Modern Family: New Life

Friday, September 27th.

Almost two weeks had passed since Andrew had met at Pip's house to lay the groundwork for their programming project: a video game, Flappy Bird.

A game Andrew remembered vividly from his past life, although in this timeline, it would still be five years before anyone even thought of creating it. However, in this reality, the creators would be him and Pippa.

Andrew felt no guilt about claiming the idea. The possibility of future profits was worth the price, which wasn't all that high: he didn't need to work 24/7 or invest massive amounts of money.

The development of Flappy Bird was going smoothly. In just two weeks since they began, Andrew and Pippa had made significant progress compared to the rest of the class, where most were still stuck on more basic tasks—except for Leonard and Howard, though their focus was on creating a more complex and scientific tool, not a video game.

Professor Smith, who spent time reviewing each group's progress, couldn't hide his surprise at how far Pip and Andrew had come. Unlike Leonard and Howard, they had a clear idea of what they wanted to create.

During one of the classes, Professor Smith observed the code on Pippa's screen closely and nodded with admiration.

"It's clear you've had a solid vision from the start," he commented with an approving smile.

"Well, the idea for the game is entirely Andrew's. He already knew exactly what he wanted to do," said Pippa, adjusting some gravity parameters at that moment.

"Oh, that's great, Andrew. Do you want to be a video game developer as well as a quarterback?" asked the professor with a slight smile, glancing at Andrew, who was known for football. However, he hadn't yet taken off in the high school team since he was still a backup.

"Video games are just a hobby; football comes first," Andrew replied with a peculiar smile.

His programming skills were slightly above average, and the idea for Flappy Bird wasn't even his.

The project's progress was due to several key factors: he knew exactly how he wanted the game to work, and Pippa's programming skills were far beyond what was expected of a beginner.

Her ability to learn quickly and turn Andrew's ideas into code was impressive, while he, with his prior knowledge of the game, acted as a guide to avoid mistakes and save a lot of time.

Moreover, they didn't limit themselves to working during school programming classes. They met on Saturdays or Sundays at Pippa's house to continue developing the game.

They got along surprisingly well, considering that just a few weeks ago, they were little more than classmates.

The last class on Friday was programming. Once the bell rang, signaling the end, Pippa and Andrew started packing up their things.

Andrew had practice later, a lighter, more tactical session, as his team was playing an away game at another school's field that night.

"Do you realize that if we keep this pace, we'll have the game ready in six weeks?" Pippa said as she closed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, looking at Andrew.

The professor had given them a ten-week deadline to complete the project, expecting something simple: a basic tool or a straightforward video game.

However, Flappy Bird, despite its minimalist appearance, had a level of complexity that placed it far above the expectations for a group of ninth graders just starting out in programming.

This project was an excellent opportunity for Pippa's academic record.

"Yeah, when we launch it to the world, we'll be teenage millionaires," Andrew said with a faint smile, already imagining the money coming their way. The downside would be the legal process, given they were minors, but luckily, his father was a lawyer.

"I didn't know you cared so much about money," Pippa said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him.

"You can't deny that a nice check also helps keep morale high," Andrew said with a shrug.

"True," Pippa agreed with a nod. Neither of them was passionate about programming or game development.

Pippa did it mostly because she enjoyed studying a bit of everything, and Andrew, more than creating video games, enjoyed playing them—or, in some cases, recording them to upload to YouTube.

"See you," Andrew said, waving goodbye to Pippa.

"Wait," Pippa said, grabbing his arm.

"What's up?" Andrew asked, curious.

"Um… I wanted to ask…" Pippa began, her tone different than usual, hesitant.

She went silent for a second, her mind going blank before her thoughts swarmed in: Come on, Pip… I've been preparing for this for the past two days. It's not that hard, just say it, she scolded herself in her head—a habit she had whenever she got nervous.

"After the game, I'm hosting a small get-together at my home… it's not a big group. I just wanted to know if you'd like to come," she finally said, looking at Andrew with nervousness she tried her best to hide.

"Oh," Andrew said, unsure how to respond.

"Oh?" Pippa repeated, thinking her invitation was about to be rejected.

"It's fine if you don't want to," Pippa quickly added, noticing Andrew taking a few seconds to answer.

"No!" Andrew exclaimed suddenly, startling Pippa, who flinched in surprise.

"I'll go. I was just wondering if Howard and Leonard could come too," Andrew said, trying to justify his earlier hesitation.

This wasn't entirely untrue. He'd had a conversation with Howard during one of their late-night gaming or movie marathons, where Howard had begged—practically pleaded—that if Andrew ever went to a party with girls, he had to invite him. That's what friends do, according to Howard.

Pippa glanced toward Leonard and Howard, who were standing by the door a few meters away, watching them. They seemed to be waiting for Andrew.

"Sure, they can come. They'll get along fine with everyone else," Pippa replied. Her friends were pretty normal—not the stereotypical popular crowd, but also not as geeky as Howard, Leonard, or even Andrew himself.

"Great! See you there," Andrew said with a smile.

"Great! See you, good luck with the game," Pippa said before quickly leaving the classroom.

'What just happened?' Andrew thought, scratching his head as he walked over to Leonard and Howard. Pippa's behavior had been so strange, and even his own felt off since they started talking about hanging out later.

"Happy talking to your new girlfriend, Andy?" Howard asked in an envious tone.

"Shut up, she's not my girlfriend, and call me Andrew. It's weird when you call me Andy," Andrew said, rolling his eyes.

"Break up with Veronica, and you already have another girl. It must be great being a popular athlete," Howard said, stroking his chin. Maybe he really should try the training Andrew was always pushing him to do.

But he shook his head. He wasn't ready to endure that much physical pain, and besides, his coordination was terrible. Sure, he could improve his physique, but his lack of coordination was a disaster.

He'd never played sports (except during PE classes), and the thought of catching balls, passing, and moving fluidly on the field terrified him. He was clumsy, lacked agility, and his poor coordination made him feel like a fish out of water.

As for Howard's comment, Andrew wasn't with Veronica anymore. Just as Haley had predicted, Veronica broke up with him in ten days—actually, it was nine. And Andrew noticed she seemed to move on much faster than he expected.

Veronica's popularity skyrocketed after becoming "the girl who dumped Andrew." She climbed the school's social ladder and landed a spot among the most popular cheerleaders.

Andrew couldn't help but laugh to himself. Veronica seemed far happier now than she ever had while they were dating.

Teenagers, after all, cared more about popularity and image. And Veronica, apparently, had prioritized image over a real connection.

Andrew didn't mind one bit. He was perfectly fine with everything being superficial. As for his image and popularity? He couldn't care less. He'd gladly bury it.

All he wanted was to play football and video games.

"Being single is great, Howard. One day, you will understand," Andrew said with a relaxed smile. Now he was a free man, able to dedicate his time to football, video games, and everything else he loved.

"God gives bread to those who have no teeth," Howard said indignantly.

"It's way too early for you to pull out your religious sayings, Howard," Leonard cut in with a mocking smile. "Did you hear that from your mom or something?"

Leonard was a teenager entirely focused on science. His mother didn't believe in any religion, so he'd grown up in an environment completely detached from those concepts and even viewed them with disapproval.

"Anyway, Pippa invited me to her house for a get-together with her friends. You're both invited too," Andrew said.

"We'll finally get to meet Lauren and Caren!" Howard exclaimed with a smile.

Andrew looked at him with a strange expression. "How do you know those two names?" he asked, a bit confused.

Those were the names of Pippa's best friends. Andrew, having visited Pippa's house several times, had heard them mentioned in conversations and eventually remembered them. But Howard wasn't friends with Pippa.

"Oh, that was easy," Howard said with a proud smile. "I looked them up on Facebook."

"Seriously?" Andrew asked, not understanding Howard's proud grin.

"Yeah, you know... since I figured you'd eventually follow through on the promise we made before, I knew I'd end up meeting her friends. And, well, it's always good to be prepared," Howard replied.

"Whoa, that's very smart of you, Mr. Stalker. I'm sure the girls will be thrilled when they find out you thoroughly browsed their profiles," Leonard remarked, and Andrew laughed.

"They'll never know if you two don't say anything," Howard said shamelessly.

"See you at the game tonight. Be there so we can go to Pippa's house together," Andrew said, saying goodbye to the two as he hurried off to practice.

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