Odyssey Of Survival

The soft bass of the music pulsed through Nate's headset as he stepped into the school, cutting him off from the world around him. His expression was calm, unreadable, and he kept his head down slightly, though it didn't stop the eyes from landing on him the second he entered the building.

Students lingered by the entrance, their conversations dying mid-sentence as they noticed him. Their eyes followed him as he walked, whispering among themselves.

"Who is that guy?" one of them muttered.

"Wait… is that Nate?" another whispered.

"No way, Nate was never that… I mean, Nate was scrawny," someone else chimed in, squinting at him.

"Yeah, and he sure as hell wasn't this good-looking."

"You're idiots, it just looks like him. Couldn't be."

But Nate, lost in the steady rhythm of his music, didn't hear a word of it. His face was neutral, calm. He walked through the hallway as if it belonged to him, giving no attention to the growing curiosity around him. He moved with quiet confidence, his expensive baggy jeans and perfectly fitted round-neck shirt complementing the smooth steps of his pristine sneakers.

The hallway stretched before him, empty, echoing faintly with the sound of his steps. It was a Monday morning, which meant the first-period classes were all in session. Nate already knew what class he was supposed to be in: Chemistry practical.

But first, his locker.

Reaching it, Nate raised an eyebrow at what he found. There were old posters plastered across the front, photos of him from before — the "old" Nate. Thin. Awkward. RIP scribbled over the pictures in bold black marker, as if someone had written him off entirely.

His brows furrowed. With one swift motion, he tore them down, crumpling them in his hand and tossing them into the trash can nearby. He opened his locker slowly, staring at his reflection faintly mirrored in the metal. He barely recognized himself now — broader shoulders, sharper jawline, stronger frame. The Nate who once fumbled down these halls was long gone.

Grabbing his chemistry notebook, he slammed the locker shut and turned toward the lab.

**

The door to the chemistry lab creaked open as Nate stepped inside. The room froze.

Everyone — students hunched over burners, measuring liquids, or scribbling in notebooks — turned their heads toward him. Even the teacher, standing near the whiteboard, squinted at the sudden disturbance.

The silence stretched painfully long.

Eyes darted between each other and then back to Nate, disbelief washing over every single face. The teacher's eyes widened.

"Nate?" the teacher finally asked, hesitantly, as though unsure if what he was seeing was real.

Murmurs rippled through the classroom as people realized it really was him. The once-skinny, quiet Nate was now standing there — taller, stronger, and strikingly handsome. His calm demeanor and confident posture only deepened the shock.

A few of the girls sitting in the front blushed instantly when Nate's eyes briefly passed over them, causing him to quickly avert his gaze, uninterested. He wasn't here for attention.

Nate gave a short nod to the teacher as if to say, Yeah, it's me, before quietly walking toward his seat.

Alice, sitting at their usual shared lab table, had been staring since he walked through the door. Her eyes scanned him carefully, trying to process what she was seeing. Even though she had seen him three months ago, somehow, he looked even more different now. Sharper. More sure of himself. More… dangerous.

As Nate slid into his seat beside her, he noticed her wide-eyed look and smirked, leaning in slightly as he whispered, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Alice blinked, snapping out of her trance, and immediately looked away with a small scowl, but Nate could see the slight flush on her cheeks.

The teacher cleared his throat loudly, trying to break the tension, and the rest of the students reluctantly returned to their experiments — though glances toward Nate never stopped.

The bell rang, echoing through the halls as chemistry class ended, and the room quickly buzzed to life with murmurs and whispers. Nate packed his notebook slowly, noticing the sudden shift in energy around him.

As soon as he stepped out into the hallway with Alice beside him, the rumors spread like wildfire.

"Nate's back!"

"Did you see him? He looks insane now!"

"He's hotter than half the seniors, no joke."

"I swear someone took a photo already—check the group chat."

Nate's phone buzzed. Curious, he pulled it out and stared at the screen. There it was: a photo of him sitting next to Alice in chemistry class. It had already circulated around the school. He blinked, stunned.

How the hell…? he thought.

Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he sighed. Can't these people just be normal for once? The weight of the attention settled uncomfortably on his shoulders. It wasn't just the stares — it was the whispers behind his back, the way phones subtly turned his way, the eyes following his every step.

And walking with Alice? That made it worse.

She wasn't exactly low-key herself. Alice was drawing just as much attention, if not more, as they walked down the corridor together. The two of them side by side felt like magnets to every gaze in the building.

Nate stuffed his hands in his pockets and gritted his teeth, whispering under his breath, "I'm cooked."

Alice smirked beside him. "You better get used to it," she teased as they made their way outside.

Once they stepped out into the open courtyard, Alice pointed across the lawn. "There," she said. Nate followed her finger and spotted Bella from the back, standing by herself near one of the benches.

But no Madison.

"Where's Madison?" Nate asked, frowning.

Alice grinned mischievously. "That's her."

Nate squinted. "No way," he muttered.

From the back, it couldn't have been Madison. The girl next to Bella had straight, sleek jet-black hair cascading smoothly down her back. Madison's hair was always curly, and a dark brown shade at that. His mind immediately started second-guessing.

"You sure that's her?" Nate asked, still staring.

Alice chuckled. "Wait till you see her face. You'll be surprised."

With a raised eyebrow and a puzzled look, Nate followed Alice toward them.

The second they reached the two girls, both Bella and Madison turned to face him. Nate's eyes widened slightly. It was Madison, but… it wasn't the same Madison he remembered. Her usual wild curls were gone, replaced by a smooth and glossy curtain of jet-black hair. It made her striking features stand out even more — sharp eyes, a confident smile, and a certain glow about her that caught him off guard.

She already used to look beautiful, but now… she looked undeniably hot.

Madison raised an eyebrow at his stunned expression and smirked.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she teased, echoing his earlier words to Alice.

Nate blinked, quickly regaining his composure but unable to hide the small grin tugging at the corner of his lips.