Modern Family: New Life

Author's Note:

I thought Andrew's reason for staying with his current team was easy to understand, but apparently not...

Andrew already attended an elite high school in his past life. He knows exactly what they offer and how they work. He was the leader of an elite team, won a state championship, and was the best teenage quarterback in the state.

He transmigrated into the body of a 5-year-old and trained for 10 more years. Combined with his prior experience, he's an even better player now. Even his genetics are superior.

Following the same path as before would be monotonous and boring. Plus, the opportunity for growth would be minimal since he already played at that level in his previous life. Instead, taking on the challenge of carrying an average team on his shoulders and trying to lead them to the top is far more exciting and pushes him to improve even further.

If he achieves this feat, not only will all the top sports universities want to recruit him instantly, but he will also become a high school legend, far greater than he would by simply winning with an elite team.

I didn't think I'd have to explain this because it seemed pretty obvious... but well, I guess not everyone can connect the most obvious dots.

...

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew went to the mall with Leonard and Howard. The night before, at Archie's house, he had told Veronica to cancel their date.

At first, Veronica was upset about it, but when Andrew explained the reason, she didn't get mad. It would have been too heartless to get angry when he was going to an event for his new baby sister.

She wanted to reschedule the date for Sunday, but Andrew told her he couldn't make it then either because he had an important programming project to work on. He didn't mention that his partner for the project was a girl, knowing it would only create unnecessary problems he wanted to avoid.

"I hope I can buy the World War Hulk comic with the David Finch cover," Howard said, rubbing his hands together and wondering if he'd get lucky.

Currently, Howard, Leonard, and Andrew were in the mall, riding the escalator on their way to the comic book store.

"You're overly hopeful. Variant covers are limited editions and will soon become collectibles. A regular store in a mall won't carry them," Leonard said, shaking his head.

"Hope is the last thing you lose," Howard replied, undeterred by his friend's pessimism.

"You use that saying for everything, even with girls. You always try to flirt and fail," Leonard said with a slight, teasing smile.

"At least I try, unlike you, coward. You just stay in your comfort zone, waiting for a girl to fall from the sky," Howard retorted with a smirk.

Howard and Leonard began arguing. As the escalator ride ended, they started walking toward the comic book store.

Andrew's silence made them stop their bickering and look at him. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Howard asked. It was unusual for the typically outgoing and confident Andrew to stay quiet and appear more pensive than usual.

"What's with the smile? It's like this is your first time visiting a comic book store," Leonard said, casting a curious glance at him. He had noticed Andrew's smile—a smile that seemed almost... nervous.

"For the first time I will visit the comic book store with friends and without a hood," Andrew replied.

He had decided to stop hiding his love for geeky things. At first, he thought he kept it a secret simply because there was no need for his football teammates to know about that hobby. Telling them wouldn't add anything since he wouldn't discuss such topics with them anyway.

But he realized there was another reason. He had done it in this life and his past life. Deep down, he feared being seen as weird since there was an incompatibility between the image of a popular athlete and his geeky interests.

He was aware of his popularity, and if that ever came to light, it would just be one more rumor added to the ones already circulating about him. And he wasn't a big fan of rumors about himself, whether good or bad.

But no more. Hiding it would only make things harder in the future, and he didn't care about the opinions of strangers. His family already knew about his interests, and now his two new friends (Howard and Leonard) knew too, and he was having a lot of fun with them.

If he kept hiding it, he might push Leonard and Howard away, as they would see him as embarrassed by his hobby and a fake person.

"Congratulations, popular kid. But I'm telling you, this time you should wear a hood and some sunglasses," Howard said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, the one time you lie to your parents and your girlfriend is when you leave your face uncovered. You could get caught," Leonard said, a little worried about the situation.

Leonard was happy Andrew had agreed to hang out with the two of them, but getting recognized wouldn't be good for him. Moreover, they didn't know Andrew had lied to someone else too: Pippa. The risk of being discovered had increased.

"Relax, nothing will happen. It's Saturday, the mall is packed," Andrew said with a calm, faint smile.

"So what? That just means there's a higher chance your girlfriend is here with her friends," Howard argued, air-quoting the word "girlfriend."

"If there's a crowd, it's harder to be recognized. Besides, I asked Haley if she had any plans with her friends, and she said no. So, Veronica won't be here, and my parents are at the daycare event. Everything is under control," Andrew said. Haley was a close friend of Veronica.

As for Pippa, she had mentioned she liked staying home or spending time at her friends' houses. She didn't seem to enjoy crowds or be the type to spend a Saturday at the mall shopping for clothes.

"If you say so... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Veronica found you here," Leonard said with a thoughtful look.

"Oh, that's true. You didn't know how to break up with her. If she catches you here and realizes you lied to her, maybe she'll dump you—or at least it'll add a point toward a future breakup," Howard said, nodding as if it were a solid plan.

"Shut up, we're here," said Andrew, pushing the glass door open and stepping into the comic book store.

The store was tucked away in a distant corner of the mall's second floor, far from the more popular shops, as if meant for outcasts.

Andrew took a deep breath as he entered, closing his eyes for a moment. The smell of fresh comics was addictive.

"If you were a regular nerd, I'd say what you just did was disgusting, but your looks save you," Howard said, giving Andrew a strange look.

"Was that a gay insinuation, Howard?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow. Leonard burst out laughing.

"Shut up," Howard huffed, punching Andrew on the shoulder—something he immediately regretted. It felt like punching something really solid, and his fist started aching.

The three of them spread out across the store, exploring enthusiastically. Andrew browsed through the comics, flipping through covers of Spider-Man and Avengers. Leonard and Howard stuck to DC comics. They soon started debating which ones to buy, as their limited budgets meant they had to choose wisely.

Andrew's appearance caught the attention of most people in the store. He was the opposite of the nerd stereotype: tall, athletic, and exuding confidence in his movements and speech.

Between laughs, jokes, and debates, time flew by. They left the store, each with a comic tucked under their arm.

'This is fun,' Andrew thought. It was the first time he had visited a comic book store with friends.

They sat at a table in a café to grab something to drink and chat a bit more. Andrew needed to be home by around 5:30 PM. He had arrived at the mall at three. Mitchell and Cameron were attending Lily's event from 3 to 4.

They thought Andrew was on a date with Veronica, and if his "date" lasted less than an hour, they'd know something was up, especially since they had noticed that Veronica tended to keep their son busy on dates for over two hours. His alibi had to be flawless.

After enjoying their drinks and snacks, Howard and Leonard got up to use the bathroom. Andrew stayed behind at the table, gazing out the window at the bustling mall.

'It's almost five. If I head back now, everything will be fine,' Andrew thought with a faint smile.

Nothing had gone wrong. He hadn't been discovered by anyone and had spent a pleasant afternoon talking about comics and nerdy stuff.

"Enjoying your coffee?" a feminine voice asked, and the faint smile vanished from Andrew's face.

Slowly, he turned around and saw the face of a girl he recognized.

"Pip..." Andrew murmured, looking at Pippa, who was smiling faintly as she rested her arm on the back of his chair.

"Hi, Andy," Pip greeted with a wider smile, holding back laughter at the nervous expression on Andrew's face. It was the first time she'd seen him like this.

"When did you get here?" Andrew asked, trying to act normal again.

"When you guys were talking about who would win, the Avengers or the Justice League," Pippa replied.

Andrew's expression darkened. That had been thirty minutes ago—a conversation that had gone on far too long.

"Oh... You know, after my sister's event, I came to relax and grab a coffee with friends..." Andrew said, trying to cover up his lie.

'You're a terrible liar,' Pippa thought, noting Andrew's unnatural expression and tone.

"You told me in a message that your sister's event was at three, and at that exact time, I saw you walking into the comic book store. My family has had me stuck here for a while," Pippa said, sighing in exasperation.

Andrew wanted to slap himself. The night before, after getting Pippa's number, he couldn't resist texting her, and they chatted a bit. To make his lie more believable, he had specified the exact time of Lily's event.

"Are you... mad?" Andrew asked, noticing that Pippa's expression remained calm. There was no frown or sign of anger. She just looked at him serenely while sipping her shake.

"No," Pippa replied, lowering her cup and looking at him directly with a slight smile.

Andrew frowned in confusion. Why wasn't she angry? He had lied blatantly and been caught.

The reason, though she wouldn't share it with Andrew, was that she had overheard his conversation about comics and other geeky things. She had seen Andrew chatting with Leonard and Howard a bit during programming class but didn't think they were that close.

It surprised her that a popular athlete like Andrew had such a geeky hobby and two friends who didn't seem like they'd fit with him at all.

She liked seeing that there was more to Andrew than met the eye. Most athletes she'd known were jerks or idiots with egos the size of mountains.

"Tomorrow, we're doing the project without fail, okay?" Pippa said in a tone that left no room for negotiation, though her expression remained friendly.

"Yeah, sure, we already agreed on that," Andrew replied. Just as he finished speaking, three figures approached the table, interrupting their conversation.

"The bill is paid! We can head home now," said a man with a smile, looking at Pip.

"You've fulfilled your family outing quota, sweetheart. You can go back to your room and continue with your studies," added a middle-aged woman with hair and eyes similar to Pip's.

"Thanks, Mom, for the great privilege of returning to my own room," Pip said in a resigned tone.

At that moment, the woman noticed Andrew sitting at the nearby table. "Oh, and who's this? A friend?" she asked.

"Hi, I'm Andrew. I'm working with Pippa on a school project," he said, standing up out of courtesy. He extended his hand firmly toward the man, who returned the handshake with a smile.

"Oh, Andrew!" Pip's mother exclaimed, recognizing the name. "You're the school team's quarterback, right? We've seen your games back in middle school."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Andrew replied modestly.

"Josh never misses a game. You're a great quarterback," said the man, gesturing to a boy hiding behind Pip's mother. The boy looked at Andrew shyly but with evident admiration.

"Oh, thank you... I'm just a backup now," Andrew said, scratching the back of his neck, clearly not used to receiving compliments.

"And the project you're working on? Do you have everything planned out?" Pip's mother asked.

"Yes, Mom. We're working on it tomorrow," Pip quickly interjected, as if trying to prevent the conversation from going too far.

"Why don't you come to our house to work on it? We have a quiet room where you can concentrate, so you don't have to worry about finding a place to meet," Pip's mother suggested.

Pip placed a hand on her forehead, clearly embarrassed by her mother's meddling, but she didn't contradict her. In fact, it was exactly what she had been planning to suggest to Andrew.

"If it's okay with Pippa, I can come," Andrew said.

Pip's mother smiled, satisfied. "Perfect! We'll see you then. Pip, do you want to tell him what time?"

Pip sighed, resigned but without protesting. "Alright. Tomorrow at four. Does that work for you, Andrew?"

"Yeah, that works perfectly," Andrew replied.

Pip and her family, with the bill paid, said goodbye to Andrew and left the café.

'Phew… luckily, she didn't get mad,' Andrew thought with relief.

At that moment, Leonard and Howard arrived. They each paid for their orders and began the journey back to Andrew's house to celebrate hitting 1,000 subscribers—a number now nearing 1,100.

As they descended the escalator, Andrew's mind wandered to the unexpected encounter with Pippa. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar head of hair and turned toward the upward-moving escalator. There was Veronica. She sensed someone looking at her and turned her gaze toward him. Their eyes met.

Time seemed to stop for a second. They were moving in opposite directions—one down, the other up—but the eye contact remained unbroken.

Veronica's expression was a mix of surprise, anger, and something Andrew didn't want to decipher at that moment. Her eyes seemed to ask: What are you doing here?

Howard, noticing the change in Andrew's face, followed his line of sight. His reaction was immediate. "Oh no… that's Veronica, isn't it? Wasn't she not supposed to be here?" he murmured, his tone a mix of amusement and concern.

Andrew noticed that Veronica wasn't with her usual group of friends—Haley and two other girls. Instead, she was with the cheerleading squad.

"Just run," Andrew said impulsively, making a quick, practical decision. He broke eye contact with Veronica and began bounding down the escalator two steps at a time, leaving Leonard and Howard staring after him in disbelief.

"Andrew!" Veronica's shout echoed through the mall corridor. Even as the distance between them grew, her voice was loud enough to catch the attention of everyone nearby.

Hearing her yell, Leonard and Howard started running after Andrew.

Howard, laughing under his breath, tripped as he tried to keep up. "This is the best thing that's happened to me all week. Do you think she's going to chase you down like the T-X in Terminator 3?"

"Stop talking, Howard! If you keep spouting nonsense, you'll get winded and collapse here with your terrible fitness," Andrew snapped, his patience wearing thin.

After a couple more minutes of running, Andrew, Howard, and Leonard finally escaped the danger zone—the mall. The fresh air outside was a relief, but neither Howard nor Leonard seemed in any shape to continue running.

Andrew was breathing erratically—not from physical exhaustion, but from nerves. As he looked ahead, he found himself face-to-face with people he instantly recognized.

A few meters away stood his parents, Mitchell and Cam, with Lily in her stroller. Both of them looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion, clearly sensing that something was off when they saw Leonard and Howard standing next to him.

'Why do I have to meet everyone today?' Andrew thought in exasperation. It felt like the universe was conspiring against him, as if everything was aligning to expose his lie.

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