Chapter 4

After the PE teacher made sure Wendy was okay, he left.

The school doctor got called away, leaving just Wendy and me in the room.

Wendy lay on the bed, her eyelids closed and still, her breathing shallow and steady. She did look knocked out.

I stared at her for a few seconds and said, "Alright, drop the act. There's nobody else here."

She kept pretending, still acting like she was in a trance.

I didn't say anything more but leaned back in my chair and waited. I knew I could never wake someone who was pretending to sleep.

After about five minutes, her eyelids fluttered. Then, she slowly opened her eyes, looking dazed and confused, like she'd just woken up.

"Jessica?" Her voice was hoarse and weak. "What happened to me?"

"You passed out on the playground. The PE teacher carried you here. The doctor said it might be caused by the low level of blood sugar," I said, my tone cold. "How are you feeling now?"

She pushed herself up from the bed, rubbing her temples, still looking groggy. "My head's spinning. Everything went black just now, and I can't remember a thing..."

"Oh, really?" I tilted my head. "Your timing was spot on. If you'd waited one more second, Tyler would've called you on video."

The room went quiet for a couple of seconds.

She dropped her hand from her temples and looked up at me. She was still faking weakness, but I caught a hint of caution in her eyes. "Jessica, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"You know exactly what I'm saying," I said, not letting her off the hook. "You're the one who pretended to be me and had an online relationship with Tyler, aren't you?"

She froze.

After a brief pause, she looked like she couldn't believe I was accusing her, as if she had been treated unjustly.

"Jessica, did you get the wrong idea about me? Is this because I told you not to mess with Tyler and now, you're upset? I did this only for your own good..."

I cut her off. "Wendy, do I have to go get Tyler here and have him check the WhatsApp account himself before you'll admit it?"

Her face instantly lost all color.

When she spoke again, her voice was shaky, almost crying. "I didn't pretend to be you. It's Tyler that got it wrong." She looked up, her eyes red, tears about to spill.

Wendy lowered her head, tears dropping onto the quilt, soaking it with dark stains. "When he added me, he only said his name was Tyler. He never asked for mine."

I leaned forward. "Then tell me, when you realized he'd mistaken you for me, why didn't you clear things up?

"Not only did you stay quiet, but you also changed your WhatsApp profile picture to match mine, updated your bio to look like mine, and used my photo as your Instagram cover. None of that was Tyler's idea, right?"

Wendy froze. She stayed silent for so long that I started to think she'd never say a word again.

Then she looked up, her eyes red and swollen, tears all over her face, and met my gaze with pleading eyes. "I like him.

"Jessica, you probably don't understand. You're good-looking and smart, so everyone likes you right away. Do you have any idea what it's like for someone like me? Half the semester's gone, and half the class still doesn't know my name."

She wiped her tears. "When Tyler added me, I was so happy and even crazy. Someone finally noticed me and it was Tyler, the guy everyone pays attention to.

"Then I realized he thought I was you. I thought I'd chat with him for a while, only a few words, and then tell him the truth.

"But we kept talking. He once told me how he found a kitten, about his swimming meets, and so on. I've never had anyone need me like that. I didn't dare to tell him the truth for I was scared that if he found out I wasn't you, he'd stop talking to me."

By the end, she was sobbing so hard that she could barely get the words out.

I watched her fall apart, but honestly, I felt nothing inside. "So not only did you keep quiet, but you also copied every single one of my Instagram posts, making yourself look exactly like me."

Wendy bit her lip, staying silent.

"So, what are you going to do now?" I asked.

She suddenly looked up at me, hope instantly lighting up her eyes. "Jessica, please, help me, okay?

"You go tell Tyler you were joking with him today, that the account was really yours the whole time. You kind of like him too, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be at every single one of his school games, would you?

"You could agree to be his girlfriend. Then, in a few days, I'll message him on WhatsApp and say I got a new phone, so he can add your number. Just act like you've been the one chatting with him online from the start, and I'll stay out of it."

Back in my previous life, after Tyler confessed to me, I was so flustered and shy that I didn't think about adding him on WhatsApp.

It wasn't until I got home that I saw his friend request.

Wendy must've used the same move so Tyler wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Please, Jessica? We're friends, right? Help me out this once, okay?" she pleaded.

I looked down at her hand gripping my wrist and pried her fingers off, one by one.

I stood up, arms crossed, my gaze drifting past her to the blue curtain. "Tyler, did you hear that?"