The Quarterback's Comeback

Ethan was an MVP quarterback. He had just pulled off a diving touchdown most high school players only dream about. Then he died. He woke up seventeen again, back in his 280-pound body, back in the year Chad made his life hell.

Chad doesn't waste a second. He calls Ethan a fat pig, tells him to dump Bella, and threatens to make him wish he were dead. Bella is the cheer captain, and everyone thinks she's Ethan's girlfriend. Ethan knows the truth: she only dated him to get under Chad's skin. When Ethan hits Chad, Bella shows up and only sees him throwing punches. She demands an apology. Ethan answers "fine," then throws another punch. Bella orders him outside.

Chad and Lily set the next trap. Lily corners Ethan at the ice bath, then screams that he attacked her. Chad pulls a lace bra from Ethan's gym bag and uses it as proof. The whole school believes the lie. Bella says she can't stand cheaters and tells him if what Lily said is true, they're done. Ethan doesn't beg. She calls him beyond saving.

Ethan challenges Chad for the starting quarterback spot at next semester's tryouts. Chad laughs and raises the stakes: the loser streaks across the field on the first day back, screaming that he's a fat loser Bella dumped. Ethan takes the bet.

Training begins. Ethan finds a book, the same one from his past life. He starts running that same night. Two months until tryouts. The old version of him is being left behind.

Tryout day arrives. Chad posts four perfect tens, and everyone says the spot is already his. They think Ethan chickened out. Then Ethan's voice cuts through the countdown: "Chad the only one streaking today is you." He walks onto the field, shredded, unrecognizable. Chad tells him he's not on the roster and to get out. Ethan says it's only been one summer and they've forgotten him already. The crowd realizes it's Ethan. He lines up the eighty-yard throw.