Modern Family: New Life

Chapter 80 - Viral video

Thursday, February 13, 2009

After the football season ended with the state championship, the offseason began.

During this stage, the routine completely changed for all the players, including Andrew. There were no more games every Friday, nor daily training sessions lasting over two hours like during the regular season. Instead, the focus shifted to the players' physical and technical development.

Andrew started training to improve his strength, speed, and endurance. Then came skill training, which in his case meant practicing throws. The training volume was much lower in intensity, so Andrew had more free time than ever. The downside was that he was grounded.

Since he couldn't leave the house to be with Pippa or his friends, Andrew focused on updating Flappy Bird via Skype with Pippa. This was mostly an excuse to talk to her since he was also restricted from using his cellphone.

However, if he told Cam and Mitch that he was working on Flappy Bird, they would let him talk to Pippa on the computer. He wasn't allowed to use his console or PC for video games—only for programming Flappy Bird or uploading a pre-recorded YouTube video, not recording new ones. Mitchell and Cam would check his room from time to time to make sure he wasn't breaking these rules.

As for Flappy Bird, after nearly two months of work, they had released the first major update a few days ago.

They implemented several changes.

One of them was improving the gameplay, optimizing performance, fixing minor bugs, and enhancing collision detection. The latter made the game fairer, preventing unfair deaths caused by misaligned hitboxes, something many players had complained about.

The most significant addition was a basic achievement system. If you reached a high score, which was no easy feat, you could unlock a new skin to customize the bird.

The first milestone was reaching 500 points. Achieving this would unlock a red bird skin.

The second milestone was reaching 1,000 points, which unlocked a diamond-colored bird with white details.

The third milestone was reaching 1,500 points, unlocking a violet bird with different shades, this was the skin that took Andrew and Pippa the most time to design.

From Andrew's own experience, he had only managed to reach 500 points, and to do so, besides avoiding the pipes, he had to play for 11 minutes and 5 seconds to reach that score. So, to reach 1,500 points, a game would have to last 35 minutes without dying, not easy, but not impossible.

The update had been out for less than five days, but it was already getting good reviews and boosting the game's popularity, making it even more addictive.

In the first month, Flappy Bird earned Andrew approximately $5,000, which was his share. Another $5,000 went to Pippa.

In the second month, their earnings increased to $5,500 each. It didn't seem like a huge jump, but in percentage terms and considering it was just one month, it was significant. Now, Andrew estimated that in the coming months, they could aim for $7,000 each.

That was an enormous figure, bringing him closer and closer to Mitchell's salary, which was approximately $8,500 per month.

And that was just from Flappy Bird.

In other news, his YouTube video celebrating his state championship victory in the fifth division and calling out the CIF had gone viral.

In just fifteen days, the video had surpassed one million views, quickly approaching 1.3 million plays, with an average of 85,000 views per day. Additionally, the comments had set a new record on his channel, accumulating over 10,000 interactions. Some users praised his talent, others called him arrogant, and many engaged in serious debates about Palisades' potential promotion.

The video's impact was further amplified by Madison Carter, the 24-year-old CBS Sports journalist who had interviewed him after the victory. During that brief interview, Andrew had repeated his message to the CIF.

Madison uploaded the interview to CBS Sports' website, as well as sharing the CIF message segment on two major sports forums: Rivalscom and MaxPreps.

MaxPreps is a website specializing in high school sports statistics, rankings, and team coverage nationwide. Players and coaches can upload videos, game highlights, and achievements, helping college recruiters discover emerging talent.

Rivalscom focuses on football and basketball recruitment, evaluating high school athletes' potential and assigning them rankings.

The interview gained so much traction that it even aired on CBS's sports segment, where they debated Andrew's message/criticism of California's competition system.

Now, all eyes were on the CIF. Everyone was waiting for the promotion announcements in early March to see what decision they would make, whether or not Palisades High School would move up.

"Andrew, Andrew... Hey, Andrew!"

Andrew, completely absorbed in his programming notebook and lost in thought about the promotion issue, snapped out of his trance and looked up to see Howard and Leonard waiting for him.

"The bell rang, let's go to the cafeteria, I'm starving," Howard said, his face lit up with an enthusiastic smile.

Leonard, on the other hand, had a neutral expression, his gaze somewhat dull, as if cafeteria food wasn't exactly what he needed at that moment.

"Yeah, sure," Andrew replied as he stood up, putting away his notebook and other papers in his backpack.

He glanced at the table next to him, where Pippa was completely absorbed in her notebook. She was writing at an incredible speed but with impeccable precision, each letter perfectly formed. She looked so focused that it seemed like she was transcribing the code for the next great invention.

"Pippa?" Andrew called her softly.

On the third call, Pippa finally looked up, surprised to see that the classroom was already half empty.

"Class is over already?" she asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, let's go grab something to eat," Andrew said with a smile.

Pippa gathered her things and carefully packed them into her backpack. She was meticulously organized and precise.

The four of them started walking toward the cafeteria. Andrew and Pippa walked behind Leonard and Howard, with the latter chatting nonstop.

At one point, a group of three guys wearing glasses, with a nerdy air about them, approached Howard and greeted him with great respect.

Howard returned the greeting with a self-satisfied smile.

"Who were they?" Pippa asked, a little curious about the strange interaction.

"I don't know, just some nameless nerds, I guess," Howard replied with a grin, shrugging as he glanced at Pippa and Andrew before looking forward again.

Pippa turned slightly toward Andrew and whispered with a mildly irritated expression, "Is Howard still in that state?"

"Yeah, he's still just as unbearable. Ever since he kissed Karen that night... his self-esteem has skyrocketed," Andrew replied with a sigh.

Pippa shook her head, looking at Howard with a mix of disbelief and resignation. "He'll get over it eventually," she said, though she didn't sound entirely convinced.

Leonard, who had remained silent until then, frowned and muttered sarcastically, "Do you remember that Karen threw up after kissing you? That should tell you something."

"Oh, my friend... I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone," Howard said with a smug smile, completely unbothered by his friend's remark.

Leonard, visibly irritated, crossed his arms and started arguing with Howard.

Pippa, who was listening to the conversation, whispered to Andrew, "Is Leonard still in that state?"

"Yeah, still the same. He's sad and angry, though more angry at himself," Andrew replied.

It was rare to see Leonard angry since he always struggled to show that emotion. He usually kept it to himself, and the only person he openly showed his anger to was Howard, his best friend.

After the party, Lauren had dumped Leonard for cheating, and to make matters worse, his mother had punished him for getting drunk and not coming home. A one-month punishment.

"Are you eating with us or with Cara and Lauren?" Andrew asked, since the topic had come up.

Pippa, being a close friend of Lauren, was in a complicated situation. Their friend group was now divided.

She looked at Andrew with a conflicted expression, knowing the situation was anything but simple.

Lauren, one of her closest friends, had already confronted her for not supporting her enough during the whole drama with Leonard. On top of that, she was furious with Andrew, since he was the one who had, in a way, encouraged Leonard to kiss Haley at the party, which led to the cheating and, of course, the breakup.

"Yeah... otherwise, Lauren will be even more upset with me than she already is. Sorry," Pippa said.

Pippa had taken care of Andrew at the party and saw him dare Leonard to kiss Haley. She had tried to intervene, but the three of them were so drunk they didn't even hear her.

Lauren partially blamed Pippa for not telling her about the cheating sooner. Pippa had known for hours, and she hadn't heard it from her.

"Don't apologize. Go with them," Andrew said, feeling only slightly guilty about all the drama.

Sure, he had been drunk and dared Leonard to kiss Haley, that was true. But it wasn't like he had held a gun to his head and forced him to do it.

When they reached the cafeteria, Pippa went off to sit with her two friends. Andrew and the others sat at a table with Steve, Archie, and company.

Surprisingly, after getting drunk together, Howard and Leonard had somehow become friends with them, and now they got along really well.

One less problem for Andrew, at least now he could bring his two friends into the group of athlete friends, who weren't the stereotypical jocks. Steve was a guy who had seen movies like Harry Potter and action films. The same went for Kevin, Reggie, and the rest of the group.

"What's up, bitches?! Here comes the guy who kissed Karen, the real champion!" Howard said as he sat down, earning looks from the group.

The reaction was immediate.

"The great Howdini!" Archie said, laughing and giving an ironic bow as Howard took his seat.

"A true legend!" Steve added, speaking with his mouth full.

"What kind of magic trick did you pull to get Karen to kiss you?" Reggie asked with a serious expression.

"A magician never reveals his tricks. Sorry, kids," Howard said, only to be booed.

"It was just luck. Karen was drunk," Leonard scoffed as he sat between Kevin and Andrew.

"Get over Lauren, man. There are plenty of fish in the sea," Kevin said, patting Leonard on the shoulder.

The guys kept talking about Howard's so-called seduction tricks, some taking it more seriously than others. At one point, Haley arrived and sat across from Andrew. She exchanged a brief glance with Leonard but quickly looked away.

"Why the grumpy face, Haley? Someone steal your good cafeteria food?" Steve asked.

"Shut up, Steve. Nothing's wrong," Haley replied with her usual impatience.

"Can you believe this?" Haley said after a few seconds of silence.

"Who are you talking to?" Andrew asked, looking at his cousin.

"You, who else?" Haley replied.

"Well, there are more than five guys at this table, maybe one of them," Andrew said, earning a deadly glare from Haley. Clearly, she was not in a good mood.

"What is it that you can't believe?" Andrew asked.

"My mom... she grounded me for two weeks. Starting February 1st. The last day is the fourteenth. Do you know what day that is? Valentine's Day! I won't be able to see Dylan. On the 14th, I have to stay home, no going out, no inviting anyone over. It's insane!" Haley said, both resigned and indignant.

"The end of the world..." Andrew muttered.

"What did you say?" Haley asked, not having heard him.

"Nothing. That sucks, I'm sorry, cousin," Andrew replied.

"Yeah... What about you?" Haley asked curiously. Andrew had been grounded the same day as her, so in theory, he shouldn't be allowed to go out on the 14th with Pippa either.

"My parents are letting me go out with Pippa," Andrew answered.

Haley raised her eyebrows, surprised. "How did you pull that off? My mom won't even let me step into the backyard for fear I might escape."

"Let's just say that, unlike Dylan, Pippa is liked by our entire family. Since she took care of me at the party, they don't think it's fair for her to miss out on Valentine's Day. So, I'm allowed to go out that day," Andrew explained, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

"Oh, of course. Pippa is like... the perfect girlfriend, right? Everyone's favorite, including my mom. How does she do it?" Haley muttered, clearly frustrated. "Why can't my mom accept Dylan the way she does Pippa?"

"I have no idea..." Andrew said with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh, maybe it's because Pippa is super smart, kind, social, and has a bright future thanks to her perfect grades. That might help your demanding mother appreciate her more than a guy who has no intention of going to college and whose grand plan is to go on tour with his unknown band. But who knows, maybe it's that... or maybe something else," Andrew said, pausing to look at Haley.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Got it, thanks," Haley said, rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, the guys were huddled around Steve's phone, all watching the screen intently. Suddenly, they started shouting, "Oh, that was close!"

"Your reflexes are insane, captain!" Kevin exclaimed with a grin, looking at Andrew.

"What do you mean? What are you guys watching?" Andrew asked, leaning forward.

"Oh no... this isn't good," Howard thought, staring at the video on Steve's phone.

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