The next morning, with less than two hours remaining before students needed to enter the exam centers, I opened my eyes to dozens of missed calls blinking on my phone screen.
I tapped open my messaging app. The group chat with the three guys was flooded with texts.
"Abby, where are you? Why aren't you answering your calls?"
"We miss you. Come meet us so we can study together."
The words "study together" sent a chill down my spine. In my past life, they had used this exact excuse to lure me into that dark alley before shoving me straight into hell with their own hands.
My expression was icy as I continued to scroll down. At around 3:00 am, the tone of the messages abruptly shifted.
"Abby, do you have 200 thousand dollars on hand? Lucy's family is dealing with an emergency, and they need life-saving money. Can you figure out a way to scrounge that up and get it to us?"
I scoffed at the pathetic excuse.
Family emergency? Please. They had merely been pinned down by the thugs at the time, forced to take compromising photos for blackmail.
After washing up, I went downstairs.
At the dining table, my parents noticed my expression and looked over with concern. I handed the phone over to them.
When Dad read the messages, he was so furious that he slammed his hand onto the table.
A flash of sympathy crossed Mom's eyes.
"Should we…" she started hesitantly. "Should we maybe call the police? It's already happened anyway… What if someone actually dies—"
But she stopped halfway through her sentence. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at me, remembering how in my past life, I had lain in a hospital bed, covered in blood. And in the end, overwhelmed by despair and hopelessness, I jumped off a building.
Compared to how much our family had suffered in the past life, what those guys were going through right now was nothing.
Dad took a deep breath and placed a fried egg onto both Mom's plate and mine.
"Eat. After today, our Abby will be a top student at Mephton. We've got a long, happy future ahead of us!"
The mood had just begun to improve when a violent pounding shook the front door.
With a livid expression, Dad slammed his fork down and went to open the door.
Standing outside weren't just the same three sets of parents from last night, but also our homeroom teacher, Mr. Levinski, and several classmates who should have been on their way to the exam center.
The moment the door opened, Mrs. Burke shoved her finger in my face before turning to the teacher.
"Look, Mr. Levinski! I told you she must have something to do with my Greg disappearing! He's always glued to her side! Who else could it possibly be but her?"
Mrs. Trudeau, seemingly having completely forgotten the fight we'd had yesterday, rushed forward and grabbed my wrist desperately, as if she were grasping onto a lifeline.
"Abby, sweetheart," she said, switching to a gentle, coaxing tone. "The boys never came home last night. Be a good girl and tell us—what errand did you send them on this time? Where did they go?"
Mr. and Mrs. McFadden stood at the very back. Even though they didn't say anything, the look they shot me was laced with venom.
Hearing the phrase "this time" and seeing how entitled they looked, a wave of iciness surged from deep inside me.
They had behaved exactly this way in my previous life. The moment something happened to their sons, they blamed it all on me.
To them, I wasn't their sons' childhood best friend. I was just a free babysitter at their beck and call.
Before I could pull my hand away, Mr. Levinski squeezed forward in a rush. He looked frantic, and his tone was filled with reproach.
"Abigail! Do you know how important the CEA is for their futures? It's almost time to head into the exam hall, but they're still missing! What tantrum are you all throwing right now?"
Tantrum?
The image from my past life—my parents convulsing agonizingly on the floor after they drank pesticide—flashed through my mind. My nails dug deep into my palms as I forced the metallic taste of blood back down my throat.
Yanking my hand away, I stared at them expressionlessly. "I really don't know."
Chaos erupted at my words. A few of my close classmates began whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with disapproval.
"Why is our class president behaving like this? They're usually so close…"
"That's right. This is the college entrance exam. No matter what happened between them, she still shouldn't play around with their futures."
Looking at the chaos unfurling before me, I lost the desire to even explain myself.
"Excuse me, please move aside," I said, my voice cold. "We're going out."
I'd just taken a step when Mr. McFadden threw his arm out and blocked the doorway.
"You think you're still going to sit for the CEA?"
Mrs. Burke screeched in agreement. "That's right! If you're going to make my son miss the exam, you can forget about taking it too!"
Several classmates immediately piled on.
"Abigail, just go and bring them back quickly. Can you really bear the responsibility if they miss the CEA?"
"Exactly! If they can't make it, we won't go either."
Seeing them use the College Entrance Assessment as a bargaining chip to force me into submission, my lips curled into an eerie smile.
I met their furious gazes straight on.
"Who told you…" I slowly asked, enunciating each word clearly, "...that I'm taking the CEA?"
