Chapter 1The Queen Bee switched my medical exemption to her name!
On the first day of freshman boot camp, I found out and went straight to confront her.
She giggled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Oops! My bad, Alice. I'm terrible with paperwork. You're not mad, right?"
I reached for the form. My boyfriend Kade shoved me back.
"Bev didn't mean to do it. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"
He looked me up and down.
"Come on. You're fine. Some sun won't kill you. Just let her have it."
The other students immediately chimed in.
"Beverly's just spacey. She didn't mean any harm."
"Seriously, Alice. Don't be that girl!"
I kept my cool.
"That exemption is tied to a specific treatment. It can't just be given to someone else!"
Kade laughed and handed the form to Beverly.
"Oh, please. You just want to sit somewhere with AC! What's the worst that could happen if she goes instead?"
Beverly winked at me.
"Exactly! Stay here and train, babe. I'll take care of your medical stuff!"
Looking at her smug face and everyone nodding, I almost laughed out loud.
Someone actually wants my epilepsy treatment?
Sure, Bev. Enjoy the 300 volts!
...
I didn't argue. Just grabbed for the paper.
ECT for epilepsy is no joke. A healthy person doing that? Total disaster.
"You trying to fight her?" Kade blocked me, standing in front of Beverly like a shield.
"You'd say anything to skip training. Back off."
Beverly hid behind him, eyes watering. "Kade, don't blame Alice. It's my fault. I'll just... I'll go train..."
She took two steps. Kade pulled her back.
"Stop. She's faking. She needs to deal."
People agreed.
"Beverly made a mistake. Some sun won't kill Alice."
"If you wanna slack off, just say it. Don't make up medical stuff. So cringe."
I was about to speak when the instructor walked over.
"What's all this! Get in line!"
Everyone went quiet. I stepped forward. "Sir, I have epilepsy. Can't do high-intensity training. My form was—"
"She's lying!" Kade interrupted, pulling out a paper. "Sir, her physical from orientation. Everything's normal."
"She's just spoiled. Making this up to skip camp."
Kade showed him what looked like a fake health report. The instructor frowned.
"Martin. Physical's clean. Get back in formation."
Beverly touched her head. "Sir... I feel dizzy..."
The instructor looked at her hospital paperwork. His voice softened. "Rest under that tree."
Beverly nodded sweetly. Then smirked at me before walking off.
I gritted my teeth and got back in line.
Thirty minutes standing in the sun. Cold sweat everywhere. I raised my hand, barely staying up.
"Sir. Just... five minutes."
"Stop lying, Alice." Kade's voice was nasty. "You're jealous Bev gets to chill. You're the only one bailing."
The instructor's face went dark. "Everyone else is training and you think you're special? Hand down!"
"This isn't vacation!"
I was gasping. "Sir, I'm really not okay..."
"Please. You carry those huge water jugs in the dorm. You're fine."
"Her physical's perfect and she's still whining."
"She just doesn't wanna sweat!"
The instructor pointed at me.
"I've seen your type before. You want attention? Step out!"
"Ten laps around the track. Finish before you come back!"
No choice. I dragged myself to the track and started running.
One lap. Two laps...
Everything felt floaty, disconnected.
By the fifth lap, my body just stopped working. Everything went black.
Right before I hit the ground, I saw the instructor's face go white.
He sprinted toward me.
Chapter 2
I woke up on a cot in the infirmary. My head was pounding.
Kade was leaning against the wall, scrolling his phone.
"Doctor said low blood sugar."
He didn't look up.
"Seriously though, you really starved yourself just because Beverly took your slip? That's insane."
I stared at him. Said nothing.
"You scared the hell out of Bev with that stunt."
He finally looked at me.
"Look. Post in the group chat that you faked it. I'll talk to the instructor, get you off training for the morning. Then we're done."
I almost laughed.
"Are you brain damaged? I collapsed from TRAINING. Why would I say I faked it?"
"Because you freaked Beverly out!" He looked annoyed. "She's sensitive. Did you really need to make it this dramatic?"
"Alice..." Beverly peeked around the doorframe, eyes all red.
"Are you still mad? This is my fault. I'm so dumb. I didn't know this would happen..."
I looked at her. Cut her off.
"If you know you messed up, go tell the instructor. Get my form back."
Beverly's face froze for half a second.
Then she started crying harder.
"Alice, seriously?"
Kade pulled Beverly close, glaring at me.
"Can't you see she's upset? You're really gonna hold onto this tiny mistake?"
"Tiny?" I said. "She stole my TREATMENT authorization."
"So what, you want her to admit she took your spot and look stupid in front of everyone? You know she's sensitive. Why are you being so cruel?"
"Enough!" I snapped. "She took my exemption. Now I'm supposed to care about HER getting embarrassed?"
"You two deserve each other. Kade. One's an idiot. One's a snake."
"Watch it!"
Kade stood up, pointing at me.
"If you don't apologize to Beverly right now, we're DONE!"
He stared at me. Waiting for me to back down like I always did.
I actually laughed. "Great. Let's break up."
"Saves me from dating a moron who screws over his own girlfriend for some random girl."
Kade froze. His face went red. "Fine! You're gonna regret this. Just wait!"
He grabbed Beverly and walked out, slamming the door.
I leaned back. Closed my eyes.
Regret?
We'll see.
That afternoon when I got back to the field, everyone was staring.
"Oh look, Drama Queen's back!"
"Imagine collapsing just to skip camp. That's commitment!"
I checked my phone. The campus group chat had exploded.
Someone had screen-recorded my collapse, added that "Coffin Dance" meme song, and posted it everywhere.
Beverly commented with a "Skull" emoji: "Alice really went all out for that break lol"
Everyone piled on.
I gripped my phone. Swallowed my anger.
TWEET! The whistle. Kade clapped his hands.
"Instructor's in a meeting. I'm running drills!"
"Fall in! We're doing marching. Pay attention!"
Everyone lined up.
"Alice, lift your leg higher!"
"Alice, arms straight!"
"Alice! Wrong angle. Again! You're the only one messing up. Are you trying to drag everyone down?"
Kade just kept targeting me.
Pulling me out to "fix my form" over and over.
Other students laughed and watched.
I gritted my teeth and did what he said.
The sun made everything go white.
Beverly sipped an iced latte, voice all sweet.
"Oh no, does Alice feel sick again? Please don't collapse on us!"
Everyone laughed.
Then my brain started throbbing. My limbs went numb.
No.
I bolted for my bag, hands shaking as I unzipped it.
Empty.
My heart dropped. The pill bottle was gone!
Behind me, Beverly's voice rang out.
"Looking for this?"
She was dangling my medication in the air, smiling like it was a game.
Chapter 3
I stared at the pill bottle in Beverly's hand. My chest tightened.
"Give it back!"
Beverly stepped back, all innocent. "Alice! You can't eat snacks during training!"
"You need to focus. Stop trying to get out of stuff."
My fingers were already going numb. Vision blurring.
"That's not—" I couldn't finish. "Give it BACK!"
I didn't think. Just lunged.
"Ah! Kade, help!" Beverly shrieked.
Kade grabbed my arm and shoved me backwards. Hard.
I went down on the asphalt. Felt the skin on my knee rip open. Blood everywhere.
"What the HELL is wrong with you!"
Beverly hid behind him, crying.
"Kade, I just reminded her to focus. Why is she being so mean..."
"You're out of control!"
Kade rubbed her back, then grabbed my pill bottle and threw it.
Pills scattered across the track. Covered in dirt and gravel.
"We've been training thirty minutes and you're already faking again? You have ZERO willpower!"
"Look at Bev. She's not even training and she knows the rules better than you!"
My legs gave out. My hands started twitching.
Someone hesitated.
"She actually looks really bad. Her fingers are like... spasming."
"You believe that? She's ACTING!" Kade cut them off. "She'll do anything to skip training!"
He walked over, leaning down to hiss at me.
"Stop scaring Bev. She's gonna blame herself if you keep this up. You WANT to make her cry?"
I bit my tongue hard. Used the pain to stay conscious.
I stopped trying to explain.
Just crawled forward and grabbed the pills off the ground.
Dirt, gravel, whatever. Shoved them in my mouth.
Beverly covered her mouth, backing away. "Ew, that's so gross. You'd really eat that?"
Kade looked disgusted.
"What did you just swallow to fake another collapse? Nice try. Everyone's watching, Alice."
"Bev didn't even touch you. Don't even think about blaming her!"
Beverly crouched next to me.
"Alice, Kade's right. You're too weak. You should train more."
She smiled. "I'm giving you this opportunity. No need to thank me."
Her phone buzzed. She checked it. "Oh! The hospital car's here."
She waved my slip at me. "Gotta go get pampered! Thanks for the opportunity, babe!"
Kade walked her to the gate, arm around her shoulders.
A few people called after her. "Feel better, Bev!"
"Yeah, don't let certain people ruin your day."
Nobody looked at me. Still on the ground.
After what felt like forever, the pills kicked in. The shaking slowed.
I pushed myself up.
Kade came back and saw me still there. He laughed.
"Still playing dead? Bev's already at the hospital by now."
"Bet she's in AC already. Stay jealous."
I looked up at him.
"You think she's gonna have a good time? She stole my treatment slip. She's screwed."
"I'm warning you right now. Call her. Make her tell them she's not me. This is your last shot."
Kade rolled his eyes.
"You're so jealous it's sad. Fine, I'll call her right now. Let you hear how great she's doing."
He pulled out his phone. Dialed Beverly.
It rang. And rang. No answer.
His face twitched. He tried again.
The third time, she finally picked up.
"Kade!"
