-Several years later-
Alex was true to his word and started to learn how to blacksmith in his sixth year at Vizbourne. The first few years went by great. The prodigy had a real talent for Force weaving and with his obsession with anything tech related he was set on the path to become a Tech Force Smith Alex got together with Michelle too, when he turned thirteen, and all seemed great on the outside.
But as it was often, appearances could deceive.
Alex continued to slack off more regularly the more often he could just count on his talent to breeze through the grades, especially when it came to fighting and offensive spells he was at the top of the class, because he began training when he was five and half years of age. And recently his grandfather also had started teaching him sword fighting.
The only thing really motivating him to practice or learn where when either his grandparents, girlfriend or former tutor was personally investing their time in him. But that was more out of obligation than any ambition to improve.
With his natural gift and the help of the UC Alex caught on quick, mastering the first few sword techniques in a relative short time span, which only led to him even losing interest in training with Kazimierz. During the eleventh year of Vizbourne he was mostly absent during school hours, after turning 15, hanging around with dubious friends. They were smoking pot, drinking alcohol and stealing a bit here and there with the help of their Force powers, having no interest in their future at all.
Michelle tried to motivate him more than once as she was the last hold on reality the young man had. His family couldn’t reach through to him and his parents pushed him away after not realizing that he wouldn’t live up to their expectations. They forced him to participate in various tournaments, showing off his quadra-elemental prowess along with his mind Force, which could instantly incapacitate most at his age. All while also never displaying his full potential, as he still had the time-space-death-darkness unique Force, that would give his already wide arsenal of abilities an edge they couldn’t hope to bridge.
The most insidious betrayal he experienced from them though, was that they shared his circulation technique for humans with the federation, together with all the tips he himself gave them to succeed. They didn’t tell him in advance as they thought it was only natural and they had come to a massive bottleneck in their own Force training, so Harald decided to sell the method for resources. Alexander thought it was a complete overstepping of boundaries but his father only said, that he paid for everything so far, so he also should be allowed to sell anything invented by Alex during his school time.
This created a colossal rift between the entire Strono family, slowly letting the once happy family crumble apart. The grandparents of course were on Alex’s side, infuriating his father, but making Dorothea realize she made a mistake. Caught in the middle of two sides she could only apologize all the time, deteriorating her nerves and psyche under all the stress. She never was such a strong minded woman and seeing her son destroy himself and understanding that she had done some wrongs as well she beat herself up day and night, trying to figure out a way to make it up to all parties involved.
The tutor had conceded some months back as she realized the only thing able to help him was himself. He needed ambition, of any kind, or else he would continue to waste away. Mrs. Natpiea hoped that Michelle could achieve some results as young love often did but instead her still easily influenced young mind succumbed to the same tardiness.
She saw how easy it was to do the minimum, while getting good enough grades, over the years watching Alex. His other childhood friends long have given up and left him to not get dragged along with him, but Michelle truly loved the brown haired genius, that made everything look so easy. So she, with time, developed the same habits and while both of them finished school, albeit barely, they started partying instead of thinking about their next steps in life, as soon as they held their final school certificate.
Both of their families were worried sick after they realized what their kids were doing while staying over at friends or were clubbing. Alas, earth was now part of the federation and teenagers, at the age of 16, were considered independent, as in this day and age not everyone had to work to keep society running. With bitter hearts they could only watch as both of their, one of a kind, geniuses squandered their potential. They knew in an era where people like their children could live to be 1000 years old, at the minimum, life didn’t seem that rushed. However, they were only young once and as everyone knew the best age to develop a strong foundation, whatever path one wanted to tread, was in their early years.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Although they had tried to help them multiple times, Michelle and Alexander kept doing drugs, wasting money on unnecessary trash or even stealing games, clothes and food. Both of them didn’t need to, as they sold their crafts and earned a decent salary, but they searched the thrill and kick every illegal action brought them. So not knowing what to do and with Kathia Natpiea’s advice to let them discover their path for themselves, they could only hope for a soon coming change.
Meanwhile both of the troublesome, sixteen and a half year old, children were enjoying their new found freedom, living life on the edge. They bought their own flat near the inner city, becoming totally independent.
Everyday was exhilarating!
Having nothing to worry about they could sleep until 10a.m., start their morning with a vodka soda, play some games until early afternoon while continue to smoke weed and drink beer. Afterwards friends would come over, drinking some more harder liqueur and starting to do some drugs in preparation for the party at night.
Almost all the time they smoked weed, as it was the most popular drug in the universe, but for raves or clubs the whole gang liked to snort coke, speed, meth, mdma or anything that made you euphoric and energetic. To dance for hours, feel the music, beat and glide into the trance a hippy would feel during Woodstock 69’, some mixed the chemical and natural drugs. Doing candy flips, keta or dmt all while having multiple grams of various drugs already inside their bloodstream.
Now, Force manipulators were known to be able to negate the negative side effects of drugs, however, this was only applicable to masters and not advanced ones fresh out of school. They had a stronger body and could withstand drugs to a higher degree than mundane humans but almost everyone, living in the influence of Force, was a manipulator in the federation, since Force could be handled by everyone, except the inepts. Therefore only increasing the amount of drugs the body could withstand without truly getting rid of harmful symptoms.
Luckily Michelle and Alex weren’t really addicted to any specific narcotics, reducing one of the risks they had if they ever wanted to bounce back into real life.
True they did drugs on a day to day basis and were doing something harmful to their bodies but they didn’t become addicted to a single one. They just wanted to feel the adrenaline pumping through their veins, the kick, the thrill each and every line, hit or trip gave them. If they truly were addicted to something, it would have been the ecstasy every high gave them, every time they could shut down their brains and live in the moment, it made them feel free.
What was more addicting than the feeling of freedom?
Furthermore, although both could have been universe wide prodigies, who says they can’t be anymore? Just when they were ready. They finally came free from the clutches of their parents’ expectations, making choices, even if bad ones, for the first time in their life. Real choices, not ones which clothes you could wear or what hairstyle to have. Those were important too, of course, however, not as important as the ones that decide your life.
Whether it was Michelle or Alex both lived in the shadow of their families, always doing what was expected of them and never honestly expressing what they wanted. With time that ambition was deluded and twisted into something that wasn’t theirs anymore and so it was no surprise that they became lost in life, not knowing what to do the next day, week, month or year. Just drifting through the happenings around you without registering them.
Not to mention that both of them enjoyed their new exciting life with passion. In the clubs, their or a friend’s apartment. Whether in a park or in the bathtub the young couple made time to have a quick sensual blowjob or long breathtaking wild sex. More than often one after the other.
‘The youth should be lived to the fullest, even if one could live one million years. You are just young once and everyone has to grow up sometimes but I will do so my way and not the way someone else decides!’ Alex thought after another exercise, late at night in a park near their home.
“Hey, what do you say about us going on vacation with the guys? We can quit crafting for a few months or even a year and just travel around the universe! With our saved capital we can easily finance even the ones who don’t have enough money to do so! It would be great fun and I really want to leave earth for some time!” Alex said while thoughtfully looking into his naked girlfriends eyes, deciding that it was time to see the universe, tasting some new drugs and see new cultures and species.