Chapter 2

A week later, Mr. Henderson handed back the physics exams.

My stomach twisted. I always did well in physics.

He dropped it on my desk, face down.

I flipped it over.

A C-minus. Streaks of red ink everywhere.

Impossible. I knew this material inside out.

My heart hammered. This would kill my GPA, my scholarship chances.

Across the aisle, Jake was beaming.

He leaned over, showing me his paper. An A-plus.

"Can you believe it, Ethan? I totally nailed it!" he whispered, grinning.

Jake was smart, but an A-plus on Henderson's hardest exam? He usually got Bs, maybe a low A if he really pushed.

My C-minus. His A-plus.

Silas's words echoed. It takes your good, gives it to another.

No. It was a coincidence. I messed up. I had to have.

But the bracelet felt heavier. I tugged at it. It wouldn't budge.

Panic, cold and sharp, pricked at me.

That evening, I was supposed to study with Maya at her place.

Her parents were out.

I got there early, let myself in like I always did.

I heard voices from the kitchen. Maya and Jake.

"He'll be so crushed about the physics grade," Maya was saying. Her voice was soft, concerned.

Or so I thought.

"He'll get over it," Jake said, dismissive. "Besides, I needed that A-plus way more. You know how much pressure my dad's putting on me for the scholarship."

"I know, I know," Maya said. "That's why I helped you get the charm. Ethan's smart, he can recover from one bad grade. You... you needed this boost."

My breath caught. I leaned against the wall, hidden by the doorway.

Maya helped him? The charm?

"Still, I feel a bit bad," Maya continued. "He trusts me so much."

"He was being difficult," Jake said, his tone hardening. "I asked him, subtly, you know, to maybe not try so hard on this one, let me have a shot. He just brushed me off. Said 'may the best man win.' Arrogant."

"He's just focused, Jake. He has to be, for his mom."

"Yeah, well, my future is important too," Jake snapped. "And you're my girlfriend. You're supposed to support me."

Girlfriend? Since when?

Maya's voice was quiet. "I do support you, Jake. That's why I made sure you got the charm from that street vendor, and convinced you to give it to Ethan. He' d take anything from you. He considers you a brother."

The world tilted. Maya. My Maya.

She knew. She orchestrated it.

Because Jake "needed" it more.

Because I wouldn't deliberately fail for him.

The casual cruelty of it, the betrayal, hit me like a physical blow.

I felt sick. My childhood best friend, the girl I considered family.

She'd fed me to the wolves for Jake.

The Swapper's Charm wasn't a joke. It was real.

And Maya was the one who put it in motion.