A shrug. "Whatever. Samantha's so broken up about what happened, she swore she'd marry me the second I recover."
His laughter cut through me like shattered glass.
I wanted to claw his throat out.
Then—
A voice. Familiar. Dripping with contempt.
"Daryl Shepherd, what's with that face?"
"Roger's birthday wish was to celebrate with the whole class. He invited you. The least you could do is act grateful instead of standing there looking disgusted."
"Then again, Roger streams every day and still outranks Daryl. Meanwhile, Daryl grinds himself to death just to place third. Jealousy's an ugly look."
"He's been kissing up to Samantha so obviously, and she doesn't even give him the time of day. Now that she's throwing a birthday party for Roger, he's totally losing it."
I froze, the realization hitting me like a thunderbolt—this was the night before the college entrance exam.
I pinched myself. Hard.
It hurt. But I was trembling—not from pain, but from sheer, overwhelming excitement.
I've actually been reborn.
Seeing me standing there with my head down, saying nothing, a few classmates who'd always been decent to me spoke up.
"Are we being too harsh? Daryl was just looking out for us..."