The Extravagant Maverick Parker

A little drama in grocery store

An hour later, Maverick had finished cleaning up. With the sweat on his forehead, he inhaled gently. Yet, it did not mean he could rest in his room. He still had to go to the grocery store nearby. Otherwise, Louisa would not let him stay there peacefully.

Before he got out of the house, he pierced his stare on the list of stuff written on a small notepad. At that point, he was reminded of the remaining money on the extravagant system. Therefore, he thought to himself, "Can I know my current status, system?"

[Of course, Master. Here is your updated status!]

[Master's name: Maverick Parker]

[Body: 15 points (weak)]

[Mind and soul: 20 points (weak)]

[Extra points: 15 Points]

[Total balance: USD 147.500]

[Skills: Sensible Analytical Skill]

[Inventory: Level 1]

[Extra shop: Locked]

Noticing the balance part written on the panel, Maverick tugged a little smile. He felt less worried at that moment. At least, the system had his back in an unfortunate situation. Then, he walked out of the house confidently. He didn't forget to bring the shopping list with him.

Stepping on the pavement at a steady speed, Maverick could feel the night wind touched his face and hair. It freshened his mind and heart, especially from the haze of frustration that still existed after Asher mocked him for being poor and good for nothing.

The only reason his cousin did it was the bruises on Maverick's face. Asher acknowledged him well, as Maverick was known to be a victim of bullies on campus. Although he never picked a fight with them, he would be a target of assault.

Yet, it did not degrade his motivation to study. Maverick still attended classes regularly since he was able to earn it through a scholarship. It would be a waste of time unless he used it wisely since he dreamed of graduating earlier and getting the best GPA.

-**-

Ten minutes afterward, Maverick had strolled around the grocery store with his cart. As he took the items based on the list given, he also kept his eyes on the price tags. It might feel like he was tight with money, but he did it, so his aunt would not be suspicious if he bought expensive stuff.

Whenever the ingredients in the list had sat in the cart, Maverick quickly found a queue to pay. By the time, he waited, a couple of young men and women stared at him in disgust. They sometimes sneered at him on campus, especially when Maverick was announced as having the best quiz score among the students.

"Look at him. He is still a poor man we see, just the same as at the campus." Sally, a girl in casual attire, scoffed. Her pompous smile appeared as her eyes locked with Maverick from afar.

Then, Carl, one of the laziest students, smirked devilishly. Through his expression, it was clear he despised Logan. He joined by saying, "Surprisingly, he often gets praises from lecturers. I wonder what kind of charm he has used to get those sweet compliments."

Another man named Nic chuckled for a while. He impulsively suggested, "Shall we greet him? At least, we try to be nice, sometimes."

"Try to be rude you mean, huh?" Hailey muttered as she nudged Nic's arm playfully.

Moreover, they walked with a cart pushed by Nic in the middle. As they were getting closer to Maverick, Nic accidentally pushed the cart on Logan's back. "Oops, sorry," He apologized immediately.

Maverick turned his head and replied calmly, "No worries. I'm okay. You don't do it on purpose, right?"

From then on, his eyes realized that the men and women went to the same university as him. Yet, he was unbothered since they were not close to each other. Even, he didn't know they were bad-mouthing him.

"Are you sure you can afford those stuffs alone? Have you brought enough money to pay?" Hailey began as she uttered with an obvious mockery tone. Her three friends chuckled cunningly. They wanted to make Maverick feel ashamed of himself.

Maverick glanced at them and pushed his cart carefully. "That's none of your business," He responded coldly. He did it because he was tired of what he had been through. Adding another drama was not in his latest wishlist.

"Oh really, Parker?" Carl took his turn to tease. His tone was full of derision. He also got his wallet out of his pocket. He started counting some dollars in it, and continued, "I don't mind paying for your stuff. Here it is."

Along with his utterance, Carl extended around three hundred dollars to him. "Just take it. If there is some spare, you can save it for tomorrow's lunch or breakfast. I know your uncle and auntie don't take good care of you," Carl acted with sincere expression, as if he were the most generous man in the world. In fact, he never donated his money to the poor. He just spent it on beautiful women.

That scene created by Carl cs gradually gained attention from people there, especially the ones who were standing in front of Maverick. At that moment, Maverick remained calm. Although he wanted to dismiss himself from there, he could not let this kind of rude behavior stick and ruin his image.

Consequently, he stared at Carl cs and replied, "Thanks for the offer, but I can pay these stuffs by myself."

For another second, it was his turn to process the payment. "Right here, sir," The cashier directed him in her nice way, and Maverick followed.

While he was moving all the stuff from the cart, Sally began to distract people around by saying, "Miss, will you believe this guy can pay for all the things he buys? He is broke for real. I'm not joking."

The young cashier staff, with the name tag 'Jolie' on her uniform, stared at Sally and inquired, "Really? If he can pay, that's fine. No matter how many stuffs are scanned."

People, who were in other queues, began to exchange their opinions with each other. They even threw a glance full of doubtfulness on Maverick. Those couple of orbs clearly were like daggers to Maverick, getting ready to assault him.

That moment made his nerves tense. However, he managed not to show his real feelings. Instead, he declared gently, "Well, I swear I can pay all these things. We'll see how it goes."

TO BE CONTINUED.