All hesitation vanished. Ashton finally had a
second chance with his first love; why waste
time on me?
I looked away and left.
For three months, I didn’t see Ashton.
I studied day and night, losing a ton of
weight. I pulled Maya, whose grades were
average, along with me in my study
marathons. After the last practice test, my
teacher called me into her office.
“Liv, keep up the good work!” Ms. Zhou, my
homeroom teacher, patted my shoulder.
“You’re number one in the state this time. If
you keep this up, you can pick any college
you want.”
“And Maya, you’ve been working hard too,
thanks to Liv. You’re in the top 300 in the
state now.”
Other teachers chimed in, “Looks like Ms.
Zhou will have the last laugh this year.
Congratulations!”
“It’s a shame about Ashton Summers,
though.”
Someone added, “If he had kept up, Ms.
Zhou’s graduating class might have had both
the top two students in the state.”
Mentioning Ashton, Ms. Zhou’s face
darkened. “Such a good kid, completely led
astray!”
<
“That Brittany girl, a real troublemaker.
Smoking, drinking, the whole nine yards. And
her grades are at the bottom of the barrel!”
Ms. Zhou sighed, turning to me. “Liv, you and
Ashton are pretty close, right? Do you know
when he’s coming back to school?”
I shook my head. “Ms. Zhou, I’ve been busy
studying. I haven’t asked.”
“He might not come back,” another teacher
said. “I saw him at the hospital a few days
ago. I asked a nurse, and it turns out Brittany
is pregnant, three months along. Most likely
from that night in the equipment room…”
The teachers fell silent, the implications
hanging heavy in the air.
Only Ms. Zhou continued, frustrated. “Looks
like I’ll have to pay the Summers family a
visit.”
I quickly made an excuse and left. I had to. If
Ashton found out I’d spoken to anyone, he
might blame me again.
A week before the SATS, Ashton and Brittany
returned to school.
The first thing Ashton did was confront me.
“Olivia, was it you?”
His face was livid, his hands clenched into
fists, as if ready to punch me if I dared to
nod.
<
Maya jumped to my defense. “What are you
talking about? What did Liv do?”
She stood in front of me, glaring defiantly.
Brittany also rushed over, clinging to Ashton’s
arm. Her eyes were red, but her voice was
steady.
“Forget it, Ashton. I don’t think Olivia did it on
purpose.
“She wouldn’t have told the teacher just
because she likes you, would she?”
“That would be a pretty nasty trick.”
Her words hung in the air, and the class
turned to stare at me.
<
Whispers erupted.
“Didn’t Olivia always like Ashton? Back then,
we all thought they’d get together after
graduation.”
“Brittany’s like a bombshell, how could a
childhood friend compare?”
“Ashton’s had quite the dramatic romance.
That’s what youth is all about.”
“It’s possible Olivia told on them out of
jealousy…”
Ashton’s face hardened, and he flipped my
desk, pointing at me. “Olivia, I suggest you
drop your little crush.”
“I will never like you, not in this life, the next,
く
“I only love Brittany.”
I gripped my pen, my face cold, and laughed.
“You’re so conceited, thinking I like you just
based on rumors.”
“You” Ashton stared at me, a flicker of
embarrassment in his eyes.
“I’m not interested in your dramatic romance.”
I pointed at my overturned desk. “I need to
study. Please put my desk back, or I really will
tell the teacher.”
Just then, Ms. Zhou walked in.
Seeing the confrontation, especially me, the
top student in the practice test, being bullied,
she exploded. “Ashton Summers, what do you
think you’re doing!”
<
“Your grades have dropped because of this
relationship, and now you’re disrupting other
students?”
“If Mr. Liu hadn’t seen you outside the other
day and told me, you were planning to never
come back to school, weren’t you?!”
The truth was out.
Ashton’s face flushed with embarrassment.
He backed away.
I shrugged. “Ashton, your life has nothing to
do with me.”
“I just need to be responsible for my own life.
And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interfere
with my studies.”
<
Brittany rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of
wasting your youth studying?”
The SATS ended.
The moment I put down my pen, I knew I had
aced it.
My past life’s memories combined with this
life’s hard work I could choose any college
in the country.
As for Ashton, I only found out after the
exam.
On the day of the test, Brittany had fallen and
suffered a hemorrhage. Ashton took her to
the hospital, missing the science section, the
one he was best at and could have easily
scored perfectly on.
When the results came out, my parents hung
New Year’s decorations in our yard and set
off a long string of firecrackers.
As soon as they finished, we had a visitor.
Mrs. Summers came to our house, crying.
“What have I done to deserve this?!”
“I’ve taken care of him for over ten years,
being a stay–at–home mom, giving up my
own career for him.”
“He used to be so good, so obedient, always
at the top of his class. I was finally going to
see the fruits of my labor, and now some
delinquent has ruined his life!”
Mrs. Summers sobbed and wiped her tears.
<
Chapter 2
Before marrying Ashton Summers, I died in a
fire.
He locked me in the cramped dressing room,
ignoring my screams.
He blamed me for ruining his relationship with
Brittany, the prom queen. He said if I hadn’t
fetched the teacher that day, their parents
wouldn’t have found out about them, they
wouldn’t have been separated, and Brittany
wouldn’t have taken her own life.
When I woke up, it was to the smoke–filled
hallway of my senior year.
This time, I kept my mouth shut.
“Liv, I think there’s a fire by the gym storage
room.” Maya’s voice jerked me back to
reality. My heart hammered against my ribs.
There it was: the gingko tree outside, leaves
swirling in the autumn breeze, the cracked
asphalt of the track, and Maya, my best
friend, beside me.
I was back.
“We gotta tell someone!” Maya tugged at my
hand, pulling me toward the school.
I planted my feet. “No. We don’t.”
Maya gave me a bewildered look. “There’s a
fire, Liv! Even if no one’s supposed to be in
there, we still gotta report it!”
く
“What’s wrong with you?”
Looking at her fresh–faced concern, how
could I explain? This wasn’t the same naive
Olivia Benton she knew.
This was Olivia Benton, thirty–something, and
back from the dead.
Last time, Ashton and Brittany were the
school’s star–crossed lovers, and I was their
oblivious accomplice. The night before the
PSATS, Ashton, playing the hero, climbed
through the storage room window to rescue
Brittany from some bullies, and they spent the
night in there.
I, clueless as ever, saw the smoke and
panicked, running to get a teacher.
<
Their secret was out.
Parents were called, accusations flew.
The Summers locked Ashton down, forcing
him to focus on the test. Brittany, pressured
by his family, was pulled out of school. Weeks
later, she jumped.
I never thought I had anything to do with it –
until years later, Ashton, the man I loved,
locked me in our wedding suite and set it
ablaze.
He said it was my fault.
If I hadn’t told, they’d have been fine.
But I wasn’t telling on them.
<
I was saving them.
So this time, I did nothing. “It’s probably just
the fire drill. They said they were doing it
today, remember?”
Maya squinted, suspicious. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I steered her toward class, a pit in my
stomach.
