These had been edited. Photoshopped. AI-enhanced. The footage of me getting jumped had been transformed into something else entirely—me partying with a group of heavily made-up older women.
Students heading into the exam hall froze in their tracks.
"Oh my god, is that—that's disgusting! Taking photos like that? Those women look old enough to be his mom!"
"Kids these days have no shame. And right by the school, too!"
"Wait, I know him! That's Alvin from Class Eight!"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks so proper on the outside. Who knew he was into this kind of thing?"
"Getting freaky with sugar mamas in back alleys? Interesting."
"Christina!"
I grabbed her collar.
"Take it down! Take it down now!"
But she just shoved me away, laughing as she pointed at the screen.
"What's wrong? Isn't that you? You love snitching so much—well, now everyone knows your little secret. Why so shy all of a sudden?"
"That's not me!"
My voice cracked.
She just laughed harder as the bodyguards escorted her toward the exam hall. At the entrance, she turned back.
"Alvin, Myron is my everything. You've targeted him again and again. So now I'm giving you a taste of your own medicine."
The parents waiting outside fixed me with looks sharp enough to draw blood.
The police restored the screen quickly enough, but the damage was done. No one could look away.
Every step toward the exam hall felt like wading through concrete.
When I finally walked into the classroom and took my seat, the students who were already there looked up. Their expressions ranged from complicated to openly disgusted.
The security officer did a double-take when she saw me, then proceeded to pat me down roughly.
I spoke up carefully. "Ma'am, I don't have anything hidden in my clothes. Could you be a little gentler?"
She didn't care. "You had the nerve to take photos like that. How do I know you're not hiding some cheating device somewhere creative?"
Every pair of eyes in the room landed on me. Snickers rippled through the crowd.
Christina sat in a chair nearby, a cold smirk on her face as she watched me squirm.
I don't know how I made it through the exam. It took everything I had not to let that whole mess get to me.
The test questions hadn't changed from before.
I let out a small breath of relief.
In my last life, I'd beaten Christina by two points.
This time, I was going to do even better.