Chapter 3

Whispering broke out behind me.

I didn't turn around.

As I stepped into the hallway, I heard Chloe say, "What's wrong with Julia today? She looks terrible. Did she not sleep?"

Then Natalie's soft, gentle voice followed.

"She's probably stressed about the entrance exams."

How thoughtful.

I almost laughed.

Instead, I quickened my pace and headed downstairs.

The cafeteria was packed. I got my food and found a table in the corner.

Eating alone felt strange.

I used to eat every meal with Natalie. We'd sit across from each other and talk like we could never run out of things to say.

Now I wondered how much of that endless conversation had been friendship and how much had been setup.

I took a bite.

It tasted like nothing.

When had I started trying so hard to make everyone like me?

Probably freshman year.

I had brought pastries from the hotel kitchen to field day, and everyone loved them.

That feeling - being liked by everyone - had felt amazing.

Too amazing.

After that, generosity became a habit.

Meals. Birthday gifts. Coffee before exams. Weekend hangouts at my family's place.

My parents never stopped me. They actually encouraged it.

"Classmates should look out for each other," they always said.

Maybe that was why everyone had come to believe I was supposed to solve this problem too.

Except there had never been any "each other."

It had always been me helping them.

Three years of favors.

And when my family needed one honest sentence, I got silence.

After lunch, I returned my tray and called my mother.

She answered after two rings.

"Jules, did you eat?"

"I did, Mom."

I leaned against a pillar outside the cafeteria and lowered my voice.

"I wanted to ask about the hotel. Are the rooms for entrance-exam weekend already booked?"

"Of course."

She sounded cheerful.

"They sold out almost as soon as we released them. All fifty rooms are gone.

"We're still getting calls. I asked your dad whether we should turn the staff rooms into guest rooms too, but he said no. We can't make the employees miserable just because demand is high."

All fifty rooms, sold.

I froze for half a second.

Then I smiled.

In my last life, those fifty rooms had been empty because we'd saved them for my classmates for free.

This time, every room had sold at full price.

"Why?" Mom asked. "Do your classmates need rooms? If they do, I can see whether anybody cancels."

"No."

My answer came immediately.

"Don't hold anything for them."

My mother went silent for two seconds.

She knew exactly how I'd treated my classmates for the past three years.

This had to sound strange coming from me.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."