Prologue: I don't want to live my life like a story
Jay sighed as he leaned back in his office chair. This was like any other day, yet it wasn't. He felt as if something was going to happen. Rubbing his face with his hands, Jay tried to focus back on his work. Never in his entire life did he picture this happening, especially after getting expelled from Degrassi.
Something inside him flipped once Alex left to get a handle on her own life. Taking a step back and looking at the life he was living, Jay realized that he wasn't happy, and that he didn't want to live like that. He couldn't be spending the rest of his life the way he was. Yeah, partying was great, but it wasn't everything.
He left Toronto, figuring if he got away, he would be more likely to focus on what he wanted for himself in the long run. It did work. Jay got his GED, which wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. College, however, was as hard as he expected it to be, and probably because his major and minor were so diverse. Jay went to school for business, and automotive.
During his years at college, Jay worked in two garages. He had never worked so hard in his life, but he never felt as fulfilled either. Once he graduated, Jay knew he had made the right choice. Sure, he didn't change everything about him, but he was now a college graduate, and he was sure no one would believe him if he said he was.
Once Jay was finally done with school, he went shopping for his own garage. It took him a couple months to find an old garage that was in good enough shape, but he found one. During those couple months, Jay worked nonstop, making sure he had enough cash flow for when he did find a garage.
Ironically enough, Jay had bought out his old boss, Tony. Tony was happy that Jay was the one buying it, knowing it was in good hands. Jay even opted to keep the name the same. There was no reason changing something that worked. The only thing was that buying out Tony meant he was back in Toronto, for the time being anyway.
Tony's Garage was doing the best business that it had ever done. In only a year, Jay was able to expand the company. With a lot of help, and a lot of work, Jay had successively opened another Tony's Garage. It was a couple more years before Jay was able to move his business across country lines. Once he settled in America, Jay began taking the mechanical world by storm. Never in his life did Jay think this could happen for him, or that he had the willpower to do it.