Chapter 2The Girl Who Kept Her Ticket

The game was intense. Several tickets had fallen onto the dirty floor, but no one cared.

"Bella's a genius! Exactly 54 people in class, perfect for a deck of cards!"

"School banned poker, and Sam watches us like a hawk. Good thing Bella has the tickets. Let's see Sam confiscate these! Haha!"

"I play this one! Who dares to beat it?"

"I dare! I have Carter!"

"Then I play Bella!"

Tickets were slapped onto the desk. When they saw me, they frowned.

"What are you looking at? You gonna manage the tickets too?"

"Exams are in two days. You aren't studying?" I asked, genuinely curious.

They scoffed.

"What's there to be afraid of? Didn't you say you made a study guide for us?"

I paused.

In my last life, I stayed up all night analyzing past exams. They scoffed at my guide, and I had to beg them to use it.

So they knew how important it was all along?

Bella's eyes darted around. She smiled and played my ticket.

"I play the Class President. Who can beat her?"

"The Prez?"

Everyone's attention snapped back to the game.

"I play Jerry!"

"Ooh! Even the class clown beats the President?"

"Tsk! Sam, looks like anyone can beat you, huh?"

"Wow, deep meaning there. I play Kevin!"

"Josh!"

Tickets piled on top of mine. The boys whose faces were played groaned.

"Hey! I don't want to be on top of her! Gross!"

The room erupted in laughter. Bella giggled, covering her mouth.

"Oh stop it, you guys are so mean. Someone might think you're talking about a toilet."

Slap!

A hand struck Bella across the face.

Carter had gone looking for me, hadn't found me, and came back just in time to see this.

"Samantha!"

He grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing!"

The class immediately started shouting, accusing me of being jealous of Bella.

"Carter!"

I pointed at the pile of tickets on the desk.

"They're using my ticket like a piece of trash to be stepped on. Am I supposed to applaud?"

Looking at the thick stack pressing down on my face, even Carter couldn't miss the implication.

"Carter..."

Bella tugged at his sleeve, her voice soft and pitiful. "We were just joking..."

But Carter looked at my red eyes and hesitated.

For the first time, he didn't immediately side with Bella.

"Pack it up."

"Aw, Carter..."

"I said pack it up!"

Carter frowned. The class shut up and started gathering the tickets.

He looked at me, wanting to say something, but I grabbed my bag and walked out without looking back.