Chapter 24: Concern

Headache!I woke up with a massive headache!

This is the reality of doing things like these.

Damn.

Never again...

Thankfully, other than the headache, I didn't feel that bad, contrary to the others who were running to and back from the bathroom.

Ashley's parents came back from their escapade around late-morning.

They took one look at the bleary-eyed crowd of us sprawled around the house and sighed.

"No trouble, but you guys need to clear out soon," Ashley's mom said.

Jacob looked over at me, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, can you drive Lucy and me home?"

"Sure," I replied, stretching.

I said my goodbyes and gave my final hugs to Ashley and Julie, as well as said bye to Dylan, and then, with Jacob and Lucy, I headed back to the birthday hall where my car was parked.

As we walked up to the car, Lucy bubbled out excitedly, "I'm sitting in the front!"

"No, you're not. He's my homie; I'm sitting in the front." Jacob immediately countered.

I looked back at them, a bit surprised.

'Wow, where did that come from?' I thought. Jacob was talking back to Lucy?

Lucy pouted but didn't argue further, and Jacob slid into the front seat.

When we reached Jacob's house, I parked the car and then stepped out for a second and we said our goodbyes.

"It was mad fun," Jacob said. "We should hang out more often before summer's up."

"For sure, but you need to free up some time first. Lucy, don't be snagging my guy like that."

Lucy laughed. "Thanks for the ride, Jack," she said with a smile.

I watched them walk away before getting back into the driver's seat and driving off.

...

Three days later, on June 25th, I prepared for my next move in the stock market.

I did my morning routine, training my body and sharpening my mind. I hit the pavement for a neighborhood run, logging a solid five miles to soak in some sunshine and fresh air.

Once back home, I showered and then entered the office to check the brokerage account I shared with my father.

[ETRADING]

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[Account Name: Jason Somnus & My Dear Son]

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[Total Balance: $91,575.00]

[Available Balance: $0.00]

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[Market Value of Holdings: $91,575.00]

[Buying Power: $0.00]

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Portfolio:

[USANA Health Sciences ($USNA)] [$12.21] {[ 7,500 shares ]}

[% Gain Over Last Month: +81%]

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Recent Transactions:

[Excercised Options / Shares Purchase: USNA Call Option, Quantity: 7500]

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Finally, the options were automatically exercised, and I now held 7,500 shares of USANA Health Sciences.

However, I had other plans for these funds.

This company was nearing its peak. It would no longer be the stock to invest in over the next few months.

Of course, it was only now that USANA was getting exposure in the mainstream media. It was now that the rich would dump their shares on the novice traders and the unlucky souls driven by FOMO (fear of missing out).

But this had nothing to do with me.

'I need to talk with dad,' I thought.

But my parents were at work, so for the next few hours, I researched a few successful traders of the time and what they were currently doing.

One person who immediately came to mind was Mikael Burry, who would famously profit from the 2008 Mortgage Crisis. As of 2002, he was leading his own hedge fund with moderate success.

I checked out Daniel Tepper who would also make money in that crisis.

He invested 2B$ in commercial mortgage-backed-securities, betting on the fact that the government would bail out banks during the crisis.

And he was absolutely right about it.

The government would purchase up to 1.25 trillion dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities using U.S. taxpayers money.

He would make over 8B$ within a single year.

These were the smart people that I was eyeing for whenever I would begin turning my plan into reality.

After my dad came back from work, I immediately invited him to the office and explained to him what happened as he sat down beside me.

Mom came in a while later and stood behind us, looking at what we were doing.

I also told them that I had opened a new brokerage account where I could use leverage and asked them to let me transfer $45,000 from this account to the new one.

Dad rubbed his forehead, clearly processing everything. They both looked at each other, not sure what to say.

"Eighty grand profit in less than two months," Dad finally said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You've really brought us surprises. Do you somehow know what those stocks will do beforehand?"

I smiled. "I might just be a genius, Dad. I can see the patterns."

Mom looked at me seriously, "But can't it go south really fast? You're sure you know what you're doing?" She said with caution in her voice.

"That's why I want to keep half of the money in this account, Mom," I assured her. "I will make a safe investment so that you won't need to worry about the money for my education."

Dad leaned back, folding his arms. "I gotta hand it to you, kid. It's impressive. Just don't get ahead of yourself, alright?" He sighed, a hint of concern creeping into his voice. "You know, the son of my colleague made over a hundred grand on some risky bet, just like you. He ended up losing it all and then some.

Ended up deep in debt and fell into depression.... Keep us informed about what you're doing with that money, okay?"

"I'll definitely keep you updated. And as for you, Dad, I think it's time you went for a check-up at the doctor. I will take out some more money and send it to you. Consider it a gift from your profitable son."

Mom chuckled softly, shaking her head. "He's got a point, dear. It wouldn't hurt to get a check-up."

Dad hesitated for a moment, then nodded, his expression softening. "Alright, alright. I'll make an appointment. But promise me you'll be careful with that money, okay?"

"I promise, Dad," I replied sincerely. "And thanks for everything."

As soon as they were gone, I turned back to my computer and initiated the necessary transfers, moving $46,000 from the joint brokerage account into my personal bank account.

There was still some money left from the sports bet after buying the car and some gifts, and on the following day, my parents sent me an additional $5,500 to pay for a dormitory room, so my funds were growing.

[Bank Of America]

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[Account Owner: Jack Somnus]

[Account Balance: $55,188.09]

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As for the money left on the joint brokerage account, I purchased a few solid software stocks.

It wasn't because I wanted to diversify; that's what normal people needed to do, not me.

I had all the knowledge to go all in at all times.

However, I wanted to ease my parents' minds.

They didn't need any additional stress.

The $46,575.00 remaining in that brokerage account wasn't just a sum of money; it represented their trust in me. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I will gladly let this money be sacrificed for their well-being.