The Aloof Observer

I remembered it clearly. In the final moments of my life, Winnie Frost had leaned close and laughed smugly by my ear. "Cassandra, weren't you trying to stop Sheldon and me from getting matching tattoos? Why bother? Just die already. Sheldon is mine. Don't even think about taking him from me."

I jolted awake, only to feel a burning sting across my cheek.

Sheldon Miller shook his hand impatiently, then grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the tattoo shop. "Cassandra, quit wasting time. Today, you're going to stand there and watch me get Winnie's name inked onto my wrist."

The classmates around us immediately echoed him.

"Cassandra is just jealous."

"She acts all proper, but maybe she just doesn't have the money for it."

"She is seriously messed up. She knows we have exams tomorrow, yet she is still dragging this out. She is trying to mess it up for all of us because she can't stand other people getting what they want."

As their malicious guesses piled up, a chill slowly seeped into my heart.

In my previous life, I knew most of them came from ordinary families. After grinding through three years of studying, their biggest dream was to get into a stable, government-backed major. I also knew those majors strictly forbade tattoos.

To make them believe me, I had searched through piles of information and showed them everything I found.

In the end, all my good intentions were treated like trash. They accused me, slandered me, and even threatened to beat me up for Winnie's sake.

Now, I looked at Winnie's smug face. She waved her hand grandly at the crowd and gently said, "Today, I am giving everyone a discount. Get whatever design you want. Don't hold back."

The classmates immediately returned her kindness with warm smiles.

"Winnie is so generous, and she's pretty and kind too."

"Yeah. I've wanted a tattoo for ages. School rules wouldn't allow it back in high school, but now I can finally get one."

"I want a rose on my chest."

"Give me a fierce tiger on my arm. I'll look amazing when I transfer to my new school."

Just like that, they all left tattoos on their bodies.

I sneered and turned away.

When they were rejected by their schools because of those tattoos, I wanted to see if they would still be able to smile.

After the students finished getting tattooed and returned to school, their homeroom teacher, Ms. Arianna Tyson, who usually wore a gentle smile, froze the moment she saw the tattoos on their bodies. Her face turned pale as she exclaimed, "Who allowed you all to get tattoos?"