During our final exams, the teacher picked up a crumpled piece of paper near the edge of my childhood friend's desk. He stood up, looking incredibly righteous, and pointed right at me. "Mr. Harris, Chloe threw this cheat sheet at me." I opened my mouth to explain, but Mia, sitting next to me, grabbed my arm with trembling hands. Her eyes were red. "Chloe, please don't," she whispered. In that moment of hesitation, I missed my only chance to defend myself. From that day on, I went from being the school's top honors student to a cheating pariah. No one would even listen to me. Liam, my childhood friend, and Mia couldn't wait to cut all ties with me. In our small, rural town, gossip travels fast. Even my parents, who had always been so proud of me, were pointed at and whispered about on the street. I was completely isolated, treated like a toxic disease. The school revoked my college scholarship recommendation. They cut off my financial aid. My dad's vegetable stand suddenly had zero customers. On the day my mom got critically ill and we couldn't afford her medical bills, Liam threw two hundred dollars at my feet and told me to drop out of school. "Keep your mouth shut. The college entrance exams are coming up. If you ruin Mia's reputation, I swear I'll make you regret it!" Then, I opened my eyes. I was back in the exam room during my senior year. Mr. Harris had a dark scowl on his face. He smoothed out the crumpled piece of paper and read it out loud: "Liam baby~ I don't know how to do the last essay question, boohoo..." "Who wrote this?! Stand up!" I jolted awake at his harsh shout, realizing I had somehow traveled back in time to this exact moment. Liam turned around to look at me. Seeing my face covered in sweat and tears, a flash of pity crossed his eyes before he sighed. "Since you already guessed what happened... just take the fall for it." And right next to me, Mia—the girl I had treated as my best friend—whispered tearfully, looking incredibly grateful: "Chloe, I promise I'll make this up to you." Pulling myself out of the agonizing memories of my ruined life and my family's destruction, I stood up before Liam could say another word. "Mr. Harris! I did not throw that note! The ink on that paper is blue-black, and my pen is black, so it’s physically impossible that I wrote it. Also, the handwriting on that note is weak, messy, and uses stupid emojis. My handwriting is sharp and clean. And lastly! I’ve already finished the last essay question. Look at my test paper. There is absolutely no reason I would write that!" I held up my exam paper, explaining everything loudly, clearly, and incredibly fast. I poured out all the explanations I had desperately repeated in my past life—explanations that no one had cared to listen to. Mr. Harris looked shocked. He glanced at my perfectly filled-out exam paper. "Chloe, I never said you threw it. Why are you getting so worked up?" Only then did I realize I had completely lost my composure. Beside me, Mia’s knuckles were white from clenching her fists. She glared at me with pure resentment. Liam also looked at me with deep disappointment. What? Did they really think that just because my family was the poorest in town, I deserved to be their scapegoat?! When the exam ended, Mr. Harris announced he would launch a full investigation and severely punish the cheater. He folded the note, placed it in his notebook, and left the room. I packed my bag, planning to head back to our homeroom classroom. But before I could reach the door, someone grabbed my arm and violently yanked me backward. Liam was surprisingly strong. Ignoring the stares of the other students, he dragged me to the secluded stairwell landing. Mia followed close behind, massive tears rolling down her cheeks. "Chloe, you're my best friend! You knew it was me! Why would you do that to me?!" I played dumb. "Huh? Mia, what are you talking about? What was you?" Mia stomped her foot in frustration. "That note! I threw it to Liam, and you clearly saw me do it!" "I didn't see anything." Mia opened her mouth to argue, but Liam stepped in. He gently rubbed her back, giving her a reassuring look. Then, he turned to me, his expression dead serious. "Chloe, I don't care if you did it on purpose or not. You made a massive scene, and now Mr. Harris has the note. I’m giving you two choices." "One: Go to Mr. Harris and confess that you wrote the note. You're smart, figure out an excuse that makes sense." "Two: Steal the note back from his notebook. I'm giving you until the end of the school day to fix this. If you don't, Mia is going to lose sleep tonight because of you." He issued his demands like an absolute dictator. Looking at him now, it was impossible to reconcile this arrogant boy with the kid I grew up with. The kid who, every Halloween, would steal two pieces of candy from his house—one for him, one for me—and we would make wishes for a better future. When did he change? Two years ago, Mia's father was transferred to our small town to become the Vice President of the local manufacturing plant. Because of that, Mia transferred into our class. That was the first time Liam and I ever saw her. Unlike me, in my faded, hand-me-down clothes, she wore a pristine white puffer jacket. She looked as pure and flawless as an angel. Liam, myself, and almost everyone else in the class couldn't take our eyes off her. She asked who the Class President was. Liam stood up. And from that day on, he became her desk mate. And I was moved to the very back of the classroom. I thought that from that day forward, Liam and I just had a new friend. Until the day I secretly confessed to Mia that I thought I might have a crush on Liam. That day, I completely missed the flash of disgust and mockery in her eyes... After that, I continued treating them with absolute loyalty, only to unknowingly become their personal servant. Somehow, it became an unspoken rule that any bad thing that happened was automatically my fault to bear. Looking at Liam's self-righteous face, I asked him seriously: "Why?" His handsome eyebrows furrowed in genuine confusion. "Why what?" "Heh." I let out a self-deprecating laugh, patiently explaining, "Liam. Mia cheated on the exam. It has absolutely nothing to do with me. Why should I cover for her?" "You—!" Mia stopped crying instantly and glared at me. "But you could have taken the blame for me! You used to be willing to do it! Why the sudden change today? You just wanted to embarrass me! You know my dad is incredibly strict. If he finds out, he'll never forgive me!" Liam, who had been momentarily speechless, seemed to find his footing again. "Exactly! Chloe, you did it on purpose! You're jealous of Mia, so you purposely humiliated her. You are truly toxic." The look Liam gave me didn't hold a single ounce of guilt. It was as if, by simply throwing the mud at me, I miraculously morphed into the sinister villain they needed me to be. "What exactly am I jealous of?" Mia practically glowed with arrogant triumph as she answered. "You're jealous that I'm prettier than you, richer than you, and... and because Liam likes me!" "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. But today, you really crossed the line!" "Do you know how hard it was for me not to throw up when you told me you liked Liam? Look at yourself. A poor loser like you doesn't deserve to like him!" With that, Mia grabbed Liam's hand, eagerly staking her claim. In my past life, she definitely didn't keep it a secret to "protect my feelings." She kept it a secret because if I knew they were together, she would lose her free servant. By pretending we were all just "good friends," she got to hear all my private, embarrassing secrets, just so she could mock me behind my back. "Liam, is that what you think too?" Liam's gaze fell on me, his expression complicated. Following his eyes, I looked down at my washed-out, slightly stretched school uniform. Ah. I understood perfectly now. "Liam, I don't like you anymore." "And Mia, I'm done being your little servant. You made your bed, now lie in it." I turned around and walked away without looking back. Mia's voice echoed menacingly behind me: "Chloe, you're going to regret this!" No, I won't. During passing period, the way my classmates looked at me completely changed. I was all too familiar with those malicious, judgmental stares. The whispers were loud enough for me to hear. "Did you hear? Chloe only gets first place because she cheats." "I heard! She's been taking the top scholarship money for two years straight! That is so messed up!" "How can they give that money to someone with no morals? We need to tell the principal and make her pay it all back!" "How is she gonna pay it back? Her family is dirt poor. She probably already spent it." "I don't care. She needs to sell her house to pay it back, or she needs to be expelled!" Listening to their vicious chatter, it felt like they had already decided my execution. Mia sat at her desk, twirling her pen, looking at me with a mocking smirk. She thought she had already won. Just as I expected, the rumor that I was a cheater had already spread like wildfire. Even without a shred of evidence, it didn't stop them from pouring their toxic waste all over me. After all, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. I was just about to stand up and defend myself when our homeroom teacher, Mr. Davis, called me into his office. He slammed his hand on his desk and pointed a finger right at my face. "Chloe Foster! You have completely disgraced Class 1! I can't believe you would do something as vile as cheating on a final exam! And I heard you put on quite a theatrical performance to cover it up? Hah. Go call your father right now. I want to ask him face-to-face how he raised such a shameless daughter!" I reached into my pocket, pulled out the cheap, clunky flip phone my dad had given me, and navigated to my voice memos. "No! Mr. Davis, I didn't cheat. Listen to this." I hit play. Right after the exam, when Liam dragged me to the stairwell, I had secretly hit record in my pocket. Even muffled through the fabric, Mia's voice was crystal clear. [That note! I threw it to Liam, and you clearly saw me do it!] "She admitted it! Mr. Davis, Mia is the one who cheated, not me!" In that moment, I was overwhelmingly grateful for my past trauma. Having lived through a literal death sentence caused by their lies, I was hyper-vigilant enough to gather hard evidence. Mr. Davis's face cycled rapidly between red and white. Then, he suddenly lunged forward and snatched the phone out of my hand. "Let me see that." When he finally handed the phone back to me, the voice memo was gone. "Why?!" I gasped. "Why what?" Mr. Davis said smoothly, leaning back in his chair. "I understand the situation now. I'll handle it. You can go back to class." I stood frozen in place, massive tears rolling down my face. "Why did you delete my recording?" Mr. Davis stood up and patted my shoulder with a heavy, patronizing sigh. "Let’s just drop this whole thing. Do I really need to spell it out for you? Do you know who Mia's father is? You have absolutely nothing to fight her with." "Even if you had proof she cheated, she wouldn't get punished. But you? Aren't you terrified of the retaliation?" "Alright, hurry up and go back to class. Let's pretend I never heard that recording, and you never took it. Keep your mouth shut from now on. Do you understand?" I wiped my tears and walked out of his office. I quickly checked my phone. Then, I broke into a dead sprint, running toward the school’s broadcast room like my life depended on it. I was going to make sure every single person in this school knew exactly what they did. No one was ever going to frame me again! The freezing wind burned my throat as I ran. When I burst into the broadcast room, the student announcer, Jessica, gave me a look of pure disgust. She leaned toward Liam, who was prepping the microphone, and sneered: "Your little stalker is back. I always knew she had thick skin, but I didn't know she was a cheater too." "Liam, how do you attract such gross flies..." I knew Jessica had a massive crush on Liam, which was why she was always so hostile to any girl near him. But I honestly didn't care anymore. I was only shocked by how incredibly fast the cheating rumor had spread. Liam and Mia were actively trying to ensure I could never, ever clear my name. Liam didn't even turn around, continuing to prep his script. Seeing him ignore me, Jessica looked incredibly smug. "Are you deaf? Get out before I call security to drag you out." I grabbed her arm, forcefully shoved her out into the hallway, and locked the heavy soundproof door. Liam finally stopped what he was doing and glared at me angrily. "What are you doing?!" Outside, Jessica started frantically pounding on the door. "Chloe! What is wrong with you?! Have you lost your mind?!" Inside, Liam saw that I wasn't speaking, and reiterated his stance. "Chloe, we aren't friends anymore. Please stop following me." I stared blankly at the brand-new school uniform jacket he had draped over the back of his chair. Liam’s family was just as poor as mine. Neither of our families could afford to buy us the optional, expensive winter uniform jackets. So, I starved myself for an entire semester, saving every penny of my lunch money, and gave it all to him. That was how he afforded that jacket. Meanwhile, I had to borrow a faded, worn-out one from a senior who had already graduated... Like a woman possessed, I grabbed the jacket, violently ripping at the seams. I snatched a pair of scissors off the desk and started frantically hacking it to pieces. Liam finally lost his cool. He jumped up and charged at me, completely dropping his aloof, arrogant prince persona. But he was too late. The jacket was already shredded into a pile of jagged rags, looking infinitely worse than the hand-me-down I was wearing. I threw the ruined pile of fabric toward the door. He scrambled to pick it up, his face twisted in absolute agony. While he was distracted, I unlocked the door and delivered a swift, brutal kick directly to his backside. Liam flew forward, crashing directly into Jessica, who was still trying to push the door open. They both collapsed into a tangled heap in the hallway, yelling in pain. I slammed the door shut, locked the deadbolt again, and hit the 'Broadcast All' button on the console. Then, I pulled out my phone and hit play on the newest voice memo. Because my phone was an archaic, clunky flip phone, I couldn't download Snapchat or Instagram. I couldn't join the class group chats. I never knew what my classmates were talking about, what they liked, or who they hated. Just like right now, I knew the group chats were definitely flooded with toxic rumors about me. But I couldn't see them, and I had no platform to defend myself. However, it was exactly because of this cheap, clunky flip phone that I was able to secretly record Mr. Davis explicitly admitting he was covering for Mia. And now, through the school's PA system, that undeniable truth was being broadcasted into the ears of every single student and teacher on campus. ... I heard the Principal was absolutely furious. He stormed into Mr. Davis's office right as Mr. Davis was secretly calling Mia's father to brag about how he handled the situation, heavily implying he expected a "reward" for his loyalty. He was caught red-handed and suspended on the spot. When I walked back into the classroom, the stares were still weird. The whispering hadn't stopped. But this time, I wasn't the target. The eye of the storm had shifted directly onto Mia. "Wow, I never would have guessed. Miss Perfect Princess is actually so... 'Liam baby'? Ugh, that's so cringe." "She gets caught cheating, and then tries to force Chloe to take the fall? I used to be so jealous that Chloe was her best friend. Now I just feel bad for her. Imagine how much crap Chloe had to put up with..." "I despise cheaters. We all study our asses off for our grades, and she just spends all day doing her makeup and shopping, and now she wants to steal a college recommendation spot? Disgusting!" "Keep your voice down, what if she hears you? Her dad is the VP of the plant. What if she comes after you?" ... Mia was completely ostracized. She fell from being the untouchable, beloved rich girl to being labeled a manipulative, toxic cheater that everyone actively avoided. Used to being treated like royalty, she couldn't handle the pressure and spent the entire class sobbing loudly with her head on her desk. Only Liam stood firmly by her side, looking utterly heartbroken but completely powerless to help her. Too cowardly to confront the rest of the class, Liam targeted me instead. "Are you happy now, Chloe? Stop wasting your time. Even if you completely destroy Mia's reputation, I will never, ever like you." "Get over here and apologize to Mia right now." He commanded me, his brow furrowed in righteous anger. I realized then that my previous unshakeable devotion to him was nothing but sheer, absolute blindness. Before I could even respond, the bell rang. The new substitute homeroom teacher walked in. Seeing Liam standing by my desk, glaring at me, she asked: "Liam, why aren't you wearing your uniform jacket?" Liam froze. He probably remembered the pile of shredded fabric I left in the hallway and flushed bright red with humiliation. I glared back at him, my eyes daring him to say a single bad word about me. If he did, I was fully prepared to expose exactly how he bought that jacket in front of the whole class. Liam ultimately chickened out. He sat back down and promised the teacher he would wear it tomorrow. Liam's family was actually much poorer than mine. His parents were farmers, but they were incredibly lazy. Their crop yields were terrible every year, and they barely scraped by. The difference between us was that everyone knew I was poor. But his poverty was a deeply buried secret. No one knew that until he was twelve, his name was actually "Billy." He legally changed his own name to "Liam" because it sounded more elegant and sophisticated. We had studied together to test into the town's middle school, promising each other we would work hard, get into a top university, and change our destinies. But the moment he met Mia, that goal suddenly became irrelevant. At school, Liam meticulously maintained his persona as the aloof, brilliant, wealthy scholar. He even took incredibly convoluted routes walking home just to make sure no one saw the dilapidated shack he lived in. But no one was ever going to buy him a new uniform jacket again. After cutting all ties with Mia and Liam, I threw myself entirely into my studies. Mia would frequently shoot me looks of undisguised contempt and superiority, acting as if as long as Liam cared about her, she had won the entire world. Liam, on the other hand, went from looking at me with total indifference to looking confused, hesitant, and constantly wanting to say something but stopping himself. Finally, during a passing period, Liam walked over and dropped a math workbook onto my desk. "The teacher went over this equation too fast. I didn't understand it." I didn't even look up. I grabbed the notebook that was blocking my practice test and, with a flawless parabolic arc, tossed it directly into the trash can at the back of the room. "You—!" Liam's face flushed bright red. "Chloe! That was my homework!" "Oh." I smiled pleasantly. "I thought it was just garbage~" Looking up at Liam, I noticed he was wearing the jacket I had hacked to pieces. It had been crudely stitched back together, the patches incredibly obvious. I raised an eyebrow. "So... you gave up the rich kid act?" Right on cue, Mia walked over holding a brand-new uniform jacket in its original packaging. She looked at Liam with total devotion. "Liam, I bought this for you." Liam put on a show of polite refusal. "Mia, I can't accept this." "Just take it! Didn't you say your dad's construction company hasn't gotten their latest payment from a contractor yet? I totally understand. Don't be embarrassed. Just treat me to a nice dinner once the funds clear!" I retracted my previous statement. "Liam, you really are a phenomenal actor." Liam was so choked up he couldn't speak. Mia immediately jumped to his defense. "What do you know, Chloe?! Liam's dad is a major CEO! It's totally normal for business payments to get delayed. Plus, his dad prioritizes paying his workers first, which is why their cash flow is tight right now! Do you think everyone is like your dad, selling cabbages on the street for pocket change? You are so small-minded." I couldn't be bothered to argue with her delusions. "Yep, you're so right. Now, can you please take your massive, worldly perspective and walk away? You're distracting me from studying."
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