These same faces—last life, they'd watched me slip from the rooftop edge, and their twisted laughter was still ringing in my ears.

I switched to a smile instantly,

pulled a fistful of hundred-dollar bills from my pocket, and slapped them down in front of Molly.

"Something this good? Of course I'm buying in. I'll cover the biggest share!"

Molly looked at me like I'd grown a second head.

But the doubt in her eyes was swept away by the eruption of cheers around us.

"Molls, this is amazing! With eight hundred from our class president, we've got enough!"

"This is it! I'm getting into Westbridge this year! All those years my parents spent grinding at the morning market, finally worth something!"

"Miriam, I didn't expect you to support Molly's plan like this."

Ethan stepped forward and slung his arm around my shoulders.

"Miriam, keep being like this from now on. You know how much I like it when you're good and do as you're told."

Ethan and I grew up together. We'd been side by side since we were kids.

We'd promised we'd go to the same university, do graduate school together, head toward the same future.

But in my last life, when I was hanging off the edge of that rooftop begging for my life, he was the one laughing the hardest.

Three years I'd spent tutoring him, giving everything I had without a thought for myself.

The bitterness started spreading through me.

"Hey, Miriam! Don't tell me you're already having second thoughts?!"

Ethan's sharp accusation yanked me back to the present.

I swallowed it all down and forced another smile.

"No, it's just—everyone's about to go their separate ways. Makes me a little sad, that's all."

"What's there to be sad about!"

Molly was stuffing the collected cash into her pocket, grinning the whole time.

"Two months from now, we'll all see each other again at Westbridge!"

The whole class erupted again.

"Yeah! Westbridge, here we come!"

"Two months, and we'll be together again at Westbridge!"

Looking at these excited, two-faced monsters, a chill of revulsion crawled through me.

I needed to get away from them. Every second less in this room was a second safer.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

To keep them from getting suspicious, I made a point of patting Molly on the shoulder before I left.

"Be careful when you buy the devices. And tomorrow morning, when you're showing everyone how to use them before the exam, don't forget about me."

"Don't worry!"