1 Life before the change

Year 2016 on the month of June.

The warm breeze blew throughout the East Cambridge neighborhood. Laughter can be heard in the midst of humble and roughly made houses which were in contrast with the brilliantly shining moon, hidden among the splendid stars in the sky.

In an alley, a young man could be vaguely seen walking towards the road. The man was wearing a grey hoodie, red t-shirt, black jeans and white sneakers. While he was walking towards the street, a car suddenly appeared in the corner. The young man was obviously startled but he tried to get out of the way. However, before he even had the chance, the car came crashing down on him.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

8 hours ago.

In an apartment, a man could be seen lying on the bed with his face facing downwards. With a messy bed hair, his good sleep was suddenly disturbed when the vibration of an alarm came.

"Bzzzzzzt-bzzzzzt!"

The alarm went on for 20 seconds before the man woke up.

"Ugh... what time is it already?" Clyde sleepily dismissed the alarm while checking his phone for the time. It was already 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

"It's weird I didn't wake up... don't I usually get up with my alarm set at 10 a.m.? Oh well... maybe I'm just tired with all the stuff that has been going on at school."

While talking to himself, Clyde dragged his body out of the bed. He first went towards the restroom to relieve himself then he took a bath and came out refreshed. Going towards the closet to dress, he took his underwear then fixed himself up with a faded red t-shirt, and black skinny jeans. Walking down the stairs, he found his white sneakers which he wore and tied up.

Checking the mirror in the kitchen, he could see a vibrant young man smiling charmingly. He has curly auburn blonde hair with matching striking bright brown eyes. His eyes made him look like he had experienced a multitude of things. He was slim but not skinny, he has an athletic slim build. He was around 5'11 ft tall, almost making it 6 ft, but sadly, it's not there yet.

After looking at the mirror, he was satisfied with his look. Taking the grey hoodie hanged in the door, he wore it then made his way out the house. Before going out the door, he made sure to feed his cat "Lucy" her favorite meal. Giving Lucy a scratch in the belly, Clyde opened the door and felt the refreshing air and the warm breeze that flew throughout the neighborhood. Clyde felt alive again.

"Another day and another 24 hours of being alive." Clyde grinned at his own remark. He went towards his college which was only a ten-minute walk away.

Clyde being 17 years old, is a 4th year college student double majoring in chemistry and in physics. He was actually years ahead compared to those who are with the same age as him. Clyde skipped 2 grades when he was in grade school and also 2 grades in high school. After that, he enrolled at his college at the age of 14 but since he started studying there, he tried to take his time slow while living his life however he was still advancing very fast in his studies. When he was 16, the teachers applied for his early graduation due to him completing all courses on his double major degree. The school also gave him an accelerated program for being so young as a graduating student, he was given the opportunity to advance in graduate school and having the chance to pursue his master's degree on both chemistry and physics in his college.

While walking at the streets, he passed by his favorite cafe which serves the best coffee in town. However, his favorite thing in the cafe is not their coffee but their frappes. After passing by the cafe, he also saw the library. Being a book lover, Clyde loves to read different kinds of books. He also benefited from this hobby of his due to the plentiful knowledge being acquired while reading.

Most of the reason why Clyde skipped grades is because he really likes to read so this helped him a lot. He tends to advance read courses that are not for his grade during grade school until college. Also, when he picked up Lucy on the alley at the back of a bar, his knowledge on animals due to reading books about Veterinary Medicine helped him a lot.

Passing by a lot of establishments, the memories he has for the past four years flashed by his eyes. The Bar where he picked up Lucy, the fast food chain that he eats dinner on, the shopping center where he buys groceries and a whole lot more.

Finally, after 10 minutes of walking, he finally reached his university. One of the most prestigious university all around the globe, Harvard University.

The campus of Harvard in Cambridge has a lot of history to tell, mostly all of the buildings in this campus have been built long ago. The buildings were mixed of old western and European architecture which was made of red bricks, English windows and navy-blue roofs. The campus has a span around 5 kilometers from west to northwest of downtown Boston.

Walking on the campus, Clyde passed by the trees and lawns and went towards the Department of Chemistry. While walking, a woman with a short platinum blonde hair was jogging towards him. Then suddenly she gave Clyde a big hug.

"Happy Birthday Clyde!" the beautiful woman said with a beaming smile.

She was wearing a collared white blouse with a navy-blue ribbon and with a matching navy-blue pencil skirt with white 5 inched high heels. Clyde smiled as he saw his best friend. Giving back a hug, Clyde rustled her hair just to irritate her.

"Clyde! Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you could ruin my hair!" she angrily said with an annoyed look.

"Okay, fine. By the way Alex, thanks for your "warm greeting" for my birthday. I almost forgot that this is the day where I would be an adult." Clyde cheekily said with a grin on his face.

Rolling her eyes, Alex just grabbed Clyde's hand towards the Department of Chemistry. "You know, Professor Dmitri has been waiting for you for a while now. I know that you will be graduating and all but he seems to be more excited with you gone." Alex said while walking.

"Maybe he's just happy that I'm graduating as a top student of the class?" Clyde arrogantly said.

"How boastful of you! I hope that the thesis you passed to Professor Dmitri was horrible!" with an irritated look, Alex just went walked faster and tried to leave Clyde behind.

"Okay, jokes aside, let's just go towards the faculty room." Walking on the hallways, there were still some students that could be seen even though it was summer break. Since it was the graduation period, there were still some requirements that needed to be passed. However, that was not the reason why Clyde came into the campus. Clyde's purpose here was to get his finalized thesis which was proofread by Professor Dmitri.

After walking for around 5 minutes, the two finally stopped walking.

"I'll leave you here. I need to get materials for my final presentation of my thesis. Bye! Happy Birthday again!" Alex waved her hands while walking.

"Okay! Thanks!" while grinning, Clyde knocked the door 3 times before opening it. "Professor Dmitri? are you here?" checking his surroundings, it was like a living room, however it was incorporated with an office. There was a door at back of the desk that was full of files. Clyde again repeated his question while he was looking around. After a while, an old but powerful voice was heard.

"Clyde! There you are! I was done proofreading your thesis. What could I say, there were no mistakes that I could find! All I could say is that your thesis was spot on! You did a good job as this is your graduating piece. How bold of you incorporating both your two majors in writing your thesis." the old man said while walking from the door behind his desk.

The professor looked like a nice man, with gentle features and soft white hair combed neatly. He was still wearing his lab coat and his clothes were a bit messy. While walking the professor spoke "How proud am I for a student of mine is so brilliant. The field of science is for the young generation to conquer." he happily said while reminiscing.

"Yes professor, I will make sure on continuing making you proud with my oral defense." Clyde reassuringly said.

"Just so you know, there would be 4 people on your oral defense, and their accolades have all types of international awards. Be sure to prepare well and satisfy them through your presentation. Being one of the youngest persons to get a master's degree is not that easy in Harvard. Also, prepare for the publication of your thesis in the SCI after your defense!" Professor Dmitri said warily.

" Yes, professor. I'll make sure to satisfy them and prepare for the publication!" While getting his proofread thesis from the professor, he went out the room while waving goodbye.

" Alas, how good it is to be young." Professor said while remembering his past.

Walking down the hallway, he hurriedly walked past the rooms and went out the school lawns. Walking pass the trees; he went through the gates and left the campus.

Clyde actually does not have many friends; he only has his best friend Alex due to both of them being accelerated students. Alex, however is 20 years old, 2 years older than Clyde. She is pursuing her aspirations in Harvard Law school. She is already around her 4th year, just like Clyde, she advances 2 years in her grade. Besides Alex, he is mostly close to his professors and he is glad that he has them as companions while studying at Harvard.

Walking in his neighborhood, Clyde went to his usual hanging place after school, The Gym. This has been around here for as long as 20 years, the owner was a strict but kind old man. He may be old but he still has a lot of power hidden in his old body. Clyde got to knew him when he was being cornered by 4 schoolmates. They were bullying him since he was young and their arrogance think that he doesn't deserve to be enrolled at the age of 14 at Harvard. They were kicking and punching him everywhere. The worse thing is that he was still skinny back then, he has no muscles to protect his body and all those hurling kicks and punches hurt a whole lot more for him. The old man saved him from those who were bullying and abusing him physically. Those 4 got expelled after the old man reported them to the school. Clyde does not know what connection the old man has and how the process of expulsion was that quick. He guessed that having that kind of attitude is not tolerated in the school of Harvard.

Walking inside the gym, he saw the old man fixing the barbells into the right places. Clyde went on to help him and after 10 minutes, they finally have cleaned the gym. The gym was not that large, only around 300 square meters. The old man still kept the gym neat and clean even when there are not a lot of people going in here. Before, this was a bustling place as the old man said in his stories. However, after having new built gyms around the neighborhood, having high-tech and other updated facilities, all his customers went to those new gyms. His old friends were the only one going back to the gym.

The gym only has a 100 square meter ring, a rack of barbells, punching bags, a treadmill and a stationary bicycle. It may be small and old however the gym looked like it was taken cared of well.

"Hey Old man, how have you been the past week? I was quite busy in school so I haven't visited." asked by the young man.

"Your cheeky brat, I told you to call me Coach and not old man!" the old man grumpily said.

"Anyways 'Coach', I'm here to have my training again, I haven't trained for 5 days and my body feels something is missing." Clyde said while ignoring the glare of old Sam.

"I told you to have a regular training because you need to build up more muscles. Okay brat, go to the ring, prepare for a bit and do some stretching." Old Sam said.

Clyde went to the ring and waited for the old man Sam while doing some stretching. The old man was a retired military officer. He never said what his past position was but from the stories he heard from the old man, it looked like he had a high position before. Not knowing why, the old man was here in this run-down gym, Clyde was still thankful because the old man taught him how to protect and defend himself and also how to fight.

The old man Sam gave Clyde bandages for his fist and he underwent his training.

While Clyde was training, he was not aware that this would be the day that would change his life.