Chapter 8: Time Travel Again
The Griffin house.
"Oh, my little meatball, eat up. If that's not enough, I'll get you more."
Lois watched Chris wolfing down his food, her heart filled with joy.
No housewife would be unhappy seeing her kid devour the food she worked so hard to make.
After all, it meant her cooking was appreciated, and her efforts weren't wasted.
However, for Stewie, it was a completely different story.
"Oh, oh, oh, see, Chris, this woman won't let you go! She just wants to fatten you up like a Christmas goose, then let that incompetent oaf Peter roast you and eat you. Just like she once imprisoned me in her womb, she's a demon with twisted desires!"
Chris tuned out Stewie's manipulative whispers, focused only on devouring his steak.
He understood Stewie's backstory: this genius infant had gained self-awareness while still in the womb.
He'd considered Lois's pregnancy as his imprisonment, which was why he always harbored hostility toward her, even plotting to kill her.
However, Chris knew this was just Stewie's warped mindset born from extreme emotional issues, and it would eventually disappear once the genius baby could communicate normally with others.
So Chris just let Stewie's nonsense go in one ear and out the other.
His most pressing priority right now was shedding his excess weight.
As for anything else? Completely unimportant.
It had been two and a half weeks since he'd started working out at the gym, and during that time, his training results were becoming increasingly obvious.
His max bench press had reached 880 pounds, his body weight had dropped to 220 pounds, and his overall physique was already showing the build of a legitimately fit guy.
If it weren't for his distinctive blond hair and butt chin, nobody would probably connect him with the old Chris.
If Chris hadn't known this world had supernatural elements, and that he himself possessed extraordinary abilities, he would've suspected something was seriously wrong with him.
After all, his training results were simply too insane!
But on the flip side, the unknown crisis Stewie had mentioned hadn't happened yet, which made Chris somewhat suspicious that Stewie might be screwing with him.
However, considering the genius infant's track record, and that his current progress aligned with his plans anyway, he had no intention of changing his routine.
After finishing another piece of steak, Chris grabbed his backpack and headed out to school.
Although school was closed today, he was planning to use the free gym to work out, so he still had to make the trip.
Stewie watched Chris's hurried departure, gnawing at a tiny piece of steak on his plate through gritted teeth, fiercely cursing Chris to stub his toe or something.
Who told that jerk to ignore him!
However, after only a moment, Stewie forgot about it and began sucking on the steak.
"Oh, these delicious juices! Why didn't Lois make this kind of masterpiece sooner!"
At the bus stop on the route to school, Chris waited for the bus.
Usually, Peter or Lois would drive him to school, but today Peter was going fishing with his buddies at The Drunken Clam, and Meg wasn't going anywhere, so Chris decided to take the bus solo.
After waiting just a few minutes, a bus pulled up in front of Chris.
The driver looked at Chris, pursed his lips, exhaled a puff of smoke, and casually asked, "No school today, huh? Heading to some club meeting or something?"
Chris, who was about to sit down, was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Rhode Island bus drivers to be so chatty with random passengers.
The bus driver caught Chris's confused expression in the rearview mirror, exhaled another puff of smoke, and said, "Hey, if there was anybody else on this bus, you think I'd wanna chat with some kid? Damn it, why's ridership so low today? I still got half a shift to kill!"
Turning his head to look at the empty bus, Chris understood, and then gave a non-committal response: "It's a weekend! Maybe everyone's at home with the AC cranked up!"
"What about you, kid?" Seeing Chris respond, the bus driver took a deep drag from his cigarette, held it in for a beat, and exhaled it along with his words.
Impressed by the driver's lung capacity, Chris continued being vague: "Just bumming off the school gym! They've got central air, and it's free."
The driver finished the last drag of his cigarette, then casually flicked it out the window, and said with a snort, "Ha, looks like Mayor West finally spent taxpayer money on something useful for once. Damn shame he won't install AC in our break rooms though."
Chris wasn't surprised the bus driver knew which school he attended—after all, only James Woods High had a gym with full central air.
The whole thing had caused a massive controversy in Quahog, with plenty of residents protesting in the streets about the expense.
However, Mayor West had ignored them and pushed the policy through anyway.
To this, Chris could only say, "Good call on his part!"
Otherwise, he wouldn't get to enjoy it.
As for the bus driver's complaints, Chris stayed noncommittal: "That right? I'll talk to some classmates about suggesting it to the mayor, but I can't guarantee he'll listen."
But this time, the bus driver didn't respond, instead just lighting up another cigarette.
From then until Chris arrived at school, the two didn't exchange another word—until Chris got off the bus and the driver called out, "Hey, kid! Thanks for hearing me out. Your next ride's on the house!"
Chris was surprised by how genuine the guy seemed. Just as he turned around to get a better look at the driver, he saw the bus had already taken off without even closing the door properly.
Watching the bus drive away, Chris felt like he'd been trusted by a complete stranger.
Of course, it was also possible the guy, like himself, was just making conversation.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Either way, he actually was planning to write to the mayor with suggestions—not specifically about AC in bus driver break rooms, but he could throw that in too.
He was already fifteen but wasn't even a class representative. How pathetic was that?
The old Chris was one thing, but as someone who'd gotten a second chance at life, he wasn't going to keep living so aimlessly.
Maybe he wouldn't become a young congressman like those overachievers you hear about, but he should at least shoot for student body president.
Only then would he be considered part of the leadership class, right?
Thinking about everything he'd experienced over the past few weeks, and pondering the path he should take going forward, Chris walked toward the gym.
With his extraordinary physique, coupled with family members who had unique talents, and his billionaire grandfather Carter Pewterschmidt...
Chris figured that running for president someday wasn't out of the question—after all, plenty of people with less going for them had made it!
That old reality TV guy could shout about making things great again, and this young blonde could do the same!
Then he'd get to see what it felt like to make policy decisions that affected his stock portfolio!
His mind full of ambitious visions for his future, Chris suddenly felt the scene around him drastically shift.
In an instant, the bright, clean, peaceful campus transformed into a dark, eerie, desolate wasteland.
"What the hell? Where did this just dump me? Is this even still Rhode Island?"
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