Reborn Loser: Borrowing Points from My Deskmate

My deskmate, Miranda Krause, has made a pact with the grade-swapping system. Because of that, she's able to swap her empty exam papers with my stellar ones.

That's how Miranda ends up becoming the top scorer on the SATs. I, on the other hand, have flunked the exam, making me the laughingstock of the city.

Unable to endure the suffering any longer, I choose to take my life by jumping off the school building. Little do I know that I'll return to the timeframe before the SATs take place.

This time, I secretly slip an envelope between the folds of Miranda's backpack. It contains 700 dollars in cash as well as a talisman.

The scribbles on the talisman may seem like chicken scratch, but one can vaguely make out the words "score-swapping" there.

"Sierra Phillips, what's the answer for this question? Stand up and answer me!"

Ms. Fran Dickson, my homeroom teacher, suddenly called out to me, her voice echoing through the classroom. When she didn't hear me respond, she turned around and threw half a piece of chalk squarely at my forehead.

"You again! Dozing off again in class! Do you even want to go to college after this? You might as well just go straight home now if all you're going to do is sleep! If I see anyone else sleeping in class again…"

Her loud roar suddenly jolted me awake. However, she still continued nagging next to me after that.

I blinked sleepily in confusion, realizing that everyone's attention was on me now.

A sudden thought crept into my head. Had I been born again?

My deskmate, Miranda Krause, gently nudged me from the side, signaling for me to stop provoking Ms. Dickson.

Miranda's grades had always been horrible. She was almost always at the bottom of the class. And yet, Ms. Dickson insisted on putting both of us together as deskmates because she wanted to foster a learning atmosphere by putting the top student with the worst student in class.

That was the reason why I had been deskmates with Miranda for all three years of high school. And yet, her grades remained consistently dismal.

The moment I saw her face again, I was very sure I wasn't dreaming anymore.

It was exactly that face that ruined me in my past life!

I suddenly felt my fury boiling in my chest.

In my past life, for some reason, my SAT papers had turned completely blank, as if I had never written down a single word in any of my answer sheets. Meanwhile, Miranda turned out to be the top scorer in school, enjoying the honor and recognition that should have been mine.

The truth was that she had somehow managed to bind with a system that allowed her to switch the exam papers, and thus her grades, with anyone she wanted.

After I jumped to my death in my past life, my soul had continued wandering around on earth, and I finally learned the truth about Miranda's grades at her home.

At the time, she was lying in bed, seemingly talking to herself while staring at a fixed point like she was talking to someone invisible.

"What else can you do for me other than swapping grades, System?"

"If that's the case, then I'm going to rely on you for all my exams next time."

Then, for some reason, the topic somehow changed to me. Yet, the next words that spilled from her mouth were the most shameless ones I'd ever heard.

"Why should I even feel sorry for Sierra? She deserved it! What right does she have to be so popular and well-liked in school just because she has good grades?

"And it's not like I killed her or anything. I just swapped her grades with mine. It's her own fault for jumping off the building because she couldn't handle the pressure. You can't possibly pin the blame on me.

"And what really is the big deal anyway? She could have just repeated the year and retaken the exam again if she were really that hardworking. Who told her to jump to her death? It's her own fault for being so emotional about it."

Over the past three years, I tirelessly helped Miranda revise right before the exams, patiently explaining every answer she got wrong. Even when I was down with a fever, I still compiled a list of her mistakes and explained each one meticulously.

But instead of being grateful, she just decided to swap out her grades for mine and drive me to suicide.

While I was still lost in my memories, Ms. Dickson's roar pulled me back to reality once again.

"Sierra Phillips! Get up and leave the class now!"

Miranda hurriedly stood up, trying to ease the tense atmosphere as she explained, "Ms. Dickson, Sierra told me that she'd been studying too hard till very late at night these days, and she's very exhausted. She's been very hardworking, Ms. Dickson. Please don't get mad at her anymore."

She then glanced at me cautiously, before lowering her head and pretending to sob.