All Chapters of She Sold Us a Second Chance: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I was still smirking when Lily finished counting hands."Forty-nine. Wait... why are we one short?"Dozens of faces turned toward me."Nora, you're our class president. Why aren't you signing up?"It's only $999 for a guaranteed future. You can't lose!"I tightened my grip on my pen."I'll trust the score I earn myself."Lily strutted down from the front of the classroom and looked at me with open contempt."Oh, spare us the speech. You think I'm scamming everyone."Lucky for you, I get one free trial. Let me open your eyes."Before she'd finished speaking, Tyler Brooks toppled backward in the seat in front of mine.His eyes lost focus. His limbs jerked.He looked as though his soul had left his body.As startled cries rose around me, I sensed it.Something in the room had changed.The broom in the corner was standing upright. The exam countdown had vanished from the board.And the practice paper in my hand had been torn to pieces.Then Tyler opened his eyes.He wiped

The parents froze.Denise's face crumpled. With trembling hands, she called her daughter."Where are you? Get back here. Right now!"A few minutes later, Lily hurried over with an iced latte in her hand.The moment our eyes met, she knew who'd talked.She flung the entire drink at me."That's what you get for making up lies about me!"Cold liquid ran beneath my collar and down my neck.Lily turned to the parents."Please trust us. Don't let someone with an agenda mislead you!"These are the most important exams of our lives. With my help, everyone in our class is going to do amazingly well!"So relax. Let your kids go away and enjoy themselves now that it's over. On results day, we're going to blow you all away!"Each claim was more ridiculous than the last. The parents looked torn between astonishment and doubt.But she wasn't finished.She turned back to me with a sneer."Oh, I almost forgot our poor class president. I guess you can't afford a vacation?"Perfect. I've

The parents stared in disbelief."Zero? How is that possible?""Did they really hand in blank papers? Have they lost their minds?""I don't believe it. There has to be a mistake. My child has never gotten a score like that!"Their voices rose. Tears started falling."What happened? Why did my child score zero, and why won't they wake up?"Who did this? Who's trying to hurt my child?"Across the room, things were getting uglier still.Slaps cracked through the air, followed by cries of pain."Stop! Please stop hitting me!"I'm a victim, too! Lily said she'd take me back. How was I supposed to know she'd break her promise?"I'm sorry. I know I messed up. Please stop!"I watched Tyler, who'd been so sure of himself before, clench his teeth in fury.He punched the big screen, tears streaming down his face."I should've answered the questions. I should've at least tried!"No college is going to take me with this score!"The room was chaos.But a few people were still clingi

I hadn't exactly whispered.Most of the classmates who were still conscious heard me.They rushed over, their eyes bright with hope."She's right. If she talks to them, we might still pull this off!""What are you waiting for, Tyler? It's just kneeling. She's not asking for a pound of flesh!""Don't you want Lily to wake up so she can take the rest of us back?"Someone kicked Tyler's leg out from under him.He landed on one knee in front of me.Such a familiar scene.Only now, our positions were reversed.He looked up, humiliated tears spilling from his eyes."Enough? Is this enough?"I never knew you were like this, Nora. Humiliating a classmate in public!""Both knees," I said. "And say it out loud, where everyone can hear you."His classmates shoved him the rest of the way down and held him there until he'd said it.His face was blotched red by the time they let go.He looked ridiculous.Warm satisfaction spread through me as I turned toward the parents who were pre

Under the pressure, Lily finally broke.After a long silence, she forced the words out."You only get one chance to go back."The room went still.Nobody moved. I could hear my own pulse.Tyler slapped her.The scratches on her cheek began bleeding again."You're saying we're stuck with zeros?"No. No way. We spent years studying, and you ruined everything because you couldn't get this right?"Why do you lot get to come back as top scorers while we're left with nothing?"His voice was going hoarse.He shook her shoulders as though he wanted to tear her apart.Then one of the students who'd returned snapped at him."You think we had it easy?"Sobs broke out as they began describing what had happened."English started, and barely half a minute later they took the papers away!""Everything after that was scrambled. Math went on for more than ten hours. But extra time doesn't help when you don't know the answers!""We had nothing to eat. Nothing to drink. We were so thirst