I was reborn the day before the SATs. On this very day, Liam Carter confessed his love to the girl I hated most. They would embark on a passionate, whirlwind romance that lasted a decade. Then they would break up. And then, through a mutual acquaintance, he would meet me, and we would get married. 1 I woke up the day before the SATs. It was a drowsy afternoon. Mr. Harrison, our homeroom teacher, was droning on about test procedures. My deskmate, Sarah, kept nudging me with her elbow. "Big news!" she whispered conspiratorially. "Bella Davis from AP English lost her admission ticket." "Her whole class is looking everywhere for it." I shot up from my seat, ignoring Mr. Harrison's angry shout, and sprinted downstairs. In my past life, this happened too. Bella Davis lost her ticket, and Liam Carter found it in a trash can. Bella was so moved by his heroism that when Liam confessed his feelings right after, she said yes. To go to the same college as Liam, Bella—the valedictorian—deliberately skipped the last essay question on her exam. They had a legendary ten-year romance. But in the end, I was the one who married Liam. 2 I ran to the dumpsters behind the school building. Ignoring the stench, I started digging through the trash. "Ugh..." After gagging several times, I finally found Bella's ticket crumpled inside a ball of scratch paper. I slammed the ticket onto Bella's desk. She looked up, eyes red like a rabbit's. "Lucy... thank you." I scoffed. "Don't think just because you aced the mocks you'll ace the real thing. I'm going to beat you this time." What I really thought was: If you want to thank me, don't date Liam. Unfortunately, Bella couldn't read minds. She wiped her tears and buried her head in her books. "I won't let you down." Me: "..." Back in class, Sarah poked me again. "Lucy, are you possessed?" I shook my head. "No." Sarah frowned. "But you hate Bella. You always say she's fake." How could I explain? I just didn't want my future husband confessing his love to his first love. 3 Bella Davis was my arch-nemesis growing up. She was my neighbor, the "perfect child" all parents adored. Pretty, smart, always first in class. Even though I called her "Ice Queen" behind her back, the adults praised her as diligent and graceful. I really hated her. Especially since she was always number one, and I was always number two. My entire academic life was spent in her shadow. And now, my future husband was about to confess to her. This was unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. So I made a decision. Total. Lockdown. I would not give them a single second alone. 4 The next day was the SATs. Cicadas buzzed in the summer heat. I crouched by Bella's front door, bored, waiting to walk with her. But her mom told me Bella had already left. I checked my watch. It was only 7:00 AM. In my hazy memories of my past life, Bella encountered some trouble on the morning of the test. Sure enough, I hadn't walked far when I heard Bella's trembling voice from a nearby alley. "What... what do you want?" "I'll give you my money. Just let me go." A greasy-looking punk laughed. "We don't want money. We heard you're the school beauty. We just want to have some fun." "Come on, smile for us." Bella bit her lip, eyes full of terror. In a romance novel, this is where the hero would burst in, save the damsel, and sparks would fly. But I wasn't the hero. I was the villainess determined to ruin the romance. I had woken up thirty minutes early for this. So— "Hey!" I put my hands on my hips and held up my phone. "I called the cops. They're on their way." At the mention of police, the punks scattered like rats. I pulled Bella up from the ground. "Let's go." "If we're late, you won't have time to finish the essay." 5 The exams ended faster than I expected. It felt like our youth was frozen in that moment. The decorated exam halls, the spotless blackboards, the couples whispering in corners. These became our most precious memories. No one knew what the future held. But the freedom and wildness of that final day was where our lives intersected for the last time. That night, the entire senior class went into party mode. Everyone gathered to drink. People got drunk, started babbling nonsense, dancing on tables. And some people... Namely, me. Like a shadowy rat, I stared fixedly at Bella and Liam. Absolutely. No. Chance. For. Them. To. Be. Alone. "Lucy!" Sarah waved at me frantically. "Come drink!" Her voice was so loud. Instantly, everyone looked at me. People from the other class started whispering. "Isn't she from AP Bio? What's she doing here?" "I don't know, did someone invite her?" Me: "..." Traitor. Absolute traitor. By the time I shook off Sarah... In a quiet corner, a row of heart-shaped candles was being lit. My future husband, Liam, was bent over, back to me, lighting them. I let out a screech like a marmot. "Security! Someone's playing with fire!"
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