Adam returned to the campus after sending his father away.

The car had already disappeared from the road. Adam still stood there for a few seconds before turning back. His father was safe for now. That did not remove the pressure. It only gave Adam enough space to breathe.

He walked toward the college gate.

His steps were calm. His mind was not.

’I have already come in front of John now,’ Adam thought.

That changed the game.

Until now, Adam had moved from the outside. Now he had shown himself. He had walked into the campus openly and stood in front of John without running.

That had one clear benefit.

At least now Adam could see what John was doing.

If John made a move, Adam would not be looking at it from too far away. He would be close enough to notice the shape of it.

There was a loss too.

John could see him now.

John could start predicting his movements.

Adam knew that very well. In his previous life, John had not beaten people only with money or position. He had beaten them by watching them until their habits became a path. Adam had no plan to give him that path easily.

He entered the campus.

Students noticed him almost at once.

At first, it was only a few glances.

Then the whispers started.

"Isn’t that Adam?"

"Wasn’t he suspended?"

"Why is he here today?"

"Did the college call him back?"

Adam heard enough to understand the mood.

He did not turn toward them.

If he reacted to every whisper, he would never reach class. Besides, the whispers were expected. A student who had been thrown out one day and returned like nothing happened would always attract eyes.

Adam crossed the first corridor.

The corridor walls still looked the same. The same notice boards, the same old paint, the same students moving between rooms with books in their hands. In another life, this place had become a memory of shame.

Now he was walking through it again.

Not as the same Adam.

He crossed another corridor and headed toward his class.

That was when someone stepped in front of him.

Adam stopped.

The boy standing ahead carried himself like someone used to having space made for him. His shirt was pressed properly. His watch looked expensive enough for a college student to show without showing too much.

Two student council members stood behind him.

Adam recognized him.

’Ethan,’ Adam thought. ’The student council president.’

They had not interacted much in the previous timeline. A few words here and there. Nothing important. Ethan had existed somewhere above normal students, moving with the kind of authority that came from being student council president and having enough people behind him.

Adam had never paid much attention to him before.

Ethan looked at Adam like he was checking whether the rumor was true.

"Yo, Adam," Ethan said. "Adam, right?"

Adam looked at him.

"Yes," he said. "That is my name."

Ethan smiled.

Then he turned slightly and looked at the boys behind him, as if he wanted them to enjoy the moment too.

"I heard suspended students are not allowed to walk around campus," Ethan said.

One of the boys behind him laughed.

Ethan turned back to Adam. His smile became wider.

"So what are you doing here, pal?"

The words sounded friendly from far away.

They were not friendly.

The meaning was clear to Adam.

Ethan was not asking because he wanted an answer. He was asking because he wanted Adam to feel small while answering.

Adam stayed calm.

"I did not come on my own," Adam said. "The college called me back."

For a second, Ethan’s smile did not move.

Then it changed. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

It became thinner.

Adam’s answer had not landed the way Ethan wanted. There was no panic in it. No shame. No quick excuse. Adam spoke like he had every right to be there.

Ethan stepped a little closer.

"The college called you back?" he asked.

Adam did not move.

"Yes."

Ethan looked him up and down.

"What are you, some big shot?" he asked. "A star?"

The boys behind him smiled again.

Ethan continued, "Or do your parents own some huge company?"

Adam’s eyes stayed on him.

Ethan leaned his head a little, still speaking in that mocking tone.

"Or is your father a mayor too, like some people around here?"

Adam’s expression changed only slightly.

That line was more direct than he had expected.

He had thought Ethan was only throwing ordinary campus arrogance at him. That last line was more direct than he had expected.

Still, Adam noticed it.

He was about to speak.

Ethan’s smile disappeared before he could.

"Listen," Ethan said, his voice lower now. "You are a scholarship student. Do not talk like the college personally invited you with respect."

Adam watched him quietly.

Ethan came closer by another step.

"Tell me the truth. How did you get back in?"

Adam did not answer.

Ethan’s eyes hardened.

"If you do not want to say it nicely, there are other ways to make people talk."

The corridor became quieter around them.

Some students had stopped at a distance.

Adam could feel their attention. He did not look away from Ethan.

This was unexpected.

In the previous timeline, Ethan had only brushed past his life. Adam remembered a few small interactions, nothing more. Ethan had never been a real problem back then.

Now he was standing in front of Adam like he had the right to question him.

Adam had many things he could say.

He could ask who Ethan thought he was.

He could tell him to move.

He could push back hard enough that the boys behind Ethan would stop smiling.

But

This was campus.

And Adam had just returned.

He chose the clean answer.

"If you want answers," Adam said, "stand in line with the other students. Your title does not make you special to me."

Ethan stared at him.

For a moment, it looked like he had not expected that reply.

Then his face turned colder.

He took one more step toward Adam.

"Looks like you forgot your place."