The new teacher gave the wrong medicine, causing a child to suffer sudden cardiac arrest and die after failing to receive timely help. My fiance, who was also the vice principal, forged evidence on her behalf and pinned all the blame on me. I was fired and reported by the child's parents.

Due to insufficient evidence, I was acquitted. But the child's devastated parents broke into my home with a kitchen knife and hacked me to death, severing me in multiple places. My fiance chose to cover it up for them. He disposed of my body and even comforted the parents. "A life for a life. Let this be my atonement."

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day the teacher gave the child the wrong medicine.

The Wrong Dose

"Jasmine! Ethan's having a heart attack, and I accidentally gave him the wrong medicine—what do I do?"

I was sorting through files in her office when I saw her half-drag Ethan's limp body inside. Sweat had beaded across her forehead, and she looked at me with pleading eyes.

I cut her off, stepped forward, and supported Ethan's body to prevent further injury. "You call his parents. I'll start emergency measures."

She dropped to her knees and grabbed my ankle, begging me desperately. "Jasmine, please—don't call his parents. I just started here; I'll get fired. Help me find more medicine to wake Ethan up."

I shrugged off her grip and shoved her out the door.

In my previous life, it had been Yvonne Keller who had given the wrong medicine to Ethan during an episode, accelerating his cardiac failure until he collapsed unconscious. I had told her to call an ambulance and notify his parents, but she froze, afraid of losing her job.

By the time I finished calling the parents and came back, she was still standing there. I called an ambulance immediately, but it was too late. The hospital was directly across from the school; Ethan could have been saved, but he died for nothing. Also, many of the children developed traumatic fears and stopped coming to school.

I looked down at Ethan's lips, already drained of color, and felt my hands tremble. Relying on memories from that past life, I opened the teacher's medicine box. In my previous panic, I had somehow forgotten the emergency drugs.

I pulled open the drawer; a jumble of scattered medicines met my eyes, and I could hardly tell one from another. My heartbeat sped up, and my breath came short. I dashed to my office to fetch the emergency kit. As soon as I had it, I shoved the appropriate medication into Ethan's mouth, and his breathing slowly returned. I phoned the hospital and asked them to come and take him for gastric lavage.

While we waited, Ethan's temperature spiked. I used a towel to try to cool him, but the fever kept coming back. I had no choice but to carry him to the school gate to save time. I was slight and weak and still holding the medicine box; after only a few steps, my arms burned, and I nearly stumbled several times.

We reached the gate just as the ambulance arrived. I hurried Ethan onto the stretcher and finally let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. The paramedics worked on him while Yvonne grabbed my fiance, Brian Chapman, and hurriedly climbed into the ambulance with them.

Ethan was taken inside for emergency treatment; the three of us stood outside the door waiting. My tension finally eased a fraction, and I leaned against the wall to steady myself.

Yvonne's face was frantic, her eyes full of worry as she stared toward the operating room. Then she stormed up to me, furious. "Jasmine, if you'd listened and shoved every medicine in the box into Ethan sooner, one of them might have worked. Because of you, he's unconscious—you owe his parents an explanation."

I scooped up the water I'd been holding and splashed it into her face, then slapped her hard. She clutched her cheek and screamed, tears of grievance filling her eyes. "Jasmine, you can't shut me up just because you're a senior teacher!"

Pointing Fingers

I grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close, glaring at her with venom. "Do you know that giving random medicine can kill someone? Do you expect me to watch Ethan die because of you?"

Yvonne went pale; her lips trembled as she mumbled, "Well, I panicked! I was scared something would happen to Ethan. And ambulances can't arrive fast enough."

Whenever trouble came, she either froze or washed her hands entirely of responsibility. She had rifled through medicines when Ethan went into his attack and caused him to lose consciousness, yet she accused me of not shoving more drugs down his throat.

When kids brawled and needed mediation, she'd claim she couldn't make the call and send them home to "work it out". She always schemed her way out of routine drills and tests and called it keeping the teachers' average score up. Every time she made a mess, I was the one left to clean it up.

Brian turned grimmer by the second when he saw me bearing down on her; he stepped between us. "If you'd given Ethan his medicine sooner, he'd be fine right now. I saw that some of the meds in your kit were already opened—didn't you give him anything?

"Maybe he's unconscious because you dosed him wrong. What part of 'look out for Yvonne' do you not get? Have I never made myself clear? You're even pinning this on her now!"

Yvonne stood before Brian, tears streaming. "Brian, don't yell at Jasmine. I told her, but maybe she wanted the credit herself. Don't blame her."

Then, she dropped to her knees and pressed her face against my hand. "If yelling or beating me would wake Ethan, I'd let you do anything."

I played her at her own game and slapped her down to the floor. She held her face and looked at Brian with wounded eyes, mute accusation in her expression.

Her cloying act made me want to strike again, and I did, but Brian grabbed my arm mid-air. He flung me aside and stroked Yvonne's cheek gently, as if afraid he'd bruise her. "Good girl, don't cry. You'll ruin your makeup. It's okay."

I couldn't help a bitter laugh, my scorn plain. "She told me not to tell you because she was scared of getting fired, you know? I acted based on what I knew; I treated him, and his condition improved. What did I do wrong? I told her to call the parents—she vanished. Now she's here, crying theatrically. What's that about?"

Brian's vein in his temple throbbed as he watched my self-righteousness, as if he might strike me at any moment. "Forget that you bully Yvonne all the time; are you really going to shove responsibility for a life-or-death situation onto her? She's new—she doesn't know as much as you."

Then, he whispered comforts into Yvonne's shaking body as if to soothe her whole being. "Heart attacks happen all the time. He was born sick—it wasn't your fault. Getting medicine into him fast was better than her fumbling through the drugs."

At that, he turned back to me. "Jasmine Solano, apologize to Yvonne. She's got a cold—don't you know that? She's gonna cry again when she goes home."

The Vice Principal's Callousness

I couldn't believe Brian, a vice principal, treated human life like it meant nothing. How could he say the boy was born sick?! Ethan's mother had reminded us repeatedly to take good care of him and had even organized his medications carefully. If I hadn't given Ethan that emergency dose in time, the thought of what would happen made my scalp crawl.

In my previous life, I had left Yvonne behind to fetch the parents; when I came back, I found Ethan lifeless, with pills scattered all over the floor. At the hospital, they discovered several drugs had interacted badly and accelerated Ethan's death.

Brian said nearly the same indifferent thing. "It's his fault he was born sick."

When I didn't move, he forced my hand and dragged me in front of Yvonne. "Apologize. My patience has limits. You're a senior teacher and you can't even handle a little situation like this—maybe you've been sitting in that high seat for too long."

Seeing Brian defend her, Yvonne flung herself into his arms, all hurt and trembling. His heart ached for her, and he turned to me with a venomous glare, slapping my right shoulder. The crisp crack of bone made him freeze for a beat.

I had gone numb. He knew my right shoulder was injured—he knew it had been hurt saving him five years ago—and yet now he'd laid into a newly arrived teacher in defense of his fiancee.

I clutched my shoulder, grabbed the thermos from the next table, and smashed it down on his head. Blood spurted instantly; he went limp to the floor. Yvonne screamed and clamped her hands over his head. "Doctor! Doctor!"

I hauled Brian up by his collar. "Am I Yvonne's mother? Look out for her? Do you know she's older than me? Those fine lines on her face aren't something a thick layer of foundation can hide. So be it that she acts like a young adult—she plays dumb! Please. She's an adult, not a kid.

"How is someone like that qualified to be a teacher?! Can't do this, can't do that—you might as well quit and go farm already! You'd better pray Ethan's going to be okay, because if he's not, you'll be the one doing time, you pretentious bitch."

A crowd had gathered, and many mistook the scene for a jealous wife tearing into a mistress; they pointed and whispered at Yvonne. She looked ghastly, swaying as if she might break at any second.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"Make way! Everyone, make way!"

Even just hearing her made my whole body tremble.

It was Ethan's mother. In my last life, she had, in her grief, killed me with a kitchen knife—dismembering my body afterward. I had expected my fiance to defend me, but instead, he comforted Ethan's mother and said I had it coming.

Seeing her again, my blood boiled with rage and a single, loud hunger for revenge.

Ethan's mother, panting, stepped up to Brian with worry in her voice. "Mr. Chapman, what's going on? I remind my son to take his medicine every day—how could he have an episode out of nowhere?"

Brian cleared his throat, glanced at me as if begging me to stay quiet, and spoke seriously to Ethan's mother. "This was Miss Solano's fault. Ethan had a sudden heart attack; he could have received treatment faster if not for Miss Solano wasting time. He's still not out of the operating room."

I slammed my fist into the wall. The thud made people stop and stare. "Are you saying my crime was giving Ethan emergency medicine to save his life? Or that I should have followed Yvonne and shoved all the pills into him like some fool trying anything? People only get one life—I won't treat it like play pretend. Not like you do."

Ethan's mother snapped from hysteria to cold clarity. "You're saying a teacher gave my child medicine without knowing? My child is allergic to many drugs—he can't take them. Who would be so clueless? Whoever did this will pay."

Yvonne cowered behind Brian, but I dragged her out by the arm, my face hard. "You nearly killed that child—shouldn't you offer the parents an explanation? Hiding behind someone like a coward won't do. Are you even fit to be a teacher? If I were Brian, I'd have fired you a long time ago."

Ethan's mother flung her bag at Yvonne and began hitting and kicking her. Brian hurriedly pulled Yvonne into his arms, his face ashen. "The school isn't yours. Don't tell me how to do my job—do your duty."