Second Life, Different Choice

The light in front of me dimmed, fading out bit by bit, until the crashing waves swallowed my weak cries whole.

I reached out, fingers straining for the life ring just a few feet away, only to see Terry Vargas step in and puncture it with a needle, destroying my last chance.

His eyes burned with hatred as he stared me down.

"You killed the girl I loved most. I hope you enjoy this living hell."

When he saw me stop fighting, finally going still, he turned and walked away, satisfied.

A sharp pinch twisted into my arm, and I slowly opened my eyes.

"Katrina, why are you just sitting there? You've been ignoring us forever!"

"Hayley was nice enough to suggest a rafting trip for the whole class, and you're over here with that attitude. You really think you're something, huh?"

"I heard you messed up your answer sheet during the exam. Instead of owning it, now you're taking it out on us?"

The complaints buzzed around me, and I froze.

It hit me all at once. I was back to the day we filled out our college applications.

I bit my lip hard and forced myself to steady.

"The exams are over. We get that you're upset, Katrina, but you can't stop everyone else from having some fun."

Hayley Law, the campus beauty, frowned slightly, looking at me like she didn't know what to do.

Terry stepped in front of her without hesitation, shielding her as he shot me a mocking look.

"You practiced hundreds of times and still messed up your answer sheet? With nerves like that, you could repeat a few more years and still end up the same! Honestly, you should just give up now. Getting into any school at all would already be a win for you."

The others jumped in right away, laughing along with him.

Right before the exam, Terry, the most popular guy in school, broke up with me.

The pendant hanging around Hayley's neck caught my eye, almost like it was laughing at me, too.

I climbed thousands of steps to a hillside chapel before his SAT, just to get him a good-luck charm, praying it would help him.

At that moment, my mind went completely blank.

I forced myself to focus on the test, but my vision blurred with tears. When I filled in the answer sheet, I shifted one line off without realizing it.

By the time the 15-minute warning sounded, I saw the blanks and scrambled to fix everything.

Hayley had watched the whole thing. After the exam, she made sure to mock me in the class group chat for everyone to see.

My fist clenched without me noticing, nails digging into my palm until the sting snapped me back.

I gave a small nod.

"Hayley's right. Now that the exams are over, it makes sense to relax. I'll sit this one out."

When I didn't blow up the way they expected, their interest in making fun of me faded fast.

They turned away, crowding around Hayley to talk about where to go.

"I heard the spot near Hayley's place is super quiet, and the water's really clear. Sounds perfect."

Quiet and clear, sure.

But it wasn't an official site. There were no safety measures, no protection. The news had warned about places like that more times than I could count.

In my last life, I had tried everything to stop them, just to keep everyone safe.

This time, I wasn't getting involved.

I turned to leave.

Terry suddenly grabbed my backpack and yanked me back.

"Katrina, you're the class monitor. You're coming with us."