“I read this thing online,” I said, “about staying
away from people with physical deformities.
They usually have mental ones too.”
Chloe stared at me, surprised. I didn’t want to
talk about it. All I wanted was to go home and
see my parents.
Mark’s rumors had spread through the entire
school like wildfire in my previous life. Because
he was disabled, the school, in their
performative wokeness, gave him a slap on the
wrist. Me? They accused me of being
promiscuous. Expelled me before even
investigating. My dad, furious, had gone to
Mark’s house to confront his family, and…
My mom, refusing to accept the injustice, had
appealed the expulsion, but it was no use. I
remembered that night so vividlv. Slapping
<
myself, begging my mom to forgive me. “Was it
wrong to help him?” I’d sobbed. “Why doesn’t
anyone get rewarded for being kind?”
“Helping people isn’t wrong,” Mom had said,
“but you have to be safe first. I want you to be
kind, but I’d give anything for you to have never
helped him. Then your father would still be
here.” And then she’d jumped from the roof.
I could still see Mark’s cruel, triumphant smile.
“The law can’t touch a crazy person,” he’d
said. “My useless dad’s in a mental hospital
now. Your dad did me a favor, really.” He said
we were the same now, both our parents gone,
finally down in the dirt together, where we could
be together forever.
The story of the farmer and the viper. That was
- me. My kindness had destroyed my family. Now,
all I wanted was to make sure they were safe,
still alive in this timeline.
<
9:57
I hadn’t even made it to the office to ask for
24
permission to leave when I saw Mark being shoved into the boys‘ bathroom by a group of guys. I remembered this too. The school bullies
had targeted him the moment he arrived. They
didn’t pity him; they saw him as a freak. They’d
made him drink toilet water, taunted him
relentlessly, even…
In my past life, I’d intervened, fought them off.
He’d latched onto me like I was his savior, the
only person who could pull him out of the
darkness.
Here it was again, the same scene playing out.
But this time, I wasn’t stepping in. His
sensitivity, his shyness, his vulnerability… it was
all an act. Underneath, he was a twisted,
spiteful creature who resented anything good
and pure.
I took a step back, avoiding his pleading gaze. I
watched as they pushed his head down, dirty
<
9:57
34
water splashing on his face. He reached out,
desperately trying to grab my pants leg. “Help
me…” he choked out.
I sidestepped him. One thought echoed in my
mind: No more rescuing. Respect other people’s
destinies.
Ashley walked out of the classroom. I braced
myself for another display of fake sympathy.
Instead, she pretended not to see and walked
back inside. Interesting.
Mark was left there, humiliated, his clothes
reeking, his hair plastered to his scarred face. I
watched as Ashley emerged again, dramatically
covering her mouth. “Mark! Oh my god! Are you
okay? Did someone hurt you? Tell me, I’ll tell
the teacher!”
She laid the concern on thick. Mark just kept
his head down, silent. But he glanced up at me,
a strange look in his eyes. Alarm bells went off
<
9:57
34
in my head. I hadn’t helped him this time. Why
was he looking at me? Could he hold a grudge
even if I hadn’t been kind to him?
I wasn’t afraid of Mark’s resentment. He was a
coward at heart. He wouldn’t dare retaliate
against his bullies; he’d probably end up joining
them. It was the people who helped him, who
showed him kindness, that he’d turn on, taking
their generosity for granted.
This time, I wasn’t falling for it. No shared
desks. No rescuing him from the bathroom. I’d
spent countless nights in my past life agonizing
over my misplaced compassion, the empathy
that had cost me everything.
I gave him a cold stare. “What are you looking
at? Something on my face? I’m not the one who
did that to you.”
He flinched, looking down, his hands clenching
into fists. His lips pressed together in a
<
9:57
ร 34
It was this pathetic act that had suckered me in
before.
His performance, predictably, earned him
another round of laughter from the bullies. “Gonna cry, pretty boy? Maybe you should start wearing a dress. Though, honestly, you’re so ugly, it might make us puke.” “Seriously, he’s
bringing down the average attractiveness of the entire class.”
One of the ringleaders from the bathroom incident swaggered over to my desk. “Well, well, looks like our class president isn’t a fan of the freak either. Wanna join us in tormenting him a little?”
I glared at him. Kevin. He’d had a crush on me in my previous life. When I rejected him, and then saw me being nice to Mark, he’d gotten even more bitter. He was the one who’d put
Mark up to that public confession, hoping to
humiliate me. He was no better than the rest of
9:57
them.
34
He took my silence as agreement and leaned in, lowering his voice. “I heard his dad’s a nutcase. Lives on welfare. Think if I made him pay protection money, he and his crazy dad would
have to eat dirt? Hahaha!”
I slammed my textbook down on his fingers,
which were resting on my desk. He yelped and
pulled his hand back, glaring at me. “You crazy?
Trying to be a hero?”
At his words, Mark’s head snapped up. He
looked at me from the corner of his eye.
I smirked. “Extortion. You might want to look up
how long that gets you in juvie. Don’t worry,
you’re a minor, you won’t be in there long.”
Kevin’s face darkened. “So, you are taking his
side?”
