He took her ditching class, taught her to smoke and drink, and sent her grades plummeting. I couldn't bear to watch her spiral, so when her parents asked, I told them everything. From then on, she was kept under strict watch by her folks. The night she and the school rebel planned to elope, her parents stopped her. She couldn't make it to him. And that same night, he tragically died in a freak accident. Years later, set up by our families, we got married and had a child. During a terrible car crash, to protect her and our daughter, I pushed them away and took the brunt of the impact. Just before my consciousness faded, she leaned in close to my ear: "She isn't your daughter. I never loved you. I only married you to get revenge." Under her resentful glare, I took my last breath. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my senior year of high school, right on the day the bad boy asked her out. "Ethan, Caleb asked me to hang out with him tonight. Do you think I should go?" I stared blankly at the young, pretty face in front of me. Suddenly, I realized I had been reborn. I was back in my senior year. Seeing me space out, Chloe waved a hand in front of my face and complained, "Why aren't you saying anything?" Chloe Davis was my childhood sweetheart. She was a dancer, banking everything on getting into a performing arts conservatory. She was slender, had an incredible presence, and her dance routines were top-tier. Her only flaw was that her academic grades were a disaster. Meanwhile, I was in the AP Honors track. With my GPA, I was guaranteed a solid state university, but I was gunning for the Ivy League. At her parents' request, I spent three evenings a week tutoring her, trying to help her get the scores she needed for her dream dance academy in New York. Once upon a time, I thought this was a perfect arrangement. I thought we would go to the East Coast together, that I'd find the perfect moment to confess my feelings, and that we'd get married, have kids, and become the perfect couple our parents always hoped we'd be. Our future was laid out right in front of us; all it took was a little effort to reach it. But right at that crucial moment, Caleb Vance showed up. Just like Chloe, Caleb was a notorious figure at our school. He was ridiculously good-looking, and his family background was a mystery. Countless girls threw themselves at him, though they tried not to be too obvious about it. After all, Caleb had a terrible temper. He was rebellious, violent, slacked off constantly, and had zero respect for anyone. Rumor had it that just this week, he made an English teacher quit in tears. Even the principal couldn't do anything about him. Yet, this was the guy who successfully caught Chloe's eye. "I know he has a bad reputation and everyone's scared of him. But last time I got cornered by some creeps off-campus, he saved me. He's nothing like the rumors. He's actually a really good guy, just tough on the outside but soft on the inside." Chloe rested her chin on her hands, her cheeks flushed pink. Whenever she talked about Caleb, her eyes lit up like they held a sky full of stars. It was completely different from how she looked at me. In my past life, on the day of our wedding, even her bridesmaids were crying, begging me to treat her right. But Chloe, the bride, just maintained a shallow, perfectly polite smile the entire time. From start to finish, her emotions barely fluctuated. It was only later I realized that because she didn't love me, she could stay as calm as an outsider. When she truly loved someone, even if she covered her mouth, the love would still pour out of her eyes. "Ethan, why are you being so quiet? You can't just judge a book by its cover, you know. Don't think I'm just trying to make excuses for Caleb; I'm telling the truth!" Chloe already had her answer. Asking for my permission now was just her way of dragging me down with her. If her parents found out, she could smoothly shift the blame to me, claiming I let her go, making me the scapegoat. She had been like this since we were kids. I was six months older, so I always played the protective older brother. Every time she caused trouble, I stepped up and took the fall. And she happily enjoyed my sacrifices without a second thought. But now, I was done with that. Seeing I wasn't responding, Chloe compromised, "Okay, fine, I admit it, I want to go. Just do me a solid, please? You don't even have to do anything, just don't rat me out to my parents. If they ask how tutoring went, just say it was great." She suddenly leaned close, pressing her hands together pleadingly, looking at me with big doe eyes. "Please, please, please?" She always knew exactly how to manipulate me. I was about to speak when a commotion erupted outside the classroom. Classmates started whispering loudly, "Whoa, it's Caleb! What's he doing here?!" Caleb stood in the doorway, tall and easily standing out from the crowd. Even as a guy, looking at his face, I had to admit he was incredibly handsome. Handsome enough to make anyone else feel inadequate. Caleb leaned against the doorframe, lazily asking Chloe, "Have you made up your mind yet? Are we going or what?" The whispers grew louder. "So he's here for Chloe. Wait, wasn't Chloe supposed to be studying with Ethan tonight?" "Are you stupid? Between Caleb and Ethan, who would you pick?! Caleb, obviously! He's gorgeous!" "Whatever, slacking off in senior year for a guy is just setting yourself up for regrets later." Caleb looked annoyed. He swept his gaze over the room and kicked the door loudly. "You guys tired of having teeth?" The whole room fell dead silent instantly. Chloe shot me a begging look. I said flatly, "Go if you want. It's not my place to manage you." After everything I went through in my past life, I had learned a deep truth: Drop the savior complex and respect other people's destinies. Chloe jumped up with joy and even gave me a quick hug. "I knew you were the best, Ethan!" The class let out a collective gasp. "Whoa!" But Chloe quickly let go, though her faint perfume still lingered in the air. Usually, Chloe was quiet and reserved, widely seen as the untouchable, ice-queen goddess of the school. She rarely acted this bubbly and proactive. If this were the old me, I would have been ecstatic, feeling like I'd just been handed the greatest gift on earth. But now, all I wanted to do was get back to figuring out the final calculus problem on my practice test. Caleb's expression shifted slightly. He walked right between us, smoothly forcing us apart. "Let's bounce, then. Nerd, don't you dare snitch to her folks, or you're dead meat." He casually snatched my glasses off my face and tossed them onto my desk, clicking his tongue. "Tsk, you look even uglier without them." Getting involved with him only led to bad endings. I had no reason to invite trouble. I put my glasses back on and told Chloe, "I won't be your shield. If you don't want me tutoring you anymore, you can explain that to your parents yourself." Chloe nodded distractedly, pulling a Tupperware container from her backpack and shoving it at me. "Eat both of these. Don't waste them! My mom worked hard cooking this!" Mrs. Davis was grateful for the tutoring, so whenever she packed dinner for Chloe, she packed a portion for me too. Before I could say another word, Chloe ran off toward Caleb, shouting, "Hey, wait up!" In my past life, she ignored my warnings and went out with him anyway. He took her ditching, causing her already poor grades to tank further. When Mrs. Davis asked me what was going on, I couldn't stomach the lie and told her everything. Furious, her parents pulled her out of our school and sent her to a strict, lockdown-style prep academy to keep an eye on her. Right before graduation, she and Caleb planned to elope. Her mom caught her, so she never made it. And that very night, Caleb died in an accident. Chloe threatened to end her own life over it. Desperate, her family sold their house and moved abroad with her so she could study there. When I saw her again six years later, she was a somewhat famous dancer—beautiful, elegant, captivating with every smile. When we talked about the past, she laughed and said, "I was just too young and foolish back then. You were just looking out for me." Pushed together by our parents, we grew closer, fell in love, married, and had a baby. Until a massive truck came barreling toward us, and instinct took over as I shoved her and our daughter out of the way. But as I was being loaded into the ambulance, Chloe leaned into my ear and whispered the truth. "The kid isn't yours. Every time you went on a business trip, I brought men home. "I never loved you. I only married you to ruin you. Do you have any idea what these past years have been like for me? Every time I think of him, my heart hurts so much I want to die. "Trading your life to save someone else's kid—you deserve this, Ethan! You killed the love of my life, and this is your karma!" I died looking into her eyes, which were filled with nothing but pure hatred. Worse, in my previous life, trying to save her had dragged me through hell. Caleb brought his crew to the AP classrooms constantly to corner me. He wrote 'SNITCH' on my desk and exams, and tried to force me to crawl between his legs. When I refused, he pinned me against the teacher's podium and beat me. I tried to fight back, but he had too many guys with him. Any resistance just meant a worse beating. The harassment only paused when a teacher intervened. It was endless. Back then, I was just a sensitive, inexperienced teenager. The bullying wrecked my focus. When Caleb died, Chloe blamed the entire tragedy on me. I took the most important exam of my life drowning in guilt, pain, and anxiety. When the results came out, I had dropped out of the top thirty in the school for the first time ever, landing in a mediocre, bottom-tier state college. It was the biggest regret of my life. But this time, I was getting into the Ivy League. God had given me a chance to hit the reset button, and I was going to give it everything I had. The next time I saw Chloe was in the stairwell of the gym. I had just finished P.E. and was sent by the coach to put the equipment away. Chloe was wearing a cheap faux-leather jacket, a row of metal cuffs up her ear, and heavy, exaggerated smoky makeup. I hadn't seen her in a while. The arts track classrooms were two floors away from the AP track. If she didn't come looking for me, we naturally never crossed paths. Besides, I was busy studying. I had zero interest in the school rumor mill. Seeing me, Chloe expertly put a cigarette to her lips and blew out a cloud of smoke. She looked no different from the sketchy dropouts hanging around street corners. How could I have forgotten? She always thought this stuff was cool. As an only child, her parents had kept her on a very short leash. She was raised to be the perfect, obedient daughter. But sometimes, when she heard the roar of street racers outside her window, she'd lean out, watch them, and sigh, "So cool. That's what being young is all about." Deep down, she had always harbored a rebellious streak. Caleb's arrival was like dropping a chunk of sodium into still water—it exploded with fire and light. That intense reaction scrambled her brain and gave her permission to unleash her true self. Seeing this group of delinquent-looking kids, Maya, our class monitor who was walking next to me, froze and shrank behind my shoulder. Our conversation about the math decathlon problems abruptly stopped. I gave her a reassuring look and said, "Maya, why don't you head back to class? There isn't that much stuff left. I can carry the rest to the equipment room myself." Maya looked at me gratefully, then glanced at the hostile-looking group in front of us. After a brief hesitation, she said, "It's fine. Let's just go together." Chloe clicked her tongue in annoyance. One of the guys behind her immediately barked, "Can't you see our girl has something to say to him? Get lost if you know what's good for you!" Chloe smirked, clearly enjoying the tough-guy act on her behalf. I told Maya, "It's okay. Head back. I'll have that decathlon problem solved for you before study hall." Once Maya scurried away, Chloe raised an eyebrow and asked, "Ethan, I heard you've been getting awfully cozy with some girl lately. Was that her?" They rearranged the seating chart last week, and Maya ended up next to me. She had squeaked into our AP class with the lowest qualifying score. She lacked a strong foundation, but she worked incredibly hard. Hard work always pays off eventually. Since I was doing better in class, she often asked me questions. Sometimes, even if we bumped into each other in the cafeteria, she'd come over with a textbook. But I didn't owe Chloe an explanation about my life. So I said, "None of your business. Tell your friends to move. I have to get to class." Chloe sounded almost whiny as she said, "What do you mean, none of my business? We grew up together! How could you get a girlfriend and not tell me?" "No offense, but your class monitor is kind of chubby. If you date her, it'll be embarrassing to take her anywhere! I don't know what you see in her." She scrunched up her nose, looking utterly disgusted. "Of course, if you found a girlfriend as pretty as me, I definitely wouldn't stop you." She blew a smoke ring right at my face, a teasing smile on her lips. Caught off guard, I inhaled the harsh smoke and doubled over, coughing violently until tears streamed down my face. I had asthma. Strong chemical smells or smoke easily triggered it. Chloe knew this perfectly well, yet she did it anyway. She and the guys behind her burst out laughing. It suddenly hit me: Chloe had known all along that I had a crush on her. That was exactly why, in my past life, she used my feelings as a weapon to destroy me. And like an idiot, I thought she had actually fallen for me and recognized my worth. I was so incredibly wrong. It took me a minute to catch my breath before I stood up straight. "Maya is a great person and she's incredibly smart. Looks aren't the only way to judge someone's value. "She and I are just classmates. Not everyone makes high school entirely about who they're dating." I didn't hold back. Chloe's expression darkened, and she tossed her cigarette onto the ground. "Ethan, you're so boring!" She kicked over the plastic bin I was carrying, sending shuttlecocks scattering all over the floor. As if that wasn't enough, she deliberately stepped on several of them as she walked past me. The guys with her mimicked her, stomping on the shuttlecocks as they followed. I stood there, looking at the crushed plastic and feathers on the floor, feeling a strange sense of emptiness. What kind of person had I been in love with all those years? Senior year flew by, and midterms were right around the corner. Soon, I'd be able to test exactly how much my hard work had paid off. I scarfed down my dinner, trying to save time. But just as I stepped out of the cafeteria, I ran into Chloe. She grabbed my arm. "I knew you'd be here! Ethan, you have to help me!" My first instinct was to pull away, but she gripped tighter. "Exams are coming up and I haven't studied at all! If I bomb this, I'm dead! My mom will definitely ship me off to one of those lockdown prep schools! "Then how am I supposed to see Caleb? I'll die without him. "Ethan, please, please help me. Let me borrow your notes. I swear I'll actually study them!" The same pitiful, damsel-in-distress act. She assumed I'd never say no to her. I gave it to her straight. "Didn't you say you didn't need me to tutor you anymore? I haven't been taking detailed notes lately." It was the truth. I kept the key concepts in my head and reinforced them by running practice drills. Writing out pretty notes was a waste of time. Besides, the notes I did jot down for myself were shorthand, skipping basic steps. She wouldn't understand them anyway. A flash of relief crossed her face. "That's fine, as long as you're willing to help. I need the notes ASAP. Stay up tonight and organize them for me. Pulling an all-nighter should be enough." "Give them to me tomorrow, got it? Otherwise, I won't have enough time to memorize everything." She had planned out exactly how to use me before she even walked over. I shook my head. "I can't help you. If I pull an all-nighter, I'll be a zombie all week. It'll ruin my focus for the exams." Looking completely shocked that I had refused, Chloe furrowed her brow, her voice growing shrill. "What do you mean you can't stay up?! When you agreed to tutor me, you stayed up all night making study guides! Why can't you do it now?!" She looked so entitled. As if I existed solely to take her orders, as if I owed her endless, unconditional indulgence. I made it crystal clear. "That was before. Back when you actually wanted to learn. The way you are now... I'm not wasting my time." Chloe glared at me furiously, pointing a finger right in my face as she screamed: "Fine! You think you're so great just because you can read a damn book! Let me tell you, valedictorians don't become the bosses in the real world! "With your garbage social skills, if you think you're going to make it big, keep dreaming!" Her words meant nothing to me. What could she possibly say that would hurt more than what she said to me in my past life? She spat her venom, but as she walked away, she purposely slowed her steps. She was waiting for me to chase after her. Waiting for me to apologize and cave, to say I'd stay up and write the notes. Just like I had done so many times before. I did call out to her. Chloe turned around, crossing her arms, wearing a triumphant smirk. I continued, "Oh right, you haven't told your parents that we canceled tutoring, have you? If you don't tell them, I will." "I'm a terrible liar. If they ask me why, it's highly likely I'll let the truth slip." Hearing this, Chloe's face turned livid. "Damn it, Ethan, you're gonna pay for this!" She looked at me like she wanted me dead. But I really didn't care anymore. Between her and my future, I was picking my future. I should have woken up a long time ago. After evening study hall, the second I stepped out of the school gates, a deafening motorcycle engine roared. Caleb, with Chloe on the back of his bike, stopped right in front of me, blocking the sidewalk. A whole gang of colorful-haired delinquents pulled up behind them. I asked, "Can I help you?" Caleb just sneered at me. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and one of his guys immediately rushed forward to light it for him. He exhaled a slow stream of smoke, tilting his chin up. "You pissed off my girl? Pretty brave for a four-eyed nerd." Chloe wrapped her arms around his waist, looking incredibly smug. "Ethan, apologize right now. And write up those study notes for me tonight. If you do, I'll tell my boyfriend to let you off the hook." What a blatant shakedown. I never realized she could be this shameless. Or maybe she had been this way all along. It was just my crush on her that had painted her in a golden, flawless light. I let out a slow sigh. "I don't want any trouble. But Chloe, I've kept my mouth shut about everything you're doing. If I tell your parents, do you really think you'll still be living this carefree lifestyle?" The smirk froze on Chloe's face. I kept going. "You know exactly how fiercely protective your parents are. If they find out you're running around with a gang and dating this guy, will they ever let you leave the house again?" Caleb looked entirely dismissive. "So what if they know? Worst case, I show up at their front door to meet the in-laws. With a son-in-law as awesome as me, they should consider themselves lucky!" The delusion was almost impressive. Chloe, humiliated and enraged, threw an empty cigarette box at my head. "You really think I give a crap about your stupid notes?! Keep your nerd crap! I have my own ways, just you watch! "Let's go, babe!" Caleb threw a mock punch in the air at me before revving his engine and speeding off, his entire crew trailing noisily behind him. That night, Mrs. Davis called me. "Ethan, sweetie, thank you so much for tutoring Chloe lately. You have excellent grades, and with college applications coming up, you really need to spend more time focusing on yourself." Chloe had definitely spun a story. No doubt she painted it like I was too obsessed with my own grades to bother helping her anymore. She was the one slacking off, yet she pinned the blame squarely on me. But whatever. At least now, whatever happened to her going forward, her parents couldn't blame me for it. Her life was officially none of my business. Midterms wrapped up, and the school gave us a rare half-day off. I went home, caught up on sleep, ate dinner, and headed back to school for evening study hall. As soon as I walked into the classroom, I heard the gossip. "Did you guys hear? Chloe and Caleb got caught cheating on the exams! The school is calling their parents in!" So this was the "own way" Chloe had bragged about. "And guess what happened next? Chloe literally dropped to her knees in front of the dean, begging him not to tell her folks! Caleb thought she was being embarrassing, kicked a desk, and just walked out on her!" "Then what? What happened?" "Then—get this—the dean actually let it go!" "No way, seriously?" "I mean, look at her. She's gorgeous, great body, crying her eyes out like a damsel in distress. What guy wouldn't cave? The dean's only human." I couldn't stand listening to it anymore. "Watch your mouth." The guy who was talking scoffed. "She doesn't even like you, why are you still defending her? Ethan, you've played the pathetic lapdog for so long you actually think it's romantic, huh?" He was being completely aggressive, making the people around him snicker. "I'm not defending anyone; I'm just stating facts. Just because it's the 21st century doesn't mean you can spew garbage rumors like that." The guy thrived on attention, so getting called out made him snap. "Ethan! You looking for a fight?!" "Gentlemen use their words. Resorting to fists just because you can't win an argument is pretty pathetic." Having worked in corporate America for years in my past life, dealing with sarcastic passive-aggression was second nature. These high school kids couldn't touch me. Right then, Maya shouted, "The rankings are out!" Instantly, the tension evaporated. Everyone swarmed Maya. It was completely packed. Maya sighed. "Give me some space, guys! Let me tape the sheet to the wall first, then you can look." I really wanted to see my score, but there was no way I was fighting that crowd. Might as well review some vocabulary while they finish up. Maya walked over to my desk and handed me a slip of paper. My grades were written on it. "I copied them down for you. No big deal. Ethan, you killed it! Ninth in the whole grade!" Ninth in the grade! Even at my absolute best in my past life, I only ever made it to eleventh. It was true: when you put your head down and shut out the noise, the hard work pays off. I stretched my arms over my head, took a breath, and dove right back into my textbooks. The semester blew by. Time felt like it was on fast-forward, moving almost too quickly to catch my breath. My dad looked at my final report card, beaming. "Sixth in the grade! Awesome job, son. Keep this up, and the Ivy League is in the bag." I nodded. "I'll keep pushing." My goal was a top-tier Ivy, so I still had work to do. My mom chimed in with a sigh, "It's such a shame about the Davis girl. She was just diagnosed with depression. She has absolutely no interest in school anymore, and her grades have completely tanked. Her parents are stressing out, wondering if they should have her take a gap year and try for college next year." Depression? She really knew how to find an excuse for herself.
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