The school reunion was loud and full of life. Music played in the hall, and laughter echoed as old classmates hugged and took photos together. People were talking about their jobs, marriages, and children. Everyone seemed happy to meet again after so many years. But near the edge of the hall, away from the bright lights, three men stood together in silence. They weren't laughing like the others.
Buddy 2 leaned against the wall, slowly swirling the drink in his hand. His sharp eyes scanned the room, then returned to his two old friends. Buddy 1 was quiet as always, staring at his glass. Buddy 3 had a half-smile on his face, but it was the smile of someone trying to enjoy the night without really feeling it.
"Do you guys… remember our wildest thoughts?" Buddy 2 asked in a low voice.
Buddy 3 gave a small laugh. "Wildest thoughts? Come on, man. We were kids. We used to talk nonsense all the time."
Buddy 1 said nothing. His silence was the same as in school—heavy and unreadable.
Buddy 2 smiled to himself. "No… I mean the real ones. The ones we told only each other, back in class."
Buddy 3's smile faded. He stared at the floor. "You can't be serious. That was years ago."
But Buddy 2's grin only widened. "Then let me remind you."
He didn't have to say much for the memories to return. Back in school, they had been the boys on the last bench, the ones nobody paid attention to. One hot afternoon, sunlight spilling through the dusty windows, Buddy 3 had leaned in and whispered, "If you could do anything in life and no one could stop you, what would you do?"
Buddy 1 had been staring out the window then, watching a crow hop along the boundary wall. He didn't answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm. "Kill," he said. "At least ten people. I want to know how it feels."
Buddy 3 had snorted, half shocked and half amused. "Ten? Seriously?"
Buddy 1 only nodded.
Buddy 2 had been drawing in his notebook that day, doodling X and Y chromosomes. He looked up with a strange smile. "I want to change life itself. Imagine a world where only boys are born. No girls. I'll change the chromosomes to make it happen."
Buddy 3 had frowned. "Huh?"
"Every egg has XX," Buddy 2 said, tapping his notebook. "And sperm has X or Y. That's how we get boys and girls. But if I make the egg reject an X, and push away the X from sperm, it will only take the Y. Boys only. A world I design."
Buddy 3 had whistled. "That's crazy… but kinda cool. But listen to mine. I'll build a mafia. But not with guns. With medicine. I'll make a drug so good that hospitals and doctors will need me. I'll control the city through my medicine."
The school bell had rung then, and the other students rushed out, leaving the classroom noisy and empty. The three boys had sat there for a moment longer, looking at each other with the kind of excitement only dark secrets can bring. They didn't say anything else, but that day a silent promise was made between them.
Years later, in the corner of the reunion hall, the same three friends stood together again.
"Wildest thoughts," Buddy 2 said softly, pulling them back to the present. "We meant it, didn't we?"
Buddy 1 raised his eyes. "I never said anything I didn't mean," he said. His voice was quiet, but it made Buddy 3 shiver a little.
Buddy 3 hesitated. "We're adults now. I have a family, a job. Those were just… dreams."
Buddy 2 shook his head slowly. "No. Those were the only honest things we ever said. And look at us now—ordinary. Living like everyone else. Tell me, when was the last time you felt alive? When was the last time your heart raced for something real?"
Buddy 3 stayed silent. His glass trembled slightly in his hand.
Buddy 2 leaned in closer, his voice like a whisper. "Buddy 1, you were always the brave one. The one who could really do what we only dreamed about. Have you ever tried?"
There was a long pause. The music and laughter in the hall faded to a distant hum.
"I've thought about it," Buddy 1 said at last.
Buddy 2's smile deepened. "Then stop thinking. Start doing. Life is short. The world won't give us anything unless we take it. Buddy 1, you get your ten lives. Buddy 3, you get your empire. And me? I will change life itself. We can help each other. Together, no one can stop us."
Buddy 3 whispered, "Even if we wanted to… how would we even start?"
"Simple," Buddy 2 said, lifting his glass. "We start now."
Buddy 1 raised his glass first. Buddy 3 hesitated for a moment, then slowly lifted his too. Their glasses touched with a soft clink. Around them, the reunion went on like nothing had happened, but in that quiet corner, the pact was alive again.
And this time, it was not just a silly idea. It was the beginning of something real.
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