Three Weeks

Part Three – Take Three

The next morning, Vidcund is lying his head down in his locker, moaning into its silver base. Pascal walks down the hallway, whistling a cheery tune, stopping when he notices his younger brother's troublesome state. "Hey Vid," Pascal greets, approaching him cautiously, "Uh, everything okay?"

"I can't woo Loki, Pascal," Vidcund groans into his locker, "This task is impossible."

"Now, come on, don't talk like that," Pascal says, carefully helping his brother out of the locker, "I really think you can do it."

Vidcund turns to Pascal and sighs, "Maybe I could if Loki was like any other sim, but he's not."

"See, that's the problem," Pascal says, "You're trying to win Loki over like he's a normal person. But maybe the problem isn't the target, Vid, it's the approach."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning, if you want Loki to love you, then you're going to have to share in his interests and do things his way, otherwise this whole thing will be a lost cause," Pascal explains, giving Vidcund a gentle pat on the shoulder, "And, if you really do know him inside and out like you say you do, it shouldn't hard at all for you to find something that he likes."

"Maybe you're right," Vidcund replies, taking a step back as he shakes his head in amazement, "God, were you always this smart?"

Pascal smiles and laughs before regaining his composure, "Hey, I know this may be the wrong time to ask this, but did you ever finish your science fair project?" he asks.

Vidcund scrunches his forehead, "Science fair project?" he repeats.

"Yeah," Pascal nods, "The competition is this afternoon," he states, "I was going to enter this year, but I've been so busy with my college courses that I forgot."

"Well, considering the fact that I can't even remember what happened prior to yesterday in this timeline, I'm just going to take a wild guess here and say that I didn't," Vidcund answers honestly.

"Oh. That's too bad," Pascal says, "because this would've been a great opportunity for you to impress Loki."

"What?" Vidcund squeaks.

"Loki loves competition, right?" Pascal states; Vidcund gives a small nod, "Well, now's your chance to beat him at own game and get him to notice you."

Vidcund rolls his eyes. "He already notices me, Pascal, I just wish he could notice me in a good way for once. And you know what? I think the science fair may be the way to do it!" Vidcund remarks, a small smile spreading across his face, "Let's see here, sophomore year he beat me at the science fair with his project on perpetual motion," he begins, rubbing his chin ponderously, "I just need to come up with a project better than that," Vidcund replies, thinking this conundrum over for a bit before slowly lifting his head up, his eyes glistening at his latest Eureka! moment, "-Potatoes," he awes.

Pascal cocks his head, "Potatoes?" he repeats, clearly puzzled.

"Yes," Vidcund confirms, "You don't understand. Every time Loki has ever lost the science fair, it was to a potato-related project. I could put a pinwheel in a potato, and he would lose."

"Hmm…I am intrigued by your theory," Pascal states, his eyes shining in excitement, "Let's try it out!"

"Great!" Vidcund beams, "I think there's one in the cafeteria-"

"VIDCUND!" a shrill voice shrieks causing Vidcund and Pascal to immediately stop in their tracks, turning towards the source of the noise. They watch as Circe stomps over to them, her face fuming as she glares at her boyfriend. "Vidcund, what is all this talk about you hitting on Loki in Geometry class?" she grills.

Vidcund steps away from her, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck in the process, "Uh, listen, Circe-"

"No, you listen!" Circe barks, aggressively poking his chest with her finger, "You are on very thin ice with me, Vidcund. Because if you do so much as even look at that creep again, you and I are done! Got it?" she snarls.

Vidcund quickly nods, pure terror filling through his body. Satisfied, Circe moves away from her boyfriend and flashes him a smirk. She exhales, returning to a pleasant demeanor. "Good," she chimes, "I'll see you at lunch," Circe says, twisting on her heel and sashaying down the hallway. Vidcund shivers as he and Pascal watch her walk off.

"I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more scared of her now than I am in the present," he confesses.

Next to him, Pascal nods in understanding, "She must've grown into her evilness," he states, turning back to his brother, "Now come on, let's get you that potato and beat Loki at his own game!"

…

Seven hours later, the science fair is well underway in the gymnasium at Strangetown High School, projects set up as far as the eye can see. The head judge of the competition, Principal Jayapalan himself, is standing at Loki's presentation table, awing at the student's project on perpetual motion. "Well, Mr. Beaker," Principal Jayapalan states as Pascal and Vidcund watch him from Vidcund's table six feet across the room, "I know I say this every year, but your projects keep getting better and better."

"Thank you, Principal Jayapalan," Loki replies, basking in the glory as his parents and peers surround the small presentation area, which is made up of six wooden tables arranged in a circle, "It's hard to contain my brilliance." Behind him, Circe rolls her eyes at his comment.

"Well, Vidcund," Principal Jayapalan begins, stopping at the only empty table in the bunch, staring wondrously out at the student, "You're the last one up," he tells him, "Or do you not have a project this year?"

"No, I do," Vidcund answers smugly, "I just didn't think it needed gussying up," he remarks flashing Loki a smirk.

Vidcund takes a small step back and reaches underneath the table. He grabs the potato and rests it on the surface. Behind him, everyone is watching, deeply intrigued, while Pascal stands off to the side near his brother, a large smile on his face. Vidcund reaches back under the table and nonchalantly takes out a pinwheel. He shoves it in the center of the potato, causing the pinwheel to stand firmly upright, the red and silver device turning ever so slightly by the gymnasium's massive fan.

Principal Jayapalan scratches his chin as he stares down at the project. He picks the potato up and scans it over, carefully taking it all in. "Hmm…" he begins, mulling this over as he gently sets the potato back on Vidcund's empty table, "First prize!" he beams, slapping the first-place ribbon on this potato-pinwheel monstrosity.

"WHAT?!" Loki outbursts, his face turning purple in rage, "You have got to be kidding me! That project sucks!"

"Loki!" Gundrun chimes out behind him, watching as her son storms off the premises, knocking down several other projects on the way.

…

"Oh God, what was I thinking?" Vidcund moans, standing with his brother in the gymnasium as they watch a team of janitors clean up the aftermath fifteen minutes later, "Loki doesn't want to date someone better than him."

"Then why did he date Circe?" Pascal wonders, pondering over this piece of information that Vidcund shared with him the day before.

"Ugh! I'm such an idiot," Vidcund cries, rubbing the sides of his cheeks in distress, "Loki's not mature enough to handle me humiliating him in front of the entire student body!" he remarks, "Loki at sixteen and Loki at forty-four are two very different sims!"

Pascal nods, "Well, when did he start maturing?"

"Maturing?" Vidcund repeats, confused by the question. He sighs, "Okay, so maybe he's not that different after all."

…

Pascal and Vidcund walk into Strangetown High School the next morning, their sights set on Vidcund's locker. Vidcund cocks his forehead as he sees some of his classmate walking around with potato pinwheels in the main hallway. He turns to Pascal, deeply troubled, "Uh…what's with the potatoes?" he wonders.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Pascal replies, "Potato pinwheels are now the hottest sensation here since Pixy Stix," he tells him, giving an adoring sigh as the pair stop at Vidcund's locker, "You know, it's amazing what someone can accomplish when they don't give a shit about anything."

"Yeah," Vidcund says, swinging open his locker door. He stops abruptly, now noticing Buzz cowering a few feet away from him. "Oh my God, are you afraid of me?" he wonders, staring down at his former bully. Buzz screams when he locks eyes with Vidcund and races across the hall.

"So, you gotta tell me about the future," Pascal says, leaning against the neighboring lockers after the strangeness of the situation has past, "What am I like?"

Vidcund smiles and laughs, "You're awesome," he tells him, grabbing his biology textbook and slamming his locker shut. Vidcund perks up even more when he sees Loki at his locker down the hall. "Hey Loki!" Vidcund greets, walking over to him.

Loki quickly slams his locker and storms away from his rival, giving Vidcund a death glare as he does so. Pascal leans to the side, stopping next to a puzzled Vidcund who is now standing in the center of the hallway. "Do you think he's still mad about the science fair?" he wonders.

Vidcund watches as Loki snatches a potato pinwheel from one of his peers near the entrance to the cafeteria. Loki throws the potato pinwheel on the ground and stomps on it, causing Vidcund to raise an eyebrow before turning back to his brother.

"No, I think he's over it," Vidcund remarks.