke.
"Hey." Becca, the girl dressed in black, said.
"Hi," Joyce said, the one dressed in pink.
"Hey, I'm out." Luke turned to those sitting at the table, watching them with confusion before staring at Manny. "This is Becca and her cousin Joyce. Joyce is for you."
"What? I'm on a date?" Manny said in a slight panic at the unexpected situation. "But I'm not wearing any cologne."
"Did you know this was happening?" Alex said to Haley, who seemed lost.
"I don't even know what this is."
"I know what this is. Luke can pull." Mathew said as he tried to steal Luke's money and properties. Only to be stopped by Lily. "Fine. I'll split them."
"Works for me."
"Joyce, this is Manny." Luke introduced his uncle with a grin.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Can I offer you a glass of sparkling cider?" Manny said in what he believed to be a smooth voice.
"He's not how you described him." Joyce looked unamused as she crossed her arms. Becca looked a little embarrassed, but she kept her eyes on Luke, who tried to help Manny's image to Joyce.
"Uh, don't worry. You'll love him. Manny, say something romantic."
Panic filled Manny's eyes due to being put on the spot. "I can't just turn it on. You say something romantic."
"Cool shirt."
"Aw! Can I see your room?" Joyce blushed at Luke's apparent romantic comment.
"Well, I didn't clean it for me."
Luke and Becca walked up the stairs toward Luke's room while Manny led Joyce off into the kitchen. Leaving the Dunphy sisters in a state of confusion and concern.
"W- They're going upstairs alone. Is that even allowed?
"I don't know."
"Should we say something?"
"Like what?" Haley asked, her eyes looking back and forth from Alex to Luke's room.
"Like, "it's not okay"?"
"Well, maybe it is. Is it?"
Alex frowned, not sure what to do. "I don't know. I just feel like we're not doing our job as babysitters. Matt, what do you think?"
Both girls turned to Mathew and saw him and Lily lining their pockets with several bills from the bank. Being caught red-handed, they both slowly put their stolen money back. Coughing into his hand, Mathew walked up next to both girls and looked up at Luke's closed door.
"I know. We should..."