"Serves you right for bossing us around every day!"

With a heavy thud, I threw my bag to the floor and stormed out, slamming the door behind me.

Justin's smile froze on his face.

Someone whispered, "Did Cassidy… cry?"

Justin frowned, staring after me.

I splashed water on my face in the bathroom, wiping away the streaks of tears.

I told myself it was fine as I looked at myself in the mirror. So what if I gave the admission ticket away? Priscilla can keep it for all I care.

I could just apply for a replacement ticket. I still had time.

…

However, when I walked back into the classroom, the first thing I heard was the sound of cards shuffling.

I rushed in, only to find my classmates huddled in a circle. They were using the admission tickets as a replacement for playing cards.

The game was so intense that a few tickets slipped to the floor, and no one even cared.

"Priscilla's idea is brilliant. There are 54 of us. It's enough for a deck of cards!"

"The school banned playing cards, and Cassidy watches us like a hawk. Luckily for us, the admission tickets are with Priscilla for safekeeping. What is she gonna do now? Confiscate them? Hah!"

"I'm playing this one! Who's going for it?"

"I will! I've got Justin in my hand!"

"Then, I'll play Priscilla!"

Admission tickets were being smacked onto the desk one after another. Yet, the moment they saw me, the smiles on their faces were replaced by frowns.

"What are you staring at? Are you gonna tell us the admission tickets are banned too?"

"The exam's in two days, and you guys aren't even bothered to do your revisions?" I asked, slightly confused.

They just sneered at my question.

"What's there to be afraid of? Didn't you already say you'd give us exam predictions?"

I froze.

In my past life, I stayed up all night poring over years of exam questions. They didn't even care about my predictions. In fact, I had to beg them to study.

So, they did know how important this was, eh?

Priscilla's eyes sparkled with mischief as she threw my ticket onto the pile. "I play Cassidy. Who dares to beat her?"

"Cassidy?"

Everyone's attention snapped back to the game.

"I play Jonathan Hugh!"

"Even the underdog dares to challenge Cassidy? Please."

"Cassidy, huh?" Someone else clicked their tongue. "I guess anyone can just do her."

"Oooh… is that an innuendo I hear? Then, I'll play Ricky Lowe!"

"I choose Zachary Smith!"

One after another, everyone started slapping the admission tickets in their hands on the table. Meanwhile, the boys being "played" groaned in annoyance.

"Hey! I don't want to do her! That's gross!"

The whole class roared with laughter.

Hearing this, Priscilla covered her mouth dramatically and added, "Oh, stop, you guys. An eavesdropper might think you're talking about some prostitute."

A loud smack echoed in the classroom as my palm struck across her face.

At that moment, Justin just came back from looking for me, just in time to witness the scene. He grabbed my wrist hard. "Cassidy Ford! What the heck are you doing?"

Immediately, everyone shouted over each other, accusing me of being jealous of Priscilla holding the admission tickets.

I pointed to the pile of admission tickets scattered across the desk. "Justin Kylemark! They played my card like I was an easy woman who would do anyone! Am I supposed to smile and congratulate them for a game well-played?"

Even Justin, however clueless he may be, couldn't ignore the thick stack piled over my admission ticket.

"Justin, it was just a joke…" Priscilla's voice softened as she tugged gently at his sleeve.

However, when he looked at me—with my eyes burning red—his breath caught. For the first time, he didn't take Priscilla's side.

"Put them away," he ordered.

"Eh? But Justin—"

"I said put them away!" he roared, cutting her off.

Seeing his deep frown, everyone kept their mouths shut and gathered up the admission tickets.

He turned back to me as if wanting to explain something. However, I had already snatched my bag and walked out without looking back.

…

I didn't return to school, but Priscilla still made sure I saw what happened next.

In a private room, the whole class celebrated their so-called "freedom" from the class representative's supervision. They called it a pre-exam relaxation party.

Justin draped an arm over Priscilla's shoulder, grinning as the literature committee member, Marvin Hancock, teased.

"Come on, admit it. You told Priscilla to put the admission tickets away earlier because you were trying to support Cassidy, weren't you?"

The room erupted in cheers.

Under everyone's gaze, Justin tore my admission ticket in half. Then, with a smile, he turned to Priscilla and asked, "Do you believe me now, my princess?"

"Bold move, Justin!"

"Justin and Priscilla—perfect couple right here!"

The moment the beers were popped open, foam blasted out and splattered across the entire room. In the middle of all the cheering, Priscilla's voice message popped up.

"I'm so sorry. I was only joking, but somehow, to prove you're not the one in his heart, Justin actually agreed to tear up your admission ticket."

I forwarded that audio recording straight to Justin, asking him to explain this.

However, he didn't reply until the next day when he said, "Oh, I drank too much last night and forgot to tell you. You'd better hurry and reapply for a new ticket."

My grip on the phone tightened. "Justin Kylemark, if I hadn't reached out first, were you planning to wait until the day before the exam to tell me this?"

My words caught him off guard, and he grew impatient. "Can you stop being so jealous?"

With that, he hung up.

In the past, I wanted to take the SAT so I could apply to the same university as Justin.

But now? I no longer cared.

I dialed the number of the research institute. "Aunt Helena, I cracked the project's code. Also, I'll take up your offer to join your research institute."

"Oh my gosh! Cassidy, you finally came around! What about that childhood sweetheart of yours? Is he coming to Northwich too?"

I shook my head. "There's nothing between us anymore."

The research institute relied on me to solve coding problems in the past. And with memories from my past life, their "unsolvable" projects were child's play for me.

Freed from the pressure of the SAT exams, I focused on packing for Northwich.

On the day before the exam, my inbox exploded with notifications. Every single one of my classmates messaged me.

"Cassidy, didn't you say you'd give us exam predictions? Where are they?"

"Hurry up! The exam's tomorrow!"

"Can you send them already? I need to sleep by 10:00 pm!"

They were all frantic. Yet, when I asked them to study seriously before this, offering my predictions, they only sneered at me.

"You just can't stand that Priscilla is everyone's favorite and doing this to seek attention, aren't you?"

"What a joke! Nobody wants your stupid predictions!"

So, I tagged everyone in the group chat, simply writing, "There are no exam predictions. You're on your own."

The chat instantly blew up.

"What do you mean? You promised to give us exam predictions, and now you're bailing?"

"I didn't study at all! I was counting on you! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Fine, you win. We were only standing up for Priscilla because you were targeting her. We'll apologize now, alright? Just hurry up and send those predictions!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Weren't you the ones who said that nobody would waste their time on my predictions? If you never trusted me, why slack off and wait on me? Pathetic losers who can't even take responsibility for themselves deserve to flunk their exam."

I had never been so blunt with them, causing them to explode in outrage.

Just as I was about to mute the chat, Priscilla shared a file in the group.

[I'm not as capable as Cassidy, but I've put together some exam predictions too. I worked hard on these. I hope you guys don't mind…]

I opened the file. Every single prediction neatly avoided the real exam topics.

However, my classmates were overjoyed.

"That's our Priscilla! She keeps our admission tickets safe, and now she's giving us exam predictions too! Honestly, what's Cassidy even good for?"

"That's so true. All she does is get jealous."

A notification popped up—I'd been kicked out of the group chat.

I didn't feel the slightest bit angry.

They probably hadn't noticed. Back when they were holding their celebration, a few admission tickets had already slipped out of Priscilla's bag and fallen into the trash.

…

On exam day, I still went to the school gates just to feel the atmosphere. From a distance, I saw Priscilla surrounded by panicked classmates.

"What's going on? Maybe you put them in a different bag? They can't just be gone!"

Priscilla's eyes were red as she rifled through her bag again and again. "No way… I checked last night. Every single one was there…"

I knew she was lying.

Those tickets had fallen into the trash during the drinking party. How could she have checked them last night?

Nervousness flickered across their faces. They kept glancing toward the exam hall, trying to stay calm.

"It's fine. Just keep looking. There's still half an hour left…"

Ten minutes later, Priscilla's bag had been turned inside out, but the admission tickets were still nowhere to be found.

"You didn't really lose them, did you?"

Gaston was the first to snap. He grabbed the bag and tore through every pocket. "What the heck? You really lost them? How's that possible?"

The others surged forward. They only ransacked the bag but even pat down Priscilla from head to toe.

"Priscilla, you promised to take care of them! Where are the tickets? All 54 of them are gone?"

"I… I…" Priscilla hugged herself, looking as pitiful as ever, but this time, no one treated her like the group favourite.

"Either you find those tickets right now, or we're taking you straight to the police!"

One of the girls broke down sobbing, crouched on the ground. "If only we'd let Cassidy keep them! She's always responsible. She never would've let this happen!"

Even Justin stepped forward, his expression conflicted. "Priscilla, think carefully. If you left them at home, there's still time to run back."

However, the police had already been sent to her house ten minutes ago, and they came back empty-handed.

Gaston shredded Priscilla's bag in a fit of rage. "Bitch! I stayed up all night studying the predictions, and you're telling me I can't even take the exam?"

The parents couldn't sit still either.

"What's wrong with you, girl? Weren't you the class representative? I remember you being responsible!"

When they realized Priscilla was only someone my classmates had tasked as a temporary keeper for the admission tickets, they broke down completely.

"Are you kids stupid? Your class representative was the reliable one! If you'd left it to her, this never would've happened!"

Priscilla was surrounded by students and parents alike. They closed in on her, ready to tear her apart.

Then, suddenly, she pointed to me.

"I remember now! It was Cassidy! She didn't trust me, so she forced me to hand over the admission tickets yesterday!"

All eyes turned to me.

Looking straight at the parents, I merely responded, "I think you know what kind of person I am."

They hesitated and exchanged glances with each other. They knew exactly how much effort I'd always put in.

Seeing their inaction, Priscilla panicked and tugged at Justin's sleeve. "Justin, you know, right? It was Cassidy who took them…"

Justin froze. He looked at me, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

"Justin…" My voice was hoarse.

However, he steeled himself and blurted, "Yes. I saw her taking the tickets last night."

The parents were stunned, after which they lunged at me and yanked at my pockets.

A hand cracked across my face.

"Where's my son's ticket, you brat?"

"And my daughter's!"

I ignored the sting and quickly pulled out my phone. "I didn't take them! Priscilla lost them, and now she's framing me!"

Priscilla burst into tears. "Cassidy, how can you slander me like that? No matter how much I dislike you, I'd never gamble with everyone's future. You promised to give everyone exam predictions, then bailed on us. And now you're trying to pin this on me?"

Gaston boiled over in fury and slapped the phone out of my hand.

"Of course it was her! She promised us exam predictions. Then, she told us to fend for ourselves. It was Priscilla who gave us the exam predictions!

"If she wanted to sabotage us, why would she bother doing that? It's obvious Cassidy's the guilty one!"

Students and parents swarmed me, clawing at my hair, ripping at my clothes.

"Bitch! Where did you hide the admission tickets? Spit it out or we'll strip you right here!"

"If my son can't take the exam, I'll make sure you end up in the hospital!"

Their fury was uncontrollable. Even the police couldn't hold them back.

I turned to Justin.

However, he instinctively pulled Priscilla into his arms and frowned at me. "Stop causing trouble already. Just hand over the tickets, would you?"

My mouth was filled with blood from the previous slap. With all my strength, I grabbed my fallen phone from the ground and held it high.

"Who really lost them? See it for yourselves in this video!"

In that instant, Priscilla's face drained of all color.