"The United States of America is here, Ma'am," Lysander said confidently, rising from his seat and pointing directly to the North American continent on the large world map. "It's north of Mexico and south of Canada, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west."
Mrs. Fernandez, his geography teacher, blinked in surprise. She had expected a simple gesture toward the map, not such a precise answer from the usually quiet Lysander Everett.
"That is... absolutely correct, Lysander. Very good observation about its position between the oceans as well." She smiled warmly at him. "Perhaps you can also tell us which state you find most interesting?"
Without hesitation, he answered, "Connecticut, Ma'am. It's a small state in the northeastern region called New England."
Mrs. Fernandez's eyebrows rose even higher. "My, you've been studying your atlas carefully! Excellent work."
As Lysander took his seat, he became aware of the stares from his classmates. In his original childhood, he had been known as intelligent but painfully shy—the boy who knew answers but rarely volunteered them. Now, with his adult consciousness guiding him, he had forgotten to maintain that persona. The change, though subtle to him, was evidently jarring to those who had known him for years.
Marco Dizon, who sat at the desk beside him, leaned over and whispered, "Since when do you know so much about America? And since when do you raise your hand in class? You checking out colleges on the internet or something?"
Lysander offered a small shrug and what he hoped was a convincingly childlike response: "I just looked it up online. Thought it was interesting."
Marco didn't look entirely convinced but turned his attention back to Mrs. Fernandez as she continued the lesson. Lysander exhaled slowly, making a mental note to be more careful. He couldn't afford to draw too much attention to himself with dramatic personality changes. Gradual shifts would be more believable—and less likely to raise uncomfortable questions he couldn't answer.
Rather than focusing on the lesson about world geography—material he had mastered decades ago in his previous life—Lysander discreetly opened a note-taking app on his clunky Nokia phone under his desk and began to organize his thoughts. Planning had always been his strength; meticulous strategy had built his fortune in his first life. Now, he would apply that same methodical approach to ensuring he didn't squander this miraculous second chance.
Step 1: Rebuild family bonds
This was non-negotiable. In his first life, Lysander had drifted from his family, using distance—both physical and emotional—as a way to focus on his ambitions. His mother had died while he was negotiating deals in Tokyo. His relationship with his father had deteriorated into occasional strained phone calls after her death. Even his siblings, Marcus and Sophia, had become little more than annual Christmas card exchanges and perfunctory birthday calls.
He typed: Daily quality time with Mom. Weekend activities with Dad. Build better relationships with Marcus and Sophia.
The thought of his siblings made him glance around the classroom, realizing that they weren't there. Of course not—Marcus would be sixteen now, and Sophia fourteen, both attending the local high school. His mother had mentioned that their father had dropped them off earlier that morning.
Step 2: Repair relationship with Dad
This would be more challenging. Robert Everett had always been somewhat distant—not cold, but reserved in that particular way of men who grew up believing emotional expression was a weakness. After Isabel's death in his first timeline, that reserve had calcified into near-complete withdrawal. Lysander had interpreted it as indifference and responded in kind. Only years later, after connecting with Marcus during a rare visit home, had he learned that their father had been devastated by his wife's death, retreating into himself because he didn't know how to grieve openly.
This time, Lysander would bridge that gap before it formed. He would get to know his father as a person, not just as the authoritative figure who provided for the family while remaining emotionally unreachable.
Step 3: Secure financial foundation
Even with his determination to prioritize relationships this time, Lysander knew he would need resources to achieve his goals—particularly finding Eliza again. In his first life, he had built his fortune on a series of shrewd investments and market trends that had paid off handsomely. With his knowledge of future market trends, he could replicate that success more efficiently this time.
But he was ten years old in the Philippines in 2003. He had no access to investment capital, no legal standing to engage in financial transactions, and certainly no way to convince adults to take investment advice from a child. He would need to be creative, patient, and strategic.
He typed: Short-term: Save allowance. Medium-term: Small ventures (school blog? computer repair service?). Long-term: Strategic investments when old enough.
Beneath this, he added: Research: Facebook IPO timing? When exactly does Bitcoin launch? Google's growth trajectory?
If his memory served him correctly, Facebook would become a public company in 2012, and Bitcoin would be introduced in 2009. Google was still relatively young in 2003 but would see explosive growth in the coming years. These were just a few of the technological revolutions he could capitalize on, given time and resources.
Step 4: Education path
This was where things became complicated. In his first life, Lysander had excelled academically, earning a scholarship to Columbia University—where he had met Eliza. If he deviated too far from that path, would he still encounter her? The butterfly effect of even small changes could create ripples that might prevent their meeting entirely.
On the other hand, if he was going to find her earlier, he would need to chart a different course anyway. The question was how different, and whether that difference might prevent him from achieving other essential goals.
The mysterious stranger's warning echoed in his mind: "Changing the past carries its own price. The universe maintains its balance, one way or another."
What exactly did that mean? Would the universe "correct" for his interference? Would there be consequences he couldn't anticipate?
Lysander tapped the side of his phone, considering the concept of causality. If certain events were fixed points—destined to occur regardless of how the path to them changed—then perhaps meeting Eliza was one such fixed point. But her death... could that be altered? Or would the universe find another way to separate them if he tried to change that outcome?
He shook his head slightly, forcing himself to focus on immediate concerns rather than spiraling into metaphysical questions he couldn't answer. He typed: Follow similar academic path. Excel but don't draw too much attention. Research Columbia scholarship requirements early. Maybe find Eliza through early social networks when they emerge?
The thought of social media platforms gave him pause. In this timeline, Friendster was just gaining popularity, soon to be followed by Myspace and eventually Facebook. These platforms might offer a way to locate Eliza years before their fateful meeting at Columbia—assuming she would use them and her profile would be discoverable.
As he finished jotting down his preliminary plan, Lysander became aware that the classroom had fallen silent. He looked up to find Mrs. Fernandez standing beside his desk, eyeing his phone with a mixture of curiosity and disapproval.
"Perhaps you'd care to share what's so important on your phone that it can't wait until after my lesson, Lysander?" she asked, her tone gentle but firm.
Heat rushed to his face—a childhood reaction he had thought himself long past experiencing. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Fernandez. I was just... making some personal notes."
She held out her hand expectantly. "You know the policy about phones in class. You can have it back at the end of the day."
For a moment, Lysander panicked. His notes would raise far too many questions—a ten-year-old boy planning investment strategies and university scholarships years in advance, with references to technologies that didn't yet exist? Fortunately, years of corporate negotiations had taught him to think quickly under pressure.
Before surrendering the phone, he quickly closed the notes app and pulled up a simple game of Snake. "I was just taking a break, Ma'am. I apologize."
Mrs. Fernandez took the device, her expression softening slightly when she saw the innocuous game on screen. "Well, breaks are for recess, not geography class. Pay attention to the current discussion. We've moved on to climate regions now."
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry."
As she returned to the front of the classroom, Lysander exhaled slowly, relieved by his narrow escape. He would need to be more careful—the habits of his adult life wouldn't serve him well in this context. Children were expected to be present and attentive, not distracted by long-term planning during lessons.
The remainder of the morning passed in a blur of familiar yet distant routines. Lysander found himself struggling to remember things that should have been basic—where the computer lab was located, which teacher taught which subject, even the names of classmates who had once been his daily companions. It was like walking through a dream where everything was simultaneously recognizable and strange, only now with the added layer of early 2000s technology and cultural references that seemed both outdated and futuristic from his dual perspective.
During lunch period, he sat in the school courtyard, watching other children play with the uninhibited energy of youth. Some older students were showing off their new flip phones or discussing the latest episode of "Friends" or debating whether The Matrix Reloaded was better than the original film. Marco Dizon, who he now recalled had been his closest friend until the Everett family moved to the United States when Lysander was twelve, approached with his lunch box.
"Can I sit with you?" Marco asked, gesturing to the space on the bench.
"Of course," Lysander replied, moving over to make room.
As Marco settled beside him and began unwrapping his lunch, Lysander studied his old friend with new appreciation. In his first life, they had exchanged emails for a few years after his family's move, but the correspondence had eventually dwindled to nothing as they had grown up and apart. By the time Lysander had built his financial empire, Marco Dizon had been nothing more than a distant memory, a name occasionally recalled with vague nostalgia.
"You're acting weird today," Marco observed, taking a bite of his sandwich. "First you're suddenly interested in America, then you're playing with your phone in class." He gestured toward Lysander's empty pocket where his confiscated Nokia would usually be. "What's going on? Did you discover some cool American website or something?"
Lysander considered how to respond. The truth was impossible, but perhaps a version of it would suffice. "I've been thinking a lot about the future lately," he said carefully. "About what I want to do when I grow up, and what's important to me."
Marco nodded thoughtfully. "Like what you want to be? A computer programmer or something? My cousin says that's where all the money is going to be—tech stuff."
"Not exactly. More like... who I want to be." Lysander paused, searching for words that wouldn't sound strange coming from a ten-year-old in 2003. "I realized that I want to spend more time with my family, and I want to work hard in school so I can go to a good university someday."
"In America?" Marco asked, his eyes widening slightly. "Is that why you were so interested in the map?"
Lysander nodded, grateful for the opening. "Maybe. I think there are great opportunities there."
"My uncle lives in California," Marco offered. "He says everything is bigger there—the roads, the cars, the food portions." He grinned. "He gained ten kilos his first year! He sent me pictures from Disneyland on his digital camera. The files were so big they barely fit in my email!"
Despite himself, Lysander laughed. It felt good—natural and uncomplicated in a way little had in the final years of his first life. "I'm not sure about California, but definitely somewhere in the United States eventually."
They continued eating in companionable silence for a few minutes before Marco spoke again. "So what's this big plan you're making? Were you writing it on your phone? Can I see?"
Lysander hesitated. "It's not really finished yet. It's just some ideas."
"About America? About your future?" Marco pressed, curious now. "Come on, I won't tell anyone."
Realizing that refusing would only make Marco more suspicious—and potentially more determined to discover what Lysander was hiding—he decided on a compromise. "It's not that exciting. Just some goals I've set for myself." He reached into his backpack and tore out a sheet from his notebook, then quickly wrote down an abbreviated version of his plan, omitting explicit references to investments, future technologies, and finding Eliza.
Marco scanned the list, his expression shifting from curiosity to mild disappointment at the relatively tame content. "This is what you were hiding? Plans to spend more time with your mom and dad?" He handed the paper back with a shrug. "I thought maybe you had found some cheat codes for Grand Theft Auto or something cool."
Lysander tucked the paper away, relieved. "Sorry to disappoint you. No cheat codes—just trying to figure some things out."
"Well, if you ever want to do something actually fun instead of just 'spending quality time with family,'" Marco said, making exaggerated air quotes around the phrase, "my brother just downloaded a bunch of new MP3s, and he said we can burn a CD at his house this weekend."
The mention of mp3s and burning CDs—cutting-edge technology in this time period—triggered a wave of nostalgia in Lysander. He remembered hours spent carefully selecting songs for personalized mixes, experiences that had seemed so important then but had faded to inconsequential memories as adult responsibilities had taken over.
"That sounds great," he replied sincerely. Perhaps balancing his adult awareness with some authentic childhood experiences wouldn't be such a bad thing. All work and no play had made the adult Lysander a very dull and ultimately regretful man.
As the lunch period ended and they made their way back to class, Lysander found himself more at ease than he had been all morning. His plan was taking shape, and though the road ahead would be long and complex, he had something now that he had lacked in those final rain-soaked moments of his first life: hope.
The afternoon classes dragged on, with Lysander dividing his attention between the lessons and refining his mental roadmap for this second chance. By the time the final bell rang, he had established a clearer vision of his immediate priorities: reconnect with his family, maintain his academic excellence without drawing undue attention, begin researching ways to generate small amounts of capital in this new digital age, and most importantly, find a way to locate Eliza in this timeline.
As he waited in line to retrieve his confiscated phone from Mrs. Fernandez's desk, Lysander realized he had forgotten to include perhaps the most crucial item on his list: he needed to learn the names and faces of his childhood acquaintances all over again. Some of these children had been his closest friends through early high school—people who had shaped him, supported him, and shared formative experiences with him. He owed it to them—and to himself—to honor those connections this time around, rather than viewing them as mere stepping stones on his path to financial success.
When he finally got his Nokia back, he opened a new note. At the top, he typed: People Who Matter. The first names he listed were his family members—Isabel, Robert, Marcus, and Sophia Everett. Then he added Marco Dizon. As he boarded the school bus and settled into his seat, Lysander continued adding names, determined that this time, he would recognize the true wealth that had surrounded him all along.
Through the window, he could see children with portable CD players and early-model digital cameras—technology that seemed primitive compared to what he knew would come, yet represented the cutting edge of this era. The world was on the cusp of a digital revolution that would transform communication, commerce, and connection in ways these children couldn't imagine. But Lysander could imagine it—and this time, he would navigate that changing landscape with different priorities.