My roommate, Sylvia Colman, is the ultimate overachiever at Southend High School. She sleeps only three hours a day and takes first place in every exam throughout all three years of high school.

As for me, I'm known as the "sleepy slacker" in our school. I sleep in class, constantly fail exams, and can even fall asleep while walking.

My parents are completely disappointed in me. They say I'm a hopeless mess. My childhood friend, Jeffrey Rivers, also turns his back on me. He claims I've fallen too far and becomes Sylvia's die-hard fan instead.

But when the dean of studies summons me for a talk to tell me that I face the possibility of being expelled, I accidentally discover the secret behind Sylvia's inexhaustible energy.

It turns out she has been transferring all of her exhaustion and drowsiness onto me. She's the one stealing my energy, my grades, and my life!

On the night before the SAT, Sylvia confidently stays up all night doing practice papers for one final push before the real deal.

I smile slightly as a plan forms in my mind.

Inwardly, I sneer, "You despicable thief who stole my life… I have a wonderful surprise in store for you. Stay tuned and accept my gift to you!"

"Lavender Lyon, you're on your last chance. If you can't fix your habit of sleeping in class and can't reach the admission cutoff score for second-tier colleges in the upcoming mock exam, we will have no choice but to make you repeat a year.

"You'll also have to return the 50-thousand-dollar scholarship that we awarded you for being the top scorer in the high school entrance exam," said Elton Sanford, the Dean of Studies, in a grave voice.

I nodded numbly as I clutched the official notice stating that I might have to repeat my senior year and return my scholarship. With my head hung low, I walked out of the office.

The phone in my pocket vibrated. I swiped to answer and heard Mom's stern voice, barely holding back her suppressed fury.

She scolded, "The dean just called us! You've humiliated your father and me, Lavender! How did we end up with such a useless daughter? You're absolutely hopeless! If you end up having to pay back the full amount of your scholarship, you figure it out yourself!"

As soon as the call ended, a message popped up on WhatsApp. It was from my childhood friend, Jeffrey Rivers.

He wrote, "Let's stop being friends. Having trash like you as a friend is a huge disgrace."

I stared at his words for a long time before blinking slowly and typing a reply with stiff fingers. "Do you really mean that?"

He replied immediately, "Look at what you've become. You're a complete loser who has nothing going on for her now! Sylvia works harder than you and has more drive. She's the truly outstanding one who will get into Kilnia College with me."

I turned off my phone and walked back to the dorm in a daze.

Sylvia Colman was sitting at her desk, energetically working through practice papers. When she heard the door open, she turned back to look at me. Her face carried the same gentle, concerned smile as always.

"You're back at last, Lav. Mr. Sanford didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

I shook my head and stuffed the notice deep into my drawer as I replied, "No, it was just a routine talk."

"That's great," Sylvia said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Then, she said encouragingly, "Don't lose heart, Lav. There's still time before the mock exam. I'll help you study. Hope is not lost yet."

Sylvia had always been like this. She was kind and perfect, like a bright sun that never went out. In contrast, I was the darkest, filthiest shadow beneath her light.

I climbed onto my bed and pulled the curtain shut, curling up in the darkness. Sleepiness washed over me like a tide and instantly swallowed me whole.

Just before I drifted off to sleep, I thought I saw the small cactus on Sylvia's desk move slightly.

That was the cactus Sylvia and I had bought together at the store when we first started high school. We each bought one, and the cacti were meant to symbolize our unbreakable, evergreen friendship.

Mine had long since withered and died from neglect. Hers, however, was so lush that it looked like it could drip with moisture. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was an indescribable sense of eeriness to that little succulent plant.

As the first mock exam approached, Sylvia honored her promise. She set aside two precious hours every day to help me review key points and go over practice papers.

She explained everything in meticulous detail. I tried desperately to focus, but my eyelids constantly glued themselves shut, no matter how hard I struggled to keep them open.

My mind was a blur. Those formulas and theories looked like incomprehensible scribbles to me. They jumped and spun before my eyes until they smeared into a congealed mess.

"I'm sorry, Sylvia, I…" I pinched my thigh, trying to stay awake.

Sylvia closed the book and patted my shoulder gently. "It's okay. You're too tired. Get some sleep first. We can continue after you wake up."

I practically collapsed onto the desk and fell into a deep sleep.

In my dream, I returned to my middle school days. Back then, I had been a standout student. I won gold medals in national Olympiads in math, physics, and chemistry with ease. In the eyes of my teachers and classmates, I had been a surefire candidate for getting into top colleges.

But all of that changed after Sylvia and I both enrolled in Southend High School. I became drowsy, lazy, and unable to muster interest in anything.

Thinking back to that time, I could now see that it was probably just the beginning of my life being stolen.

As expected, my first mock exam results were disastrous. I became the biggest joke in the entire grade. Jeffrey walked past me with Sylvia beside him, clearly relieved that he had gotten rid of a burdensome friend like me.

My parents called, their voices filled with nothing but disappointment. "We've already found you a job at an electronics factory in the south. Don't bother repeating a year. Just drop out and come back to work."

Dad's voice sounded aged and exhausted. With that one sentence, he condemned my entire life.

I hung up without crying. Frankly, I didn't even have the strength to shed tears.

I started packing my things. I threw the brand-new textbooks and exercise books into a cardboard box one by one.

Sylvia walked over and grabbed my hand to stop me. "Lav, are you just going to give up?"

I laughed mockingly at myself. "What else can I do? I'm useless."

Sylvia cried out emotionally in protest, "You're not! You've just temporarily lost your rhythm. You were so amazing in middle school. I believe you can turn things around."

I thought back to how I used to dominate academic competitions and sweep up gold medals at national Olympiads. How had I ended up in such a state?

Once again, my gaze unintentionally fell on the tiny cactus on her desk. There seemed to be something buried in the soil. One of its exposed corners gave off a faint green glow.

It looked very familiar.

In the next second, I realized it was the emerald pendant my grandmother had given me. I had worn it during the high school entrance exam, believing it would give me good luck and get me into Southend High School.

But after I started high school, it had disappeared. I had searched everywhere for it, but I never found it. In the end, I had no choice but to accept that it was gone for good.

Why was it in Sylvia's cactus pot?

A ridiculous and terrifying thought began to form and take over my mind rapidly. I made an excuse to go to the washroom with my heart pounding uncontrollably against my ribcage.

When I returned, I took advantage of the moment Sylvia went to wash up and walked over to her desk. My hands were trembling as I carefully used a pen to push aside the soil at the base of the cactus.

The familiar emerald pendant finally came into view. On the back of it, a line of tiny rune symbols had been carved in red ochre.

I recognized those symbols.

My maternal grandmother was a somewhat well-known expert in the mystic arts back in my hometown. I had lived in her house for some time as a child, so I knew a bit about these things.

It was an ancient spell for sharing fates. To put it simply, it could form a close link between two people so that their luck and energy became interconnected.

One person's misfortune, fatigue, and illness would be transferred to the other. The one transferring away all the negativity would also gain the other person's energy, intelligence, and even… their life.

So I hadn't been born lazy, and I certainly wasn't some hopeless failure. It turned out that Sylvia had stolen my energy, my talent, and the brilliant life I was meant to have with vicious black magic.

She slept only three hours a day but always had an unlimited reserve of energy. Since the start of high school, she had ranked first every single time and won all the awards. She became the golden girl.

I, on the other hand, had become the fuel for her success. I was the unfortunate soul being drained of all my life force by a malignant parasite.

I didn't make a fuss or expose Sylvia. Instead, I buried the emerald pendant and smoothed the soil, as if nothing had happened.

Back at my seat, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I saw a pale, haggard face devoid of life staring blankly back at me. Beneath this face, there had once been a vibrant, radiant, proud, and confident soul.

Now, I was going to take back everything that belonged to me.

The next day, I said I needed to go home to take care of some school withdrawal procedures.

Sylvia didn't suspect a thing. She even thoughtfully helped me pack my luggage.

She reminded kindly, "Be careful on the road, Lav. Come back as soon as you're done, okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, looking at her pretentious smiling face and feeling nothing but ice-cold hatred inside.

I didn't go home. Instead, I called my grandmother and told her about my suspicions. She told me to go to the mystic arts street in an old neighborhood to seek help from her fellow junior practitioner.

Kylian Slade held a magnifying glass and carefully examined the rune symbols I had drawn.

"Where did you see this, Lavender?" he asked solemnly with a very grave expression.

"It was on a friend's protective charm," I lied.

Kylian shook his head and said, "This is no protective charm! This is a very malicious transfer spell. It is also known as 'the misfortune substitute.' It can transfer one person's bad luck, illness, and fatigue onto another.

"The person on the receiving end becomes the substitute who gets all the bad things in life. They will gradually lose their vitality and become increasingly unlucky. This spell had long been banned. I didn't expect someone would still be using it."

Kylian's words confirmed all my suspicions.

"Mr. Slade, do you have a way to undo it?" I asked urgently.

"It's very difficult. Once the contract is formed, it's hard to sever it unless one party dies," Kylian answered grimly.

My heart sank to my stomach.

"However…" he continued. "There are always two sides to everything. Since it's in nature a shared fate, it goes both ways."

"Then can I return my bad luck to her by double or more?" I asked.

Kylian froze for a moment and immediately understood what I meant.

He explained, "In theory, yes. The effectiveness of this spell depends on the proximity between the two parties and the mental state of the substitute. The closer the distance, the stronger the effect. The more exhausted and despairing the substitute is, the more energy gets siphoned away.

"If you can push your mental state to an extreme level of excitement—to the point of overexertion in a short time—then the negative effects from that overexertion will overflow and backfire through the spell. It may double, or even triple, several times over onto the other person.

"It is because she has always been taking and never expected any form of backlash. Her body is like an inflated balloon stretched to its limit. It can't withstand any additional pressure."

I had it all figured out after that conversation.

After leaving the mystic arts street, I didn't return to school right away. Instead, I checked into a hotel and stayed there. For three whole days, I turned off my phone and cut off all contact with the outside world. I forced myself to sleep up to 16 hours a day.

Without that emerald pendant anywhere near me, the overwhelming exhaustion that had plagued me for four years miraculously disappeared. My mind had never been clearer. The study materials that used to give me headaches at a glance now became logical and easy to understand in my head.

In three days, I made up for all three years of the high school syllabus I had missed. That long-lost feeling of mastering knowledge brought tears to my eyes.

I hadn't become stupid. I was still me.

On the fourth day, I returned to school. When I pushed open the door to my dorm room, Sylvia was pacing anxiously inside.

The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up with immense relief and joy. She rushed over to me immediately.

"You're finally back, Lav! I was so worried because I couldn't reach you!"

I noticed that she looked a little pale with faint dark circles under her eyes. These past few days must have been hard on her without me, her personal "power bank".

"My phone died, and I forgot to bring a charger," I said calmly.

"All that matters is you're back." She let out a sigh of relief and quickly returned to her perfect roommate persona.

She went on, "The SAT registration is about to close. Are you really not going to give it another try? Don't you want to stand proudly in the campus of Kilnia College with Jeffrey and me? Imagine standing in the place that will launch you to greater heights in life!"

Sylvia brought up Jeffrey as if it were the most natural thing to say. Her tone was laced with an obvious intent to gloat and condescend while sounding like she was trying to spark some hope in me.

I looked at her and gave a small smile. "Sure. I'll go."

Sylvia froze slightly, probably not expecting that I would say something like that when I was on the verge of being expelled.

"Really? That's great, Lav!" She quickly snapped out of it and grabbed my hand excitedly. "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you! We'll both be top scorers!"

I let her hold my hand and maintained my fake smile. "Thank you, Sylvia."

"We're best friends. There's no need to thank me," she responded.

I thought darkly, "Best friends, indeed. My dear Sylvia, I have specially prepared a surprise of a lifetime for you. I hope you'll accept it with gladness and enjoy it thoroughly."