Chapter 1
The seventh day after I died was my funeral.
I hovered in midair above the memorial hall, watching people come and go.
My black-and-white portrait hung in the center. It had been retouched a bit too much, but at least I'd looked happy in it.
My mom cried until she nearly collapsed. My dad held her up. His hair had gone gray overnight.
My best friends clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably.
Everything looked pretty much the way I'd imagined, except for the man standing in the corner.
Daniel Rooney wore a sharp black suit that made him look even taller, his features cold and composed.
He hadn't cried nor had he spoken to anyone. He just stood there in silence, like a statue that didn't belong.
Everyone had always thought we were enemies.
We'd competed nonstop from high school to university, then ended up interning at the same hospital, always quarrelling.
Why would he come? To watch me make a fool of myself one last time?
But the eyes that were usually sharp and bright had gone dull and lifeless.
As I watched him, I suddenly felt that death wasn't quite so frightening anymore.
At least I'd gotten to see him one more time.
*****
After the funeral, the crowd dispersed.
I thought Daniel would leave right away. After all, this place must've made him feel uncomfortable. But he didn't.
He waited until everyone else had left, then slowly walked up to my framed photo.
He stood there for so long that I thought he might never leave.
Then, he reached out and, with the gentlest, slowest motion, traced his fingertips over the image of my face behind the glass.
There was an almost sacred kind of cherishing in that gesture, something I'd never seen from him before.
"Hailee," he finally spoke, his voice so hoarse it was barely recognizable. "You won.
"You left before the game was over, so that counts as your victory."
My soul felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles.
I wish I could tell him that I never wanted to beat him, that I just wanted him to notice me a little more.
But I couldn't make a sound.
All I could do was watch as he turned and walked out of the cold hall.
I didn't head off to wherever I was supposed to go. Instead, like a stubborn tag-along he couldn't shake off, I instinctively trailed after him.
I watched as he skipped both home and the hospital, drifting through the city that we had lived for ten years, wandering aimlessly.
He drove so slowly, like a lost old man with nowhere left to be.
His car rolled past our old high school, the place where we spent our teenage years.
As if pulled by some invisible force, he stopped the car.
It was summer break, so the whole campus was completely deserted.
Somehow he actually got the security guard to open the gate for him.
Daniel walked into the school building where we'd spent three years together, his leather shoes echoing through the empty corridors, each step ringing with a lonely sound.
He finally stopped at the door of our senior class.
The door wasn't locked.
He pushed it open and headed straight for the last row, right by the window.
That was where I used to sit.
He dropped into the seat, just like I always did, and leaned his chin on one hand, gazing out the window.
Outside, a huge camphor tree stretched its branches, the summer sun slipping through the leaves and scattering light all over the place.
I floated right next to him, looking at his side profile.
Memories pulled me back to that summer.
"Hailee! Are you out of your mind?" Daniel's roar was so loud it could've blown the roof off the classroom.
I turned my head slowly, eyeing his livid face and the physics workbook in his hand. The whole thing was covered in my Peppa Pig doodles, all done in bright red ink.
"What, Daniel? Don't tell me the class genius can't appreciate my artistic flair?" I shot him a look, practically begging for a fight.
"This is the homework I have to turn in tomorrow," Daniel snapped.
He smacked the workbook onto my desk.
"Well, bad luck for you," I said.
"You just had to call out our group for sloppy cleaning at the school assembly yesterday, didn't you? So this is me getting even."
Daniel was so furious his chest heaved. He glared at me, lost for words.
The whole class was watching, totally entertained. Our constant battles were the highlight of their boring high school lives.
He took a deep breath, clearly struggling to keep his temper in check. "What do you want from me?"
I wanted him to stop burying himself in those competition questions, stop always watching the teacher, and quit paying attention to those girls who keep passing him love letters.
I wanted him to notice me, even if he was pissed off and glaring at me.
All those words swirled around inside me, but what I said was, "Nothing. I just can't stand you."
Daniel's gaze turned icy.
He didn't say a word. He just grabbed the workbook and walked away.
I watched his straight-backed figure as he walked away, and that tiny bit of smugness I'd felt was instantly drowned out by a flood of disappointment.
Way to go. I screwed it up again.