After Ethan carefully put the vast selection of candy back where it belonged, it was almost time to close the store. Relieved to finally have survived another work shift, he turned off the lights and locked the doors, not forgetting to grab himself an instant meal before heading home.
The remaining evening was unspectacular. After eating and taking a displeased look at himself in the mirror, Ethan surprisingly went to bed pretty early. He was unable to forget today's perplexing encounter and had trouble falling asleep.
'A second chance, huh. Sure would be nice. In hindsight, school life should be a breeze. I guess I could even become quite popular if I took some better care of myself back then.'
Sadly he understood very well that all of this was just wishful fantasizing. No matter how much he hoped to change his past, tomorrow, he would have to wake up early and carry on with his monotonous life. With that thought in mind, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
.
.
.
An alarm was going off. Ethan searched for the alarm-clock in the dark, quickly silencing it. This action was common. Ever since he started his job at the convenience store, he made it a habit to always set multiple alarms. It wasn't rare for him to sleep through more than one.
A while later, a knock could be heard coming from the door.
A mature feminine voice called out,
"Ethan sweetheart, it's time to get up now. You don't want to miss your first day of school already, do you?"
"Alright, alright. I'm coming, Mom."
Lazily Ethan raised his upper body and sat down on the edge of his bed. Tiredly rubbing his still closed eyes, he summoned up his courage and drew open the curtains with one quick swoop.
Embraced by the golden sun, he slowly opened his eyes as he gave a hearty yawn.
It was only now that Ethan recognized something was amiss. He wasn't in his shabby single room apartment!
To find a clue about where he was, he immediately turned in a circle to inspect the full room. Across the bed was a messy desk. On top of it, a massive PC illuminated by rainbow-colored LEDs. Next to it an opened bag of chips and a nearly empty roll of paper towels.
His gaze drifted to the right. His eyes widened, and he became rooted to his spot. Retracing his gaze, one could see multiple posters of seductive drawings taped to the wall. Ethan recognized these. They were characters from an old MMO he loved to play as a teenager. On the left, a blond elf with characteristic pointed ears and an enormous bosom. On the right, a red-haired female warrior, wearing nothing but a skintight leather armor covering only tiny bits of her body.
Upon seeing these, it dawned on Ethan. It was his room!
He remembered placing these posters at the exact same spot as a boy. His Mother was furious back then and almost tore these vile pieces of art to shreds.
What was he doing in his old room, and why did it look precisely the same? After taking a moment to think of a logical explanation, he rushed to the bathroom, which was located in the same spot he remembered it to be.
Taking a look in the mirror confirmed his thought. He was once again in the body of his fifteen-year-old self.
While the person reflected in the mirror was quite pale, with unkempt hair and slightly visible dark circles beneath his eyes, he wasn't overweight, nor ugly.
For your typical teenager, he was actually rather attractive. Feeling his visible cheekbones and immersed in his own ocean-blue eyes he murmured,
"There is absolutely no way I was this handsome. How the fuck did I end up as a loner without a girlfriend looking like this!? I must have been way more socially awkward than I can even imagine."
Ethan had three theories to explain his current situation.
To begin with, it was very plausible this whole situation was merely a dream. Ethan read about it before online. Through specific techniques, people had been able to fall asleep being fully aware of the fact that they were currently dreaming. This awareness had enabled them to take control of their dream-self and influence the world in which they arrived entirely. Did this accidentally happen to Ethan? It was easy to check this hypothesis. While a lucid dream may appear very realistic, numerous small flaws differ from the authentic world. Checking if the number of fingers he had on each hand was accurate, plus taking a thorough look at the time displayed on his clock, convinced Ethan. He did not have a lucid dream.
The other two theories both made far less sense.
Either Ethan somehow traveled back in time and was now once again in the body of a fifteen-year-old boy. Or everything about his life as a twenty-nine-year-old, including all of his memories, was simply a hyper-realistic dream he had last night while never actually being a day older than fifteen.
Proving which of them was the case was more complicated. Ethan needed information about events that already happened in his dream and had to check if the same thing would happen in reality. If it did, he traveled back in time. If it didn't, all of Ethan's memories, which appeared so real, were nothing more than fabricated illusions inside his head. Both options sounded equally implausible.
Ruffling through his hair, Ethan brainstormed for an opportunity to test his theories quickly. He was aware of multiple future events happening at some point down the line, though he wanted to know the truth about his circumstances as soon as possible. He remembered what his Mother said while knocking on his door. Today was his first day at the new school! This fact implied he shouldn't possibly know the names of any of his fellow students and teachers. Fortunately, he would be able to find out the truth without much trouble very soon.
One problem out of the way, Ethan hurriedly took a shower and brushed his teeth. He previously showered rather infrequently. Afterward, he checked his drawers for a suitable outfit. Sadly most of his clothes didn't fit properly. The ones that did fit were merch of one of his online games with lewd drawings on them.
'Oh god, is this really what I wore to school every day?!'
Ethan was bewildered. One of the shirts had the imprint
'Hentai and Chill?'. Another one stated, 'Mess with my waifu, get the knifu'. While potentially a little amusing for fans of the genre, these were shirts his Mom had to wash for god's sake! With a beet-red face, he placed these shirts back into the bottom-most drawer of his closet, planning never to open it again.
Eventually, he found a basic black hoodie and a simple pair of slim jeans. While the outfit certainly wasn't anything special. It was appropriate for school and complimented his skin tone well.
Putting on a regular pair of sneakers and the silver Patek Philippe watch he inherited from his father who unfortunately died early, completed his outfit.
While wearing such an expensive watch to school may be over-the-top for a teenager, he did so regardless. Working only a parttime job, he had to sell his father's inheritance early on to afford his lifestyle. Therefore he never got to wear it. Ethan wanted to correct that. Not to mention that it seemed very classy and will undoubtedly impress some of his new female classmates.
Fully dressed, Ethan went down the stairs. He was a little nervous inside since it felt like he didn't see his Mother for a long time, though he was still unable to determine if that was the case or if it was his mind playing some weird trick on him.
"Ethan, come and have some breakfast with your sister. I made scrambled eggs."
His Mother called from the kitchen after she heard Ethan walking down the stairs.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Hearing his Mother's gentle voice made him smile. Sitting down at the table, he greeted his sister, whose eyes were still half-closed.
"Morning Emmi, you don't look as if you got enough sleep."
Talking to his drowsy sister felt strange. He didn't have much contact with her before, but the fault was mainly his. He didn't attempt to keep in touch with her after moving out, not with any family members, for that matter. It was time to change that, though. An adorable little sister was worth treasuring after all.
"Oh, I was way too nervous to sleep. Compared to you, I actually want to make some friends at school this time. What should I do if my classmates don't like me?"
A little panicked, Emmi looked at her loner brother for advice, not that she could expect any from him. Only then did she notice that her brother appeared like a different person. His hair was washed and styled for once. He wore ordinary clothes instead of the lewd cartoon shirts he'd typically wear. He even smelled quite pleasant.
"Ehhh, what's going on?! Mom, who's that stranger at our table and what did he do to my brother?!
Hearing her sleepy daughter screech, Ethan's Mother turned around to take a look at him as well. Her surprised expression soon turned into a gentle smile. A clear hint of relief was visible.
"Ara, it seems you aren't the only one trying to make a positive first impression at school, Emmi. You look lovely, Ethan. I mean it."
Turning a little red, Ethan replied with a quiet "Thanks."
"Mom, do I look lovely as well? How can you compliment that loner while I'm the one in need of encouragement! Hmpf."
Giggling her Mother added,
"Yes, darling, you look adorable as well. Both of you don't have to worry. I'm sure the kids in school will be very kind. I promise this will be the last time we will have to move for a while, so give it your best, okay?"
Heeding her word, both of them finished their breakfast and headed to school. On the way there Emmi said in a low voice,
"Brother, I didn't mean what I said earlier. You look... good."
Giving a light chuckle, he replied,
"Don't worry. I'm well aware of the fact that I never really had any friends, besides Eddy of course. And maybe I won't find any here either. But at the very least, I'll try not to embarrass you again this time, I promise."
Emmi didn't reply, but her lips curved into a timid, warm smile.