"Quiet down. You are students, and this is an academic institution."
Sensing the increasing commotion in the room, Ms. Victoria stood behind the podium, her face darkening as she slammed her hand on the desk.
The effect was immediate. The eleventh graders still feared their eccentric homeroom teacher.
The classroom instantly fell silent.
However, as the lesson progressed, the students—brimming with curiosity about Mike—subconsciously began whispering again.
The murmurs continued until noon.
On his way to the cafeteria, Mike noticed a statistically significant increase in the number of students expressing goodwill toward him.
Previously, it was mostly the female demographic that would initiate interactions in the hallways.
Today, however, a surprising number of male students nodded or greeted him amicably.
It had to be said: in this era, the newspaper still held considerable authority in the public consciousness.
Clearly, landing on the front page of the color section had rapidly catalyzed Mike's status as a "campus celebrity."
"Mike! Guess what data I discovered this morning?"
At the center table in the cafeteria, Little George (Georgie), who was about to start his lunch, couldn't contain his urge to gossip as soon as he saw Mike approaching with his tray.
"Let me hypothesize: Is it related to my appearance on the front page?" Mike asked with a smile.
"No, no, no..." Georgie leaned in with a conspiratorial look, whispering, "Did you know? A bunch of girls are pasting your headshot inside their lockers today..."
Lockers were private domains where students often curated their personal secrets.
For example, taping a photo of a crush inside for convenient viewing was a standard adolescent behavior.
It wasn't exactly a rare phenomenon.
"Is that so?" Mike was aware of the locker ecosystem. He shrugged indifferently. "If my memory serves, there were females pasting my photo in their lockers last year as well. This is hardly breaking news."
Seeing Mike's nonchalant reaction, Georgie had reason to believe Mike was just posturing.
However, seeing the two stunning girls sitting next to Mike (Katie and Lena), Georgie could only wallow in envy.
To avoid sustaining further psychological damage, he wisely terminated the topic of girls and photos.
---
Afternoon. Outdoor Physical Education.
On the sidelines of the practice field, Coach George watched as Mike once again took an unconventional, theoretically inefficient route to lead his teammates to a score. He offered no criticism.
In sports, the victor dictates the truth.
Clearly, Mike had proven his algorithm was superior.
"Wayne, what do you think about inviting Austin High as our next opponent?" After a moment, Coach George asked his assistant coach.
Last year, Medford's run in the state top ten had been terminated by Austin High in the first round.
Coach George clearly still harbored a grudge over that data point.
"Austin? That might be premature," Assistant Coach Wayne considered it. "The team is currently receiving a high volume of attention. Perhaps we should continue to schedule lower-tier teams to pad our record..."
Wayne had seen the front page today.
It was logical to assume that if the team continued to perform well, Mike's fame would only increase. By correlation, the team's profile would rise.
During this critical period of brand expansion, securing consistent victories was paramount.
"No. With the team's current specs, they deserve a higher caliber of opposition..." Coach George looked at his old colleague seriously. "I know what you're calculating. But sometimes, farming wins against weak teams yields negative returns."
Sparring with novices only degrades your own proficiency.
Furthermore, bullying the weak provides a hollow victory.
Only by competing against a peer-level or superior opponent can true strength be calibrated.
Coach George was aware of the newspaper situation. In his view, while stable wins were good, tempering the players against strong opponents was critical.
He believed in his players. He hypothesized they could win more.
Therefore, between an easy win and a high-stakes gamble, Coach George chose the latter.
As a long-time colleague, Assistant Coach Wayne quickly understood George's logic.
"Alright. You're the boss. I'll execute the schedule..." Watching the teenagers sweating on the field, Wayne felt a rare surge of hot-blooded enthusiasm.
---
Evening.
In the Cooper family dining room, Missy was buzzing around Mike like a happy little bee, holding the newspaper featuring his photo.
Although there were many things the little girl didn't understand, she knew one immutable fact: People who get on the newspaper are important.
Therefore, Mike being in the paper was a cause for celebration.
Just then, Mike's phone rang.
"Mike! You're going to be famous! Can you believe it? The repurchase rate for today's issue hit over nine percent! Do you understand the statistical significance of that number?"
As soon as he picked up, Jack's excited voice blasted through the receiver.
Because newspapers operated on a subscription model, the daily circulation was generally fixed.
Only when an issue had significant commemorative value would people choose to repurchase it for their collection.
A nine percent repurchase rate indicated that for every ten subscribers, roughly one person had gone out of their way to a newsstand to buy a second copy.
The sales figures were a direct correlation to Mike's popularity.
"So, what percentage of the revenue does the newspaper intend to allocate to me?" Mike interrupted Jack's enthusiastic monologue, cutting straight to the relevant variable.
It wasn't hard to deduce that the majority of repurchasers were likely female, attracted by Mike's aesthetic appeal in the photo.
Therefore, bring up money again wasn't awkward; it was business.
"It's not about the money! Influence! Do you understand influence?" Jack sounded exasperated on the other end.
Working in the media industry, he knew exactly how much invisible capital fame generated. Compared to the benefits of fame, cash was trivial.
However, Mike did not share this assessment. Compared to intangible fame and vanity, he found currency to be a much more tangible asset.
"Fine. You win." Realizing they were operating on different wavelengths, Jack conceded.
He explained, "The issue of your compensation is still being debated by the board. Someone will likely contact you for a detailed negotiation later. Also, the newspaper is preparing to partner with you on distributing posters. Are you interested?"
"Poster distribution? Elaborate," Mike's interest was piqued.
Compared to a private operation, a newspaper's distribution channels were vastly superior.
Scaling up the operation like this, even with a lower percentage share, would yield a higher net profit.
Making money is never shameful.
"The newspaper knows we sold posters last year, so they want a piece of the pie. The specific profit split might not be optimal..."
Seeming dissatisfied with the newspaper's heavy-handed intervention, Jack paused before whispering a tip: "Your current market value is high. I think when you negotiate, you can demand more. Perhaps forty percent of the net profit would be appropriate..."
"I am interested in the partnership, but forty percent seems statistically improbable..."
Business is business. Although he appreciated Jack's sentiment, Mike remained rational. He knew that for an individual to claim forty percent of the net profit from a corporate entity was highly unlikely.
"Alright. I'll convey your interest to the management. You handle the specifics. See you Saturday." clearly, Jack couldn't say much more over the phone.
"Roger that. See you Saturday." Mike needed to calculate where the newspaper's bottom line lay.
After hanging up, Mike noticed the rest of the dining room was staring at him. Clearly, they had overheard the discussion about the partnership.
"Mike, was that the caller from this morning?" Meemaw asked with concern.
"Correct. He informed me that the newspaper wishes to collaborate..." Mike had nothing to hide from the Coopers, so he explained the poster distribution deal.
"Is it a negotiation regarding profit sharing? Perhaps I can provide assistance." Upon hearing the details, Paige piped up with interest.
The super-genius needed a challenge.
Of course, she might also just want to help Mike.
"I can also draft a commercial cooperation agreement for you. Prerequisite: I require access to your computer to audit the newspaper's financial standing." Sheldon, also a super-genius, expressed a strong interest in the legal and financial aspects of the deal.
"Agreed. I delegate the contract drafting to you two." Happy to offload the labor, Mike assigned the tasks, reserving the right of final review for himself.
"Alright, we can discuss Mike's business later. Now, we must say grace."
At the bountiful dinner table, Mary smiled and reminded everyone to prepare for the meal.
After all, thanks to Mike's phone call, they were running past their scheduled dinner time.