Reincarnated As A Wonderkid-Chapter 552: A cool ending phrase.

The living room was transformed into a studio.

Well, sort of.

There were two ring lights (borrowed from Milo), a green screen (a bedsheet painted green), and a tripod made of duct tape and a broom handle.

Alex sat on the sofa. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt. He looked nervous.

"Is it recording?" Alex asked.

Mark was behind the camera (Milo’s phone). He was wearing a director’s beret.

"Rolling!" Mark shouted. "Action! Be charming! Be witty! Be the Professor!"

Alex cleared his throat.

"Hello," Alex said to the lens. "I am Alex Finch. Welcome to my channel."

"BORING!" Mark yelled. "Cut! That was terrible! You sound like a robot reading a menu!"

"I am introducing myself, Mark."

"You need energy!" Mark insisted. "You need a catchphrase! Like... ’WHAT IS UP, FINCH SQUAD!’"

"I am not saying ’Finch Squad’," Alex said.

"Fine," Mark sighed. "Just try to look less like you are in a hostage video."

Maya was sitting in the corner, typing on her laptop.

"Statistical analysis of successful YouTube channels," Maya said. "High energy intros increase retention by 40%. Clickbait titles increase views by 200%. We should title this video: ’I REVEAL MY SECRET SUPERPOWER (GONE WRONG) (POLICE CALLED)’."

"We are not doing clickbait," Alex said. "This channel is about football. Analysis. Logic."

"Logic is niche," Maya warned. "Cats are mainstream."

"I am not a cat," Alex said.

"Action!" Mark shouted again.

Alex tried again.

"Hi everyone. Today, I want to talk about the geometry of the pass."

He picked up a tactics board.

"When you pass the ball, you are calculating angles. Velocity. Spin. It is physics in motion."

Mark yawned loudly.

"Mark!" Alex said.

"Sorry!" Mark said. "But the geometry is sleepy. Can we do a challenge? Like... ’Can I Eat A Pizza While Dribbling?’"

"No," Alex said.

"Can I Race A Car?"

"No."

"Can I Nutmeg A Bear?"

"Where would we get a bear, Mark?"

"Milo knows a guy," Mark said seriously.

Just then, Milo burst into the room. He was wearing a suit made of neon lights.

"THE PRODUCER IS HERE!" Milo screamed. "ALEX! WE ARE GOING VIRAL! I HAVE A SPONSOR! ’MILO’S MIRACLE WATER’! IT CURES BALDNESS AND MAKES YOU JUMP HIGHER! (Disclaimer: It is just tap water)."

"Milo, get out of the shot," Alex said.

"I AM THE CONTENT!" Milo yelled, dancing in front of the camera. "LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE! SMASH THAT BELL!"

Alex put his head in his hands.

"This is a disaster," Alex whispered.

"No," Mark said, checking the phone. "This is gold. We already have 10,000 views on the livestream."

"We are live?" Alex panicked.

"Yes!" Mark grinned. "Say hi to the internet!"

Alex looked at the camera. He waved awkwardly.

"Hi internet." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The comments were flying.

User123: Is that Mark Speed? GoalMachine99: Why is there a neon man dancing? PizzaLover: EAT THE PIZZA MARK!

"They want pizza!" Mark shouted. "The people have spoken!"

He ran to the kitchen and came back with a slice.

"CHALLENGE TIME!" Mark yelled. "THE CROSSBAR CHALLENGE! BUT IF I HIT THE BAR, I EAT PIZZA! IF I MISS, ALEX EXPLAINS ALGEBRA!"

"That sounds unfair," Alex said.

"It is content!" Mark said.

They went to the garden. Alex had a goalpost set up.

Mark placed the ball.

"Watch and learn," Mark said.

He ran up. He smashed the ball.

It hit the bar. CLANG.

"YES!" Mark screamed. He ate the pizza in one bite. "VICTORY TASTES LIKE CHEESE!"

Now it was Alex’s turn.

"If you hit the bar," Mark said. "You have to do a dance. The Robot."

"I don’t dance," Alex said.

"The internet demands it!" Milo shouted, holding the phone.

Alex sighed.

He placed the ball.

He calculated the trajectory.

He chipped it.

It hit the bar perfectly.

CLANG.

"NOOOO!" Alex groaned.

"DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!" Mark and Milo chanted.

Alex looked at the camera. He looked at his friends.

He sighed.

He did the Robot.

It was stiff. It was awkward. It was terrible.

"I AM A MACHINE," Alex said in a robot voice. "BEEP BOOP."

Mark fell on the grass laughing. "THAT WAS THE WORST ROBOT EVER! I LOVE IT!"

The comments were going crazy.

AlexFinchFan: OMG HE IS DANCING! RobotRock: best video ever. MiloIsCool: Buy Milo’s Water!

"We are famous!" Milo shouted. "More famous than before! Alex! I am selling GIFs of your dance! ONE POUND A PIXEL!"

Alex walked back to the camera.

"Okay," Alex said. "That is enough for today. Thank you for watching. Remember, football is science. And art. And..."

He looked at Mark, who was now wearing the pizza box as a hat.

"...and chaos," Alex finished. "Goodbye."

Milo ended the stream.

"ONE MILLION VIEWS!" Milo screamed. "IN TEN MINUTES! WE ARE INFLUENCERS!"

"I just want to play football," Alex said, sitting on the grass.

"You can do both," Maya said, closing her laptop. "Brand synergy. The ’Professor’ persona is polling well. People like that you are smart but also... friends with idiots."

"Hey!" Mark said. "I am a genius idiot."

"Paradox accepted," Maya smiled.

Alex lay back on the grass.

The YouTube channel. The Professor’s Lab.

It was supposed to be serious. Analysis. Tactics.

But with Mark and Milo, it had turned into a comedy show.

And maybe that was okay.

"Hey Alex," Mark said, lying next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Next video idea."

"Go on."

"We play FIFA against the real players. I play against Mbappe. You play against Messi."

"They are busy, Mark."

"We challenge them online!" Mark said. "I will beat Mbappe. I am faster with my thumbs too!"

"I doubt that," Alex said.

"I have thumb muscles!" Mark flexed his thumb. "Look at the power!"

Alex laughed.

The sun was setting. The garden was peaceful (except for Milo trying to sell the grass to a neighbor over the fence).

Alex realized something.

He had conquered the pitch. Now he was conquering the screen.

But the best part wasn’t the views. Or the likes.

It was the fun.

Playing football in the park with kids. Making silly videos with his friends.

It was the joy he had missed in his first life as Danein. The joy he had lost as Leon.

But Alex Finch found it.

"We need a sign-off," Mark said. "A cool ending phrase."

"Like what?"

"Like... ’STAY FAST, EAT PIZZA!’" Mark suggested.

"No," Alex said.

"How about... ’CLASS DISMISSED’?" Maya suggested.

Alex smiled.

"I like that."

"CLASS DISMISSED!" Mark shouted at the sky. "AND HOMEWORK IS BANNED!"

"Homework is important, Mark," Alex said.

"Booooo!" Mark threw a blade of grass at him.

Alex threw one back.

Soon, they were having a grass fight. The Ballon d’Or winner and the Speed Emperor, rolling around like five-year-olds.

Milo filmed it all.

"PREMIUM CONTENT!" Milo whispered to himself. "THIS IS GOING ON PATREON!"