Chapter 1

My name is Chloe Miller, and I have died once.

During my junior year, Braden Foster led a group of bullies who tormented me for two years.

My best friend, Sienna Hill, stole my private diary, photocopied it, and scattered the pages like flyers across the entire school.

Our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Gable, simply said, "It takes two to tango, Chloe. You should reflect on your own behavior."

By the time the SATs rolled around, my mind was filled with the images of those flyers plastered in the hallways. My hands shook so hard I couldn't even hold my pen.

I failed my exams, my life collapsed, and I died of stomach cancer at twenty-eight.

When it was diagnosed, it was already terminal. I didn't even have enough money for treatment.

As I lay on a gurney in the hospital hallway, I had only one thought: if only I could do it all over again.

Then I woke up. My pillow was soaked with tears.

1

I was woken up by the sound of my own sobbing.

When I opened my eyes, I didn't see the white ceiling of the hospital.

Instead, I saw the dusty chandelier in my childhood bedroom.

The junior year class schedule was still taped to the wall, and my unfinished summer homework was scattered across the desk.

Outside, the cicadas were buzzing loudly in the August heat.

I froze for a full ten seconds.

Then I lunged for my phone. The date on the screen made my hands tremble.

August 30, 2022. The night before the first day of senior year.

I threw off the covers and rushed to the mirror.

It was a seventeen-year-old face. No sickly yellow tint from chemo, no sunken eyes, no gray shadow of death.

It was me. Seventeen, alive, and everything had yet to happen.

I collapsed onto the bathroom floor, hugging my knees, and cried like a wounded animal.

Every memory of my past life replayed in my head like a horror movie.

On the first day of junior year, I brought a physics bridge model I'd spent all summer building to class.

Braden Foster walked past my desk and "accidentally" knocked it to the floor, crushing it under his boot. The whole class laughed.

As I knelt to pick up the pieces, he sneered, "Garbage made by a loser is always fragile."

Sienna Hill whispered next to me, "Ignore him, he's just being a jerk."

But after school, she screenshotted my private Instagram posts and sent them to Braden. Those posts were filled with my secret crush on the class president.

The next day, the hallways were covered in flyers.

The headline read: "Chloe Miller's Mental Health Report―Chronic Thirst Syndrome."

Every line was a direct quote from my diary. It was signed: "Shared by Sienna Hill."

I confronted her in the classroom.

She cried in front of everyone, saying, "I didn't know! My account was hacked! Chloe, you have to believe me!"

Braden stood by, clapping and laughing. He started the applause, and the whole class followed.

That applause lasted for two years.

Two years later, sitting in the SAT hall, I tried to write my essay. Every word I formed was shaky.

The proctor thought I had low blood sugar and brought me a cup of water.

That cup of water was the only kindness I felt during my entire senior year.

At twenty-eight, I had terminal cancer. The doctor said the chronic stress had destroyed my immune system.

My mother collapsed outside the ward. Everything ended in pain.

But now, I was awake.

I stood up from the bathroom floor and turned on the faucet. I splashed cold water on my face.

The girl in the mirror had swollen eyes, but her gaze was different now.

I went back to my room and opened my laptop. I created a blank document.

Title: "First Day of School: Collecting Every Debt."

I made a list underneath:

1. Physics model presentation tomorrow―Braden will try to crush it. Response: Hide a backup in the lab. Bring the teacher directly there to see it. Record everything on my phone.

2. Sienna will ask me to the rooftop after school to "talk." Braden's gang will be waiting. Response: Don't go. Announce in front of everyone: If anyone touches me again, I'll make sure they lose their college eligibility.

3. Mrs. Gable favors Braden because his family donated a wing to the school. Response: Document every instance of bias. If she protects him, report her directly to the Board of Education.

Four pages of notes.

In my past life, it took me years to learn how to fight back.

This time, the school year hasn't even started, and I'm already done taking their crap.

====================================