Chapter 1

A week before the SAT, I received a video message from my future self 10 years from now.

The woman in the video wore a sharp business suit, with polished makeup that looked both elegant and professional.

I thought of my childhood sweetheart, Alex Shepherd. We promised to get together after the SAT, so I asked her shyly, "Do Alex and I get married 10 years from now? Are we happy together?"

The woman on the other end answered in a calm voice, "You and Alex don't get married. The person Alex really loves is Emily Lane, the transfer student.

"But none of that matters. What I'm about to tell you does. You need to remember every word."

I was a little disappointed, but I did as she said and pulled out a notebook.

The woman in the video rattled off her advice. "You're losing too many points on exponential function problems. You still have a week, so make this a top priority when you review.

"SwiftInvest Tech will be a dark horse stock. Buy it at the lowest price you can after the SAT. A year later, it'll shoot up fiftyfold.

"The future belongs to artificial intelligence. You should do everything you can to get into the Computer Science Honors Program at Imperial Tech University. Once you're in, remember to invest in your classmate, Chris Goodwin.

"Don't let these opportunities slip through your fingers. I'll be waiting for a better version of you 10 years from now."

I nodded. Young love came and went, but a person's future was something worth holding on to. For me, what mattered most was building a future I could control.

There must be some kind of limit to these time-travel video calls.

After she finished her rapid-fire instructions, the call cut off by itself.

I stared at the messy notes in my notebook, my heart pounding out of control.

The tip of my pen kept doodling circles around Alex and Emily Lane's names.

So Alex, the guy I'd promised to be with after the SAT, never liked me in the first place.

His real crush was Emily, the transfer who came to our class last year.

Everything that happened felt like a dream, so surreal I could barely wrap my head around it.

If it weren't for the notes I'd scribbled down, I'd have thought it was all my imagination.

I opened WhatsApp and checked all my messages, but there was no sign of the video call at all. Nothing could prove I'd answered a call from 10 years in the future.

It was like the whole thing was a hallucination from all the SAT stress, but the open notebook on my desk reminded me that it was no dream.

My head was spinning, but I knew this wasn't the time to get caught up in all that.

The SAT was a week away, and every single minute was precious.

I rubbed my eyes, forcing myself to shove aside those worthless feelings about love.

Without wasting a second, I pulled out my math textbook and marked the chapter on exponential functions as top priority.

I was a top student, always seen as one of the school's best bets for getting into Imperial Tech or Northern University, but math was the subject where I was most likely to lose points.

My teacher would often regretfully remark that I had a strong foundation, but every now and then I'd crash and burn on the tough questions.

If I could keep my math scores steady, I might actually have a shot at being the champion.

If that video call from the future was real, then I'd do well in all my subjects on the SAT next week, except for math, where I'd lose points I really shouldn't.

And that was exactly where I'd lose those points, in the exponential functions.

I blinked my tired, bloodshot eyes and took a sip of the black coffee sitting on my desk.

I pushed myself to really drill into the key concepts for this section.

I hunted down every official SAT question and tricky variation on exponential functions from the past 10 years.

I dug through my math blunders journal and pulled out every mistake I'd ever made on that topic, then I copied every question and its solution into a fresh notebook for that chapter.

With only a week left before the SAT, I was dead set on totally nailing this topic.

By the time I finished organizing everything, the clock in my room showed it was already 2 AM.

I thought knowing all this would keep me up all night, tossing and turning, but the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

*****

The next morning, I packed up my bag and headed to school.

For the first time ever, I didn't swing by Alex's place to wait for him before school.

Normally, I'd get up at 5 AM, walk to Alex's house, and wait outside for him.

Alex loved to sleep in, so I'd be standing out there for half an hour almost every morning.

Thinking about it now, I was such an idiot. I couldn't believe how much time I'd wasted on Alex.

I got to school way too early today. The class monitor wasn't even here yet, and the classroom door was locked tight.

So I ducked into the little woods on campus to cram some vocabulary. Before I knew it, I was totally absorbed.

When I finally snapped out of it, my watch said it was already seven.

With half an hour left before first period, I packed up my bag and was about to head out, but then I heard some rustling coming from deep in the woods.

The small woods on campus were always the favorite hangout for high school couples looking for a bit of privacy, but this time, the voices drifting out from the trees sounded all too familiar.

"Hey, Emily, let me kiss you, please? It's been two whole days since our last one. Lucky for us, Jonathan didn't show up to bug me today, or I'd never get a moment alone with you," Alex joked.

Then a girl's voice floated out, soft and a little pouty, with some frustration and hurt. "Alex, when are you actually going to talk things out with Jonathan?

"We've been together for so long, so why do we have to sneak around like this?

"Everyone thinks you and Jonathan are childhood sweethearts, that you'll finally get together after the SAT. Then what am I to you?

"You won't tell anyone about us. Is it because you're still hung up on your childhood sweetheart?"

Alex stammered, trying to explain himself, "Seriously, you know who matters to me, right?

"Jonathan's someone I grew up with. There's nothing romantic between us, not even a little bit.

"My parents are obsessed with Jonathan. They've always pictured her as their future daughter-in-law.

"If I come clean with her now, she'll run straight to my parents and make a scene. I don't want you dragged into that mess.

"Hang in there, babe. Once we're in college, I'll shout to the world that you're my girl."

As soon as he finished speaking, the woods echoed with the sound of their passionate kissing.