Gamer Superstar

Chapter 74 [Bonus ] 74 - Birthday Party

For the next two days, I focused on practicing my piano skill and editing my video.

With the time I spent editing my video, my skill went up one level, which further improved the quality of the video I made.

[Video Editing Lv 4 -> 5

Effect: Develops a better understanding of video editing techniques, increasing the user's skill by 5%. This includes mastery of video editing software, editing techniques, transitions, visual and sound effects, color correction, and filter application. It also improves your ability to tell stories visually and create compelling videos by 5%. Gain a tangible advantage by learning the fundamentals of creative and professional video editing].

With the skill at Lv 5, I felt much more comfortable editing, which accelerated the time I spent editing.

I was still halfway through the video, but the quality was better than I expected.

My piano skills have gone up 2 levels in that time.

[Piano Mastery Lv 2 -> 4].

This greatly improved the quality of the level at which I played the music.

Since the skill was complex, I not only increased the efficiency of what I had learned, but I also improved my advanced skills of technique, musical expression, and interpretation of the music each time it went up a level, which allowed me to understand the music better and find the best way to play it to evoke the feelings I wanted.

During this time, Selena obtained the copyright for the song and sent it to the client, who approved it after listening to it, but didn't show it to the bride.

From what Selena told me, the bride and groom had no idea how the song would turn out, so their reaction at the time would be genuine, for better or worse.

I would be playing to an audience that would be expecting as much as possible because this was their moment, a song made for them, telling their story in a way that should be beautiful.

This only put more pressure on me to improve my piano skills even faster so that this wedding would be unforgettable.

After I paid Jason on Sunday, I also checked with him to see if he could play for me at the wedding, which he confirmed, so the amount I had to pay him over the weekend was $450, a high amount, but compared to how much I would make from the wedding and the gigs, it was still good money for me.

With how much I get from the videos, I can increase how much I pay him...' I thought. I thought.

Since I got along well with him, it wouldn't hurt to pay him more so that I wouldn't have to find someone else to replace him in the future.

Especially considering that I found out that he's a student at a film school, it's better to develop him as a future cameraman to accompany me everywhere than to get someone who's been doing it for a long time and can't be molded.

"You can take a shower, Noah." Liv opened the basement door while drying her hair, so I nodded and went to my shower.

At that moment, we were getting ready for Isabella's birthday party, Ethan's little friend.

Since he was going to perform in front of people for the first time, we were going to go with him to support him, especially me after I saw how nervous he was, I decided to take my guitar as well, at least to serve as moral support for him.

If he got too nervous, I could go on stage and make a bass with the guitar and serve as a band for him, I think having me by his side in front of people would be more encouraging than leaving him alone, and playing something by his side instead of just standing around doing nothing would be less embarrassing.

By the time I'd finished getting ready, Ethan was fidgeting nervously as he checked the tuning of his ukulele for the fifth time.

"Hey buddy, you've already confirmed that the ukulele is in tune, you don't need to confirm it again..." I said with a smile as I sat down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"I just wanted to check again..." He said as he looked at me worriedly.

I thought it was funny that he wanted to choose his outfit for today, and when I saw how he looked, a smile appeared on my face.

Ethan was wearing a black shirt with a monster design in the middle, black jeans and white sneakers.

If it wasn't for his black hair, he would look exactly like a little clone of me, the way I go to my gigs.

"I like your outfit...you look like a singer I like." I laughed, making him shy.

"I think you look cool on stage in that outfit, I wish I looked as cool as you." He replied hiding his face.

"Do you want to look cool to impress Isabella?" I asked laughing, which made him even more embarrassed, but at least now he had shifted from being nervous about the performance to being nervous about me knowing that he liked her a little.

"Don't worry Buddy, you'll be fine, I'm bringing my guitar so I'll be there for you if you need me." I smiled as I hugged him, causing him to hug me back, visibly less worried.

"Is everyone ready? Then we can go!" My father said as he walked downstairs.

He was the last to get ready because he'd just gotten home from work. Even though he was tired, I could see that he was excited to see Ethan play.

"Take that, Noah." He said, causing me to turn to him in confusion.

But before I could process what was happening, I reflexively grabbed the keys that were flying towards me.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Their house is close, you can drive. It'll be our second driving lesson." My father said smiling, which made me smile too.

But unlike the two of us, my mother and Liv were scared because they didn't know how I drove.

What even my father didn't know was that my driving skills were much higher than when he first taught me.

[Driving Skills Lv 8 -> 10].

With the free time I had at school, driving skill was one of my focuses to learn and enjoy my time there.

I didn't want to pick something boring and complicated to learn, so studying Driving Skills was really cool.

I have to admit that a lot of my time was spent learning how to chase, drift, race and shift efficiently, but that counted as experience, right?

Of course, I wouldn't drive like this with my family, but I could get my license next week.

"If I drive well today, I'll register for the driving test next week." I said excitedly and my father nodded.

As we left the garage, Liv and my mom were worried in the back seat while Ethan was very excited, but as time went by they calmed down as they realized that I was driving carefully and prudently.

When we arrived at Isabella's party, we saw that there were a few cars parked in front of her house, but not that many.

In the backyard, a few children could be heard yelling and running around, but as we got closer, I saw a very familiar scene.

Several children were playing together, while Isabella sat in a corner, looking a little disappointed.

"Isabella!" Ethan shouted excitedly, completely losing his nervousness as he ran towards her.

When she heard his call, her disappointed face quickly changed to a big happy smile and she also came running towards Ethan in the cute princess dress she was wearing.

Looking around, I realized why there were only a few cars in front of the house. Those cars were probably just Isabella's relatives, while most of the guests were the children playing.

Since our group was one of the few adults at the party, it was easy to introduce everyone, and with my father's gregariousness, we were soon sitting at the table with Isabella's parents and her uncles.

There was no one my age in the group, so I just sat and listened to the men talk, occasionally joining in if they were talking about something I could join in on.

Even though I didn't participate much in the conversation, the other men were surprised at how naturally I spoke to them.

"Nah, the R35's twin-turbo V6 offers quicker throttle response and a more linear power delivery than the 911 GT3's flat-six, although I have to admit the 911's rear end is very nice..." I commented when I heard a man bragging about the Porsche 911 compared to the Nissan R35.

"I know, right? The rear of the 911 was the reason I bought that car, the line they made... it's beautiful..." The man commented happily.

As we talked, I was forced to drink only soda, keeping an eye on Ethan and Isabella and noticing that the two of them just ignored the other kids and played by themselves.

Suddenly I felt the same sensation I'd felt in the restaurant, and when I looked around I saw the same pair of eyes staring back at me, surprised once again when I looked at them and tried to look away.

But before I could think of anything, I felt another pair of eyes staring at me.

Looking in that direction, I saw Isabella's father looking at me suspiciously.