Link Bennett

On May 14, 1988, in Madford Town, Texas, the evening was hot and muggy. Some students were playing basketball on the school field, while others were practicing baseball and American football. It was quite lively.

The female cheerleaders were practicing in white crop tops and red pleated skirts, drawing plenty of attention from the boys gathered nearby. They pointed and whispered as they argued over who was the prettiest.

These pretty girls brimming with youthful energy were always the most popular figures among the boys at school.

On the third floor of the white four-story building, Link Bennett sat by the window and glanced down at the cheerleaders busy rehearsing below, but his gaze did not linger.

There was no particular reason for it. The girls on the field were simply still too immature.

Even though European and American girls generally developed earlier, he was currently only in middle school.

Middle school in the United States lasted only Seventh Grade and Eighth Grade. Most of the girls here were just fourteen. Compared to them, the girls in high school were far more worth looking at.

Of course, he was about to graduate from Eighth Grade and enter ninth grade. In the United States, that meant stepping into the truly vibrant world of high school. Many of the American campus movies Link had watched in his previous life depicted the enviable lives that took place during this stage.

Middle school in the United States lasted two years, while high school lasted four. Those four years were when teenage hormones exploded, especially since Westerners tended to mature earlier.

The rules were relatively less strict in that regard, especially after Tenth Grade. Driven by hormones, many of the things Link had envied in his previous life happened during those years. That made him somewhat look forward to high school.

There were more than forty students in the classroom with Link. He soon shifted his attention back to Ms. Susie, who was teaching physics.

Her hair had long since turned white, and she always wore the same black-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose. She looked somewhat severe and was one of the teachers many students disliked most. However, when it came to dedication, she surpassed most of the other teachers at the school.

When the dismissal bell rang, the students quickly swarmed out of the classroom. Link packed his things, and when he reached the front of the room, Ms. Susie, who had yet to leave, spoke up. "Link, how is your preparation for the SSAT Exam going?"

"There shouldn't be any problems." Link nodded.

The SSAT was called the Secondary School Admission Test and was divided into lower and upper levels. Students could use their scores to attend better schools and improve their chances of receiving scholarships. Link planned to use his SSAT results to obtain a scholarship, since his family's finances were not particularly well-off in this life.

"I know it shouldn't be difficult for you. After all, you mastered the material in the curriculum long ago." Ms. Susie nodded and said:

"I already discussed the recommendation letter with the principal. He can write one for you. You know, a recommendation from the principal carries more weight than one from teachers like us.

"As long as your SSAT scores meet the requirements, getting a scholarship shouldn't be difficult."

Compared to most of his classmates, Link got along well with Ms. Susie. When he first arrived at the school, he had been her student. He was smart, academically gifted, willing to participate in activities, and had a good personality, so it was only natural that Ms. Susie liked him.

That was why, when Link asked her to help him obtain recommendation letters, Ms. Susie was willing to do more for him.

Over the past few days, Link had asked several teachers he knew well to put in a good word for him, and he had even met with the principal himself.

Several teachers and the baseball coach had already agreed to write him recommendation letters. Now that Ms. Susie had given him even better news, he was immediately delighted and said with a smile:

"Thank you, Ms. Susie. I'll never forget your help."

Ms. Susie nodded and did not say anything more. She understood Link's concerns. His father did not earn a small income, but he had to support three children.

Especially since Link had an older sister who would be going to college in another year, and the family needed to prepare tuition for her in advance. Their finances were not well-off enough to send Link to an expensive private school farther away in Houston, so choosing Lola High School was understandable.

However, Lola High School was also quite good. Given Link's grades, getting a scholarship was practically guaranteed, and it was closer to home as well.

"All right, since you've made your decision, I have the recommendation letters here. Come with me and get them."

"That's great." Link nodded with a smile. After receiving Ms. Susie's and the principal's recommendation letters, he slung on his backpack and left the school building for the parking lot. He soon spotted a sports car in a familiar spot, with a woman who looked to be around thirty sitting inside.

When she saw Link, she greeted him directly. "Hi, Link. Lena isn't here yet, so wait a moment."

"No problem, Mrs. Dent." Link nodded and opened the car door before sitting in the back seat.

Mrs. Dent had driven over to pick up her daughter. Residential areas in the United States were generally spread out, which was one of the important reasons many American teenagers received a car as a gift once they came of age.

Of course, the kind of car usually depended on the family's financial situation. Some children from wealthy families could even drive high-end sports cars to school at sixteen.

But the students were still too young now. Even children from wealthy families needed to be picked up or take the school bus. Mrs. Dent, for example, had come to pick up her daughter Lena.

He knew her because he had found a small part-time job a few months earlier: tutoring Mrs. Dent's daughter Lena after school.

He only needed to spend two hours after school every day to earn 15 US Dollars. Working five days a week meant 75 US Dollars. Considering the purchasing power of the US Dollar in 1988, it was an extremely well-paid job.

After all, other kids could only earn two or three US Dollars doing odd jobs like mowing lawns. Delivering newspapers meant getting up at five in the morning and working hard for several hours, yet they often made less in a month than he earned in a week.

After looking over the car, Link asked, "Is this a new car, Mrs. Dent?"

"That's right. I ordered this limited-edition Porsche two months ago, and it was delivered today. Isn't it cute?"

"It really is beautiful." Link nodded. "It suits you very well."

"Thank you!" Mrs. Dent said with a smile. "Come to think of it, Lena chose the blue. I prefer red, but she's my baby, after all..."

After chatting about the sports car for a few moments, Mrs. Dent shifted the topic. "By the way, Link, I heard you're taking the SSAT Exam next month too. Have you decided which school you want to attend?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it'll probably be Lola High School," Link said.

"That's very good." Mrs. Dent nodded. "Lena is planning to attend there too. That way, you can keep tutoring her in high school. We hired tutors for her before, but she didn't like any of them. Still, she said she really likes having you tutor her."

"Thank you. Maybe it's because we have more in common," Link replied, though he did not think much of it.

She did not need to study, someone helped her with her homework, and before exams, someone even helped her predict the questions and prepare cheat sheets. Of course she liked it.

In fact, that had been one of the conditions Link used to persuade Lena to hire him as her tutor.

There was another reason as well. Mrs. Dent indulged Lena greatly. According to her, she was a very "cool" mother and would not place too many restrictions on her daughter.

Lena even had her parents' master bedroom as her own bedroom. That showed just how much Mrs. Dent spoiled her, and it was also an important reason Link's part-time job had lasted so long.

Naturally, that was a good thing for Link. It meant he did not have to be like most American kids, taking jobs mowing lawns or delivering community newspapers just to earn a little pocket money.

After casually chatting with Mrs. Dent for a while, Link saw a meticulously dressed girl approaching. She hugged Mrs. Dent after she got out of the car, greeted Link, and then sat in the passenger seat.

She had blonde hair with a slight natural curl, blue eyes, long eyelashes, fair skin, and a slender figure. She fit Western beauty standards perfectly and was considered one of the school's well-known beauties.

Even in a middle school like this in the United States, plenty of students openly pursued her. Some had even fought over her. Link could tell that she enjoyed the feeling herself. At such a young age, she was already a troublemaker.

As far as looks went, Link thought she was quite pretty too. Unfortunately, she was practically synonymous with trouble, and she was still somewhat immature. Link had never deliberately tried to get close to her. Even though he tutored her every day, their relationship could only be described as neither distant nor close.

According to Lena's own assessment, Link was not a bookworm. He was even the star pitcher on the baseball team and quite handsome. But for some reason, he just did not get it. He was not good at saying pleasant things and was completely too straightforward. Being around him was not as fun as being around other people.

Link could only shrug at that. As someone who had transmigrated, he had already spent thirty years in his previous life, and his values and habits had long since taken shape.

Even though he was living through another life, there was no way he could be like those edgy teenagers.

Their ways of thinking were completely different, and they were interested in different things. What those teenagers considered fun or cool seemed ordinary, even childish, to him. Being considered boring was unavoidable.

More importantly, he had no interest in the still-immature Lena. Naturally, all of that made him seem like an insensitive straight guy in Lena's eyes.