CHAPTER 126: THE GET-TOGETHER

No way in hell this was a get together, rather it seemed more like a show off party.

And Ethan was hating every moment of it.

The only positive was that they weren’t deliberately trying to get closer to him anymore as the worship had turned to a new character.

But the attention was still on him, but not as positive as the newly arrived dude turned to him and asked, "so Ethan, would you mind telling us where all this money came from?"

There was a smile on his face but Ethan knew the question was anything but light hearted.

--------A couple of minutes earlier--------

Ethan sighed as he ordered the waiter to bring him a drink, something a bit sweet since he needed the sugar boost.

Turns out, even with multiple minds running simultaneously, annoyance was still a thing you felt.

In just a few minutes that he had searched for a place to hang out alone for a while, three different groups had already approached him.

Some wanted to ’reconnect’, pretending as if they’d been best friends back in school, others jus wanted to probe, asking vague but pointed questions about what he’d been doing these past few years.

And some... just wanted to ride the shine, as if being seen near him would somehow rub off.

The waiter dropped off his drink—cranberry and vodka, just as he asked. Ethan lifted it, letting the ice clink against the glass as he swirled it idly before taking a small sip.

Another cool thing about ONI, apart from everyone’s phone screen being visible to him at a command was the way it let Ethan his minds.

It allowed him to switch between his minds, designating any of the seven as his ’main’ mind.

How was this important?

Well, it was important because due to that, it was almost impossible for him to stay drunk.

Every time he got drunk, he would just easily switch to the other, more sober one, if he couldn’t do so himself, Athena would just as easily handle switching to a more sober one.

So it was impossible for him to get drunk, at least, not in the traditional sense anyway.

Due to that, things that messed with the mind in general barely affected him. Sedatives, drugs, anything one could think of was useless against him as his minds would just... reroute.

How had he found this out? Lots of self experimenting in the lab....

It was like carrying an invisible shield that no one else could see. Sure, a bullet could still kill him....IF it got past his shield, but at least no one could slip something into his drink and expect him to collapse.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden commotion which caused him to raise his head towards the entrance.

He noticed that all attention had moved away from him which was a good thing since he couldn’t deal with them for much longer.

But he noticed that the crowd soon parted for the newly arrived and Ethan could immediately see that he was different from the rest.

Unlike the others who clearly looked like they were living off of their parents’ money, the man clearly showed that he wasn’t some parasite showing off dad’s bank account.

This was someone who had been taught to move in these circles, someone who carried himself like money was the natural state of his existence.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the way people leaned toward him, eager to greet, laugh too hard at whatever he said, pat his shoulder like they’d known him forever.

Of course he recognized who that was, not like he had any interaction with him, just like everyone else here, but it’d be hard not to notice such a standout at university.

Unlike Ethan who stood out because of his genius, the newly arrived man stood out because of his pedigree.

Leonard Smith was his name.

He belonged to one of the most influential families here in Boston, but unlike what everyone else expected or what seemed like the obvious choice, Leonard made a name for himself separate from his family.

Groomed from birth to stand above the rest, his decision to start his own company and his eventual success didn’t come as a surprise.

But there was one negative about Leonard. It was the fact that he demanded worship from everyone in any room he stepped into.

A reason why he didn’t really interact with Ethan when they were back in university.

The kid was too busy balancing multiple programs he had chosen to start kissing someone’s ass.

Ethan observed that much hadn’t changed, he could clearly see how much respect he demanded the moment he walked in.

And judging by the way the crowd practically revolved around him like planets around a sun, it was working.

Ethan, of course, couldn’t care less. He just went back to taking a sip of his drink, finally relaxing as the attention moved away from him.

But then, as if by magnetism, the newcomer’s gaze found him.

Leonard smiled, breaking away from his entourage as he walked straight over.

"Hello Ethan, " he said as he extended a hand for a shake, "it’s been a while."

Ethan looked at his extended hand for a while as he immediately realized what Leonard was doing.

If he ignored the shake, it would look like a deliberate slight, fuel for the room’s gossip mill and that was exactly what Leonard wanted.

’Two can play at this game,’ he mentally said before extending his own hand, much to Leonard’s surprise.

"Leonard," he replied calmly, his tone carrying no warmth, no animosity, just a bit of recognition. "Yes, it has."

--------------

And that’s how Ethan found himself in this situation, he really should’ve ignored that shake because after that Leonard just got comfortable beside him and so did a couple others.

And that’s what started the bragging party, with each and every one of them trying their hardest to impress Leonard.

And Ethan didn’t really say anything, completely tuning them out, well... Until Chad suddenly mentioned Ethan’s apparent wealth causing Leonard’s eyes to lock on him and the question to come up.

"So Ethan, would you mind telling us where all this money came from?"

"No," Ethan simply said as he leaned back continuing to take a sip of his drink.

But just that was far from enough as Chad hopped in.

"I’m just saying," Chad leaned forward with a grin, clearly enjoying the crowd’s attention. "For all we know, that suit could be a knock-off, and the car outside—" he laughed, "—might’ve been borrowed. ’Cause last I checked, Ethan here was running on a part-time salary in a rundown school. Not exactly the kind of gig that pays for... well..." he gestured broadly, "all this."

The group chuckled along, more at the jab than the joke itself, eager to impress Leonard.

Ethan tilted his head slightly, lips curling into a smirk of amusement.

"Is that what you think?" he asked—not at Chad, but at Leonard, since they were all just puppies at his call.

"Oh, don’t misunderstand Ethan," Leonard started with a grin of his own, " it’s not that Chad meant to be little you, but with everything known about you, it’ll definitely make us question the authenticity of all this."

"Is that so?" Ethan muttered, before slightly leaning forward, his eyes locking with Leonard’s, " do you want to know a difference between you and I Leonard?"

It seemed completely different from the question Leonard had asked, but he was still curious so he nodded

"The difference between us is that you show off everything you do because you still need everyone else’s validation. I don’t." He paused, letting his words sink in before he added, "and by the way, Chad has already answered your question. If you think I borrowed, faked, or played dress-up, then by all means, believe it. If you think it’s something else... well, that’s for you to lose sleep over."

His former course mates, including Leonard froze after his words but Ethan didn’t bother with them anymore.

"If you’ll excuse me," he said as he stood up and walked towards the bar’s door, "it was ’nice’ meeting you all after so long."

It seemed like the one he was waiting for wouldn’t come so there was no need for him to stay but before he could exit, he almost bump into a familiar face.

"Ethan?" The person said, unsure.

"Well, I guess I’ll stay a while after all." He said with a small smile before adding, "what’s up man?"