I Could Do This All Day (Please Vote!)

I Could Do This All Day (Please Vote!)

New Jersey.

Bergen County High School.

Knock, knock.

"Leonard Hofstadter?"

Adam knocked on a narrow locker in the classroom corridor, his expression strange.

He had checked out of his room that morning and driven straight to New Jersey. He had visited several public high schools without finding anything, until he came to this one and saw a familiar chubby face on the hallway's wall of honors, along with the name: Jimmy Speckerman.

A big shot really was a big shot. Adam casually asked someone where Jimmy was, and after asking about him, the person burst out laughing.

"Nancy? He's there. Oh, where did we stuff him today? Whatever, go check the trash cans, lockers, or the girls' locker room."

Adam checked the trash cans first, then started knocking on lockers.

"I'm here, I'm here."

A delighted reply came from inside the locked locker.

"Your mother is a neurologist, and your father is a sociologist?"

Adam confirmed.

"Yes, yes."

The voice from inside the locker was a little hurried. "Could you let me out first? It's really cramped in here."

"Where's the key?"

Adam asked.

"It's... it's with Jimmy."

The voice inside the locker suddenly dropped. "He said he'd let me out after he finished playing ball."

"What an asshole!"

Adam cursed in righteous indignation. "Leonard, just wait. I, Adam Duncan, will go get the key from him right now and let you out. I heard you have asthma—how could they lock you in such a cramped space?"

"Adam Duncan? Do we know each other?"

The voice inside the locker was touched. "Jimmy is really fierce. Don't let him beat you up because of me. It's okay. I'm used to it."

"I've read the book your mother, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, wrote. I felt she completely underestimated you, so I came to meet you."

Adam spouted nonsense with a straight face. "As for that Jimmy guy, I'm not afraid of him! What's wrong with fighting him for a friend?"

"..."

The voice inside the locker disappeared for quite a while. Perhaps he was processing the embarrassing news that Adam had read the book his mother wrote about him, or perhaps he was shocked that he had somehow become Adam Duncan's friend.

Friend?

What a familiar yet unfamiliar word.

He had always wanted a friend, but the first person willing to treat him as one had read The Hopeless A'Dou. His heart was filled with conflicting emotions.

Joy, anticipation, shame, worry...

"This won't be easy."

Adam had been waiting for the system to give him a prompt. He had no superpowers and had no desire to fight that bunch of violent football players, but the system had remained silent, giving him a headache.

Who said Leonard was easy to fool?

No genius was stupid!

It seemed he couldn't quickly win Leonard's friendship with words alone. He had to go all in!

"Jimmy Speckerman!"

Adam gritted his teeth and decided to find the school bully.

Before long, the school bully followed Adam with a grin to the locker where Leonard was locked up.

"You want me to let Nancy out?"

"Yes."

Adam looked at the fat, muscular Jimmy and forced himself to say, "And his name is Leonard, not Nancy!"

"Who the fuck are you?"

The chubby face identical to Little Sheldon's father's suddenly darkened. Jimmy shoved Adam into the locker with a loud bang, making Leonard inside tremble in fear.

"Adam, are you... okay?"

"Huh, it doesn't seem like much."

Adam had been caught off guard by the shove, and it had hurt a little. But most of the pain vanished almost instantly. If not for the lingering discomfort, he would have doubted whether the shove had happened at all.

Was his Endurance of 400 at work?

It had to be.

He had previously guessed that Endurance was related to energy, recovery, stamina, and the like. The most obvious example was that as his Endurance soared, he needed less sleep.

Young people tended to be sleepy. Without eight hours of sleep at night, they easily got drowsy. But no matter how hard he worked during the day, he only needed six hours before waking up full of energy the next day.

It was just a fight. Fighting would make him smarter!

Screw it!

With that thought, Adam's heroic spirit surged. In his best dramatic voice, he shouted, "Leonard, I'm fine!"

Then he yelled at Jimmy, the school bully, "Hand over the key! Leonard is my good friend, and I will never allow anyone to bully him! I swear on my life!"

"..."

Jimmy's mouth fell open as he stared at Adam like he was an idiot.

Adam's old face reddened. Of course he knew how childish his actions were, but it was all for Wisdom Points. Without childishness, there was no passion. How else could he awaken Leonard's childish, passionate soul and make him accept Adam quickly?

"Adam~"

Inside the locker, Leonard was deeply moved, his voice trembling.

"Leonard~"

Adam was also moved to tears, because the system still hadn't given him any prompt.

Damn it!

It looked like blood had to be spilled!

"Damn it! You actually dared to hit me!"

While Jimmy was stunned by Adam's childish display, Adam slammed a fist into Jimmy's large belly. With Strength at 180, nearly 200, he punched Jimmy hard enough to make him double over.

Adam realized then that although Jimmy was a football-playing school bully, he was only fourteen or fifteen and hadn't fully grown yet. His strength was probably no greater than Adam's.

"Are you giving it to me or not?"

Adam threw another punch.

"You're dead! You're dead!"

Jimmy clutched his weak spot with both hands and roared. His whole body slammed into Adam like a ball, then he pulled off a classic football move—wrapping his arms around Adam and throwing him to the ground.

Bang!

Adam felt as though his body were falling apart. Gritting his teeth, he kept smashing his fists into Jimmy.

Then it became a completely unstructured brawl—one punch from him, one punch from Adam.

As they fought, the red in Jimmy's eyes gradually faded. To his shock, the "scrawny" guy in front of him was a real madman. Even after taking such a beating, the force behind Adam's punches did not weaken at all. Every blow left Jimmy's entire body aching, and Adam was even able to smile.

"I could do this all day!"

After Adam said those famous words with a smile, Jimmy completely lost his nerve, because Adam did not seem to be bluffing or joking at all.

"Forget it, forget it. I can't be bothered with you guys."

Jimmy climbed to his feet, took the key from his pocket, and tossed it to Adam. He wanted to throw out a few threats, but couldn't bring himself to say them. Limping, he walked away.

"Don't bully Leonard again! Otherwise, I'll beat you up every time I see you!"

Adam cried out dramatically.

After saying that, he smeared the blood from his knuckles across his face. Using his blurred reflection in the locker, he adjusted his hair and clothes, doing his best to emphasize the tragic grandeur of his bloody battle. Only then did he unlock the locker, offering a weary but warm smile.

"Leonard~"

"Adam~"

Ding!

Wisdom +3!

Ding!

Strength +20!

PS: Thanks to readers 20200602154109862 and Reading Affects Memory for the tips!