I Stopped Her from Stealing My Future

The proctor questioned me sternly, "What's that under your desk, 1023?" They picked up the smart earphone from the ground and put it against his ear. His face fell.

"Why do I hear answers?"

Yvonne Wilson, my sister, was seated right behind me. She looked up and blurted tremulously, "I-I told you not to bring that cheating earphone, Emilia. Why would you…"

She trailed off, but everyone in the hall knew what she meant. Naturally, they all looked at me with disdain.

"You're cheating on an important test like this? Stand up! You're coming with me!"

That was when I realized I had been reborn. Nevertheless, I didn't miss that flash of smug victory glinting in Yvonne's eyes.

I took a deep breath and defended myself, saying, "I didn't cheat. That's not mine."

"You're denying it after all this? Have you no shame?"

"Get out of the hall, you cheater! We're the real innocent ones here, and we have a test to finish!"

…

The other candidates started complaining. The proctor called their colleagues and tried to drag me out. "You don't have a place here if you're going to cheat. Don't get in the way of the other candidates!"

"I didn't cheat!" I flung the teacher's hand away. "You need to back up that accusation! Can you prove I cheated?"

I backed down after hearing those sharp words. I genuinely thought that I shouldn't get in the way of the other candidates, so I went with the teachers. Unfortunately, didn't give me a chance to defend myself.

Instead, they promptly decided I cheated and told the whole school about it.

The most damning evidence they had was Yvonne's statement.

The teacher sneered and pointed at Yvonne. "Your sister said this earphone's yours! What do you have to say for yourself?"

I looked at Yvonne. "Can you swear that you were saying the truth and only the truth? If the earphone's mine, then my fingerprint should be on it. I'll call the cops and ask for verification.

"If they prove that the earphone's not mine, it means you've fabricated evidence, which makes you a criminal!"

Yvonne wasn't expecting this level of retaliation from me, her eyes guiltily shifting away from my face. "W-Well, I thought it looked like yours, so…"

"So, your words might as well be slander!" I raised my voice.

The hatred I felt in my past life and the anger I was feeling at that moment melded into one as I stepped forth and hissed, "You were going to ruin my life just because of your 'it looked like yours' statement! Who do you think you are?"