I wanted to speak up—but the memory of how they had once pleaded for Maggie, their ugly, two-faced expressions from that time made my body tremble slightly, my heart turn cold as stone.

I looked up and gave everyone a radiant smile. “You’re right. Since everyone agrees, then go ahead.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes at me, clearly suspicious. “You… you’re really not going to stop me from trying to help?”

I simply nodded and turned away from her. Instead, I grabbed my things, stood up and said firmly, “I’m getting off the bus.”

The driver slammed the brakes a little too hard—nearly rear-ending the car in front of us. His voice was anxious as he tried to talk me out of it. “Hey, this isn’t a good time to get off. You’ll have a hard time finding another ride and walking there will wear you out. How will you take your college entrance exams like that?”

“Trust me,” he added, “I'll take you all back once you're done helping whoever this person. It won’t affect your exam, I promise.”

I rejected him calmly. “Go save whoever you need to save. You don’t need to worry about me.”

I took a few steps toward the door, but the driver raised his voice again. “Hold on! Your teacher and some of the parents are in the cars behind us. If you get off now, they’d begin to question the others!”

The entire class turned to look out the windows. Sure enough, familiar cars were following behind us. One of them even honked in response. Then came the wave of phone chimes as messages poured in from parents and teachers asking if everything was okay, sensing something was off.

Maggie quickly typed a reply in the class group chat: [It’s nothing! We’re just on the bus hyping each other up and trying to relax before the exam]

She looked up at everyone and reminded them, “Don’t breathe a word of what we talked about to our parents. They won’t get it. If they find out, they’ll flip out and the concert will be off for sure!”

Before the exams, Maggie had bragged that she knew a guy who could get cheap tickets to the pop queen’s concert—VIP seats, too. She invited the whole class. Everyone signed up and they’d been planning it for days.

The said concert was being held in the less secure parts of the country and I was worried about everyone’s safety. When I tried to talk them out of going, they started cutting me off. Up until today, the entire class had been planning the concert trip behind my back.

Some students who had originally considered telling their parents the truth quietly put their phones down. But now that the excitement had cooled off, a few of the more anxious ones were starting to get nervous.

“If my mom finds out I was late to the college entrance exam, she’s going to skin me alive.”

“There’s only 35 minutes left until the exam starts. Honestly, there’s no way we can go help and make it back in time… maybe we shouldn’t go after all.”

“Saving someone is risky. We should just call the police and let them handle it.”

A few others murmured their agreement, but then, the bolder students scoffed.

“Look at you guys—freaking out like that. You’re embarrassing the Sky University prep class.”

“We’ve got twenty people here. That’s basically an entire admissions brochure. Even if we’re late, they’ll give us a special pass.”

“Exactly! They won’t punish us all. And think about it—we’re saving someone. That’s headline material. We’ll be all over the national news!”

I almost laughed out loud at that point.

That’s when I realize: these kids had gotten so used to being favored—by teachers, by parents—because of their grades, especially now during exam season. They were being treated like royalty. No wonder they were so full of themselves.

They’d forgotten something important, the college entrance exam isn’t just about them. It’s about their entire families. The parents in those dozen or so cars behind us had sacrificed just as much, if not more, than their kids. Then, seeing people take her side, Maggie excitedly dropped a screenshot into the class group chat.

The entire group went loud.

“A $9 million reward for rescuing someone?! That’s $300,000 each! What are we even doing going to an exam? Let’s go save them now!”

“If this is real, then Maggie’s basically our guardian angel!”

“Of course it’s real! Come on, it’s Maggie. You know how connected she is—she’s practically on her way to becoming a celebrity after the exams!”

“What about the people who said they weren’t going? Hurry up and get off the bus so the rest of us can split a bigger cut!”

I quickly opened my phone and saw the message Maggie had sent to the group—a reward poster for someone named Axel Burton. The poster looked slick and convincing. If I hadn’t known from my past life that Axel was never in danger, I might’ve believed it myself.

When everyone says Maggie has “connections,” what they really meant was that she cozied up to a few people from the nightlife scene. She’s good-looking and she used that to land a cheap local gig in a sketchy poker app commercial.

The rumor mill had already turned that into: She’s a model. She’s about to sign with a major talent agency the moment she graduates.

The classmates who were hesitant before got completely blinded by the promise of money now.

Seeing the mood shift, the driver took his chance—sped up, cut off the cars following us and turned down a side road.

He beamed, clearly pleased with himself. “A reward that big? Man, today must be my lucky day. Not only did I get to drive a bus full of future college stars, now there’s a cash prize in it too!”

“This shortcut goes straight to the outskirts—30 minutes round trip. You’ll be back just in time. By the time you get that reward money and get into Sky University? You’ll be living the dream!”

The whole class couldn’t contain their smiles anymore. You could see it on their faces—they were already fantasizing about their perfect futures.

But something about the driver’s sudden change in route, his over-the-top enthusiasm… it made my stomach twist. I glanced at my watch. Only 25 minutes left until the exam started.

I couldn’t wait around any longer. Without thinking, I stepped forward and knocked hard on the panel separating the driver from us. “Let me out. Now. I don’t want to save anyone and I don’t want the money.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the driver’s ID badge. Brook Doyle.

Doyle? The same last name as Maggie?

A chilling suspicion was starting to take shape in my mind.

No wonder that in my past life, I needed to call the police before this entire mess finally stopped. Maggie was insistent on dragging the entire class into skipping the most important exam of our lives to go "rescue" someone. Turns out she and the driver knew each other from the start. That’s the only way they could’ve pulled this off so smoothly, manipulating the whole class like it was nothing.

The driver must’ve sensed something had changed in me, because he didn’t respond and hit the gas and sped up instead. The testing center was getting farther and farther away.

My voice trembled with panic. “Let me off the bus. Now! Or I’m calling the cops!”

Maybe they could afford not to care about the college entrance exam—but I couldn’t. My family wasn't rich. I was the first in my family to even have a shot at getting into Sky University.

My relatives always said my parents were lucky to have such a smart, responsible daughter. But I was not a genius—I just worked harder than anyone I knew. The mountain of practice problems I’d finished could fill a room. The pens I’d used up, the calluses on my fingers, my worsening eyesight, my receding hairline—every bit of it was earned. My mom waking up at 4 a.m. to make me nutritious breakfasts. My dad driving me to school every day, rain or shine.

The exam was my whole life. The culmination of everything I’d fought for. I had to deliver the perfect answer sheet.

When the driver still refused to stop, I snapped. I pulled out my metal compass from my bag, the sharp end pressing against his throat. “Let me off. Now!”

The entire bus went silent. Everyone froze, stunned by how far I was willing to go.

Someone said, “…Maybe we did go too far. If he wants to get off, just let her.”

Cold sweat dripped down the driver’s face. He slammed the brakes.

Maggie shot me a furious glare and snatched my phone. “You can leave, but I’m keeping this. Don’t want you calling the cops.”

We were nearly in the suburbs now. The streets were empty, cars nowhere in sight. Without my phone, I’d have no way to call a cab or even get help.

With only twenty minutes left, there was no way I could run to the exam center in time.

My expression hardened. “No. I won’t call the cops. I promise. I don’t care what you’re all planning—I just want to take my exam.”

Before I could finish speaking, Maggie had already hurled my phone out the window.

Then, as the bus door hissed open, she snatched my exam admission ticket—my only way into the test—and ripped it to shreds.

“This is what traitors get. Now get the hell off!”

I stood there in shock before bolting off the bus, scrambling to gather my things. My phone was beyond damaged and so did my admission ticket… it was ripped to bits.

Inside the bus, everyone crowded the windows and flipped me off.

“Didn’t you say the exam was so important? What are you waiting for? Run!”

“Total embarrassment. Don’t you dare say you’re from the Sky University prep class ever again.”

“Let her take one subject. Let’s see how well Little Miss Perfect scores now.”

Their taunts persistently pierced through my ears.

Then, just as the bus peeled away, it hit a puddle—splashing me with a spray of muddy water. But as I stood there, watching them race further and further from the test center, something unexpected bubbled up inside me.

It was relief. It wouldn't be long before they'd be crying out loud. By then, it’d be too late to fix anything.

I tapped my smartwatch—the one they didn’t know I had—and called my mom. Then I ran, toward the test center.

In my last life, they had also taken my phone. But no one realized I had a backup plan. Mom picked up instantly. She didn’t even waste time asking questions. She turned the car around to get me while telling Dad to rush to reprint my exam pass.

Meanwhile, at the entrance exam my school's principal, teachers and parents had gathered around the waiting area. They were wondering why hadn't our bus here yet?

That’s when my dad’s call came in.

The principal’s face darkened after he listened to my story. He was so furious he nearly fainted on the spot.

“Tell me! How was I supposed to predict this? A whole bus of students ditching the exam to go ‘rescue’ someone?! Have they lost their minds?!”

“Call the local police out in the suburbs—do whatever it takes to get them back here now!”

The parents who overheard the chaos were stunned. Some went weak in the knees, others broke down crying.

“Who talked my son into this?! Who ruined his future?! I swear I’ll make them pay!”

“There must be some mistake. Their bus is probably just stuck in traffic. My Jesse’s always been such a good kid—he’d never do something this stupid!”

“What are you all standing around for?! Start looking for them!”

Soon the parents walked to their cars, all racing to pick up their children for Sky University's entrance exam.

The scene had drawn such a crowd that even the media got attracted.

"Going off to rescue someone at a time like this? Why won't they call the police? What kind of ‘genius’ does that? Those kids are completely brainless."

"I've been in the media for years and I’ve never seen someone ditch Sky U's entrance exam just to save someone else's life. Are we sure this isn't some kind of abduction?"

"Let’s follow them! A rescue and a possible kidnapping? That’s guaranteed trending material!"

Cameras had been raised. Reporters had followed the trail.

I happened to pass by those reporters as I headed to my exam building.

I glanced at my watch—exactly 9:00 a.m. A round trip from this place to the town's outskirts took a minimum of 35 minutes. For sure, my classmates were doomed.

At that time, my dad waited nearby the gates, clutching my exam admission ticket. When he saw me, he’d burst into tears of relief.

"Gabe… thank God you’re smart and level-headed. What would your mom and I have done if you weren’t?" Their fear had been real. After raising me for over a decade, this was the moment they'd been waiting for.

My teacher, eyes brimming with tears, had personally walked me to the entrance. "Do your best in there. You're the only hope our school have left."

In the exam room, I’d taken my seat. I’d calmed my breath. And I’d answered every question with unwavering focus.

But halfway through the exam, the quiet had been shattered by a wailing storm outside the school gates.

“We’re only an hour late! Why won’t you let us in?”

“We’re top students! Sky University material! You can't just throw our futures away!”

“If you don’t let us take the exam, who’s going to take responsibility for ruining our lives?!”