Chapter 39: Alex and Commotion

I didn't logout from the brokerage account, but I opened AIM messages on the side and saw that I had two messages waiting for me.Both were from Alex Gagnon.

This guy wrote to everyone. Well... at least every male student.

He even posted stuff in the group chat already.

First, I checked the message he sent to the group chat.

Alex Gagnon: "I'll be at that FAU party tonight. If you see someone standing awkwardly in the corner, that's me. Oh wait! The party is outside; there are no corners."

'Yes... this guy...' I thought.

Then I clicked on private chat to see what he wrote to me.

AG: "Yo. What's up, dude? Is You at the campus already? If yes, we could meet up at the party."

I stared at the screen for a moment, considering my response.

'Maybe I shouldn't be friends with this guy this time?' I thought.

Alex would sometimes come up with the most garbage dark humor jokes this world had to offer and I don't know if I wanted to sentence myself to that torture.

But in the end, I decided to reply.

Jack: "Hey Alex, yeah, I'm on campus. I'll be at the party tonight."

It only took three minutes for him to respond.

AG: "That's awesome. Let's meet up at the statue next to the square at like 7 pm. You won't miss me; I'm the guy with the questionable life choices. Just kidding. I'll be in a black baseball cap and glasses."

I sighed, shook my head and responded.

Jack: "Sure."

In that moment, as I thought about the messages, I felt like I had forgotten something.

'Mails!' I thought.

I quickly put my shoes on and headed downstairs to the administration office.

As I entered, I saw the slightly overweight lady with dark, short hair sitting behind the desk, sipping her tea.

"Excuse me, are there any mails for room 27?" I asked.

She slowly took another sip of her tea, then looked up at me.

"I think there was something," she said, her voice unhurried.

She stood up slowly, making her way to the pack of mail. She flipped through them with deliberate slowness and finally pulled out one envelope.

"I'll need to see your student card," she said, holding the mail in her hand.

I quickly pulled out my card and handed it to her. She glanced at it, then at me, and handed me the mail along with my card.

"Thanks," I said, tucking the mail into my pocket.

"No problem," she replied, already turning back to her tea.

When I got back to my room, I opened the letter and began to read:

"Sir,

Everything has been set in place. Derec agreed and the company has been established. He was about to call the police at first. But when I mentioned $10,000, he immediately accepted. He even moved to Boston just to act as the owner.

If you need to inform Derec about anything, you can send mail to the following address:

[Derec's Boston Address]

As for the financial matters, here's the bank account under Christopher Vanderbilt we agreed upon for transferring funds:

[Bank Account Details]

"

I immediately pulled out a sheet of paper and began writing a letter to Derec.

"Derec,

I hope this message finds you well. I have a task that I need you to handle. Please prepare a report on anything positive that you can find about Cal-Maine Eggs Company.

The company is relatively small, worth around $60 million at the moment, and I want us to become significant shareholders before 2003.

We will start accumulating shares in early November, and I want to make it seem like we have done a thorough investigation and come to the conclusion that it's wise to buy shares in the company.

Additionally, when I send the money in early November, I will want you to hire two young traders and teach them a bit. You will be rewarded additionally for that.

Thank you for your efforts.

Best,

Christopher Vanderbilt.

"

...

When evening came, I changed into some comfortable clothes, picked up the mail and some cash and headed out. The campus was starting to come alive as people got ready for the party.

I made my way to the FAU Square, dropping the letter in a mailbox along the way.

As I walked, I noticed groups of students already looking a bit under the weather, having bought alcohol somewhere else and arrived drunk.

The square was filling up quickly. People were talking, the music was loud, and I could feel the bass vibrating.

I walked up to the large bronze statue of an aligator; the students of the University of Florida were called Gators after all.

True to his word, Alex was easy to spot. He was standing in a group next to the statue. Even though he was the smallest, he was easy to pick up because he acted really out of place.

I walked up to him, "Alex, right?"

He glanced up. "That's me."

"I'm Jack. Nice to finally meet you." I said, holding out my hand.

"Likewise," Alex said, shaking my hand weekly. Searᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Alex then took off his backpack and pulled out a couple of beers. "You want one?"

"Hmm... if you're offering," I told him.

He handed me a beer, and we walked closer to the square, where about 100 students had gathered around a small stage with music playing.

"Hey, you wanna hear a joke?" Alex asked.

"If you need to."

"Why did the man miss the funeral?"

"Why?"

"He wasn't a mourning person."

"..."

He stared at me expectantly. "Not funny?" he asked.

"It's okay."

Suddenly, Jinny popped out of the crowd.

"Jack!" she exclaimed over the music, nudging my shoulder energetically

"Hey, Jinny."

She looked at Alex. "Jessi. Hi," she thrust her hand out to Alex.

But Alex Gagnon just popped his eyes wide open, gawking rather obviously at the breathtakingly beautiful red head by my side.

"Uhh ... uhh..." Alex stammered.

I leaned in with a smile. "Shake her hand, dumbass."

"Right." Only now did Alex drag his eyes off her picture-perfect face to notice that her hand was out. He grabbed it and shook it a little awkwardly, clearly still rather overwhelmed.

And this was the reason he only messaged guys...

The party at the University of Florida was in full swing. Music thumped. Students danced energetically, some jumping to the beat while others swayed with their drinks in hand.

One guy in white shorts climbed a road lamp, waving a red Gator flag high above his head. Everyone gathered around the lamp and raised their beers, screaming in celebration.

I saw a policeman taking pictures from the side.

'This guy is fucked...' I thought.

Bass-heavy beats kept the energy high throughout and deep into the night.

Around 1 a.m., some people started leaving and I decided to get out of there as well. I was sweating all over.

Alex walked back with me. His hall was just a street away from the place I lived.

We had just left the FAU square when I glanced down the sidewalk to the right and something caught my attention.

There were a bunch of Residence Halls down that way, and I saw what looked like a young schoolgirl being accosted by a pretty rough-looking guy.

"Let go of me you jerk!" the girl yelled in a high-pitched voice.

There were at least ten other people in the vicinity looking over at the commotion but none of them showed the slightest inclination to get involved.