Liam stepped out of the room and began walking downstairs.
At the staircase, he looked down and saw Luke's head trapped in the railing.
Is the show starting? he wondered.
"Liam, can you help me out?" Luke pleaded.
"Yeah, hold on," he said, walking past Luke into the kitchen where Phil was chilling in a T-shirt and pants with a robe over it, eating a snack, while Claire bustled around preparing breakfast in a chaotic, stressed frenzy.
"Hey, Mom, where's the baby oil? Luke trapped his head in the staircase railing again."
"Oh," Claire stopped and sighed. "It's in our bedroom on the dressing table."
Liam nodded and began heading back to the staircase when he saw Hailey coming down.
"Yeah… Mom's not gonna let this one slide," Liam said as he noted Hailey's outfit: a basic top with a very short skirt.
"They can't tell me what to do," Hailey huffed past him, already annoyed.
"Don't worry, buddy—I'll get you out in a sec," Liam called to Luke as he headed upstairs for the baby oil.
Downstairs, Claire turned to Hailey. "There's no way you're wearing that, honey. Go change into something more appropriate right now."
Phil, on the other hand, looked completely chill.
He'd thought about yesterday's drama and realized this was inevitable—so he might as well be the "cool dad" who judges Dylan.
Meanwhile, Alex walked past Liam at the staircase, scoffing in disappointment.
Luke screamed in pain and impatience while Liam calmly applied baby oil—some of it dripped into Luke's eyes, causing him to scream even more.
"How are these my siblings?" Alex murmured with a disappointed sigh as she passed them.
After a few attempts, Liam finally managed to pull Luke's head free. "All right, there you go," he said, sliding Luke's head out.
"Clean yourself up, there's baby oil all over your face," Liam said, trying not to laugh at Luke's hair and cheeks coated in glistening oil.
"Yeah…" Luke muttered as he rushed up the stairs.
Liam walked into the kitchen, grabbed a plate of pancakes, and sat down at the table.
As he was about to eat he remembered he had a phone, one of those sliders with a physical keyboard.
Compared to the iPhone 16s and Samsungs he was used to, it didn't compare, but it was the best this world had to offer currently.
As he thought about modern phones, Liam realized he had the perfect opportunity
Something people would wish for if they had the chance.
Bitcoin.
It was early September 2009.
Bitcoin trading would start on Bitcointalk in October 2009.
But he needed cash, and at age 15, he had none.
He finished his breakfast, rinsed his plate, and announced, "Mom, I'm going to my room for a bit." Then he speed-walked away.
Claire glanced after him, curious, but didn't call him back.
Upstairs, Liam booted his old boxy computer and began checking if Bitcoin exists here.
It did exist in this world he discovered as a sense of relief washed over him.
He remembered that on the P2P launch you could buy 1,309 BTC for a dollar, and in December it hit its historical low at around 1$ for nearly 1500 Bitcoins.
He'd witnessed Bitcoin reach $100k in his previous life.
He knew what an insane opportunity this could be for him and he was about to do whatever he could to grab ahold of this chance.
Now, he just needed the money.
His mind raced for 20 minutes: odd jobs, fake IDs, part-time work.
He was stressing over how he could get money for a good while before he stopped, he realised something.
He realized—he had parents.
He could ask Phil for the cash.
He wasn't alone anymore.
He had people who he could rely on.
A smile appeared on his face.
Springing intoaction he began to prepare to convince Phil.
Creating a genral Script for himself to pitch to Phil along with physical papers he would give to Phil and Claire containing proper detailed information of bitcoin.
He copied Bitcoin's white paper onto several sheets, after a while he feelt prepared enough.
Grabbing those papers, he headed downstairs, he glanced at the reiling and noticed the baby oil still on it and made a mental note to clean it.
He entered the hall and heard Alex yell, "Mom! Luke shot me!"
Claire and Phil moved toward the living room where Alex stood clutching her arm.
"The little bitch shot me with his stupid BB gun!" she cried.
"Whoa, language, honey," Claire and Phil said in unison.
Claire gently inspected Alex's arm and she saw a small bruise, but nothing serious.
"They're only plastic BB's" Luke said looking at the gun "it was an accident" he said.
"What did I tell you was gonna happen if you got him a gun" Claire said with arms crossed looking at Phil, "Deal with this" she said as she stepped back a little.
"Buddy, uncool" Phil said, while Luke looked like he was about to cry.
"What, That's it?" Claire said looking at Phil "No no no, the agreement was, if he shoots someone you have to shoot him back" Claire said "Shoot him".
"Wait you were serious about that" Phil asked confused.
"Yes I was and now you have follow through with that."
"I'm so sorry" Luke said as he began to sob.
"Liar" Claire shut him down instantly.
"Go" Claire said to Phil.
"He got a birthday party I can't shoot him now" Phil said trying to avoid shooting Luke.
"Ugh, what's more important here dad" Alex said.
"He'll be home in 2 you can shoot him then" Claire said.
"I can't shoot him at 2, I'll be showing a house at 2" Phil said.
"Then how about three" Alex said.
"No you can't shoot him three he has got a soccer practice then, then, oh we gotta leave for that dinner at 5" Claire said as she headed towards the callender beaodes the fridge to see the schedule for the day.