Chapter 2

The next Monday at school, the air buzzed.

Something was up. You could feel it.

Then, during lunch, it happened.

Ethan Miller, center stage in the cafeteria.

He had a microphone, somehow. A huge speaker blared a cheesy love song.

Jessica Hayes stood a few feet away, feigning surprise, but her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Jessica!" Ethan boomed, his voice amplified, echoing off the linoleum. "From the moment I saw you this year, I knew! We are destined!"

This was new. In my first life, their romance was a slow burn, more calculated. This was...loud. Desperate.

He dropped to one knee, producing not a ring, but a giant, fluffy teddy bear and a ridiculously oversized box of chocolates.

"Be mine, Jessica! Let' s show this school what true love looks like!"

A smattering of applause, mostly from his new jock friends. Some girls giggled.

Jessica swooned dramatically, accepting the bear. "Oh, Ethan! Yes!"

They hugged, a performative embrace for the entire cafeteria.

I watched from my table, a cold knot in my stomach.

He was reborn. He knew. And this was his opening move?

It was too much, too soon. Even for Ethan' s ego.

Jessica, I noticed, held her smile a little too tightly. A flicker of something in her eyes. Unease.

This wasn' t the "original script" she remembered, was it? Good.

Later, in AP History, Ethan was insufferable.

He didn' t take notes. He leaned back in his chair, smirking, occasionally glancing at Jessica who sat across the aisle, preening.

He thinks he knows all the answers. He remembers the tests.

I, on the other hand, opened my notebook.

Every word Mr. Henderson said, I wrote down. Every date, every name.

My first life, I' d studied hard, but it was a hopeful, naive kind of study.

This time, it was a weapon.

After school, I didn' t go home. I went to the public library.

The quiet was a relief.

SAT prep books. Physical fitness guides for Annapolis.

Hours passed.

My muscles ached from the workout I' d forced myself through that morning. My brain felt tired but sharp.

Ethan could have his grand gestures and his remembered glories.

I had work to do.

He was banking on a past that gave him an edge.

I was building a future he couldn' t touch.

His arrogance was his weakness. My pain was my strength.

This game was just beginning. And he was already making mistakes.