Darren's blog

Ryan arrived home and immediately parked his motorcycle on the porch. He headed straight to the dining table, opened the rice container, and transferred all the rice to a plate. The plate was piled high with rice—he had emptied the entire container. He devoured five pieces of chicken with great enthusiasm. After finishing the rice, he still felt hungry and opened the fridge to make instant noodles—four packs of fried noodles and four eggs. He cooked them to fill his still-growling stomach. He ate voraciously until his mother noticed and approached him.

**Mom:** "Son, where have you been? Why are you just getting home? And where’s your shirt? Why are you all bruised?" she asked, touching Ryan’s shoulder as he sat eating his noodles. She looked both confused and shocked.

**Ryan:** "Just the usual, Mom. Had some fun," Ryan replied casually.

His mom noticed a foul smell coming from him.

**Mom:** "Go take a shower! You smell terrible, son."

**Ryan:** "Later, Mom. I’m starving right now," he said, still enthusiastically eating his noodles.

**Mom:** "Oh my, what’s wrong with you?"

Ryan ignored his mom and quickly finished his meal. He then hurried to his room, removing his torn uniform pants. In his room, Ryan looked in the mirror and saw the bruises Samuel had left on him.

Ryan spoke to his reflection, flexing his muscles.
"That fight earlier was pretty intense. Damn, it’s the first time my face and body are this bruised. That Samuel is a beast! He hits hard and doesn’t back down. He’s strong, I’ll give him that!" He sniffed his own body.
"I do stink, but the adrenaline from the fight was amazing. Damn it! I have to win next time—no matter what! I’ll set an alarm for 8 PM so I don’t oversleep."

Ryan yawned. He couldn’t fight his drowsiness any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, at 1:00 PM, Ryan woke up and was shocked when he saw the time.
**Ryan:** "My fight with Samuel! Damn it! How did I oversleep?"

He grabbed his phone and was surprised to see his group chat flooded with messages. Starting Monday, school would be suspended indefinitely due to a sudden pandemic outbreak in the country.
**Ryan:** "What? School’s canceled? Ugh, whatever! I need to find Samuel’s contact."

Ryan searched for Samuel’s number but couldn’t reach him. He then called Mike, a school friend.

**Ryan:** "Mike, do you have Samuel’s contact?"
**Mike:** "Ryan, school’s canceled starting tomorrow. We’re not allowed to leave the house."
**Ryan:** "I don’t care! I need to find Samuel."
**Mike:** "Wait, you two are friends now?"
**Ryan:** "Gross! We had a fight scheduled yesterday, but I overslept. Now there’s this lockdown because of the pandemic!"

The city was in a red zone, requiring a total lockdown.

**Mike:** "You fought Samuel? That’s insane! Let me video call you."
**Ryan:** "Yeah. We went two rounds yesterday!" Ryan answered the video call and showed Mike his bruised body.
**Mike:** "That’s crazy! I wish I could’ve watched! Why didn’t you tell me? It must’ve been epic—muscle vs. muscle, evenly matched!"
**Ryan:** "I’ll let you know when things calm down. But if you have Samuel’s contact, let me know!"
**Mike:** "This is so exciting! I’m pumped!"

The call ended, and Ryan noticed a message from his mom on WhatsApp. She had left last night to join his dad out of town, leaving Ryan alone during the lockdown.

Ryan rushed out of his room to eat. That day, he spent his time working out at home to combat boredom. By nightfall, his phone rang. Someone was video calling him. When he answered, it was Samuel. Both were eager to talk.

**Samuel:** "Hey! Where have you been, you idiot?"
**Ryan:** "Where have *you* been? I tried calling you, but you were unreachable. Did you chicken out?"
**Samuel:** "Don’t talk nonsense! My phone broke during our fight yesterday. I forgot it was in my pocket!"
**Ryan:** "What now? I can’t beat you up!"
**Samuel:** "I didn’t show up last night, idiot! I overslept!"
**Ryan:** "Same here! That’s why I was trying to contact you, but now there’s this damn lockdown!"

Their conversation grew heated.

**Samuel:** "Dude, you stink! I haven’t showered either, and it’s getting worse!"
**Ryan:** "I’m not showering on purpose, you pig! I’m saving it for our fight!"
**Samuel:** "Haha, get ready with your weapons. You won’t make me surrender!" Samuel taunted.
**Ryan:** "Shut up! If it weren’t for the lockdown, I’d come over and finish you!" Ryan clenched his fists.
**Samuel:** "Get those muscles ready! Let’s go heavyweight—you dare?"
**Ryan:** "Who’s scared? This lockdown is our chance to level up!"
**Samuel:** "100 kg!"
**Ryan:** "Deal! 100 kg of pure muscle!"
**Samuel:** "Wait till I hit 100 kg. I’ll destroy you!"
**Ryan:** "Keep talking! We’ll see who gets destroyed!"

They ended the call in frustration. Ryan muttered to himself, "Just wait, Samuel. You’ll be done by the third round!"

Ryan was highly motivated. During the pandemic, he trained relentlessly. He ordered all his supplies online. The lockdown forced everyone to stay home, so Ryan spent his days alone, working on himself.

Days turned into weeks, and Ryan’s body underwent a significant transformation. He grew more confident and stronger. His muscles bulged, and at 18 years old, he weighed 100 kg. The pandemic had lasted five months, and during that time, Ryan rarely cleaned himself. His hair and beard grew wild, and none of his clothes fit anymore, so he stopped wearing shirts. His house was a mess, with protein drink containers and food wrappers scattered everywhere.

One day, Ryan looked in the mirror.
**Ryan:** "100 kg!" he said, flexing his muscles. "I need to clean up my hair and beard." He followed a YouTube tutorial to groom himself.

With a fresh look, Ryan tried on his old clothes, but none fit. Even his school uniform was too small. His body had grown massive and powerful, but he still couldn’t find Samuel’s contact. Samuel hadn’t reached out either.

Eventually, the pandemic ended, and schools reopened. Ryan returned to school, but Samuel wasn’t there. During the pandemic, Samuel’s family had moved to a safer area. Ryan was disappointed but also proud of his transformation.

A year later, Ryan graduated and decided to attend college in another city. He moved into a dorm called Cactus Hub. The dorm was unpopular due to a past murder case, but Ryan chose it because it was close to his campus. He was the only resident, with five empty rooms.

Every day, Ryan used the front yard to work out, setting up heavy equipment. A week later, a new resident moved into the room across from his. Returning from class, Ryan noticed new workout equipment outside the neighbor’s room.

**Ryan:** "Not bad. The weights look similar to mine," he muttered, glancing at the neighbor’s room.

One Sunday, loud music blared from the neighbor’s room, waking Ryan. Annoyed, he stormed out, shirtless, and knocked on the door.

**Ryan:** "Hey! Keep it down! You’re disturbing me!"

The neighbor didn’t answer immediately, as he was in the shower. Frustrated, Ryan knocked harder. Finally, the door opened, and Ryan was stunned—it was Samuel! Both stood shirtless, wearing only boxers, staring each other down.

**Ryan:** "Samuel! Finally, you’re right in front of me!"
**Samuel:** "Ryan! This is what I’ve been waiting for!"

Without another word, they lunged at each other. The fight was brutal—punches, kicks, and grapples filled the air. Ryan landed a solid uppercut, sending Samuel stumbling back. Samuel retaliated with a spinning elbow, but Ryan ducked and countered with a devastating body shot.

The fight spilled into the yard, where they used whatever they could find as weapons. Ryan grabbed a metal pipe, but Samuel disarmed him with a swift kick. Samuel then picked up a wooden plank and swung it at Ryan, who blocked it with his forearm, shattering the plank.

Ryan, fueled by adrenaline, tackled Samuel to the ground. They rolled around, each trying to gain the upper hand. Finally, Ryan managed to pin Samuel down, locking him in a schoolboy pin position.

**Ryan:** "Give up, Samuel! It’s over!", while using both of his hand landing punches on Samuel face

Samuel struggled, his face turning red, his face started to smeared with bloods from the fresh cut visible on his cheeks and eyebrows.but he couldn’t break free. Ryan becomes more wild when he sees his fist covered with Samuel blood and goes harder. With a final gasp, Samuel definitely can't take it anymore and knocked out by Ryan with no response.

Ryan noticed it and released him and stood up, breathing heavily. Samuel lay on the ground, unconscious with pretty bloody face. Ryan took a sit next to Samuel body with heavy gasp for air yet grinning as he finally defeated his nemesis. A couple minutes pass by and Samuel regain his consciousness and looked at Ryan.

**Samuel:** "You got me this time, you son of bitch. But this isn’t over."

**Ryan:** "Anytime, anywhere. I know I can beat your ass again"

Ryan helped Samuel to get on his feet and they shook hands, but their rivalry starts burning but with a newfound purpose.

Ryan had finally won, but he knew Samuel would be back for revenge as they have the whole dorm for just themself for the future.