Reborn on Exam Day: I Let Them Lose

When I was shoved off a high-rise building, Jeffrey Price's smug voice rang in my ears. "Finley, I knew I wasn't getting into a good college, so I was late on purpose. If you end up 'killing yourself' out of guilt, I can play the victim and gain even more followers."

Suddenly, cold rain slapped against my skin and snapped me out of the blur.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing on the school sports ground.

I looked at my girlfriend, Heidi Moore, who was arguing with the driver assigned to take us to the exam venue, and a surge of emotion hit me.

The next second, Heidi turned on me in anger. "Finley Lowell, you're so selfish! Jeff isn't here yet. What's wrong with waiting two more minutes?"

All the students around us glared at me too.

"Yeah, Jeff's our classmate. How can we just leave him behind?"

"We're not getting on that bus until he shows up!"

Their hostile stares made something ache in my chest.

In my last life, I was afraid we'd miss the exam if we kept waiting, so I tried to get the driver to leave without him.

I did it for their future, yet they treated me like the enemy for it.

Heidi pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of me. Her gaze was full of disgust. "Finley, I know you're my boyfriend, but I have to say it. That was way out of line. This is the SAT. Making him miss it is basically ruining his life."

Looking at her like she wanted me gone, I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, then forced myself to relax before saying, "Fine. If you're all willing to risk your futures for Jeffrey, then wait. It's pouring anyway. I'll be on the bus."

I ignored their furious looks and got on the school bus.

The driver glanced at me, worried. "With my experience, waiting any longer in this kind of rain is asking for trouble."

But Heidi let out a sneer. "Stop trying to scare people. I take that route all the time. Nothing's going to happen."

The driver said nothing more and quietly returned to his seat.

Meanwhile, the students acted as if they'd just won something big and cheered in the rain.

But they didn't know something. I'd already secured a guaranteed admission to Bastion University before this exam. Whether I took the SAT or not didn't matter to me at all.

I only came along to experience it for myself.

I just wondered how many of them, who didn't have any backup plan, would still be laughing an hour from now.

My eyes turned red as I trembled and called Mom.

Thinking back to how I was pushed off that building in my last life, and how Mom's car had gone off a cliff, leaving nothing behind but wreckage, I couldn't stop the tears.

This time, I was going to make those ungrateful people pay for their choices.

I was going to make them understand just how stupid they really were.

Time passed slowly. 15 minutes later, Jeffrey finally showed up, panting with a backpack in his arms.

The sports ground was only a five-minute run from the dorm, but he still made a show of being completely out of breath.

Although he was surprised that his classmates were still there, the shock only flickered across his face before he put on a smile and said, "I knew you guys wouldn't leave me behind."

Under everyone's excited gazes, he shot me a vicious glance.

Heidi looked at Jeffrey with a tender gaze. "Don't worry, Jeff. We'll always wait for you, no matter what."

Just then, my phone buzzed with a breaking news alert.

I smiled seeing the headline.

Heavy overnight rain had flooded the road leading to the exam venue, making it impassable.