Chapter 2

2

That night, an anonymous message popped up in the class group chat. “Selah Reed is a thief. She stole a phone back in middle school.” “There’s even security footage of it.” “How did a girl like that get into the Honors track? The admissions office must be blind.”

The comments started rolling in immediately. “Is that for real?” “She always seemed so quiet... guess you never know.” “No wonder nobody wants to partner with her in PE.” “Thieves shouldn't be in our class.”

The message was sent at 9:43 PM. I put my phone down and opened a new notebook. It had a black cover and was completely empty. I drew a table on the very first page.

On the left, I wrote, “Riley’s Actions.” On the right, I wrote, “Evidence Collected.” I left plenty of blank rows beneath them. In my last life, I never recorded anything because I thought I could just outlast the storm.

By the time I wanted to fight back, I had nothing. Everyone believed Riley because she was a great actress. She knew how to play the sweetheart for the teachers and the hero for the kids. I was just the ‘crazy’ girl with no proof.

This time, things were going to be different. The next morning, Riley blocked me at the classroom door. Mrs. Gable was standing right there with her. “Mrs. Gable, she stole the two hundred dollars I had in my desk,” Riley said.

Her voice was perfectly shaky, and she even managed a few fake tears. “I put it in my desk yesterday, and now it’s gone.” “Selah is the only one who was near my seat.” Mrs. Gable frowned and looked at me.

“Selah, did you touch Riley’s desk?” “No,” I said firmly. Riley leaned closer to the teacher. “Everyone knows she has a history of this. She stole a phone in middle school!” “Can we really trust her word?”

Mrs. Gable looked between us, her eyes filled with hesitation. I had seen that look a thousand times in my past life. It was the look of someone who was already starting to believe the lie. “Mrs. Gable,” I said, pulling out my phone.

“I can account for my location since yesterday afternoon.” “I never went near Riley’s desk, and the hallway cameras will prove it.” “As for the middle school rumors...” I turned to face Riley directly.

“Can you show us that ‘security footage’ you keep talking about?” “You’ve been spreading that story for years, but nobody has ever seen it.” “Since we’re here with the teacher, why don’t you show everyone right now?” Riley’s face froze for a heartbeat.