Chapter 3

5:00 PM.

The hallway was completely empty.

I walked into the top-floor chemistry lab.

In my past life, I had been in here diligently cleaning up just like Brenda told me to.

Meanwhile, Chloe had snuck back in while I went down to empty the trash, stealing magnesium powder to play with, which started a small fire.

Then she ran.

When Brenda arrived, she didn't put out the fire. Instead, she turned on the main gas valve, overturned a bottle of ethanol, and turned a minor accident into a massive explosion.

This time, I wasn't going to give them the chance.

I pushed the door open.

Sure enough, the lab was a total mess. It didn't look like a class had just ended; it looked like someone had intentionally rummaged through it.

I didn't start cleaning right away.

Instead, I pulled out a rare luxury for a high schooler in 2004—a Nokia 7610.

My dad had saved up for three months just to buy it for me as a reward for my grades. The camera was only one megapixel, but it was enough to capture video.

I turned on the camera and started recording from the entrance.

I captured every corner, the position of every chemical bottle, and the status of every valve.

Especially the corner where several open jars of magnesium powder sat, along with a few unextinguished cigarette butts on the floor—the trash left behind by Chloe and her popular slacker friends.

Once I recorded everything, I quickly got to work.

I put all the chemicals back in their locked cabinets, checked every single burner, and made sure they were completely extinguished.

Most importantly, I checked the main gas valves.

All tightly shut.

By the time I finished, it was 5:20 PM.

According to my memory, the explosion happened around 5:45 PM.

I grabbed my backpack and walked out, locking the heavy door behind me.

But I didn't leave the campus.

I walked straight to the security office on the ground floor.

"Mr. Miller!" I tapped on the glass window.

The school guard, Mr. Miller, looked up from his small TV. "Oh, hey, Summer. Leaving late today?"

"Yes, sir. I had clean-up duty," I smiled, handing him the logbook. "Here are the lab keys. Could you sign here to confirm I handed them in at 5:25 PM?"

There was no strict rule about signing out, but because I was always a straight-A, detail-oriented student, Mr. Miller didn't think twice.

"Of course, kiddo. You’re always so responsible." He checked his watch and wrote in the logbook: *5:25 PM. Summer Lin returned lab keys. Doors and windows locked.*

Seeing his signature, half of the weight on my chest lifted.

I had the video. I had the witness.

This time, even if Chloe burned the school to the ground, she couldn't pin it on me.

I walked out of the school gates, but instead of going home, I walked into the Starbucks right across the street.

I ordered a sweet drink and sat by the window.

From here, I had a perfect view of the top-floor lab windows.

In this life, I wasn't just going to prove my innocence.

I wanted to see just how evil my "beloved teacher" could truly be.

The minutes ticked by.

5:40 PM.

The school should have been completely deserted.

But then, a familiar figure slipped through the school gates, looking around suspiciously.

It wasn't Chloe.

It was Brenda Vance.

Why wasn't she at home?

In my past life, she claimed she had been at home tutoring Chloe all evening, giving her a perfect alibi.

But now, she was sneaking back into the school?

I narrowed my eyes as I saw her pull out a key—the spare key!

As the head of the science department, of course she had a master key.

She scanned the empty courtyard, then slipped quickly into the building.

My heart began to hammer against my ribs.

In my past life, the logic was: Chloe messed up, and Brenda cleaned up by framing me.

But in this life, Chloe never got the chance to sneak back in because I had locked up so fast.

If Chloe wasn't in there, why did Brenda go in?

Unless...

***