Reincarnation
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 3
Wyatt woke up early Friday morning and went for a run for the first time since his accident. It was pitch black outside, but he could see, and he enjoyed the new gift. As he ran, Wyatt wondered what more was in store for him. Reading minds and now seeing in the dark, he finished his run covered in sweat. He returned to his room, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen.
While we ate breakfast, Ms. Brown from the University of Maryland called. She said we had received your counteroffer and that it is unacceptable. Mom said, “Great, because we’re thinking of relocating to Colorado, and two schools there are offering scholarships without the bullshit.” So, thank you for the help, but we’ll be looking elsewhere for my son’s education.
Ms. Brown said Wait, we’re still willing to negotiate and Mom said, “We’re not.” You want to parade my son in the media and remove any privacy he has, and then add insult to injury by not compensating him. Goodbye, Ms. Brown, and please lose our phone number. She hung up and asked Wyatt if she was direct enough with her. He said there’s no question in my mind, but they are not giving up, and they laughed. Five minutes later, Ms. Brown called again and said, “We accept your proposal.”
Mom told her that we were out of town, but upon our return, we’ll call and set up a meeting. Then she called the attorney and reported what had happened. He recommended they avoid signing, as the university has figured out a way around the agreement. Mom agreed, and they ended the call. She said,” Let’s go to town, check out Colorado University, and see if they are interested. Wyatt groaned and agreed if there wasn’t any more testing involved.
When they arrived at the administration’s office, Mom asked for an application for their online college admission. The clerk handed Mom a form. She filled it out and returned it. The clerk asked us to wait while she checked if someone in admissions was available. Mrs. Jackson was, and showed Mom and Wyatt to her office. Mom and Mrs. James talked, and Mrs. James reviewed Wyatt’s high school graduation certificate and SAT score.
Three hours later, they left, and Wyatt was enrolled at the University of Colorado. They had to wait for the paperwork to be mailed so Wyatt could receive his scholarship. Then he could sign up for courses and use his credit card to purchase textbooks at the bookstore. Wyatt wished e-books were available, but that was 4 to 6 years away. While they were in town, he got Mom to stop at the library to get a card and check out some books. He was lucky to convince the librarian to allow six instead of four.
On the way home, Wyatt thought about that, and it could have been more than luck. He’d need to research it more, but she folded too easily with his suggestion. Thank god Mom didn’t notice, or there would be questions he didn’t want to answer. When they arrived home, Dad called again, saying he had received an eviction notice and asking why it was served. Mom told him it was obvious you were using the apartment for your philandering, and it’s in the trust’s name. So, move, or we’ll go to court.
Dad said this is bullshit, and where am I supposed to go? Mom said she had some ideas, but the simplest one is to move in with your girlfriend. I’m sure you’re paying for her apartment, or your campaign is. But that’s not my worry; only you vacate the apartment. By the way, if I found out about your affairs, so would your rival candidates and enemies. If a scandal develops, don’t look for my support, and Mom hung up.
Looking to lighten the mood, Wyatt asked Mom why she put James on his admission paperwork. Mom said that’s your middle name and also my maiden name. That was one of our first major fights. Your Dad wanted you to have his Dad’s name, Harold. At the time, Harold Armstrong was under indictment for taking bribes. Your Dad lost, but I tricked him into signing the birth certificate with the middle name blank and filled it in later. Unfortunately, Harold died of a stroke when he was convicted. His wife followed shortly thereafter.
Wyatt thanked Mom for defending him when he couldn’t kick Daddy in the balls, and they laughed together. Wyatt went to his room and read books on electronics and circuit boards. He was surprised by how quickly he could read, and when he finished the sixth book, Wyatt started planning his project. Traveling back to the Stone Age of internet speed was a challenge. The top speed was 1 Mbps, and he needed to boost it to the maximum possible. That would require making changes to the router and computer.
Mom called him to dinner, and while they ate, she said they were going to look for yard and farm sales tomorrow morning. Your Dad and I used to do that when we first got married, and it was fun. You’d be surprised at what people sell and for pennies on the dollar of the retail cost. Wyatt asked if he got an allowance, and Mom said yes. It’s deposited into your bank account every month. He wondered if there were bonuses for grades and kicking Daddy in the balls.
Mom laughed and said No, the bonus is you get it with good grades. Wyatt said he wanted to renegotiate with escalators for academic achievement and heroic actions. Mom laughed again and said she’d think about an increase because you’re entering college, but you’re dreaming about the rest. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed.
Early Saturday morning, Mom and Wyatt went to town and got cash from the ATM. Wyatt said he didn’t know his ATM code, and Mom told him what it was. He said to remind him to change it, and they laughed. Mom bought a newspaper, and they had breakfast at McDonald’s, reading the classifieds. At the first yard sale, Wyatt bought two boxes of computer parts and a soldering iron kit. The second wasn’t worthwhile, but the third was a gold mine for them.
Mom got some jewelry and sweaters, and he got two boxes of books. The Oriental lady gave Wyatt a gold ring and said that a young man needs a ring. Wyatt offered to pay for it, and she told him your Mom overpaid for hers, and they laughed. Mom asked what they were laughing at, and Wyatt said she wanted to know if you were single, as you were cute and had a nice ass. I said yes and asked what she was offering, and Mom punched him in the arm, laughing.
The last yard sale was a bust, so they went to the farm sale on the way home. Wyatt bought an old safe that was the same make as the one in the hidden room, only smaller. He convinced Mom to buy a trailer for the mules and got a box of tools. They tied the trailer to the hitch and drove home slowly. When they arrived, Hank saw the trailer and said he’d wanted one for a long time. He asked about the safe, and Wyatt said it’s for keeping nosy people out of my stuff, and everyone laughed.
Hank helped Wyatt carry the safe to his room and then got a mule and moved the trailer to the barn. Wyatt put the tools in the garage and brought the rest of the things to his room. He went through the boxes of computer parts and thought there was enough to build a computer. Now all he needed was an electronics store for blank circuit boards, resistors, diodes, and capacitors. Wyatt made a list of things he needed, and Mom called him to dinner.
While they ate, Mom told Wyatt they needed to go to the market in the morning. She decided they were moving here, so we need to stock up on supplies. Wyatt asked about the house in Maryland, and Mom said they would sell it. It’s too valuable to leave empty, and leasing or renting is problematic given how far away we’ll be to check on it. We’ll rent a storage unit for your Dad’s things and hire a mover for everything else. The finished dinner said goodnight and went to bed.
While undressing, Wyatt forgot about the ring in his pocket and looked at it. There was Chinese or Japanese writing and symbols on the inside of the ring that he didn’t understand. He put it on his ring finger, and it was too big. Then it adjusted to his finger, shocking him, and then he passed out. Then the dream started, and he was a ninja climbing walls and buildings, fighting the enemy. The dream ended, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Waking up early the next morning, Wyatt noticed the ring was gone, but a faint image of the symbols and writing was visible on his finger. He looked at the books in the boxes, and they were university textbooks for an electrical engineer’s major. It was getting late, so he showered, and while drying off, he saw his whole body had tattoos and said holy shit. They began to fade as he dressed, and he sighed in relief.
After breakfast, Wyatt and Mom drove to the town market. They almost filled two carts of food and supplies. They passed the electronics store, but it was closed, and they returned to the ranch. They put away the groceries and supplies, then changed and went to the stables. Smokey and Sandy were glad to see them, and they saddled the horses. Smokey took off and ran, working off his built-up energy. When he slowed down, they returned to meet Mom and Sandy.
Mom took Wyatt on a tour of the ranch. It was 250 acres, with plenty of trees, and had a hillside along the north border of the ranch. Returning to the stables, they cared for the horses and returned to the house. While eating lunch, Wyatt asked what they do with their clothes and valuables when moving. Mom said they would rent a U-Haul trailer and drive to Colorado with them. The movers will take everything else and store it in Colorado Springs. We won’t need most of it, and eventually sell what we can’t use.
Wyatt asked when they were leaving, and Mom said Thursday or Friday. We’ll spend the weekend packing your Dad’s things and what we’re bringing here. Then we’ll arrange for a mover to pack everything else and set up a realtor to sell the house. Then we’ll get the U-Haul trailer and leave at the end of the week. That way, there’s less of a chance for William to show up as the Senate is in session. Wyatt said Daddy’s going to be pissed, and they laughed.
Mom went to her home office, and Wyatt went to his room to read more textbooks on electrical engineering. He finished the sixth book when his mom called him to dinner. While they ate, Mom told Wyatt that she was getting back into charity work. She and her parents were active in it, but she stepped back when William got elected to the Senate. “So, you’re going to join me,” Wyatt groaned, and Mom laughed. They finished dinner, said goodnight, and went to bed.
Wyatt went to the basement early Monday morning and practiced martial arts. He used every boxing bag as a gauntlet, spinning, kicking, and punching. Every bag was swinging when he finished and returned to his room. He showered, noticing the tattoos were visible, dressed, and went to the kitchen. While they ate breakfast, Mom asked Wyatt to help Hank make a run to the feed store.
After breakfast, Wyatt went with Hank to the feed store in town. They loaded the order in the truck and trailer. Wyatt convinced Hank to stop at the electronics store, and he bought the parts and supplies he needed. On the way home, Hank asked what he was working on, and Wyatt said he was building a computer. When they arrived at the ranch, Wyatt helped Hank unload the supplies at the stable and barn. Once everything was put away, Hank asked him to look at his computer.
Wyatt agreed and made adjustments to the start menu and deleted the bloatware. After defragging the computer, Hank was amazed at how well it ran and thanked Wyatt. He said, “No problem,” but if you could put in a good word with Mom to increase his allowance, they laughed. Returning to the house, Mom had lunch ready, and while eating, she asked if he had gotten everything Hank needed done. Wyatt said yes, and Hank recommended that you increase my allowance, and Mom laughed, calling him a liar.
After lunch, Wyatt took his purchases from the electronics store to his room and worked on the new router. There was a Linksys router in the box of computer parts he bought. So, he used it as a template for his project and hoped to double or triple the internet speed. Changes needed to be done to the computer, too, but he’d do that when he built his custom model. Wyatt finished it and was excited to try it, but Mom called him to dinner. It still needs a plastic box to put it in, and they have those at the electronics store, too.
He cleaned up his desk and went to the kitchen. During dinner, Mom said the paperwork for his scholarship enrollment at CU had arrived. So tomorrow morning, we’ll select the courses, go to the university, and get enrolled. Then we’ll pick up your textbooks at the bookstore and have lunch. On the way home, we need to stop by the tailor to get you fitted for two suits. Wyatt groaned, and Mom laughed, saying it won’t be bad. But it will take a few weeks to make them, so we need to get them done. They finished dinner, said good night, and went to bed.