12 That was close...

As Michael set himself down to begin his push-ups, he noticed he was more than a little sore - the system informed him that this was just a byproduct of the body not being used to the level of exercise, and that the muscle soreness was not a sign of injury. Reassured, he quickly made his way through his morning routine - maintaining his form was still tricky, of course, but he managed to require fewer corrections from the day before.

It wasn't even 7am by the time he made his way upstairs, and he managed to see his parents on as they were getting ready to head out the door. "Well good morning! Someone's up earlier than usual," his father greeted him warmly. "Coffee? Pot's still pretty fresh."

Michael nodded his thanks and went over, pouring a cup before setting it down on the counter. "I'm going to let it cool down a bit while I grab a shower, but it looks like you're heading out?" His father nodded. "Your Mom's already in the car. I was just grabbing a brief I'd left upstairs. Mornings are going to get a bit busier once your sisters are back at school. We'll need to figure something out for a schedule. We should also revisit the basement bathroom plans. All of the plumbing's already done, after all. Is that something you'd like to help with?"

Michael's face quickly brightened up. "Yes, definitely! I've had a bunch of thoughts on that, actually. Can I put something together for you?" What Michael's father couldn't see was the new mission that popped up in his son's view.

>

Michael's father was a little surprised but slowly nodded. "Sure... though we already have a budget set aside, so we'll have to discuss it. However, it is your space... let's plan to have a conversation with a three of us once you're ready. Sound good? Oh, that reminds me - the money for yesterday's groceries is on the counter. We've got something in the oven for tonight, and your sisters are responsible for the sides. We'll see you tonight. Gotta run!" he waved as he passed through the door into the garage.

Michael waved back and made his way upstairs.

---

With nothing else really to do at home, Michael decided to start heading to school a bit earlier than usual. On his way, he realized that he hadn't made plans for lunch. He considered stopping by the grocery store he'd visited last night when it occurred to him that it might be worth asking the System what its thoughts were. It had previously made some allusions to nutritional profiles, but he was wondering if it could elaborate further.

>

"This seems like a good move, to fit with the exercise and... baths? Though I'm a little surprised at what is and what isn't included in your knowledge."

>

"Oh? Information like what?"

>

"Why am I not surprised..." Michael mused as he walked into the grocery store. He selected a ready-made salad and a summer sausage - easy enough to keep at room temperature and wouldn't make a mess in his bag. He also had the system go ahead and generate a mission for researching appropriate nutrition plans for people of his age, with the goal of both athletic and scholastic performance in mind.

Despite the detour, he still arrived at school significantly earlier than usual. He decided to try his luck and see if the library was already open, so he could return the copy of 'Fundamentals' he had borrowed. Indeed, the lights were on and Mr. Maddox could be seen sorting through books. However, when Michael tried the door, it was locked, so he lightly tapped on the glass to get the librarian's attention. Mr. Maddox turned to the door and his face showed surprise at seeing the student he'd taken a bit of note of at his door so early. Shelving the book he'd had in his hand, he walked over to the door and opened it.

"You're here rather early," the librarian commented as he opened the door. "Technically, the library doesn't open for another 10 minutes. What brings you here at this hour?"

"Thanks, Mr. Maddox. I ended up running a bit early on my morning, so I thought I'd come and drop this off before class started, and maybe look for some others," Michael said as he fished the borrowed copy of 'Fundamentals' out of his bag.

"I see. Decided against it in the end? It's nothing to be ashamed of - that's a pretty advanced piece of literature. It's okay to take your time with it, you know - there's still a couple of weeks til you need to return it." Mr. Maddox tried to encourage Michael to continue.

"That's not it," Michael said, shaking his head. "I finished it, and my dad gave me his copy to reference in the future."

"You're done!?" Mr. Maddox exclaimed. "You know this isn't the kind of thing you should just skim, right? Well, not only skim - skimming is important, after all."

"I know - I've spent all of my free time in the past few days on it. In fact, I'm planning on taking a syntopic approach to my English assignment. Do you have any recommendations?" Michael asked hopefully.

"I see... well, in that case, I'll sign this one back in. In fact, I do have a couple of recommendations, let me find them..."

>

---

Michael left the library and made his way to Algebra class. Grabbing his open seat by the window, he was quickly joined by Jeremy as had become his habit.

"Hey Michael! Do you have plans after school today?" Jeremy immediately asked.

"I don't, actually. My sisters are handling dinner, so I've got a few hours free," Michael replied.

"Excellent! You're coming with me, then! My treat." Jeremy replied excitedly.

"Going where?" Michael inquired.

"Somewhere awesome." Jeremy grinned.

Before Michael could get more information, the bell rang and class began. The teacher had everyone pass their homework from the previous class up to the front, then began the lecture. Class proceeded normally, and Michael received a new mission at the end of class after asking the System. He decided it was easier to keep track of this way - it was essentially just using the "Steps" function he'd unlocked in an easier way.

After Algebra, he said goodbye to Jeremy and made his way to Chemistry, which followed pretty much the same routine as Algebra. Checking his schedule, he saw that he didn't have Algebra and Chemistry again til the day after tomorrow, so he could get a head start on them at lunch and then finish them up before the next class. Losing the evening for whatever Jeremy had in mind wouldn't be the end of the world. Besides, it sounded like whatever it was would be worthwhile.

---

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Maddox," Michael greeted as he walked into the library for lunch.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Prout," Mr. Maddox returned with a slight smile. "Have you discussed your plan with your English teacher, yet?"

"No, sir. English is after lunch."

"I see. Well, while I think it's an ambitious idea, I'm not responsible for the class - you should definitely bring it up with... Ms Aldrich, I'm guessing?"

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"Yes. Thank you, I will. For now, though, I have some other books to hit," he said as he waved his Algebra textbook. Mr. Maddox waved him on and returned to the paperwork in front of him. Michael quickly found a table, pulled out his notebook and lunch and got ready to work. However, right before he started on the first problem, he realized that he hadn't actually opened the book they were meant to be reading for English yet. Considering they'd be discussing it in class, and he was even attempting to take on a more advanced version of the assignment, he'd look pretty foolish if he couldn't even speak to the basics of the book!

He stowed his Algebra materials and pulled out the book and a fresh notebook to begin taking some notes as outlined in the 'Fundamentals' he'd finished the night before.

"That was close..."