"Welcome to Academic Decathlon. I'm Coach Harmon, this is our captain Alex Dunphy, and if you're here to pad your college applications without putting in actual work, leave now."
Nobody left.
"Good. Academic Decathlon is a ten-event competition covering art, music, literature, math, science, social science, economics, and speech. You'll specialize in three events but need competency in all. We practice twice weekly, compete monthly, and if we're good enough, we go to regionals, state, and nationals."
She outlined expectations, schedules, the level of commitment required. Reuben listened, already knowing the speech word-for-word from his previous timeline.
Then came the diagnostic test.
"Thirty minutes," Coach Harmon said, passing out packets. "This isn't for a grade. It's to assess placement. Do your best."
Reuben took his test and flipped through it. Mathematics, science, literature, history, economics. The same test he'd struggled with the first time through—nervous, underprepared, trying too hard.
This time he had thirty-two years of accumulated knowledge. He could ace this blindfolded.
But should he?
He considered his strategy. Getting a perfect score would put him on Alex's radar immediately—she would be competitive, curious, maybe even impressed. But it would also raise questions about how a fourteen-year-old freshman knew advanced material.
Better to be smart than suspicious.
Reuben worked through the test methodically, answering what a very bright, well-prepared freshman would reasonably know. He solved the calculus problems—but showed his work carefully, as if thinking through each step. He answered the literature questions about classic texts he'd studied. He demonstrated competency without revealing the full depth of his knowledge.
Strategic. Calculated. Not perfect, but impressive.
When he finished, he glanced up to find Alex still working, brow furrowed in concentration. That same intense focus he'd seen a thousand times.
She looked up, felt his eyes on her, and for just a second their gazes met.
Recognition flickered in her expression—not of him specifically, but of another person who'd finished early. Competition identified.
Then she looked back down at her test.
Reuben smiled to himself.
First contact made.
Coach Harmon collected tests after thirty minutes and dismissed them with instructions to check for team assignments tomorrow.
Students filed out in clusters. Luke and Manny found Reuben by the door.
"How'd you do?" Luke asked.
"Okay, I think. Some of it was hard."
"Dude, you finished like fifteen minutes early. I saw you."
"Just made educated guesses on what I didn't know."
"That's what I do on every test," Luke said cheerfully. "Except I make uneducated guesses."
Manny shook his head. "Your approach to academics is going to give me an ulcer, Lucas."
They walked toward the parking lot together, Luke and Manny debating the relative difficulty of their classes, Reuben contributing occasionally while his mind worked through next steps.
Tomorrow, Coach Harmon would post results. He had done well enough to make Varsity—he knew the material, had answered enough correctly. Alex would see his name. She'd be curious.
Then Saturday study sessions would start. He'd work with her on math and science. Prove he could keep up. Build respect first, then friendship, then trust.
Strategic patience.
"You want to come over sometime?" Luke asked as they reached the bike racks. "My house is pretty chill. My dad does magic tricks and my mom makes good food and we have a pool."
In his previous timeline, his first visit to the Dunphy house had been November. Luke's birthday party. He met the whole family at once—overwhelming, chaotic, memorable.
"Yeah, that sounds great," Reuben said.
"Cool. I'll text you." Luke unlocked his bike. "See you tomorrow, man."
"See you."
Reuben biked home as the sun started its descent toward the Pacific, the September air warm and promising. His mind cataloged the day: friendships rebuilding, Academic Decathlon in motion, Alex aware of his existence.
Good start.
When he got home, his parents were in the kitchen starting dinner. His mom asked about his day. His dad made a joke about surviving freshman year. Normal, mundane, precious.
After dinner, Reuben went to his room and opened his laptop. He pulled up a blank document and started making lists:
IMMEDIATE (Next 3 Months):
Excel in classes (foundation)
Make Varsity Academic Decathlon
Build friendship with Luke and Manny
Start earning Alex's respect
Research Mom's cancer (type, risk factors, screening options)
SHORT-TERM (Next Year):
Bitcoin investment (November 2012: 12 BTC at $12 = $144)
Maintain strong academics
Develop genuine connection with Alex
Get Mom into preventative care consultations
MEDIUM-TERM (High School):
Strategic relationship building with Alex (patient, not pushy)
Continued Bitcoin investments
Academic excellence (college prep)
Save Mom (early detection)
LONG-TERM (Beyond High School):
Build meaningful career (not just middle-management)
Real wealth (Bitcoin peak 2017, then diversified investments)
Lasting relationships
Life that actually matters
He saved the document as "Second_Chance.doc" and closed the laptop.
Then he pulled up his browser and navigated to information about breast cancer screening, early detection, genetic testing. His mom's diagnosis had been Stage 3 when they'd found it in 2025—too late for easy treatment. But if he could get her screened earlier, push for preventative measures, it didn't have to go that way.
Thirteen years. He had thirteen years to save her.
Reuben bookmarked several medical sites and made notes about when to start suggesting check-ups. Not immediately—that would be weird. But gradually, carefully, he could plant seeds.
Finally, he allowed himself to think about Alex.
He knew her better than she knew herself. Knew what scared her, what drove her, what made her feel safe and what made her retreat. Knew that their relationship had failed before because he pushed too hard, demanded too much, been too immature to handle her complexity.
This time would be different.
This time he would let her set the pace. Build trust before seeking vulnerability. Prove he was worth the risk before asking her to take it.
She had rejected him before—the sprinkler incident, the college attempts—but she had also said yes to prom. Had agreed to that secret relationship. Had felt something even if she was too scared to admit it.
Reuben closed his laptop and picked up his copy of Ender's Game—same book he had read at fourteen before, same lessons about strategy and sacrifice and winning by understanding your opponent.
But Alex wasn't his opponent. She was his goal. One of several, but an important one.
And he had time, knowledge, and maturity on his side.
As he read, he thought about tomorrow. About team assignments being posted. About seeing his name on the Varsity list. About Alex's reaction when she realized a freshman had scored high enough to compete with her.
About the long game he was playing.
Not desperate. Not obsessive. Just strategic.
Just someone who had lived this life once and died having built nothing meaningful, now determined to do better.
To save the people he could save.
To build the relationships that mattered.
To create something that would outlast him.
Starting with Academic Decathlon.
Starting with earning Alex's respect.
And eventually—patiently, strategically, genuinely—maybe earning her trust.
Maybe even her heart.
But one step at a time.
Reuben turned the page and kept reading.
Tomorrow would be day two of his second chance.
He was ready.
END CHAPTER 1 (3)
Next: Chapter 2 - "Earning Notice"
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