Jono's brief flicker of enthusiasm vanished, replaced by a sullen frown. He shoved the boxes of chicken and chips across the counter. "Dunno. Haven't talked to 'em much lately," he mumbled, avoiding Theo's gaze. "They don't get it, you know? Keep giving me the same old lecture, 'Work hard, Jono! Maintain the shop's reputation! It's a good living if you just put in the effort!'" He scoffed, the sound bitter. "A 'good living'. Right. Like I busted my ass getting a business degree to run a suburban chicken joint for the rest of my life. They just don't understand real ambition." He tapped dismissively on the countertop. "That'll be fifteen."
Theo paid, taking the lukewarm boxes. The brief interaction confirmed everything. Jono had zero passion, blamed his parents for his own lack of effort, and was chasing get-rich-quick schemes while letting a potentially solid business wither. He was the perfect unwitting subject. Zero chance he'd notice or care about subtle improvements in his equipment's performance, likely attributing any positive change to dumb luck.
Theo took the food outside, sitting on a nearby bench. He unwrapped it. The chicken skin was flabby, not crisp. The meat, as the reviews promised, was dry, tough, and woefully under-seasoned. The chips were greasy, undercooked, and indeed overloaded with salt in a failed attempt to provide flavour. It was objectively bad fast food, a pale shadow of its former glory. Rating: 3/10, purely for being technically edible.
Perfectly disappointing.
As he walked away, tossing the barely touched meal into a public bin, he lingered near the shop's side alley for a moment, ensuring he wasn't observed. He focused on the large, industrial-looking charcoal rotisserie visible through a grimy back window, picturing its heating elements, its rotation mechanism. Chicken Roaster. +1 Cooking Consistency/Efficiency. Un-enhance Sunday night, approximately 72 hours from now. Thrum. (Charge 1/10). Then, he focused on the deep fryer unit, imagining its thermostat, its heating coils. Deep Fryer. +1 Temperature Stability/Recovery. Thrum. (Charge 2/10). Two charges invested, timer set. Now, he just had to wait and see if enhancing the tools could overcome the apathy of the operator. He planned to revisit early next week.
Friday morning. With the chicken shop experiment underway and his mind buzzing with the possibilities of tool enhancement and un-enhancement, Theo found himself thinking about Sarah again. Her genuine passion for her project stood in stark contrast to the cynical calculations dominating his own thoughts. His earlier paranoia about interaction felt… lessened, somehow. The tool enhancement strategy provided a much more plausible cover story if anyone ever noticed strange improvements around him, he could claim to be a 'process optimization consultant' or 'efficiency expert'. It felt less like hiding a magical bazooka and more like concealing a set of very specialized, very effective wrenches.
And Sarah… her tech skills were undeniably sharp. Her frustration with Meta was real. Could she, potentially, be useful down the line? Not just as an ally, but as someone with skills he lacked if he ever decided to build something requiring actual software or data analysis? The thought was still layered with risk, but the potential upside felt more tangible now. And maybe, just maybe, having one person he could have a semi-normal conversation with wouldn't be the worst thing.
Okay, reach out. Suggest meeting... where? Definitely not another coffee shop. Gods, no. The memory of those six vastly different, yet equally potent mugs from the experiment earlier in the week, the lingering acidic tang that felt permanently etched onto his taste buds, the caffeine headache that had finally subsided this morning... the mere thought of smelling freshly ground coffee beans right now made his stomach churn slightly. He needed a serious break from coffee, maybe permanently, or most probably a week or two, when he'd feel the irresistible draw of caffeine again. He mentally scanned alternatives. Drinks felt too much like a date, carried implications he wasn't ready for. Lunch seemed too formal, too much potential for awkward silences or probing questions. What was casual, quick, neutral ground, and decidedly not coffee? Bubble tea? Yeah. Sugary, trendy enough to be unremarkable, distracting with all the chewing. Everyone seemed to drink that stuff. Perfect.
He typed, deleted, then typed again, crafting the message carefully:
Theo: Hey Sarah. Thinking more about your project & the job situation. Still think caution is wise, but your passion is convincing. If you want to bounce more specific ideas around sometime next week, maybe over bubble tea instead of more caffeine? Let me know.
He hit send before he could second-guess himself. The reply came back almost instantly.
Sarah: Bubble tea!! YES! Awesome idea (seriously cannot face more coffee rn lol). How about Tuesday afternoon? My treat this time! And thanks Theo, really appreciate the input (and the pragmatism!). You have no idea how much talking it through helps. 😊
Theo read her enthusiastic reply, a faint, unfamiliar warmth spreading through his chest. Tuesday. Okay. He could handle that.
The rest of the weekend passed in a state of restless anticipation. Theo spent hours trying to trigger the System screen again, meditating, focusing on his bank balance, trying different mental commands, all with zero success. It remained stubbornly hidden. He further tested the enhance/un-enhance mechanics on various household objects, confirming the rules he'd deduced. Ten +1 enhancements per day. Unlimited un-enhancements, which cost no charge. Timed reversals worked flawlessly.
Sunday night arrived. He found himself unable to settle. The timed enhancements on the chicken shop equipment were due to expire sometime overnight. Would there be a noticeable difference tomorrow? Would enhancing the tools truly elevate the food, even with the indifferent son at the helm? The potential success of this low-key experiment felt disproportionately important, a key data point for his entire future strategy. He paced his apartment, the lingering effects of the coffee experiment earlier in the week perhaps still contributing to his inability to relax, but mostly it was the raw, impatient excitement of waiting for the results. The climb was slow, but he felt, finally, like he might have found a safer, smarter path upwards.
Theodore Sterling - Financial Ledger (End of Week 15)
Starting Balance (Beginning Week 15): $60,510.00 (Carried over from End of Week 14)
Income (Week 15):
No Sales/Income Generating Activity: +$0.00
Total Income:+$0.00
Expenses (Week 15):
Rent Paid (Week 15): -$450.00
Living Expenses (Week 15): -$500.00
Chicken Shop 'Research' Purchase: -$15.00 (Est.)
Total Expenses:-$965.00
Net Change (Week 15): +$0.00 (Income) - $965.00 (Expenses) = -$965.00
Ending Balance (End of Sunday, Week 15):$59,545.00
Status: Week focused on analysing previous discoveries and initiating new experiments. No income generated. Confirmed 'Un-Enhance' ability (Level 1 reward) and its rules (no charge cost, unlimited use, timed reversal). Successfully tested hypothesis that enhancing tools impacts output quality via controlled coffee experiment. Initiated real-world 'Tool Enhancement' test at local chicken shop (timed enhancement on equipment). Continued research into low-visibility ventures. Re-established contact with Sarah, meeting scheduled. Financial reserves remain strong (~$59.5k). Awaiting results of chicken shop experiment to validate new strategic direction.
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Author: Hi All, thanks for reading and hope you are all enjoying the story.
Help leave a review, or comments on how you think the story is going. In particular how the +1 could be used by Theo in smarter ways to achieve what he wants. Would love to see all the great ideas people can think of!
Please add to your library. When it hits 300 collections, I'll upload an extra full chapter (so 4+ parts) to celebrate. Chapters start getting bigger and bigger as more things happen.
Finally, a lot of advanced chapters are already available on patreon. If you want to read ahead, please join my patreon, it would really mean a lot to authors like me. Thanks everyone.
www.patreon.com/coffeetimewriting