She Heard Nothing

My head slammed against the scorching, unforgiving ground, the intense pain making me see stars, but I didn't dare move a single muscle.

I lay there on the ground, forcing myself to remain in the same position, keeping up the appearance of looking unconscious.

Through the narrow slits of my eyes, I could clearly see Bella Sue's expression, frozen awkwardly as she had to swallow the venom she'd been poised to spit only moments ago.

The very next second, startled cries erupted all around me.

"Someone fainted! Sir, someone fainted!"

All their gazes, previously focused on the classmate who'd made a mistake, became focused on me.

To her credit, Bella reacted quite quickly, forcing her expression into one of warmth and concern. Her voice light, she asked, "Are you alright, Lauren? Why'd you pass out? Are you feeling okay?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and continued pretending to be unconscious, ignoring her.

In my previous life, when a classmate made a mistake during orientation and was reprimanded by the instructor, Mr. Jones, she reprimanded me and lied that she could hear my inner thoughts. Step by step, she destroyed my campus life, ruined my future, and forced me to take my own life.

This was where all my tragedies began, and this time, I had stopped her very first accusation before she could make it.

However, I knew Bella wouldn't give up so easily.

When I gave her no response, the worried voices around me grew louder, and sure enough, Bella's voice came from beside me, acting deliberately troubled.

"Sir, I-I'm not sure if I should say this, but uhm…" She paused, then slowly continued, as if she needed to muster up the courage, "I think I heard her inner thoughts just now, and she said that she passed out on purpose… S-She seems to want to use this as an excuse to skip orientation…"

The moment she said this, the murmurs around us exploded.

"That was a ruse? No way, she fell really hard though!"

"Is Bella being serious? It sounds too strange to be true…"

"But she's always been such a kind person… Why start lying now?"

"Is Lauren really faking it?!"

With just a few carefully chosen words, she began quietly turning the crowd against me.

Then she softly added, cementing her image.

"I don't know what's going on, but I really do think I can hear her inner thoughts… She says that she's got two pieces of candy in her pocket, and she was planning to eat them while slacking off, I heard it loud and clear!"

My heart clenched, an icy chill sweeping over my entire body in an instant.

In my past life, this scene played out in exactly the same way, and she said the exact same words. Back then, I couldn't understand how she could have known so precisely about the candy in my pocket.

I had no way to defend myself. All I could do was watch as that one eerily accurate prediction convinced my classmates, instructors, and teachers that she truly possessed the ability to read my mind.

Since then, every single word she spoke was seen as the truth, while I became the sinister, malicious, hypocritical villain.

But this time, I had been given a second chance.

This time, I wouldn't give her another chance to hurt me.