5 Chapter 5:

"That was eventful, was it not?", his grandmother asked, a wide smile on her face, "The seemed… entranced."

'No shit', Ace thought, they had spent the whole day shopping, clothes for every occasion from various brands and as soon as they stepped into every shop, the female, and even some male, helpers seemed entranced with him. He was plainly aware of why, but it did not make it any less of a bother.

The bags had been handed over to the chauffeur who had already taken them into the car, a black Mercedes-Benz Class S, that cost more than most people made in 5 years. Ace found it unnecessary, the attention it brought not worth the comfort of the vehicle, but it was at his grandmother's insistence that they had taken it for the short 10-minute drive to the mall.

They had eaten out at a French Restaurant, where they had been brought to a separate table in its own private room - they clearly knew his grandmother. They had just dropped him off at his house, his grandmother still had a few things to do at the office but she said she would be home later, he knew otherwise. He took a shower then changed, tired from the day out. He was bored. He had read anything he could find of interest in his 13 years of pain, there was not much else to do when he could barely move without having pangs of torture running through his body. Instead, he picked up his smartphone and was reading through the news when a seemingly conspicuous article caught his attention: "Wildly popular videogame streamer/entertainer beats a new record!". He clicked on it, the streamer had supposedly beat a game in record time, but there was speculation as to whether he had cheated or not, nevertheless, hordes of viewers and fans had come out to defend him, making the hashtag "ProteccDaBoss" trending on every popular social media platform of note. Ace frowned, interested in the man that had been able to gain the public's attention in such widespread manner. There was a link to his streaming channel at the end of the article and he clicked on it, curious as to what he would see, he spent the whole afternoon watching his broadcast…

The next day, Ace strode into the kitchen, picked up a bowl of cut-up fruit from the fridge and sat on a stool, scrolling through his smartphone. He had gotten a good idea yesterday, enthralled by the wide variety of games he could now play. He had spent the whole morning watching and reading various guides on how to build his own gaming PC, and he thought that he had finally figured it out. From what he understood, building his own was generally better than buying a premade one and since the price was not an issue, he bought the best parts he could find. His grandmother soon called him, interested as to what and why he had bought the parts, to which he simply answered: "I want to play games".

He now could wish his various dreams, things he had always wanted to do but had never thought he would have the chance to try, along with the PC parts, he had brought a black grand piano, that he would fit in his lobby, where he could play it comfortably while looking out of the window. He had already downloaded various guides on how to play it and he was excited at the challenge of learning such a complex instrument, his newly powered brain thrilled at the opportunities that learning the piano would bring.

His grandmother had also spoken to him about the tutor, expectant to his dismissive reply, she was surprised when he told her that he had learnt everything he would need to learn in order to be able to take the entrance exams for high school, he would have to join this year after all. She had been shocked, and with some disbelief, answered that if he was truly confident, the tutor would give him a mock test to complete, and depending on the score, she would allow him to join a high school of her choice. She would choose the most prestigious, he knew, but he was excited nonetheless, happy at the thought of making new friends he would be able to play games with.

He finished his fruit bowl and put the dishes away, then, seeing the amazed look of the maid, he smiled and said "Don't worry it's fine, now that I can do things on my own, I might as well right?", Ace smiled cheerfully and walked out of the room and into his bedroom. 'Hmmm, they've been working hard for so long, I think I should prepare something to thank them'. He thought of what he would do for the maids that had taken care of him and smiled, excited at the reaction his grandmother would most certainly have...

7:00 am, the morning after

He dried his hair, wet after the shower that he had taken after the workout that preceded it. He dressed casually, some green cargo trousers and a black hoodie, then tied up the black combat boots, picked up a black backpack and set off into the streets.

He stepped into the gym, the lobby seemed clean, but Ace noticed the wet spots in the walls and the abused state of the carpet. A receptionist smiled at him and nodded, clearly indicating for him to come closer to the desk. He removed his earbuds and walked over, smiling at the young brunette that would attend him.

"Uhh yeah, uh, hello, welcome to Striker's Gym, how can I be of help today", the receptionist seemed surprised at the young face that smiled at her, she was used to illfavoured men that were looking to regain their fitness after a middle-aged realisation. This man, well, boy, seemed nothing like that, she could notice his muscles through the hoodie and his face, well he was most definitely not ugly.

"Yes, hello, I was wondering as to whether I could apply for the MMA lessons?"

"Yes of course! Would you like the adult ones, sir?"

"Yes, of course, I'm not too young am I?", this he said while giving her his practised smile, which made his face light up nearly as much as the receptionist's.

"Nonono, I'm sure it will be fine, please just fill in this form, and well get you set up right away!"