James and his mother had been without their father and husband for a year now, and his mother had managed to recover from the breakdown she had had at his passing, thanks to the help and kindness of Uncle Ponderosa. James called him uncle Ponder, and he had not only regularly dropped in to help James’s mother, but had also helped support them financially when James’s fast food job wasn’t enough to cover the bills. The mother and son still lived in the old house, despite the memories. It was already paid off, and better than uncle Ponder’s renting situation. There had been talks of him moving into the house with them, both in order to have a more secure place for him to stay and someone who could watch and care for James’s mother when James was away at work or college.On the subject of college, the situation was promising. It was only his first year and he had already managed to meet his general education requirements. As he stared into the mirror at himself, with his cap and gown and an anticipation of the ceremony happening later that day, he thanked the Lord that he was able to progress so quickly academically. Such fast tracking programs were not common, and the one he had signed up for had had only one opening left.He exited his room and went down the hall, turning down the stairs and turning again to a door that led him down more stairs into the basement. His mother had almost finished getting ready to go. She didn’t see James slip down the basement as she looked at her phone to see when Uncle Ponder would be arriving to drive them to the graduation ceremony.James ducked down into the dark basement, having no trouble finding the familiar pull cord for the light. The now crowded vista of the workshop he had inherited from his father was illuminated by the dim aura of the single light bulb. Out of the darkness were revealed a host of new inventions, some inspired by the legacy of his father, and others completely new of his own. He had kept them secret, not wishing the company that had stolen his father’s work to find out and steal his own inventions as well. “James, where are you? Uncle Ponder is here. It’s time to go.”James headed back up the stairs, giving one last look at his workshop before responding to his mother. “I’m in the basement, Mom. I’m coming.”“I now declare this commencement adjourned! Congratulations class of 2017!” James wasn’t even listening to the closing statement of the University Chancellor, and he didn’t snap out of his excited daydreaming until the brass band made him nearly jump out of his skin. All his fellow students cheered and tossed up their hats as he celebrated with them. Next semester, he would finally begin his doctorate program for a degree in physics! The excitement was palpable as his mind was soon distracted again, filled with possible inventions and discoveries he could make with that knowledge. His mind was still buzzing as he left the open air graduation area. Each student who had walked the stage and been transformed into a doctor of their field had served to motivate him even more. These thoughts were still in his mind as he embraced his mother and uncle. “I’m so proud of you! Your father would be proud too! I’m sure of it!” his mother exclaimed with joy.

Uncle Ponder grinned and patted him on the back. “You did good sport! Another several years and I’ll have to call you doctor, eh?”

“Mr. James Fishery?”

James and his family turned around to see two well dressed men. The one who had spoken had a dark blue suit with an iridescent silver tie and was standing a bit ahead of the other man who was taller and more intimidating, having no tie at all and a demeanor of cold indifference. This was a contrast with the speaking man’s big smile and friendly expressions.

“Yeah, that’s me.” replied James cautiously.

Before James could react, the friendly stranger came up and shook his hand vigorously. “Congratulations! Oh yes! My sincere congratulations, my boy! You’ll have your Phd in no time now that the boring general education stuff is out of the way!”

James looked from his mother to his uncle. She was just as confused, and Uncle Ponder’s forehead was wrinkled with suspicion. “Meaning no disrespect, sir, but who are you and what do you want with my nephew?”

The man gasped in realization. “Oh dear, how rude of me. I’m so sorry if I intimidated you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Percy and this is Mr. Logan.” He turned his attention to the hulk of a man behind him. “Say hello Mr. Logan, don’t be rude.”
The man just stared coldly.
Dr. Percy chuckled. “Quite a man of words.”
James was still uneasy. “What do you want from me?”

Dr. Percy gave an expression of confusion. “From you? Oh no my boy, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not here to get something from you, but rather to offer something for you!” 

“I . . . don’t understand.”

“Your father, God rest his soul, was the best, and I do mean best, inventor/mechanic/scientist we ever had. Now we’ve been keeping an eye on you, and we know that you’ve been trying to follow in ole Dr. Fishery’s footsteps, so we would like to offer a little something to help jumpstart your journey!”

With that, Dr. Percy directed James’s gaze towards another man, equally as big as Mr. Logan, carrying a massive cardboard check. James and his family were suddenly quite uncomfortable as throngs of people, including university staff and his teachers, gathered around to cheer. James stared in shock at the $300,000 as each digit glinted gold in the sunlight. From the corner of his eye, he saw Percy wink at Mr. Logan. The cheering, the suddenness, the change in the weather as clouds began to cover the sun, it was all far too overwhelming. Something wasn’t right about this. But everyone was so happy. It would be wrong to let them all down. . . wouldn’t it? 

James finally reached out hesitantly towards the cardboard check, only for it to be pulled back. Percy’s voice now almost seemed to have an edge to it. “Haha, not quite yet. You see, there’s one of these for you every year to cover full tuition for a four year degree program on one condition. Something about this change of circumstances made James’s skin crawl, and he shuddered slightly as Percy put his arm around his shoulders and showed him a clip board with a piece of paper and a pen. “You’re just one signature away from a very rewarding career, my boy.”

“W-what am I signing?”

Percy laughed. “Good! A prudent and cautious man. You can read it if you wish, although I don’t think you want to keep all your friends and teachers and family waiting while you stare a gift horse in the mouth. Do you?” His head began to shake, almost like he was answering himself.

It took James a second to realize he was shaking his head too. He stopped and tried to clear his mind. “I. . . I don’t know.” He said as he began to glance through the papers Percy wanted him to sign. A couple people from the crowd were starting to look very disappointed at his hesitation, but James couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong. 

Dr. Percy held up his hands to the crowd to quiet the undertones of disgruntled whispers that had been building. “It’s ok folks, he’s just surprised, that’s all.” He motioned at the big man with the cardboard check. “Clearly this is very overwhelming. You need time to think about it.” He then handed James the small packet of papers he had wanted him to sign. “You take those, my boy. Take them home and read them over. Call me when you’ve decided. Here’s my card.” He handed James a shiny card with a phone number and email on it. His smile was still there, despite a hint of disappointment in his voice. “We’ll hold onto the money for you for two days. After that this door closes. Don’t let it pass you. Make the right choice, my boy.” 

With that, Percy and the two muscle men left, leaving the crowd all staring at James with shaking heads and crossed arms. They began walking away as well as his mother and uncle came up to him. His uncle’s look of disappointment was clear, but he didn’t feel comfortable saying anything out in public due to the high volume of people still present. His mother shook her head. “I didn’t like that man.”

No kidding. Thought James as they got in the car and headed home. 

His uncle spoke once the car doors were closed. “Sure the guy was kinda shady, but he’s probably just like that, you know? If his offer is legit, this could actually be a huge win for you, kid. But we’ll get home and you can read those papers to put your mind at ease.”

It was then that a shudder went down James’s spine. He had seen that big man before; the one who had brought out the check. He had been one of the men who had pulled up and stolen all of his father’s old inventions. All confiscated for the Phantasmic Healthcare company. Why did they want to sponsor his degree? That question made James very, very uneasy.