[h1][center]Jeff Pierce[/center][/h1]

“My name’s Jeff.”

Now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, let’s get right into it. Jeff Pierce was a strange young man from the streets of Brooklyn, New York. He’d waste time walking around the same few blocks taking the occasional physical assault from the local gang members, if he felt lucky. He’d spend his night sleeping next to a trash can in some alleyway… despite owning the nicest house in the neighborhood. 

“Man, youse wastin’ time on this kid.” One of the muggers sighed. “Kid’s got his paws on the biggest crib in da hood, with security guards and dat, but he walks down da streets with dis nasty shoe game of his like it’s nobody’s business.”

“Yeah, boss,” another mugger snickered. “Kid’s piss broke.  No wallet, no car keys, nuttin.”

The first mugger scoffed, punting his victim’s skull one last time. “I don’t get ya, kid. It’s like you come up to these streets over and over without any cash on ya. It’s like y’all looking for an ass-whooping.” As the two gangsters turned to leave in the other direction, one of them spat in Jeff’s eye, causing him to wince. Out of the corner of his other eye, he noticed both of his assailants getting on smaller versions of EcoCrafts. 

“Ugh… that was... less than pleasant.”  Jeff cried. “That’s going to leave a mark.” With a twitchy black eye, and with a malfunctioning Micro AR, to boot, the boy started limping back to his trash can. About 15 minutes later, Jeff ran into a tall, well-dressed older fellow who clearly didn’t belong in this atmosphere Just one glance was all it took for Jeff to realize exactly where this man hailed from. 

“How did you find me?” Jeff snarls at the man. “And more importantly… why are you here?” 

“Master Geoffrey, if  I may… Your mother has never taken her eyes off you. However, to answer your query…” the butler reached for his pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope.  “This letter arrived at the estate earlier today, and I was instructed to deliver this letter personally rather than through the postal system or through e-mail.” 

Jeff’s eyes burst wide open in surprise upon realizing the origin of the wax-sealed envelope. “This is… Is this from Casper!?” He exclaimed, roughly snatching the letter from the butler’s hands.

“It appears so, Master Geoffrey. The crest on the seal matches the academy’s crest. As for its content, I’m obviously not privy to it.”

“So no one knows what’s inside?”

“It is so, Master Geoffrey.” The butler nodded. “Your mother said that she has no reason to open it, since she already knows the results.”

Jeff opened the envelope and a giddy smile immediately carved its way up his cheeks. “Looks like I’m in!” With that said, Jeff pulled a dirty hoodie out of the trash can beside him and wrapped himself around it as if it were a blanket, studying the many stipulations that the school had asked of him. “Hey, Gramps… Did Mother ever disclose the fact that I’ve been hiding out in Brooklyn?”

“Not that I know of, Young Master. Such intimate affairs would only damage your house’s reputation were they to ever come to light. Why do you ask?”

“The SSB tickets included with the letter are for a ‘one-way trip from Brooklyn’… I wonder how the staff found out I was in town.”

“It is but a trifling subject,” the butler assured him. “The entire academy has close ties to the government, so having intelligence on the handful of recently-scouted students should not be as far-fetched as one can assume.

“Hmm… if you say so.” Jeff shrugged. He handed the butler a folded-up paper. “Dress code. Can you get that done for me anytime soon?”

The servant gladly took the paper and stuffed it into his shirt’s breast pocket. “Right away, Young Master. I’ll have your wardrobe ready by sunrise tomorrow. But, Young Master, I suggest you refrain from sleeping in the alleyway. Your mother urged me to remind you to wash both yourself and your clothes during this period.”

Jeff let out a huge sigh as he slung the dirty hoodie over his shoulder. “I understand, Gramps. You can tell my mother that I’ll be sleeping in the manor until then. Oh, and please let her know my micro AR was busted, and I need a new one for school.”

“I shall refrain from explicitly stating that you broke your current set in a fight, but I will not lie should she ask for the reason why it was broken.” he warned Jeff.

“I understand."

“Very well!” With that said, the butler turned and left, with Jeff’s eyes following his until he was out of sight. The roar of Jeff’s mother’s black EcoCraft starting up soon followed.

“I suppose I should get going, then…” sighed Jeff. He waited a few seconds to make sure the old man was gone before diving into the trash can in the background. "Where in the world did I place those house keys again...?"

[i]A few months later...[/i]

Jeff barely made it on time to the SSB station. By the time he arrived, the large analog clock at the station read somewhere after 11:55 but wasn’t quite there at the 12:00 noon mark. For some reason, he stood still for a few extra seconds before rushing into the station, risking missing the train in the process. “Just what is this clock…?” Jeff mumbled. It wasn’t until the clock started making noise like a tower that he was snapped back to reality. “Crap! I’m late!”

[i]To Be Continued...[/i]