novelraw Chapter 366: Graduation (2)
Chapter 366: Graduation (2)
Jason Lee Temple, father to Levi Temple, and ex-husband to Allison Violet Meadows.
He was a tall, handsome, muscular man with dark brown hair cut in a buzz cut and sharp features, 70% similar to Levi’s.
Dressed in camouflage pants, a tight black shirt molded to his impressive muscles, combat boots laced up to his shins, and reflective sunglasses, the outfit was his uniform in several of the high-stakes action movies he was the lead actor in.
Specifically, movies where he played a soldier battling with a giant gorilla, a mercenary surviving the zombie apocalypse, another soldier fighting aliens, and his secret favorite role, the very one where he had met Levi’s mother and fallen in love with her, an injured soldier escaping a war-torn country with a struggling Broadway actress trying to make it big.
As Jason lifted his glasses and met the eyes of the five very different boys his son had brought over for the first time, he had to draw on all his acting experience to restrain his excitement, even though he was very excited inside.
Friends!
His son had friends!
Last week was the first time Levi had willingly brought friends over to the house and even had a pizza party with them!
Although Jason had gotten scolded for messing around with the house toys (traps), he was still happy.
Friends!
His son was no longer an antisocial loner who would grow up to be a strange film director or voice actor!
And now, for the first time in years, Levi had asked his own dad for a favor to help him and his friends in the competition he was taking part in.
Originally, Jason was not a fan of Levi getting on the idol survival show, even though his ex-wife had insisted that it was an easy enough favor to do for Forbes and would open lots of doors for Levi in the future.
Levi hadn’t seemed particularly excited about it either, but since he hadn’t refused, Jason allowed him to do it.
Yet each time Levi came home during the breaks, he didn’t want to talk about it and didn’t seem happy to be there, yet he kept attending and performed well despite the production team’s harsh portrayal of his cute and cuddly son.
Jason absolutely hated that reality TV-style evil editing and wanted Levi gone.
Olivia had agreed and pressured Levi to quit the show and go back to college. Originally, Levi had agreed with his mother, but then pulled back.
Levi resisted his mother’s words and actually called for backup. Seeing that his son wanted to stay and participate, claiming he had made a friend, Jason put all his energy into supporting him.
The end result was a further deterioration of his relationship with his ex-wife, but since that was a relative constant between them, Jason didn’t actually care.
As long as their kid was happy doing what he wanted, Jason would take on all the blame.
Instead, for once, he was extremely grateful to her for originally getting Levi to participate in the show, because now his son seemed happier than he had been in a while.
Additionally, Levi had gone back to pursuing the dream of being a rapper he had when he was much younger, before his ex-wife told him it was stupid, low-class, and a waste of his talent and the opportunities his parents had provided. That Levi should be pursuing higher forms of art, like being on Broadway, or focusing on artistically acclaimed films.
That elitist way of thinking, along with her disdain for the kind of movies Jason enjoyed making, was one of the reasons they divorced and one of the reasons his ex-wife didn’t get along with her own mother.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jason looked over the boys once more.
Even though he hadn’t attended any performances due to being busy, having watched all the episodes of the show, all the extra content the producers sold, voting as much as he could without getting caught by Levi, and investigating everyone his son was frequently shown with.
Benjamin, the handsome British boy, was a rapper like his son. He had a great physique that Jason thought would be perfect for action movies.
Mathew, who was such a good dancer with amazing body control, that Jason immediately wanted to see how well he would learn fighting-sequence choreographies.
Carlos, the soft-spoken singer with an amazing voice, was the opposite of his darkly handsome image. Another one who had an impressive physique and good strength behind it. Jason wanted to get training tips from him.
Jamie, the blonde boy with the cowboy hat, whose father, Jason, had met once or twice at award shows. Another one with an impressive physique.
And finally, the red-haired boy whom Levi had specifically called his first friend on the show.
His name was Ariel, and from what Jason had seen so far, he was...slender to put it mildly; he had that spark, charm, and polarizing persona that meant that he was going to be a star.
A big one.
If he continued ignoring the noise, focused on his craft, and produced excellent results, with that charisma of his, Jason was sure he would reach unimaginable heights.
And his son would be there at his side.
Silently vowing to himself to do everything in his power to aid them, Jason resolved to give them the best helicopter ride of their lives and deliver them safely to their stage tomorrow.
And the first step of that was learning the proper safety procedures.
******************************
As Levi’s dad just stood there, looking them all over with sharp blue eyes that mirrored Levi’s, Ari covered his mouth and, for the first time in a while, whispered ’Status’.
[Levi Temple]
[Age: 45]
[Vocals: D- (C)]
[Dance: C (C)]
[Visual: A (A)]
[Charm: A (A+)]
[Acting: A+(S)]
[Voice Acting: S- (S+)]
[Film Director: A+ (S)]
[Martial Arts: S (S)]
[Rock Climbing: B+(A)]
[Swimming: A(A)]
[Wrestling: A(A)]
...
[Stunts: A+ (S)]
As he glanced over the crazy looking stats, Ari could only blink in amazement.
This was definitely the craziest status he had ever seen apart from William’s garbage one.
As expected, a professional actor who was known for doing his own stunts in movies, the stat sheet was amazing.
Although Ari was seeing some similarities with Levi’s status, new things like martial arts, stunts, rock climbing, etc., he was seeing some stats he had never seen before.
After wondering whether a parent’s stats affected a child’s, and briefly regretting not checking Levi’s mom’s status, Ari focused on the man, who was silently glaring at him with piercing blue eyes.
Ari: ಠ_ಠ
What?
Nobody can say you’re not Levi’s father.
You both glare at people the exact same way.
Levi’s dad began pacing in front of a large helicopter, as if he were a sergeant in the military, before turning to speak to them.
"Alright, boys, in case you don’t know who I am, I’m Levi’s father. You can call me Jason or Mr. Temple. Today, we’re learning about helicopter safety 101, reviewing what you’ll be implementing tomorrow, and flying over the drop-off site to make you guys comfortable with Big Bessie over here." Jason Temple pointed a finger at the large black helicopter behind him.
They were currently in a private hangar several miles outside of the city, learning everything they needed for tomorrow.
The plan was for everyone to attend Ari’s graduation with was at a college’s arena, then rush to the helipad at a nearby building and have Levi’s dad drop them off at a hospital close to the performance location.
All six of them would rush on stage to perform the signal song and opening song according to the schedule before running back to the hospital, where Levi’s dad would lower them from the helicopter onto the stage for their performance.
It was a plan involving lots of moving parts and coordination with the PD, stage team, and Levi’s dad, and lots of running in a suit and dress shoes, and Ari was already exhausted even thinking about it.
But...the visual would be cool, and if his team couldn’t get first place with them LITERALLY coming down from a helicopter, then he deserved to have his stats wiped out.
"Alright, boys, let’s get started. Everybody, come put on these headphones. I’ll teach you how to put on the harnesses, and we’ll have our first little practice run." Levi’s dad announced.
Then the training from hell began.
Originally, Ari thought it was going to be simple.
Put on the harness vest, and then it would lower you down from the helicopter.
But instead-
Why was he dangling from the landing skids of a helicopter?
Why were Benjamin and Jamie asking if parachutes were an option, with Levi’s dad actually considering it?
Why was he climbing a rope ladder while a helicopter was flying?
Why had everybody decided that he needed to be bundled up like a potato sack and lugged around on Levi’s shoulder?
What kind of nonsense was this???
He wanted his own harness line, too!
As the harness rope swung around like it was in a hurricane, Ari’s stomach heaved as he was inevitably spun around until he became dizzy.
"I think I’m going to throw up."
"If you dare to throw up on me, I’ll throw you." Levi threatened unsympathetically.
"And I’ll hold onto you so we can both die together."
Levi: ಠ_ಠ
Ari: ಠ_ಠ
"Stop flirting, boys, and get back to work!" Jason Temple’s voice came over the helicopter’s external speakers.
Who the hell is flirting with you, weirdo? I’m trying not to die!
[Since you’re the one who wanted to jump off a helicopter, do your best to survive]
******************************
After the fruitful (?) day, Ari carefully laid out the dress clothes that Chloé had forcibly shipped over and went to bed.
And when his alarm went off early the next morning, for the first time in a long time, he carefully got ready, making sure his hair was styled properly, that his clothes were not wrinkled, and that he had his cap, gown, all his academic cords and medals, and speech.
After eating a quick breakfast forced upon him by Grandma Choi, he called Grandma Lisa and Kim to double-check that they knew where to go, and was driven to his graduation by Priest Steven Choi to get ready.
It was finally time to end his high school career.