Chapter 2

I sat in my seat, the clothes on my back completely drenched in sweat. My hands were ice-cold; I could barely hold my pen steady, and my handwriting looked like a bunch of squiggly earthworms.

The despair from my past life still felt painfully real. Everyone had cursed at me, called me a cheater, a disgrace, and said I got what I deserved. But I clearly hadn't done anything wrong.

Now, I knew better than anyone else that this was real. I was given a chance to start over, and there was one thing I knew for certain—the whistleblower letter was submitted on the second day of the exam.

Sabrina claimed she had seen me making a transaction with someone outside the school on June 3rd, which was two days from now. She would visit the academic affairs office with the two "witnesses", and everything would repeat itself.

No. I refused to walk that path again in this lifetime, but what should I do? Should I confront her, tell the teachers, or expose her ahead of time?

None of that would work.

I had tried that in my past life. I caught wind of the rumors before she filed the report and explained it to our homeroom teacher, Rebecca Wells. Yet what happened?

Sabrina had cried even harder than I did, saying I didn't trust her and asking how I could think she would ever hurt me. Ms. Wells ended up thinking I was just acting guilty and defensive.

Sabrina was just too good at acting. She had that innocent face, tearful eyes, and pitiful act that convinced everyone to believe her. I needed something she couldn't possibly overturn or deny.

What would be the most ironclad or foolproof evidence? What was most impossible to frame?

There was only one answer—to make her accusation completely non-existent from the start.

In my past life, Sabrina reported me for cheating on the college entrance exam, but what if I never sat for the exams at all?

I snapped my head up. The countdown tracker hung above the blackboard at the front of the room, showing a seven-day countdown to the exam. Seven days were more than enough.

In my past life, I received a guaranteed admission letter from the University of Arendale two weeks before the exam. Having won first place in the State Physics Championship, I had long secured admission eligibility, but I had hesitated back then.

I wanted to aim for the prestigious Ulsmore University and felt that University of Arendale wasn't good enough. I believed my scores could get me into a better institution.

So, I kept putting off signing the guaranteed admission letter.

On June 3rd in my past life, I was still debating whether to sign, but in this life, there was no such need anymore.

I bolted up from my seat, and the math teacher, Barbara Bowman, looked up at me. "Where are you going, Kiara?"

"To the academic affairs office, Ms. Bowman."

"We're in the middle of class."

"It's an emergency."

I left the classroom and jogged all the way to the academic affairs office, knocking on the door while catching my breath. The head of academic affairs, Edith Hudson, was a strict woman in her 40s who wore gold-rimmed glasses.

When she looked up and saw me, she was stunned. "What's the matter?"

I walked in, took out my phone, and pulled up the guaranteed admission email sent by University of Arendale before placing it on her desk. "I've made up my mind about the guaranteed admission, Ms. Hudson. I'll sign the papers."

She pushed her glasses, clearly surprised. "Didn't you mention wanting to think about it a little more?"

"No more thinking."

She looked at me, probably sensing that something was a little off about me today, but she didn't pry further. Instead, she took out the guaranteed admission confirmation form from a drawer and handed it to me.

"Have you discussed this with your family?"

"Yes."

I lied. I hadn't discussed it with anyone else. Still, after everything Mom and Dad went through because of me in my past life, they wouldn't object even if I were accepted by a community college, let alone guaranteed admission to the University of Arendale.

I signed my name on the confirmation form. Every single stroke was written with extreme force.

After taking the form, Ms. Hudson checked it, stamped it, and scanned it before uploading it to the system.

"Alright. Now that the agreement is official, you don't have to take the exam anymore. Report to the University of Arendale in July."

"Are there any plans for the next few days?" I asked.

"There's a training camp for guaranteed admission students starting on June 5th at the University of Arendale's campus."

"I'll go," I announced.

After walking out of the academic affairs office, I leaned against the hallway wall and let out a long breath. It felt as if every ounce of strength had drained from my body.

June 7th was the first day of the exam, and I would be in a laboratory at the University of Arendale. I wouldn't even be in the examination hall.

"Go ahead and report me, Sabrina. Let's see how you'll make your story add up for reporting someone who never set foot in the examination hall."