Chapter 1140: Subtle Bragging
The guy who had spoken liked tinkering with cars. He usually drove a Mustang, and would brag about the cost and trouble of modifying the car, which showed that he knew what he was talking about.
It was also the reason why he was more popular with the girls.
Strictly speaking, however, he was indeed a bit like the d*mn homebody nerds Brooke had mentioned.
Brooke had derided his “expertise” in front of so many students.
If he didn’t make things clear on the spot, he would be labeled a nerd and wouldn’t be able to attract girls in the future.
A half-nerd wouldn’t give up; it was very hard for someone to get a girl to like them if they didn’t stand out on campus.
He continued to go off at Brooke. “Do you think you’re so great just because you’re rich and can buy perfume, bags, CDs of British bands or whatever? You’re just a brainless b*tch! Do you know that guys like to get their cars modified? If they see this KITT, they’ll hug Luke’s leg and call him dad, understand? No, you don’t understand. A brainless b*tch like you only has Simon’s d*ck in your head. Except for yapping all day, you can’t do anything else!”
After a brief silence, many people roared with laughter.
A lot of the cheerleaders didn’t get along with Brooke, and most of the guys had nothing to do with them.
It was just that Brooke had a lot of “connections” among the school’s sports players, so everyone was disinclined to provoke this annoying person.
Now that they weren’t the ones las.h.i.+ng out at her, n.o.body wanted to hold back when they saw her being made a fool of, so they all laughed.
Many of the girls who had grudges against Brooke laughed especially happily. What a poser!
Part of this was due to the boy’s popularity at school; everybody knew that he understood car modifications.
On top of that, everybody had seen Luke’s car. That pitch black model was unique, and the interior looked very futuristic. It was obvious that it wasn’t a cheap car.
The most important thing was — Luke’s looks.
Given Luke’s looks and his bright, confident smile, along with the wealth which the car hinted at, anyone would think that Brooke was the one with no taste.
The guys should’ve hated someone like Luke, who was too strong a compet.i.tor, but Brooke had just categorized everyone who liked cars as nerds, and there were a number of people here who liked cars.
For a moment, n.o.body wanted to help her.
On the other side, Luke had lunch with his “cousin,” Nikki and Monica.
They had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t very expensive, but the ambiance and dishes were more unique.
Few people came here for lunch. Their group was young and didn’t have to hold back when eating. They chatted as they ate.
Mindy’s mood improved significantly.
She had almost been tricked by Brooke’s group, which was a huge blow to her as a newbie.
But thanks to Luke, this newly-minted “cousin,” she had gotten to know Nikki and Monica, these two new friends, which made her even happier.
From their conversation, Luke and Mindy learned that Nikki and Monica were actually combat enthusiasts.
They had opened the girls’ self-defense club for fun. Most of the girls who joined just learned some basic safety knowledge; they didn’t encourage the girls to take risks.
In Monica’s words, the best self-defense for ordinary girls were a taser and pepper spray.
Using these two items at the right time was far more effective than learning some self-defense technique.
Including Nikki and Monica, only five or six core members of the girls’ self-defense club were real combat enthusiasts.
Nikki and Monica were more candid in their manner. Coupled with their mutual interest in fighting, Mindy felt that this was the perfect group for her.
She couldn’t be a loner.
Loners in school were usually regarded as freaks or nerds. It was very easy for them to fall into a situation where they were bullied and n.o.body helped them.
Mindy wasn’t afraid of getting into a physical fight, but she didn’t have any experience dealing with verbal or emotional abuse, and could easily become withdrawn. Naturally, she wouldn’t be like that now.
While they were chatting, Mindy suddenly dug a hole for Luke.
She inadvertently mentioned that he was very good at combat, and that pro fighters were nothing in comparison.
Fine, it was because Mindy had become very comfortable with Nikki and Monica.
Even if it was the truth, Luke was still a little embarra.s.sed.
That was because Nikki and Monica immediately looked over.
It was no longer just purely with the good impression they had of him from before, but with the joy of meeting a “kindred spirit.”
Monica seemed to sense that he was about to say something, and immediately beat him to it. She said that it was better for everyone to spar together and treat it as welcoming Mindy to the group.
He had asked them for help today, and since he couldn’t throw them away after using them, he could only agree with a smile.
As for the so-called spar, he could only cooperate a little and teach them for an hour.
After paying the bill and leaving, Luke called Damon to let him know what was going on. Then, the four of them drove to the address which Nikki provided.
When they arrived at the address, Luke realized that it wasn’t a gym or a combat training ground, but Nikki’s house.
Her family wasn’t poor, but she wasn’t exactly rich.
However, her parents were good to her, and she had an individual gym.
Looking at the fitness and training equipment in the gym, Luke became even more certain.
He couldn’t help but make a joke. “Should I call you ‘young miss’ from now on, Nikki?”
After having lunch together and taking on the task of taking care of Luke’s “cousin,” Nikki no longer felt so nervous around him.
Hearing that, she rolled her eyes at him. “I should be the one calling you ‘young master,’ right? You can even make a KITT. Don’t pretend to be low-key.”
Luke shrugged. “I usually drive an SUV. I was just afraid that Mindy would be mocked for her brother being so old-fas.h.i.+oned!”
“Huh?” Mindy looked at him blankly.
But she immediately understood.
She had seen Luke a few times, and he drove either an SUV or a very normal-looking household vehicle.
He had really driven this car today to give her face.
Even junior high kids knew how money worked in society.
But Luke was very careful. He hadn’t just used a car that looked expensive, but a modified one.
A third-generation Pontiac wasn’t that expensive; what was expensive were the modifications.
But how much the modifications cost was a very personal question, and everybody could only make a guess.
Coupled with the fact that this car was the prototype for the popular TV show “Knight Rider” from more than ten years ago, and thus had some nostalgic value, it became more than purely showing off, and was about cla.s.s and style.
Students would more readily accept this sort of thing, and it wouldn’t turn into hating on the rich.
Like the homebody tech guy said, the ways Brooke flaunted her wealth couldn’t compare with Luke’s subtle bragging.