Chapter 1"Tomorrow's SAT—everyone shows up ten minutes late. Got it?"
The night before the test, Peyton Shaw—our class sweetheart—was flooding the group chat:
"Anyone on time is a coward. A total sellout!"
In my past life, I called the teacher right away, then rang up every classmate one by one, dragging the whole class to the testing center on time.
But Peyton got ripped apart online for trying to mess with the SATs. She jumped.
When everyone found out, they locked me in an old classroom and lit the furniture on fire.
Through the smoke, I banged on the door, begging my childhood best friend—right there watching—to help.
But he just looked down at me:
"If you'd kept your mouth shut, Peyton would still be alive. You deserve to burn for this."
I couldn't breathe. Everything went black. I collapsed.
When I opened my eyes, I was back—right when Peyton was telling everyone to show up late.
This time? I left the group without a second thought.
Good luck with your rebellion.
...
"Sloane, are you out of your damn mind? Peyton's trying to help everyone blow off steam, and you just bail on the group?"
My boyfriend Hayden's voice blasted through my phone.
I just stared at the notification:
[You have left the Class of 2024 - Section A chat.]
Laughed, cold.
"I left because I don't want to breathe the same air as idiots."
"Who are you calling an idiot?" His voice shot up.
"Peyton's calling for everyone to show up ten minutes late tomorrow to make a statement against standardized testing!"
"We're taking control of our lives—we're not slaves to some test score!"
I didn't answer.
All I could see was the firelight from that abandoned classroom in my past life.
Smoke pouring down my throat, filling my lungs.
Their footsteps fading outside the door.
Hayden standing there, voice ice-cold.
"Sloane, you love sticking your nose in everyone's business, right? Stay in there and think about what you've done."
I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles went white.
On the other end, Hayden kept barking orders.
"Get back in the chat and apologize to Peyton. Everyone's praising her for being brave. You're the only buzzkill."
I glanced down at the review materials on my desk.
"Hayden, they don't let you into the SAT fifteen minutes after it starts."
"You all think showing up late is cool? Go ahead. Just leave me out of it."
He scoffed.
"Peyton looked it up. Ten minutes is nothing."
"If the whole class shows up late, you think the school's gonna stop us from testing? This is performance art. Get it?"
Performance art? Ridiculous.
"Have fun with your ART." I hung up and blocked him.
A second later, my homeroom teacher Mr. Brennan called.
This bitch.
In my past life, I'd begged him to stop Peyton.
What did he say?
"Come on! Kids were just messing around!"
Even after Peyton jumped, he came after me screaming:
"If you hadn't blown this up, Peyton wouldn't have gotten cyberbullied!"
I picked up. Mr. Brennan's voice boomed through the speaker.
"Sloane, get back in that group! Peyton's helping everyone deal with test anxiety. She's got guts—she's showing real leadership!"
I laughed bitterly. "You call getting a zero on the Reading and Writing section leadership?"
His tone went hard.
"Why are you being so stubborn? It's ten minutes. It won't affect the test. You leaving the chat is destroying class unity!"
I sighed.
"Mr. Brennan, there's less than twelve hours until the test. You can still stop this."
He exploded.
"I don't need you telling me how to do my job! Send Peyton an apology! She just cried so hard she could barely breathe."
"If you think she's so upset, you comfort her."
I hung up and blocked Mr. Brennan too.
Peace lasted about ten seconds.
My desk partner Mira sent me screenshots from the group chat.
Peyton was sobbing in there: [I just didn't want anyone to have regrets about high school...]
The replies poured in.
[Sloane's just a grind. She doesn't get what living means.]
[Tomorrow, whoever shows up on time is a traitor!]
Mira sent me a shaky voice message: "Sloane, is this actually safe? I'm freaking out."
I typed back: [Whether twelve years of school is a joke or not—your call.]
[Scared? Show up on time. Not scared? Be late.]
Mira went quiet for a long time, then: "But Peyton said if you go early, don't ever say you were part of Section A again."
I stared at the screen and smiled.
In my past life, I'd saved them and got called a traitor.
This time, without me playing the villain, I'd love to see how far their rebellion gets them.
Chapter 2
Right then, a notification popped up on my feed.
Peyton was live-streaming.
[Night Before SATs: Entire Honors Class Showing Up 10 Minutes Late to Protest Standardized Testing]
When I clicked in, the stream already had over three thousand viewers.
On camera, Peyton wore a white dress, her eyes puffy and red.
"I really just wanted everyone to be brave for once."
"We're not trying to skip the test. We just want to show the school we're not machines."
She sniffled. Her voice cracked.
"But our class president left the group."
"She called us brain-dead."
"She said anyone who shows up late deserves what they get."
The chat absolutely lost it.
[This kind of class president is the worst.]
[She wants to be a robot, fine—but don't ruin it for everyone else.]
[If she walks into that test center alone tomorrow, let's make her go viral.]
Peyton shook her head, biting her lip.
"Guys, please—don't attack her, okay?"
"She's probably just really scared."
Then she put up a screenshot of the group chat.
My profile picture, my name, my school—barely covered.
I stared at the screen. Hit record.
Peyton kept going, voice breaking.
"Sloane's the top girl in our class academically."
"She's always been excellent. But she's always been cold, too."
"I just—" sniffle "—I just hope tomorrow, she'll stand with us."
The comments flew faster.
[Section A? I think I know who this is.]
[Try-hard girl better not have a peaceful test tomorrow.]
Within seconds, my DMs flooded.
[You're the traitor?]
[Hope you bomb tomorrow.]
[People like you are selfish even if you get into college.]
I screenshotted every single one. Saved them all.
My mom's video call came through.
My parents were out of town.
Grandma had a stroke, and they'd rushed back overnight. Before they left, they'd made Hayden promise to look after me.
They'd said, "You and Hayden grew up together. His family lives close."
"Let him go with you tomorrow. We'll feel better."
I answered.
Mom's face filled the screen, dark circles under her eyes from no sleep.
"I saw the livestream online. What's going on?"
I paused, then explained briefly.
The more Mom listened, the whiter her face got.
Then Dad's voice came from off-screen.
"Where's Hayden?"
I smiled faintly.
"He wants me to show up late too..."
"Honey, your dad and I are buying tickets back right now!"
"Don't." I looked up. "Grandma needs you there."
I looked at her reddened eyes through the screen and smiled slowly.
"Tomorrow I'm leaving early and going straight to the test center."
Dad was quiet for a beat, then his voice came out low and firm.
"Sloane, listen to me."
"Tomorrow, no matter who tries to talk to you, ignore them."
"If anyone blocks you, walk straight toward the cops and the proctors."
I nodded.
Mom still looked worried.
"What about Hayden? What if he comes after you?"
I glanced at the livestream where Hayden had just appeared on screen.
He was sitting next to Peyton, handing her tissues.
"If he tries to stop me—I'll call the cops."
"Good. That's my daughter."
On the livestream, Peyton suddenly raised her voice.
"Tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., we're meeting at Lime Tree Boba across from the test center."
"No one leaves early."
"I'm filming us walking in together."
"This is the bravest thing we'll ever do at eighteen!"
Hayden spoke up too, leaning into the camera.
"Anyone who goes in early is a traitor to the whole class."
"Especially Sloane."
"If she really walks in alone, I'm done with her."
I said goodnight to my parents. Then I turned off the light and lay down.
My phone buzzed again.
A text from an unknown number.
"See you at the test center tomorrow. Traitor."
Chapter 3
The next morning at 6:30, my alarm went off.
I had dozens of messages from unknown numbers.
[Traitor, don't expect to walk in peacefully today.]
I didn't reply to a single one. Just screenshotted and saved everything.
After washing up, I double-checked my test admission ticket, ID, and black pens.
Mom's video call came through.
Behind her was a hospital hallway.
"Sloane, you've got this!"
I tied my shoes and looked up with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mom."
At 7:40, I grabbed my backpack and left.
I was pushing through the crowd toward the test center when two girls with their phones out rushed me at the crosswalk.
"You're Sloane, right?"
The camera was practically shoved in my face.
"The whole class is waiting for you at the boba shop. You're really gonna walk in alone?"
"Don't you think you're being selfish?"
I stepped around them.
They followed.
"Say something! The livestream's watching."
I looked up.
Across the street, the boba shop was packed with my classmates.
Peyton sat by the window in her white dress, holding up her phone, eyes red as she stared into the camera.
Hayden sat next to her.
Someone shouted.
"She's here!"
"Block the traitor!"
Peyton bit her lip, voice shaking.
"Guys, don't—please don't do this. I just want her to understand us."
The two girls got bolder.
"See? Peyton's crying."
"Would it kill you to wait ten minutes with everyone?"
I stopped walking.
"Are you test-takers?"
They blinked.
"Uh, no."
I pointed toward the entrance.
"Officer, these people are filming and blocking a test-taker. They're stopping me from entering."
Their faces changed.
A cop on duty walked over fast.
I handed over my test ticket.
"I'm a test-taker. They've been filming me with their phones and won't let me cross the street."
The officer's face went hard.
"No interference with test-takers near testing sites. Leave. Now."
The two girls backed off, but still looked pissed.
I was about to keep walking when Hayden's voice rang out behind me.
"Sloane!"
He ran out of the boba shop and grabbed my wrist hard enough to bruise.
"If you go in now, there's no turning back."
I looked down at his hand.
"Let go."
His eyes were bloodshot.
"Peyton's crying her eyes out and you're still gonna push her?"
"You've got the grades. Missing ten minutes won't hurt you."
"But she needs this to prove herself."
I almost laughed.
"So my SAT is supposed to be her proof?"
The loudspeaker crackled.
"Test-takers, please enter the testing site immediately for ID verification and security screening."
I raised my voice.
"Officer! Someone's trying to stop me from taking the SAT!"
I held up my wrist, red from where he'd grabbed me.
The officer stepped closer.
"Let her go."
Hayden let go without thinking, but kept talking.
"We're together!"
I stared at him, cold.
"No, we're not. My parents just asked you to look after me."
Everything went quiet.
A few parents dropping off kids looked at Hayden like he was dirt.
Across the street, Peyton was still livestreaming.
Her voice shook.
"I didn't—I didn't tell Hayden to stop her, okay? I just didn't want her to leave us behind."
A proctor walked over.
"Test-taker, please enter the site."
I nodded, clutching my document pouch, and walked through the gate.
At 8:55, I sat down in the testing room.
Before I turned off my phone, Mira sent one last message.
[Sloane, Peyton says ten minutes isn't dramatic enough.]
[She's waiting until the start bell rings, then she's gonna lead everyone out of the boba shop.]
I powered off my phone.
At 9:00 a.m. sharp, the bell rang.
The test officially began.
