Chapter 2

"Summer! Are you even listening to me? What is wrong with you?"

A piece of chalk struck my forehead with perfect accuracy.

The sharp sting felt incredibly real.

I gasped, my eyes flying open as I sucked in a huge breath of air.

In front of me was a green chalkboard covered in complex chemical equations.

The air smelled faintly of chalk dust and sulfur.

Standing at the podium in a beige blazer and wire-rimmed glasses was the middle-aged woman frowning at me.

Brenda Vance.

I instinctively gripped the pen in my hand so hard the plastic casing nearly cracked.

All around me were my classmates, wearing high school hoodies and varsity jackets.

In the front row, Chloe turned around, made a face at me, and mouthed, *“Idiot.”*

I was alive.

I glanced at the wall clock: May 18, 2004, 4:30 PM.

The exact day of the lab explosion!

"Did you get any of the esterification reactions I just explained?" Brenda tapped the board sharply. "As my lab assistant, with the state science decathlon next week, how can you be this distracted? You’re staying after school to clean up the AP chemistry lab. Think about your attitude."

The exact same words.

In my past life, this was how I was forced to stay behind, becoming the "last person to leave the lab."

The perfect scapegoat.

I took a deep breath, forcing down the violent urge to kill her right then and there.

I stood up, my voice eerily calm. "Understood, Mrs. Vance."

Brenda seemed satisfied with my obedience. She nodded. "Class dismissed."

The classroom erupted into cheers as everyone packed up to leave.

Chloe walked over to my desk, tossing her designer backpack over her shoulder with a sweet smile. "Thanks for doing the heavy lifting, Summer. I have dance practice. Oh, by the way, I heard the department just got some expensive new reagents. Don't be clumsy and break them."

Looking at her youthful, flawless face, all I could see was her twisted, ugly expression twenty years later.

"Don't worry," I said, looking straight into her eyes with a faint smile. "I'll take *excellent* care of everything."

***