The Day I Chose Myself

"Evelyn, we're willing to make a special exception if you agree to enroll at Blackridge," said one of the admissions officers, his eyes gleaming with hope. "You can bring one classmate along as part of the deal."

The whole room went still.

My classmates, teachers, and admissions representatives all had their eyes on me. The room was so tense it felt nearly impossible to breathe.

I took a slow breath and replied firmly, "No."

The class exploded.

No one had seen that answer coming.

It didn't take long for the snide comments to start.

"I guess being valedictorian really does make you too good for your old classmates."

"Of course. She's the top scorer in the state now. Why would someone like her care about people headed to junior college?"

"Fine, whatever. It isn't as if she should help the rest of us, but not even helping her childhood best friend? Talk about being selfish."

My eyes landed on Shawn.

His face was dark with anger, his eyes blazing with the fury of one betrayed.

"Evelyn, what's your problem?" he demanded. "Weren't we supposed to go to Blackridge together?"

He still had that handsome, easy face that used to make people trust him without question.

However, I could see the face from my past life over it. The same one that contorted with cruelty after he had destroyed my family.

It didn't resemble the Shawn I used to know. He had looked nothing like the considerate, reliable boy I once cared for.

In my previous life, he and Madison had hurried into the classroom one after another, both appearing disheveled when I mentioned I would take him to Blackridge University.

Back then, I had been stuck in a one-sided love for him for years. I had wanted nothing more than to bring him with me and hand him the enrolment letter to Blackridge University on a silver platter.

What I hadn't known was that earlier, he and Madison had confessed their feelings and made things official that very same day.

The boy who used to tell me we would get into the same college and never be apart had already become someone else's boyfriend.

The matching rings on his and Madison's fingers had felt like knives in my eyes.

I looked at him and replied quietly, "A problem? There's nothing of the sort. I just didn't want to break up a happy couple."

I forced my way into his future in my last life, thinking I was helping him.

Instead, I got my whole family killed.

I wasn't going to play the savior this time around.

'Smack.'

The slap cracked across my face so hard my head snapped to the side.

Shawn's voice rang through the room, shrill with outrage.

"We were just messing around. What are you, some kind of jealous psycho? Madison bombed her exams and got so depressed that she nearly killed herself. I was just comforting her. What of it?"

He glared at me. "You got into Blackridge, but you're still a manipulative little snake. You're using this to control me."

Madison stepped in right away, looking fragile and wronged.

"Eve, please don't misunderstand," she explained softly. "Shawn and I really aren't like that. He was only trying to help me because he's kind."

She lowered her head, her voice shaking.

"It's all my fault. I didn't do well, and now I've caused trouble for both of you. I don't even deserve to be class president."

Her voice nearly broke at the end.

Madison had always known how to win people over. Since she was the class president, she already had most of the room on her side.

Sure enough, people started turning on me.

"What kind of valedictorian acts like this? Does Blackridge seriously want someone that petty?"

"What a waste."

"The system's totally broken if someone like her got the top spot."

The insults kept coming.

I just shook my head, took my Blackridge University admission letter, swallowed every vicious word thrown at me, and walked out without saying a thing.

I had already learned my lesson.

In my last life, I learned the hard way that meddling in someone else's fate had cost my entire family their lives.

...

As I passed a karaoke bar downtown that evening, I heard laughter spilling out from one of the private rooms.

Shawn was inside with the rest of our class.

"Shawn, what if Evelyn really doesn't bring you to Blackridge?" someone asked. "Where will you go?"

Shawn lifted a brow and laughed scornfully. "She will. Evelyn's been pathetically hung up on me for years. All I have to do is give her some scraps of affection, and she'll hand that Blackridge spot right over."

The others immediately started flattering him.

"Then, congrats in advance, man. Cheers to you, a future Blackridge student."

"Don't forget us when you make it big."

Shawn waved a hand grandly, smug as ever. "Obviously. I'm not selfish like some people."

The room erupted into raucous laughter as I heard them suck up to him further.