This following is a parody, based on the classic book James: The Untold Story, written by Aryan Sarnaik. This parody was written by onlypuppy7 and is designed for the purpose of satire and improvement of weak plot areas (or lack thereof).
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Jake: The Retold Story
Chapter 1: A Scholar's Isolation
It was a warm July afternoon, with the sun shining bright like a hero in the sky, as heroes often tend to do. Being a Shell Shockers moderator, it was an overwhelming feeling for Jake, as he watched the various aspects of mother nature coexist peacefully. He too yearned to partake in the numerous indoor and outdoor summer activities with his friends, unfortunately hindered by his lack of them. Being the unhealthily obedient student that he was, he wished to have a fun time before the next school year began, believing this would improve odds for his ultimate goal of attending university.
His goal was fuelled by his ambition to be the first person to attend university from his family. None of his relatives going back many generations had ever attended university. Growing up, he had always been starkly aware of how cost played a significant role in hindering his predecessors from attending university. In fact, his family couldn't even gather the funds to have a surname - even worse first names weren't commonplace until Jake's generation, causing him to feel priviliged and grateful. That is why he understood the importance of taking his education seriously, causing him to save all of his non-academic activities and joys for the summer while focusing solely on his studies during the traditional school year.
Jake attended an ordinary, publicly funded elementary school in the northern side of the province of Ontario. He would take the school bus to school every single day. Due to his family's unstable financial situation, they were not in a position to own a car. To add to that, public transit around the small town was as expensive as four dollars per ride, which considering his family's background, was still relatively unaffordable, resulting it only being used when strictly necessary. As a result, Jake dreaded the Winter, as the school bus was prone to cancellation, resulting in his perfect attendance at school being compromised. For some reason, he valued this above anything else, presumably as it was all he had.
He was not a shy person, but not an overly social one either. He had a few friends which he considered good, seeing the rest of the class as selfish, conditional people, and as a result of his extreme stigma towards others wasn't very well respected around the school community. To the frustration of his peers, Jake consistently represented the qualities of an ideal student; someone who respected his teachers along with SOME peers, paid attention during class, completed all of his homework nightly, and never allowed himself to express himself in any means other than those permitted by the regulations of the school. As children tend to do, his classmates were often not as focused as him, and thus indulged in mischievous tasks such as creating nicknames for teachers and skipping class.
He thought back to the time when he and his peers were scheduled for gym class, and while he was engaging in sincere efforts to improve his physical abilities, his peers came up with a special nickname for the gym teacher: the Oppe (no relation to any slang). For some context, the gym teacher was relatively round in appearance, with a close eye on every student within the school in an attempt to prevent the breaching of academic integrity. Whenever "the Oppe" would be spotted around the school, Jake's peers made the unnecessary effort to change pathways to avoid contact with her. However, Jake, being the sincere student that he was, always interacted with his teachers and did not partake in his peers' plans, developing in Jake being named "the Oppette," in reference to his behaviour being very similar to the Oppe.
This lead to his ostracisation, and indeed eventual radicalisation. Left alone with his own thoughts, he allowed conspiracies for why no one wanted to be with him to fester and spiral in his mind.
His main delusion was that the majority of his peers did not take their studies as seriously as Jake was due to their socio-economic status being significantly higher than that of his. In reality, they weren't much better off, with many having parents who lived paycheck to paycheck. This did not penetrate Jake's mind. He believed they belonged to rich families with enough wealth under their belt to serve multiple future generations. Some students also had access to all the new technological components, most of which Jake did not have due to his family's uniquely unfortunate circumstances.
In reality, Jake was never being bullied for his economic status. It all revolved around his attitude to others and the power he felt he had over others to lecture them on how to conduct themselves and lead their lives. He didn't realise how extremely fortunate he was to be in a relatively supportive, inclusive, and progressive community for the area but instead chose to focus solely on comparing himself to others.
Chapter 2: The Cost of Control
It was lunchtime, and Jake, along with his peers, were eating in the school cafeteria. It was a forty-minute lunch break that they were given at his school, which he found to be more than enough time. If anything, he found lunch break the most boring period of the school day, particularly because all of his friends would spend their time playing video games on their high-tech computers.
One particular game that they played was titled Shell Shockers, the world's most popular egg-based non-violent shooter game. His friends played this game every day on their personal computers that they brought to school, and of course, Jake's school Chromebook could not run the game as smoothly as that of his friends, being a low end machine. Regardless, people he once considered friends allowed him to try the game a few times on their computers, where the experience was smoother. Unfortunately, this only bolstered his backwards beliefs that he was defined by poverty.
In no way at all did Jake think that Shell Shockers represented his own situation fairly accurately. He only felt resentment that he couldn't buy the latest pointless cosmetic skins. This was not an idea he even remotely entertained.
Regardless, Jake exploited Shell Shockers as escapism from his life. By being active 24/7 in the Discord server instead of making friends, he eventually reached the status of becoming an ingame moderator. However, once this happened there was no turning back. At last he managed to exert a measure of influence on those he despised for so long, those who dared to push the boundaries even by the slightest amount. He relished in deleting the accounts of those who tried to bypass the chat filters, use any kind of game modifications and those that questioned his authority. He quickly became a shut-in during moments of downtime.
As a result, he found completing his "volunteer" work to be an excellent medium to step away from his everyday emotions for some time and took the lack of pay for doing essential work as a badge of honour. Jake could see the world from the other side, a side where people with no self-worth governed the fun of other individuals as a vain attempt to satisfy themselves.
As sad as it was, Shell Shockers became Jake's primary source of motivation (and social interaction) to push through his everyday challenges. He would play less and less of the actual game, and shifted towards banning people whenever he wanted. His satisfaction always peaked watching his perceived "rich" classmates getting banned by him from across the room. It was petty revenge, and Jake loved it.
Before he even realized, Summer was over and it was time for Jake to begin his transition to his very first year of high school, an experience that left him with mixed feelings. Characteristically, he was unsure as to whether he would be able to maintain positive relationships with his teachers to the same extent as in elementary school. Clearly, no real life lessons were learnt from elementary school, and he headed into the future with an unchanging mindset.
In this time, Jake continued to bask in his hatred for the middle class. He sat and pondered as to what socio-economic background his future classmates would come from, and whether or not they would come from backgrounds as seemingly wealthy as those of his previous peers. He didn't admit it to himself, but he prayed upon the misfortune of everyone whom he worked with, and would work with, as he deemed that only by dragging everyone else down could he emerge on top.
Chapter 3: The Rise of Authority
The seventh day of September was Jake's first day of high school. As the self-described determined young man boarded the school bus to embark on a new journey filled with all sorts of adventurous experiences, he noticed some aspects that were significantly different from when he boarded the bus in his elementary school days. Right away, he noticed that the bus was much, much more filled than his previous one.
For some reason, Jake's first instinct was to analyse and judge everyone on the bus. Immediately he pessimistically concluded that all of his co-passengers on the bus appeared to be ultra-wealthy and everyone seemed to earn family incomes that were sufficient enough to lead comfortable lives. His socio-economic status would be deemed to be a barrier to his success once again. Everyone was happy on the bus - except one individual.
On the last seat of the bus, the sole seat which was designed to seat only one student, sat a boy with thick, dark brown hair, blue eyes, and frankly the only student on the bus without a phone in his hand. Jake tried to contain his excitement as he spotted someone who appeared worse off than him. He tried to walk over casually, but still fidgeted behind his back.
As Jake got closer and closer to the last seat, the boy's eyes widened and widened.
Jake inquired: "Hi there, do you mind if I share this seat with you?"
"Why, it would be my pleasure!" exclaimed the individual. He expressed his delight regarding how Jake was the only person on the bus without a phone, other than himself. He introduced himself as Mike.
"I must say, I noticed you don't have a phone," said Jake, eager to start talking about his favourite subject.
"Yes, it's unfortunate. I don't come from a well-off socio-economic background," replied Mike.
The phrase 'socio-economic background' reverberated in Jake's mind like a holy chorus. He couldn't believe his luck in finding someone else to whom he could unload his woes.
At length, Jake responded: "I don't come from a wealthy background too. In fact in our family we can't afford surnames. Do you have one?"
"Nope."
Jake gathered himself. A lone tear rolled down his cheek as he realised there was finally someone he could put below himself.
"How do you like to cope with being poor then? Do you have any favourite poor person activities?" said Jake.
Mike looked at him strangely. "Cope with being poor? Is there such a thing?"
Jake returned his own confused expression. "You mean it doesn't bother you at all that you come from an underprivileged socio-economic background? You're completely OK with never being fully a part of the world that existed on the other side of the socio-economic spectrum? You take zero issue with the fact that your socio-economic status is once again an inevitable hurdle to your success and a representation of yet another instance in which wealth inequality is dragging you down? It never crosses your mind that your family just cannot bear the additional financial strain of another permanent individual residing with them?"
"Jake, what the fuck are you talking about?" proclaimed Mike, looking terrified.
"Rich people are the cause of everything wrong in my life. Everyone has accumulated enough wealth to sustain themselves for, oh I don't know, MULTIPLE GENERATIONS? No one has to work except us, Mike. Everyone apart from us is destined to acquire a multi-dollar corporation and be set for life. The system is rigged Mike. We are just cogs in this rich man's machine. We work until we die and get nothing from it."
Mike's life flashed before his eyes. He edged towards the corridor while Jake simply edged.
"Jake, you're completely fucking deluded! Who hurt you? Why do you unload all this pent-up anger as soon as you meet someone who isn't wealthy? Why do you let this meaningless shit define you?"
"Mike, you don't understand, Mike," said Jake, pulling him back by his collar. "I am a Shell Shockers moderator."
"Like, the game everyone played in elementary?"
"It's not just a game," Jake responded, his voice low but fervent. "It's a way to control those who think they're better than us. People like them," he gestured with vigour towards the rest of the bus, "need to be reminded of their place. I operate in the shadows, Mike."
As Jake continued, his demeanor became more and more jarringly animalistic. Jake's eyes burned with a strange intensity as he continued to rant, his grip on Mike’s collar tightening. "You see, Mike, they think they’re untouchable, but I’ve got power too. I can make them feel what it's like to lose something, even if it's just a game."
Mike, still stunned, tried to wriggle free, but Jake’s hold was firm. The other students on the bus had started to notice the commotion, some whispering and pointing, others shifting uncomfortably in their seats. But Jake seemed oblivious to the growing attention. He was lost in his own delusions, his voice growing more fevered as he spoke. His obsession with revenge felt almost lustful in its intensity.
"I’ve banned so many, Mike. They think they're invincible behind their screens, but they forget I can reach them. I’m the judge, jury, and executioner in that world. And one day," Jake's voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes narrowing, "one day, I'll be more than just a moderator. I'll have real power, not just in the game, but out here too."
Mike felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead. This wasn’t just a weird obsession; Jake was clearly on the path to becoming something far darker. "Jake," he said carefully, trying to keep his voice steady, "you need to let go. This isn’t healthy. It’s just a game, man. There’s more to life than this."
"No, Mike. This is just the beginning. Once I graduate, I will be unstoppable. Imagine being a moderator in real life. IMAGINE IT, MIKE. Put your mind to it! It's not just a dream, but my destiny. I have thousands of hours of moderator experience. And you, Mike, will join me. We will be gods amongst the scum of this Earth."
"Oh, fuck no. You've got this all wrong. Does colder mean anything to you? You seem to think everyone else’s life is just easier. I want nothing to do with your bullshit," he cried as he yanked himself free and rushed to the other end of the bus, vastly preferring to stand alone than to spend another second next to the deranged Jake.
Jake's outburst had drawn the attention of several students, and the atmosphere had shifted from relaxed to tense. Jake stopped edging and the reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. His chance to form a friendship was so tenderly placed into his hands, yet his repression took a hold of him and perverted it into repulsion. This throng of students who didn't even know each other yet now were acquainted with the character of Jake, and his reputation would now have to stem from here.
However, his self-awareness was still near-sighted. His mind returned to his dreams of being a model student, and how his outburst could now have costed him his chance.
The bus screeched to a halt, arriving at the stop. All the pupils appeared to hesitate leaving before Jake, and Mike didn't move at all. Jake took the initiative and left the bus silently, wishing to not let himself display these colours again in such a manner.
Chapter 4: The Power Play
After what seemed like a quick minute, the students arrived at the school and were greeted with a welcome speech by the school's principal, Mr. Andrews. The words felt as refreshing as a new blue sky after a long storm, hinting at the potential for a fresh start. Mr. Andrews was a tall man with an even taller neck. Jake was keen to find out whether or not his new peers would invent a nickname this time around. Seated just behind the row in which Jake was situated, a group of mischievous students came up with a nickname for the principal - Giraffe. They had utilized the principal's long neck to their convenience and came up with Giraffe. Jake became upset over the whole incident, as it is never a good thing to come up with offensive nicknames based on individual characteristics. As hijinks ensued, he seriously considered whether or not he should report the mischievous group of students to a nearby teacher. To Jake, it was like they're treating this whole thing as if it's not food - something to be taken lightly and disregarded
The principal's speech was followed by the speech of the vice principal, Ms. Richards. She went on to congratulate the students on their wonderful accomplishment of completing elementary school with a strong finish and provided them with valuable words of inspiration to further motivate them along their high school journey. Jake's mind however was elsewhere. Jake, being the self-described honest, innocent, and hard-working individual that he was, hoped that another nickname would be made so that he could catch them in the act this time. To his disappointment, the mischievous group of students refrained from making another nickname and his sincerest prayers were left unanswered.
To his delight though, Mr. Andrews returned to offer more words of advice. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately made his way towards the closest teacher and told her about the horrific incident. The mischievous group of students were escorted with haste.
Jake noticed that he offered no proof, and in fact his reporting was so pre-emptive that they hadn't even repeated the phrase in earshot of the teacher. This gave Jake an idea for how he could exercise his influence.
He spotted Mike in the crowd and lifted himself again to the teacher. He reported how Mike was not only calling the principal a giraffe, but also making faces and extending his neck to mock him. Like clockwork, Mike was removed from the audience too, to his complete shock. His protesting was in vain, and Jake sat down again, pleased with his actions and looking forward more than ever to his time in high school.
Chapter 5: Jake's First Lesson
TRRRRRRING!!! The second bell had rung, signifying the start of the day's first session. Anybody who failed to reach class by the second bell would be marked late. Though, now that the bell had rung, Jake explored his classroom, scanning frantically. In particular, he was looking for the only puppy he recognised: Mike.
Mike, on the other hand, was doing quite the same by scouting for Jake's familiar face. Once Mike spotted Jake, the colour drained from his face. To his horror, the duo were in the same class. Although seated on opposite sides as per the alphabetical seating arrangement, simply the existence of each other in the classroom provided him with a sense of sheer terror. He knew that the other wasn't there to support him with his studies. He knew that Jake's mind was too far gone. A tear trickled down Mike's face.
As the first lesson of the year, Mr. de Connor surprised the students with an assignment. He introduced the class to their group assignment: "All righty students, you're going to have to assemble into groups of five for this assignment!" he exclaimed.
It made little sense why group assignments were being conducted in Math class. If anything, Math was the last class in which they expected group assignments - English and Humanities courses topped the list, after all. Regardless, the entire class was keen to hear what Mr. de Connor had to say.
"You will be, right, in charge of, right, creating a well thought out slideshow that thoroughly explains the distance, speed, and time concepts as discussed throughout your Mathematical educational journey thus far, right," stated Mr. de Connor.
He also went on to further clarify the marking scheme for the assignment. "Right so marks will be determined on a group basis, right, so you lovely individuals get to choose your groups. Make sure to choose wisely, as it will be a group mark, right!" concluded Mr. de Connor.
Mike let out a slight chuckle as he tried not to burst out laughing at the catastrophic number of times his teacher said right. He knew he wasn't the only one facing this challenge of trying not to laugh, as he turned to look at the rest of the class, where nearly all of the students were facing the same struggle as him - except Jake.
Jake however looked like a complete fucking idiot, being the sole person with a straight face. Mr. de Connor walked nearer to Jake's seat in curiousity, wondering why this student was so humourless. He usually played an exaggerated version of himself in his class to bring some spark to the student's lives, and this was the first time someone had ruined it.
As for the others, their attentions turned to Jake, and they began laughing at him instead, this time erupting. Jake lacked any self-awareness and remained steadfast in his solemn expression, as the circus around him unfolded.
"Are you deadass?" questioned Mr. de Connor. Jake nodded slowly, thinking he was being praised for his stoic demeanor. Jake thought to himself: these kids, they’re like an oak swing, stuck in a pattern that swings back and forth without any real progress.
"Alright then," Mr. de Connor said, shaking his head with a bemused smile. "You’re the only one who can keep a straight face during my grand performances. Let’s see how that focus translates into group work."
Mike took extreme note of how Jake did not once show any hint of soul. His fear for him began transforming into sorrow, and he began to see a different side to the Jake that moments ago was tugging him by the collar. Instead of seeing an arrogant and bitter boy, Mike instead saw a broken and misguided young man, who still had the good intentions of succeeding in his life despite his circumstances.
Mike relaxed a little and he knew what he had to do. When it came time to form groups, he decided to approach Jake, who was still alone at his desk.
"Hey Jake, I know we probably didn't introduce ourselves in a very conventional way, but I know that deep down you are a good man. The struggles of being from a lower class to most can do numbers to your mental wellbeing, so it actually makes total sense to me why you might feel lost in this world. Jake, I understand you, even if I don't agree with your mindset."
Jake looked up at Mike and processed his words. The gentle challenging of his ideas came as a shock to him. Never would he have expected the raggedy Mike to be able to approach him from such a place of honesty.
"Jake, you are free to join our group if you like," said Mike with a smile. He had already paired up with a group of three other students who did not manage to find anyone else, all standing sheepishly.
"That's- very kind of you," said Jake in response.
The cogs began turning in Jake's head. It occured to him for the first time in that instant that following rules blindly and to a tee was not a recipe for inner happiness. The independent thought of Mike's to include him despite their differences was novel to Jake, and gave him food for thought for the rest of the class.
Mr. de Connor had posted an extensive Google folder with all of the detailed assignment instructions for the students to view. He also reiterated the fact that students may consult him for additional clarification for any of the assignment components if necessary. As the students got into their respective groups, they were to assign themselves individual tasks to complete as part of the broader project.
Little did the Mike know however, Jake had already created a story in his head about the other team members.
Indeed, in his head their three group members were the three spoiled kids of rich parents. These kids had their lifetime's worth of savings already in their bank, leaving them no requirement to pursue a sustainable career in the future. This was fuelled by the fact that they loaded the assignment prompt into the industry's leading artificial intelligence (AI) slideshow generator. Within a few seconds, they had artificially generated the entire assignment. Within approximately a minute or so, they were back to scrolling Instagram Reels on their phones, proving their dedication and commitment to academics
In reality, while the students were indeed lazy, their motives were just that - laziness. It was true they were going nowhere but they weren't set for life at all, and were only destined for dead-end office jobs. The AI program they used was in fact a free demo released by the computer company ClosedAI. None of this was at the forefront of Jake's mind however. The complexity of their group dynamics felt like a seq of events that needed careful navigation.
Jake and Mike however both shared the sentiment that this instance of academic dishonesty was entirely against the duo's principles of honesty, hard work, and determination. Jake felt a surge of anger-provoking emotions overtaking his historically calm-cool nature. He thought about confronting the three individuals from his group who initiated this dishonest idea but knew that they would not be able to comprehend the seriousness of maintaining academic honesty. After all, the artificially generated slideshow had all of the correct content on it, which made it difficult for Jake to protest with his group members under the 'effort' criteria, as clearly they do not value that aspect.
Mike nevertheless didn't seem to let emotion overtake him. Jake repressed it, but he felt a measure of respect for Mike as of late, so he followed suit, calming himself down.
But his mind raced. Should he tell the teacher? Should he enact revenge? Should he... he thought harder. Yes, he thought, I will ban them on the hit game Shell Shockers.
Chapter 6: Jake's Second Lesson
"Since you're all done, why don't we play a round of Shell Shockers, the world's most popular egg-based non-violent shooter game?" announced Jake to the rest of the group.
They thought this was a terrific idea, and whipped out their computers. Jake's thoughts were as fiery as the hydro flame when he imagined clicking report on his classmates. He felt a strange sense of justice in enacting revenge, like a piper leading a new wave of retribution. Instead of the two thousand dollars' worth of MacBooks Jake thought they owned, they produced Chromebooks from their bags.
This conflicted with Jake's perception of reality, but he continued with his plan. They loaded into the game with their non-premium skins - after watching an ad; they didn't have the VIP (Very Important Poultry) subscription.
Mike wondered what Jake was up to, but the pieces were there for him to put together.
Jake asked for their game code under the guise that he would join. Instead, he opened Discord on his Chromebook and entered the #cheater-report channel, ready to report them for racism on his alt, and then heroically ban them on his main account.
But Mike was too fast in working it all out. He seized Jake's Chromebook and walked outside the class. Wanting to keep a cool demeanor, Jake simply followed him.
"Jake, I know exactly what you're doing. You are going to ban their accounts as revenge for cheating the assignment, right,"
"Yeah. What about it? Isn't this what they deserve?"
Mike shook his head. "I have already pinged everyone in Blue Wizard Digital 100 times. Harrison has banned your account and revoked your Eggforcing role. I spammed the message StateFarm Client On Top. You're done. They will never talk to you again."
Jake's blood pressure increased by the minute. Mike seemed to be taking the piss. He was returned his Chromebook and it was plain to see: DeathlyLove had already banned his account from Shell Wiki, Shell Leaks and every clan server.
After what felt like an eternity, Mike let out a big sigh. "You can never return to Shell Shockers. As soon as you try, they will ban you for ban evasion. Jake, there is no recovering from this."
Jake felt like he should be angry, but it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his back. The countless hours spent moderating the game, the respect he felt he earned, the zero dollars he received for it all. To see it all disappear in an instant showed how meaningless it all was. The reality that he was just one of thousands of revenue generating players to Blue Wizard Digital set in hard and fast.
Jake's face reflected a mix of relief and despair. “It’s like The Piper has finally caught up with me,” he muttered. “All my efforts, gone, just like that.
"Mike, thank you," said Jake gratefully, "you don't know how much this means to me,"
Mike smiled, knowing he had done the right thing. During this time he had been brewing up a solid plan to counter this situation and assured Jake that everything would be taken care of once the plan was implemented successfully.
The plan was simple: since they like making everything hard for themselves, they would just complete their own assignment together separately from the group. This way, they didn't enter any conflict with the other members.
Jake, now a changed man, was instantly on board with Mike's brilliant plan. The duo returned to class after their long walk and proposed the idea to Mr. de Connor as soon as the bell for lunch break rang. Waiting for that iconic TRRRRRRING!!! was a pivotal aspect in ensuring the seamless implementation of Mike's brilliant plan, because it had to be done privately to avoid any unnecessary details from reaching their peers. This way, the duo would not face any further discrimination from their peers.
After hearing the plan, and the unique benefits that it had to offer as per Mike's intelligent persuasive skills, Mr. de Connor was satisfied with the proposal and gave them the go ahead. Furthermore, he lauded the superb duo of Jake and Mike for their continuous hard work, determination, and commitment to their academics, and encouraged them to keep going.
Chapter 7: Turning Over a New Leaf
The acceptance of the proposal to Mr. de Connor, and the consequent revelations made assured the duo that hard work always pays off. But most importantly, the way forward is always paved with the precise control of oneself and the mindfulness of everyone surrounding.
This incident was a significant turning point in Jake's beliefs, especially the fact that he truly learned the importance of finding genuine connections and working with integrity. Instead of seeking validation through control or revenge, Jake began to understand the value of collaboration and honest effort. His interactions with Mike and the experience of being removed from Shell Shockers had shifted his perspective profoundly.
Indeed, he took from Mike that socio-economic status does not limit his future potential at all. Jake reflected upon his past self, and despite not being as prosperous as his classmates financially, it does not mean that he cannot gather himself throughout the rest of his journey ahead. He was more inspired and motivated than ever to chase his ultimate aim of attending university.
As for Mike, although never seeing a limit imposed on him by poverty, had a new outlook on life after his experience with Jake. He received a major confidence boost from turning around Jake from such a dark place and used this to his advantage in his studies. He utilized his newly found confidence to his advantage by partaking in numerous enrichment opportunities and career-building workshops, all of which would come in handy to better shape his prospects.
In their yearbook, in celebration of their personal victories both Jake and Mike both set their quotes as: “I’ve learned that true success is about integrity and collaboration, not about playing the Piper's tune or being stuck in a cycle of lust.”
The students who once saw the manic Jake on the bus decided also in secret to pool together funds to congratulate his metamorphosis. They purchased Jake the gift he longed for since he was small. A surname.
As the years stretched ahead of him, one thing was for certain. Jake Fuddung's aspirations were still set firmly on the horizon, but they certainly were no longer driven by bitterness or vanity.