3: 3

Gay's eyes lit up. She dug the makeup bag out and touched up her face.

One of the girls laughed and teased her.

"Gay? What's the deal with that Black exchange student and you? Don't tell me he's your boyfriend. Gay, you've really got it, huh, even a Black exchange student's crazy about you."

Gay gave a smug little nod.

"New boyfriend. Oh, and I won't be back tonight. If the dorm supervisor does a room check, cover for me."

Another roommate asked with a grin.

"Gay, they say Black guys are really something in that department. Is it true?"

Gay narrowed her eyes, her smile turning loose and pleased.

"Try one yourself sometime and you'll find out. But yeah, definitely something."

A third roommate flushed and cleared her throat.

"Gay, we're still students. You really should be using protection, it's the smart thing to do."

Gay waved it off and slung her bag over her shoulder as she stood.

"You don't get it, skin on skin is the best part. And if I get pregnant, worst case I'll just find someone to take the fall for me."

All at once I remembered my last life. In the middle of class, red welts broke out over my skin for no reason, and I knew right away it was an allergic reaction, so I took leave and went back to the dorm for my allergy medicine.

I'd been back barely half an hour, the rash only just starting to settle, when the dorm door was shoved open.

Gay looked at me and spoke, her voice all fake reluctance.

"Should I really tell everyone, that Barbara took leave and came back to the dorm to secretly give birth in the dorm bathroom."

The girls heard her and rushed into the bathroom, and there on the floor lay a dark-skinned baby boy, bruise-purple choke marks around his neck.

In that instant, everyone decided I'd had the baby, didn't want to deal with it, and had strangled him.

The school ruled me morally corrupt and expelled me, and I was facing prison for premeditated murder.

I couldn't bear the crowd screaming at me, and in a daze I lost my footing on the stairs and fell to my death.

Remembering that miserable end, I shivered. Now that I thought about it, the baby in that bathroom was very likely Gay's. She was the only one in our dorm with a Black boyfriend.

I watched Gay's back as she left the room, my hands closing into fists.

Just then a roommate tugged at me.

"Barbara, you've crushed your bag flat. What are you spacing out about?"

I came back to myself and let go.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about something."

I'd been given another life, and I would never give Gay the chance to frame me again.

My phone rang. I picked up.

"Hello, is this Ms. Swanson? I'm a doctor at Bayport General Hospital. The results from your physical three days ago are in, and they aren't very good. Could you come down to the hospital when you have time?"

I answered and hung up.

My cramps had been getting worse this year, bad enough that I kept fainting, so a few days before the semester started, my mom took me in for a full workup.

The next day I went to the hospital.

The doctor handed me the test results.

"Ms. Swanson, things don't look good. There's a malignant tumor on your ovary, and it's already advanced. The best option now is a hysterectomy as soon as possible, to keep the cancer from spreading and threatening your life."

I hesitated. Then I thought of the frame-up in my last life, and I nodded.

"All right, doctor. I agree to the surgery."

I took a month's leave from my teacher, talked it over with my parents, and the surgery date was set soon after.

A month later I was recovering well, and the doctor told me I could be discharged.

4: 4

Three days after I was discharged, I went back to campus for classes.

My classmates saw me return and asked, curious.

"Barbara, where did you disappear to? You were out a whole month."

I smiled and explained.

"Nothing much. Just had a minor surgery."

Nobody pressed further.

Time moved fast. My first semester of freshman year ended, we got through the winter holidays, and two more months of the new term went by.

Then, in a lecture hall one day, I had just sat down when someone appeared beside me.

Byron set an iced latte on my desk.

"Barbara, I got you your favorite. The iced latte."

I looked at him. It felt like a whole lifetime ago. I hadn't seen him once since orientation training, long enough that I'd nearly forgotten he existed.

My eyes narrowed slightly. Byron kept talking.

"Barbara, I lost my temper with you back then, and you never came looking for me either. Forget it. What can I do, I like you. So I went and bought your favorite drink myself, to ask you to forgive me. Let's make up."

Byron had never bought me anything. The only time he ever did was...

I checked the time. In my past life, this was the exact day Gay framed me. And that day, it was the drink Byron gave me that made me suddenly break out in an allergic reaction. Back then I'd been thrilled about it, thinking Byron was treating me better and better.

Now I understood. Byron had done it on purpose.

I shoved the drink away.

"I don't want it."

But he forced it back into my hand.

"Barbara, orientation training was ages ago. Are you still holding it against me? I stood in line an hour to get you this."

The other students joined in, urging us together.

"Barbara, Byron's being so sincere. Just take him back."

I looked at him coldly.

"I've cut out sugar lately. Can't I skip a drink?"

Then I stood up, walked off, and switched seats. Byron tried to follow, but every seat around me was already taken.

I wasn't going back to the dorm. I wanted to see exactly how Gay planned to frame me this time.

Half the class passed. My body went cold, and a violent pain tore through my stomach.

That was when Byron came over and spoke up.

"Professor, Barbara isn't feeling well. Let me walk her back to the dorm."

The professor nodded.

I wanted to refuse, but Byron didn't give me the chance. He grabbed me and hauled me straight out of the classroom.

As we passed the infirmary, I shoved him off, ran inside, and locked the door behind me.

I lay back on the infirmary cot, trying to ease the pain.

I don't know how much time passed before the door was kicked open.

Gay walked in with a few classmates.

The classmates saw me and looked startled, about to speak.

The next second, I heard Gay's inner voice.

"What do I do? Should I tell everyone Barbara took leave and ran to the infirmary to secretly give birth? The baby's right there on the operating table."

My heart lurched. In my past life it was the dorm bathroom. Why was it the infirmary operating table now?

The classmates beside Gay pushed open the door to the surgical room.

On the bed lay a dark-skinned baby boy, his neck covered in strangling marks, no longer breathing.

"Barbara, secretly giving birth in the infirmary is one thing, but you strangled him too? Even a beast won't devour its own young. How could you be this vicious?"

I fought to defend myself.

"It wasn't me. This baby isn't mine. It's—"

Before I could finish, Byron walked in and slapped me across the face.

"Barbara, no wonder you were so cold to me. You cheated on me, and then you strangled your own child. How could you be so heartless?"

My roommate stared at me in disgust.

"No wonder Barbara hasn't had her period in months. Turns out she was pregnant."

One of the boys in the class spat out filth.

"And she had it with a Black guy. Barbara, you look so innocent, but you get around, don't you. Even a Black man's baby."

"Barbara, could one Black guy even satisfy you? Add me in. I won't charge you, and I'll make it even better."

I looked at them coldly.

"This is not my child. There's no way I could have given birth to a child."

Before I could finish, someone shoved me down.

"Barbara, you did it but you won't own it, huh?"

Another classmate spotted the medical report that had fallen out of my bag and picked it up.

"Barbara, your report is right here. What's left to argue?"

Then, word by word, that classmate read out what was written on it.

"Post-hysterectomy recovery examination..."

Every single one of them went silent.