Chapter 39: Book 1, Changes

Saturday morning, we all cram into the living room because there isn’t enough room in the dining room, and you could see into the living room from the kitchen so a few people could stand in the kitchen and still participate.

I started, “This meeting will take longer than usual. We have a few announcements. First, I would like to thank Alva for her help. We could all use a lot more work on the bikes. I haven’t asked her yet, but I’m willing to pay her for some extra coaching. Each of us could use it. Anybody that wants to spend some one on one time with a coach let Moira know. If Alva isn’t available, I have somebody else in mind. Alva, could you please stay after the meeting. There are other things I would like to discuss with you.

“Next, my Uncle Dick and grandpa Brown are flying in today, so I will be out of the office most of the day. The good news is this means things will speed up concerning building the new shop and office complex.

“That brings up another point. We need to start thinking about who we are going to hire for the summer. Some of the jobs will be permanent, some just for the summer. We need people with a strong work ethic to work with Carol and Blair. We need somebody with bike repair experience. When school lets out, my cousin, Garret, will be flying in. He is too young to be left on his own. He will need a live-in nanny. We need girls to act as models and showgirls.

“The shop will be losing some people. Kevin and his dad will mostly be out of town for the summer. What time they are here for they will likely be off work. I don’t want any problems with your home life. A job is to support your family, not the other way around.

“Elsa and her dad will have special projects, so don’t expect them to help out in the shop.

“Most of you already know, we are going to build a new high-tech road bike. That will occupy the machine shop side of our shop all summer. Once we have a prototype, all of your bikes will be replaced with the new bike. Alva expects to podium in the Tour de Victoria this year. I anticipate the new bike will give her at least another 5 kph. She should beat the fastest man this year.

“A few other manufacturers have already started using carbon fibre frames. Ours will be more aerodynamic. The last people to get their bikes will be those of us who are over 170lb. They need aluminum frames. We are going to use frictionless bearings, one of my new patents. Last of all, none of you have seen it yet, but I have plans for a new aerodynamic handlebar. Many of you complain that you lose the feeling in your hands when we go on a long ride. With our new handlebar, you are leaning on your forearms, not your hands. There is a lot more surface area, so your arms will not fall asleep.

Alva cuts in, “If you give me one of those bikes, I will jump ship. You can have me for the summer.”

“The plan is to have the first one fitted to you. I want you used to the bike for the race. Hopefully, we can get a deal with Nike. I want to get you some Kevlar shoes. They will make your feet sore until you are used to them, but they do a better job transferring energy from your foot to the peddle. There is no elasticity, meaning there is no energy loss from your shoe compressing and reforming all the time. At first, you will hate them, but you will love the increased speed. We aren’t going to be able to do everything in-house, for example, Kevlar tires. They are used in race cars. We are going to get somebody to make them for bikes. Where a tire hits the ground, the tire deforms soaking up some energy. The Kevlar tires will limit this. They are also difficult to penetrate, so there is less risk of getting a flat.

“Once we earn our name with the new bike, we will start working on other bike projects. I have big plans for that company.

“Carol and Blair, keep up the excellent work. Once again, start thinking about who you want to hire for the summer. It is your big season, where you get most of your sales. So far, you have only seen the offseason. Any day now, things should pick up, and you may need to start hiring.

“Emma, we have a slew of patents for you to file. Something you might consider doing is flying down to Kansas or thereabout, this summer. I want you to find a patent office that isn’t used by foreigners. We are looking for an office that isn’t as corrupt as the ones that typically handle Canadian clientele. Keep in mind, some of the smaller offices get the patents approved a lot faster too.

“Zlata, you will accompany me to the airport. You will be working closely with Dick. Once the two of you approve the plans for the restaurant, bring them to me for approval. I’m guessing he will not like the location we chose. If you aren’t looking into the future, then yes, it appears to be a sucky location. As time goes on, it will get better and better.

“Dahlia, you will want to come with us too. Dick wishes to get directly to work, and he will likely have a lot of questions for you. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers. Don’t hesitate to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Every time you say it, follow with, ‘I will find out for you.’ If you don’t know where to look for the answer, ask him. If he doesn’t know, ask me.

“Everybody knows what they are doing? ... Good, any questions?”

Dahlia states, “I thought I was going over the patents with Emma.”

“She is competent enough to do it on her own. She will have questions for sure, but she can ask them later.”

“Are you sure you want to bombard Dick as soon as he gets off the plane,” Zlata asks.

“He requested you be there, so yes. Dahlia, did you let the medical aid worker know when to be at the airport for Grandpa?”

“Yes, I did. Are you going to accompany him to the hotel?”

“No, we got the deal for the place at Langford Lake closed in time. I’ll take him to his home, at the lake. Moira, you might as well come along too. You can take a look at the house and see what it needs for furniture and then go shopping. Call your Mom and ask if she wants to go shopping with you. I’ll pay her to drive you around while you can get the house outfitted. The moving van will be here tomorrow evening, and I would like the furniture to be in place by then.”

As soon as the meeting is over, I have a quick meeting with Alva. It is nothing major I just offered her more of a full-time position helping design the new bike and test it. I also apologized for springing the added coaching on her in the middle of the meeting. She is thrilled and happy to accepts. She is excited to get her hands on my new bike.

When Alva and I finish our conversation, my entourage and I take off for the airport. The airplane is late getting in, and we end up waiting for almost an hour. Grandpa is a stubborn old guy and so refuses to wait for assistance as he is supposed to. He ends up being one of the first people off the plane since he is an asshole that just pushes people out of his way. He sees me waiting for him and the large group of people that are with me. The first thing he does is ask, “Who the hell are all these people?”

“Most of them are my employees and are here to help Dick. Johnathan is here to take you to your new home and help you get settled in. Moira and I will be coming with you to figure out what you need for furniture.”

“It didn’t take you long to find a looker, did it?”

“Excuse him. Like I said before, he has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t have a filter for his mouth anymore. If he gets out of line, don’t be afraid to chastise him.”

I stay long enough to introduce Dick to everybody. Then Moira, Grandpa, Johnathan and I leave for Dick’s new house. Grandpa is in a foul mood. He doesn’t understand why he has to move south where ‘all the tree huggers and stupid fucking wimps live.’

We get to the house, and as I suspected, the house is empty. At least it is clean. I give Johnathan some money so he can take Grandpa out for coffee and do something in town. It was still too early to phone her Mom when we left for the airport, so we walk to our shop, which is less than 3 km away. Moira calls her Mom, and who is eager to please and arrives in short order. The rest of the day passes as usual. The only difference is Emma, sitting at Moira’s desk.

The next day at school, trouble brews. It is during my spare period, and I am on my way from the library to make a phone call. I am walking down the hall and get tackled from behind, forcing me into the boy’s bathroom. I curse myself for not being as observant as I was in my past life. The last time I was 15, there was no way somebody could have tackled me unaware.

Shane, Greg and Brad are already in the bathroom. The kid that knocked me through the door is Justin, their friend. Following Justin into the bathroom is Glen. That makes five of them against me. In my last life, in my prime, the best I ever did was fight five guys, averaging my physical stature and experience. We were evenly matched and neither they or I gained the upper hand until help arrived. Unfortunately, because of all the injuries and beatings, I reached my prime when I was 16. With all the exorcize, I am in better shape now then I was then. These guys may be close to my physical capabilities, but they have nowhere near my experience or endurance.

For somebody trained to do so, fighting multiple people isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. There are advantages to being the lone fighter, especially if you are experienced at it. When a person punches or kicks, the force flows from the ground, up the leg and through the attacking limb. The flow of force is not a straight line, and the trigonometry of it reduces the amount of force applied to your opponent. The force flows a bit different, and you can get forces coming in from multiple directions. If you time it right, the force flows directly from one target to the other, in both directions. Every force has an equal and opposite. The great thing is, there is no force lost to angles if you make a straight line from fist to foot.

My left cross typically lands my opponent on his ass. My left cross when I am kicking at the same time knocks a guy down hard enough that he isn’t getting up.

The five boys chose poorly when selecting the location of the fight. One of the biggest problems when trying to fight with a bunch of people helping you is that you get in each other’s way. This problem amplifies when in a confined space like a bathroom.

As soon as we are in the bathroom, Justin lets me go. He does so taunting me before they beat me up. Letting me go is their last mistake. Greg steps up to get in my face and insult me. I don’t pay attention to what he is saying. My left cross catches him in the right eye, and my right leg donkey kicks Justin in the balls. Both kids hit the floor hard. Justin does so vomiting. I think I may have pushed one of his nuts up inside him.

Greg, falling out of the way, opens my line of attack to Shane. My leg work is such that it looks like I am about to do a 360-roundhouse kick. Instead, I do a 360 backfist. The force of which knocks him out and gives him a 4 inch cut upside his head.

That just leaves Glen and Brad. I stand between Brad and the exit, leaving Glen to flee. He is out the door faster than I thought he could run. Brad is in my Judo class. I have shown him time and again how I can throw him around like a rag doll. I walk up to him and feign like I am going to put him in a Judo clinch. He is OK with that since we have not been taught to hurt anybody from that position. Unfortunately for him, I don’t grab his arm or waist like a Judo clinch. Both my hands go behind his head, one over the other, landing behind his neck, in a Tai-kickboxer’s clinch.

Getting hit by the knee of a professional Tai-kickboxer is the equivalent of getting hit by a car at 45kph. I may not be a pro-kickboxer, but I did train with some, and I have the same build, only I am bigger. I pull his head down into my knee and let him fall unconscious to the floor.

I quickly go across the hall to Mr. Fisher’s Science class and open the door. He is in the middle of giving a lecture and looks up to see who it is disturbing his class. He sees the blood on my hand and knee from hitting my attackers, causing him concern. I speak up and tell him, “Five boys just attacked me. You might want to send a runner to the office and come with me.”

I’m not concerned about an ambulance. The unconscious boys have moderate concussions, and the ball stuck inside the boy will wait without causing more damage. Standing there, Mr. Fisher is slow on the uptake, having to ask, “What on earth do you need me for.”