Chapter 1

During the class with Eleanor Blackwell, the strictest physics teacher in school, Sophie Hart forgot her lab manual, so her eyes were brimming with tears from anxiety.

Ethan Reed glanced at her, then reached over and took my lab manual, handing it to her without a second thought.

I stood there, completely stunned.

The next moment, Eleanor was already at my desk, tapping on the empty surface. "Vera, where's your lab manual?"

The whole class went silent.

Sophie was holding my lab manual tightly, head down, not saying a word. Ethan sat beside her, acting like he didn't care at all, as if it had nothing to do with him.

The teacher's face darkened. "You come to lab class without your manual? What are you, a visitor?"

I used to swallow it and keep quiet.

Because Ethan was my childhood neighbor, the guy I had secretly liked for years.

Because Sophie was my best friend.

Because if I ever tried to stand up for myself, they'd say I was overreacting, jealous, or being childish.

But in that moment, I couldn't take it anymore.

I pointed at the manual in Sophie's arms and said, making sure everyone could hear me, "That's mine."

*****

Everyone's eyes turned to Sophie.

Her eyes welled up with tears, as if she'd suffered the greatest injustice.

Ethan frowned at me. "Vera, stop making a scene."

I smirked. "So I'm claiming what's mine, and that's making a scene?"

Eleanor held out her hand impatiently. "Hand it over."

Sophie hesitated for a second before handing over the lab notebook.

The teacher flipped to the first page.

My heart clenched.

Sure enough, the place where my name used to be was ripped out. On the blank second page, "Sophie Hart" was scrawled. The ink was still wet.

That was Ethan's handwriting. I'd recognize it anywhere.

From elementary school all the way to high school, he'd written me countless notes and explained so many questions to me. His handwriting always had that little upward tilt at the end, like he was forever a bit proud.

Eleanor slammed the notebook down on my desk. "Vera, next time you want to lie, at least think it through. Sophie's name is right there."

A few people in the classroom snickered.

Sophie whispered, "Ms. Blackwell, let it go. Vera probably didn't do it on purpose."

With that innocent-sounding line, she pinned me as the liar.

Ethan warned in a low voice, "That's enough."

'That's enough? Seriously?' I thought.

I was the one whose stuff got stolen, the one who would get punished, and the one everyone was laughing at.

Why did he get to decide when it was enough?

I stood up, my voice trembling, but I didn't back down. "Ms. Blackwell, the page where my name was written got ripped out. Sophie's name was put there. The ink hasn't dried yet."

Eleanor's face darkened. "Still trying to talk your way out of it?"

Ethan finally spoke up. "Ms. Blackwell, I saw Sophie holding this notebook this morning."

I looked at him.

He didn't look at me.

In that moment, it hit me. All those years I'd spent liking him were all a joke.

Eleanor said coldly, "Vera, you have detention today. You're not leaving until you realize your mistake."

I grabbed my backpack.

The whole class erupted in an uproar.

Eleanor snapped, "I said detention. Why do you leave now?"

I stopped at the door and turned back to face the front of the classroom. "Ms. Blackwell, I'm going to the dean's office to have them check the cameras. We'll find out soon who took what, and who tore out the name."

Sophie's face went pale.

Ethan's head snapped up.

For the first time, with both of them watching, I walked out of the classroom without looking back.

At the dean's office, Olivia Quinn, my classmate, stopped me.

She pushed up her glasses and asked in a low voice, "Are you going to check the cameras?"

I nodded.

She was quiet for a few seconds, then handed me her phone.

On the screen was a video.

The video, shot from the back of the classroom, showed Ethan grabbing my lab manual, tearing out the first page while Eleanor was busy at the board, then scribbling Sophie's name onto the second page.

I froze. "You got this on video?"

Olivia said, "I was recording Eleanor going over the problem. I had no idea I'd catch this."

She paused, then added, "You always put up with it before. I thought you'd let it slide again this time."

I gripped the phone, my fingers going cold.

Yeah, everyone assumed I'd take it.

That's why they kept pushing me into the most humiliating situations, over and over again.