Sunday morning came as quickly as Saturday night had faded, and Ethan was forced awake by the insistent ringing of his phone.
Still laying face first on the bed, Ethan blindly searched for his phone until his hand landed on it.
Without even looking at the caller ID, he answered he call and placed the phone on his ear.
"Hello?" He let out groggily, the sleep evident in his voice.
"Ethan," María's familiar voice came through, her tone was slightly scolding. "¿Todavía estás durmiendo? You were supposed to be up by now."
Ethan blinked hard and rolled onto his back, the ceiling coming into focus. He sat up slowly, rubbing a hand down his face.
"I set an alarm..." he mumbled.
"Ay, mijo," María sighed, the kind of sigh a mother figure would make to sound disappointed. "Isabela's flight lands in less than an hour. She'll be waiting at arrivals. Don't make the girl stand around like some stray."
He was already swinging his legs off the bed. "Right, I'm on it."
"Bueno," she said, then paused—just long enough for Ethan to know something sentimental was coming. "She's a good girl. Very smart. I promised her family she'd be safe. You'll take care of her, sí?"
Ethan's hand paused over his keys on the nightstand. For a second, he let a soft smile settle on his face, María was as kind and caring as he remembered.
He nodded before realizing she couldn't see him. "Yeah. I will."
There was a silence between them. Not the uncomfortable type, just one filled with silent warmth.
"Gracias, Ethan," María said gently. "You're a sweet kid, even if you pretend not to be."
The line went dead before he had the chance to respond.
"No, thank you María," he muttered quietly to himself.
Ethan then walked to the bathroom of his apartment and took a hot shower, something he installed after gaining that $5.7 million from Google.
After all, he couldn't just focus on OmniTech Corp while living some broke college grad. He had fixed a couple of things in the apartment, installed hot water, gotten a new phone, new clothes and most importantly, changed that damn clock on the wall.
Although, Ethan would've preferred buying a house, which was very possible with the amount he set aside for himself, but that wasn't a smart move.
Buying that car was as far as he could push it. If he suddenly bought a house out of nowhere—and with no real job to justify it—the IRS would be banging on his door the next day.
Therefore,the apartment would do for now.
Though he didn't plan on living like this forever, he had a simple plan to get the IRS off his case—he just needed OmniTech Corp to be in full operation. And that wasn't far from happening.
Walking out of the shower, Ethan put on something casual but clean, a black crewneck shirt, dark jeans, and a slim gray jacket.
He dried his hair with a towel, checking the time on his phone as he slipped on his watch.
Thirty-five minutes until her flight touched down at Hartsfield–Jackson.
He grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone, then paused by the small desk in the corner of his apartment.
On it lay the folder that held his early plans for OmniTech Corp.
Picking it up, he safely locked it inside his work desk and exited the apartment.
__________
Walking down the stairs of his apartment building—since he didn't live that high up to begin with—Ethan soon reached the exit and bumped into a face he hadn't expected to see.
"Ethan?" The person called out, unsure if it really was him.
Ethan groaned internally, noting how annoying this was going to be. This might be fifteen years into the past, but there was no way he'd forget that annoying voice.
Slowly he turned to face the person who called out to him.
"It really is you!" The person sounded more sure this time.
"It really is you!" the guy said again, grinning wide like they were best friends.
Chad Wilkins.
Ethan kept his expression neutral, but inside, he was already calculating how to end the conversation as quickly as possible.
Chad was just as Ethan remembered, with a head full of dark brown hair and eyes to match—but now, he was broader, buffer, like he'd traded all his free time for hours at the gym. His fitted button-up clung to his chest and biceps just enough to make it clear he wanted people to notice.
A designer watch glinted on his wrist, and a strong scent of expensive cologne hung in the air like it belonged to someone more important.
He carried himself like a man who thought he'd already won.
"Damn, man," Chad said, stepping towards him like they old drinking buddies. "Haven't seen you since we graduated, didn't think I'd run into you here, in Atlanta of all places."
Ethan gave a short nod, as he said in a calm tone "Yeah, small world."
Chad gave a mock-surprised laugh. "No kidding. I figured you'd employed in some big tech company like Google or something . Guess even geniuses fall off."
Ethan didn't say anything, just preferring to stare calmly at him, as if silently telling him to hurry up with whatever he wanted to say.
Chad chuckled, shifting the weight of the gym bag slung over his shoulder. "Anyway, I'm with Aegis Solutions now, you know, the biggest cyber security company in the US, the pay's been really good." He said it like he was offering Ethan a glimpse of what success really looked like.
Then came the kicker.
"Actually," Chad continued, sliding a silver-accented business card from his wallet, "we've been looking for someone to help around the office. Y'know, inventory runs, document filing, coffee, light cleanup."
He paused for a while before facing the calm Ethan and adding, "basically an errand boy, something that should fit you pretty well, am I right?"
There was not a single change in Ethan's expression, something that clearly pissed Chad off even more.
Ethan had always been someone Chad resented. He was the youngest in their class by several years, yet somehow the smartest. Ethan was the kind of genius that they were constantly being compared to.
So seeing that same golden boy now, living in a cheap apartment with no visible job, inflated Chad's ego like nothing else.
"I mean, not everyone from MIT lands on their feet, right?" he went on. "No shame in starting at the bottom."
He chuckled, looking Ethan up and down as if sizing up a defeated rival.
"I could even talk to HR, push your résumé through. Might be nice to have someone who actually knows how to work a printer."
Ethan finally had enough, mostly because he was running late to pick Isabela up, so he said,"listen, Chad. If you're done pretending this conversation is for my benefit, I've got somewhere to be."
Chad blinked, caught slightly off guard by the calm, flat tone but he didn't mind, "come on Ethan, don't be like that."
"I genuinely want to help," Chad went on, anyone could clearly see the insincerity dripping from his voice. "I mean, not everyone can bounce back after graduation. You were always good with theory, but let's face it, some of us were built for the real world."
He gave a crooked grin, the kind meant to sting more than reassure.
Ethan tilted his head slightly, eyes still calm. "You done?"
Chad gave a theatrical sigh. "Suit yourself, man. Just don't say I never offered you a lifeline when you were struggling."
Ethan said nothing else and just turned back and started walking away. But as if remembering something, Chad called out to him again.
Oh, and hey, we're having a little MIT get-together next month. Some of the guys from our year are flying in. Foster, Lynn, Jamal… even Professor Hu said she might show up."
He grinned.
"You should come. Could be good for networking. Who knows? Maybe someone there can help you get back on your feet."
Ethan didn't even bother turning back as he continued towards his car.
Chad stood there, his smirk had completely faded, leaving behind only the irritation he felt at Ethan's behavior.
'Even when he's nothing, he still dares look down on me.' his anger bubbling but he calmed himself.
After all, the MIT meetup was a bigger opportunity to embarrass the kid. This caused his smirk to resurface.
That's when he heard a beep, almost as if a car was unlocked.
Turning slightly, Chad's smirk vanished as he spotted Ethan walking straight toward a black Audi A7, the kind of car you don't drive unless you're doing very, very well.
Ethan didn't look back. He just slid into the driver's seat, started the engine, and pulled away smoothly.
Chad stood there, lips slightly parted, the business card in his hand suddenly slumped, as if it was wet paper