Nathe07
patreon
MD - Chapter 85: End of Valentine's Day
🕑 Added 2025-03-27 16:02:34 +0000 UTC"Andresito, we need your help!"
Andrew heard Gloria’s enthusiastic voice on the other end of the phone.
"For what?" Andrew asked, somewhat confused.
"It's Manny, poor thing! He needs your help for Valentine's Day!" Gloria quickly responded.
Andrew sighed. Manny was ten years old and already took love too seriously, too dramatic. It would be easier if he were like Luke.
"And what does Manny need?" Andrew asked, guessing who Manny might be chasing this time. It could be a girl his age, an adult, a teenager, there were too many possibilities.
"It's too much to explain over the phone. We'll come pick you up. Where are you?" Gloria asked.
"I'm at the mall, but—"
Before Andrew could tell her he had to be home on time or he'd be screwed, Gloria interrupted him, "Really!? We're here too! Where exactly?" she asked.
Andrew gave her his location, and before he could say anything else, Gloria hung up. Just a few minutes later, he saw her appear with her usual enthusiasm, followed by Jay, who accompanied her with his usual expression of resignation.
Andrew crossed his arms and looked at Gloria with curiosity. "What exactly happened?"
Jay let out a heavy sigh, already looking annoyed, “Manny tried to ask a girl from his class out for Valentine’s Day…”
“Oh, so he finally stopped chasing after his teachers?” Andrew asked, and Jay nodded.
“But another kid stole the girl from him!” Gloria interrupted indignantly.
“He stole the credit for a poetic letter Manny wrote to ask the girl out, and now that little brat is the class Romeo while Manny looks like he’s living a Shakespearean tragedy,” Jay said, frowning.
“When did Manny give her the letter?” Andrew asked, struggling to follow the sequence of events.
Jay sighed in frustration. “On Friday, Manny left the letter in her locker. Then, that other kid read it first, handed it to the girl himself, and took all the credit.”
“And now they’re together,” Gloria added angrily. Someone had stolen credit for Manny’s letter. His poetry had finally managed to impress a girl—an event with an extremely low probability—and just when it happened, some jerk swooped in and stole the credit.
“Okay… but what does the mall have to do with this?” Andrew asked, now taking this situation more seriously than he initially intended.
“I told Manny to come here and take back what’s his. We know they’re here because in the letter, Manny invited her to eat at a restaurant in this mall,” Jay responded.
“And what happened?” Andrew asked.
“What happened is that when he saw them together, he chickened out. He went to the fountain on the second floor,” Jay huffed, crossing his arms.
“He didn’t chicken out, Jay! Not everyone thinks violence is the answer,” Gloria protested.
“But he could’ve at least stood up for himself! He can’t just let someone steal from him, he wrote the damn poem! Back in my day, we settled this one way: with our fists,” Jay said.
“Manny is ten years old!” Gloria shot Jay a furious look.
Then she turned to Andrew and said, “Please, talk to him. He looks up to you. Maybe you can help him regain his confidence.”
‘He looks up to me?’ Andrew thought, a little confused.
He had a good relationship with Manny since he regularly visited his grandfather and was the first to welcome Gloria and Manny into the family.
But he had never seen admiration in Manny’s eyes—unlike Luke, for example, who was a football fan.
“Alright, I’ll talk to him,” Andrew said.
“Thank you, Andresito,” Gloria said with a hopeful smile.
He and Pippa went up to the second floor of the mall and found Manny sitting on the edge of the fountain, staring blankly at the water with an expression of complete defeat.
Andrew approached him and greeted him in a casual tone. “Hey, Manny, everything okay?”
Manny didn’t respond immediately. He just let out a dramatic sigh without looking at them. “The universe is cold and heartless.”
Andrew exchanged a look with Pippa, who raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah… sure,” Andrew said, sitting next to him. “Look, I know what happened. That kid stole the credit for your letter.”
“Let me guess… my mom asked you to come cheer me up?” Manny asked as he turned his head to look at Andrew.
“More or less,” Andrew nodded.
“Well, don’t bother,” Manny said, turning his gaze back to the fountain. “I just want to be alone… alone with the sound of the water.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not all lost. You can still take back the credit for your letter, and who knows? Maybe even get a date, even if it’s just for an hour,” Andrew said.
“I’m not going to solve this with a direct confrontation that will surely end in fists like Jay wants,” Manny said, sighing again and shaking his head.
He looked at the rippling reflection of the water in the fountain, feeling the weight of his frustration. Facing Durkas was impossible. He was taller and stronger than him.
Durkas was the kid who had stolen credit for the letter, a classmate, the typical popular and mean boy.
Manny let out a bitter laugh and lowered his gaze. “Jay will never be proud of me like he is of you.”
“What are you talking about?” Andrew asked, slightly frowning.
“Oh, please. To him, you’re the perfect grandson. Strong, athletic, a quarterback, confident… and with the perfect girlfriend,” Manny said, shaking his head.
Pippa, who had been quietly listening, blinked in confusion. “Uh… thanks, I guess,” she murmured with a puzzled expression. It was odd to be complimented that way by a ten-year-old.
“You know Jay is old-fashioned. Don’t listen to him,” Andrew said, patting Manny lightly on the back.
“He always tells me to stop writing poetry, to not take half an hour picking a handkerchief, and that I should be more like you,” Manny said.
Andrew realized his attempt at encouragement wasn’t working, so he decided to try a different approach.
"Manny, I’m serious. Don’t listen to him," Andrew repeated. "Do you remember how old I was when I had my first girlfriend?"
"A few months ago," Manny replied.
"Exactly. I never had a girlfriend or anything in middle school. But Jay… he wasn’t happy about that," Andrew said with a half-smile.
Manny looked at him with curiosity. "And what did you do?"
"You think I cared? I just let that old man complain and mumble his nonsense," Andrew said with a smile.
'That’s no way to talk about your grandfather,' Pippa thought, but she didn’t say anything. She knew that was just the dynamic between Jay and Andrew. Their relationship was rough, more old-school, where feelings weren’t openly expressed and toughness was a sign of affection.
"You should do the same. Just let him rant. Right now, what matters is getting your letter back, and you don’t need to throw punches for that. You need to use your brain," Andrew said.
"You’re right…" Manny said, regaining his confidence. "Wait… did you say get the letter back?"
"Exactly. We know where those two are eating. You go there and ask the girl to return your poetry because you wrote it, and you want what’s yours back. If that other idiot lies, tell him to recite the poem without messing up," Andrew said with a slight smile.
"That could work… Brenda will realize Durkas is a liar. She might still pick him, but at least she’ll know the truth, and I’ll get my letter back," Manny said, convinced it was a good plan.
"But… what if he gets violent?" Manny asked hesitantly.
"Don’t worry. I’ll be there to stop him. And if he tries anything at school, you can report him, and he’ll get expelled. Or your mom will make a huge scene," Andrew said, patting Manny’s shoulder.
Manny stayed silent for a moment, processing the plan. Then he looked up and said, surprised, "I never thought you were so… strategic. I thought all you knew how to do was throw a ball or fight."
'It’s a simple plan…' Andrew thought.
"When have you seen me fight?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow.
"In that YouTube video where you were drunk… Jay saw it and laughed a lot. And at Jay and my mom’s wedding, you almost fought with some of my mom’s Colombian uncles," Manny said.
"Oh, and then there was that time at a party when you jumped in to help Leonard and Howard so they wouldn’t get beaten up, remember? You pulled some wrestling move on a guy and almost left him quadriplegic," Pippa said with a slight, teasing smile.
Manny looked at him as if he were some kind of wrestling maniac.
"That was impossible! I only said that to scare him. Alright, let’s go get that letter back," Andrew said, and they headed to where Brenda and Durkas were.
From a corner of the place, Andrew and Pippa kept a safe distance, watching as Manny approached the table alone. Andrew was ready to step in at any moment.
With newfound determination, Manny walked confidently to the table. Brenda looked slightly surprised as he arrived, while Durkas, sitting with a disinterested air, barely acknowledged him.
From their distance, Andrew and Pippa couldn’t hear what was being said, but they saw Manny talking to Brenda, gesturing toward Durkas with a defiant look. Brenda, seemingly confused by Manny’s words, glanced at Durkas. Her expression changed as the conversation progressed.
Durkas looked uncomfortable, unable to keep up the act, and Andrew watched as the lie slowly unraveled.
At one point, Manny asked Durkas to recite the poem from memory. Durkas, clearly rattled, hesitated. He couldn’t maintain the same confident tone as before.
Instead of reciting, he simply looked away, unsure of what to do. Noticing this, Brenda frowned and, in a burst of indignation, grabbed the letter and handed it back to Manny without saying a word.
Manny gave a small smile, as if the weight of the situation had finally lifted off his shoulders. But before he could say thank you or walk away, Durkas, visibly angry, suddenly jumped up from his seat and shoved Manny hard, nearly knocking him to the ground.
"Get out of here before I beat you up!" Durkas shouted.
"That’s our cue," Andrew said, stepping forward.
Pippa followed him with a relaxed air. What chance did Durkas have against her boyfriend? She was more concerned about how Andrew would stop the fight without accidentally hurting the bully.
"Take it easy…" Andrew said, stepping behind Manny. Durkas, who was about to push Manny again, froze.
Seeing someone stand up for Manny made Durkas pause. And it wasn’t just anyone—it was someone clearly bigger than him, which was already intimidating.
On top of that, Andrew’s posture radiated confidence, and his natural presence exuded an aura of intimidation.
But then, Durkas' expression shifted as he took a closer look at Andrew.
"Andrew Pritchett-Tucker?" Durkas asked, confused.
"You know me...?" Andrew asked, raising an eyebrow.
Durkas, almost in disbelief that he was face-to-face with the person he had followed online, immediately lit up. "Of course I know you! I'm a huge fan of your channel! I've watched all your videos, and the state championship... it was epic! You humiliated everyone," Durkas said, practically jumping with excitement.
'What the hell?' Andrew thought, not expecting to meet a fan so suddenly.
His sports YouTube channel had already surpassed 100,000 subscribers, with his videos getting hundreds of thousands of views. He was also recognized in the Los Angeles sports community for all the records he broke and the controversies he sparked.
"My older brother is a huge fan too! He's going to Palisades next year to play with you!" Durkas continued excitedly.
"Can I take a picture?" Durkas asked, pulling out his phone from his pocket with an enthusiastic look, as if he had completely forgotten about the earlier tension.
"Mm... First, apologize to my... cousin," Andrew said, glancing at Manny. It would be weird to call him uncle. "You stole the credit for his letter."
"Of course! I'm really sorry," Durkas said quickly, embarrassed. He couldn't come off as a jerk in front of his idol. He then turned to Manny and, with a genuinely remorseful look, apologized. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Brenda watched, surprised by the turn of events. As for Andrew, she had no idea who he was, though his name sounded familiar.
After that, Pippa took several pictures of Andrew and Durkas using Durkas' phone.
"Thanks, you're the best!" Durkas said, and after saying goodbye to Manny and Brenda, he left the place.
He knew there was no place for him there anymore. Brenda had been outraged when she found out he lied, and he couldn't steal Valentine's Day from Manny, him idol’s cousin.
"Who would’ve thought? Such an enthusiastic fan..." Andrew said, happy that everything had been resolved more easily than expected.
"Better," Pippa said.
They both then looked at Manny, who was talking to Brenda about the poem.
"Come on, it’s better to leave them alone," Pippa whispered with a slight smile, taking Andrew’s arm and leaving the place.
"See? I'm the damn Cupid. I just needed a bow and arrow," Andrew said once they were outside.
Today, he united two couples: Haley and Dylan, and Manny and Brenda.
"Yes, yes, you're awesome. What about finding a Valentine for Howard?" Pippa asked.
Andrew looked at her silently until he finally said with a slight smile, "That task is beyond my current abilities."
They returned to Jay and Gloria, telling them everything went well and that Manny not only got his letter back but also had the date he deserved with Brenda.
Gloria, with great excitement, thanked Andrew and hugged him tightly.
After that, Andrew accompanied Pippa to her house and said goodbye to her.
Valentine's Day came to an end when Andrew returned home.
Time passed, and soon the classes were over, marking the beginning of summer vacation.
