Chapter 1The Secret Behind the Top Student's Death

When Dad learned I placed second on a practice college entrance exam, he shouted at me.

"Second again? Can't you beat whoever came first?"

"How did I end up with such a useless son?"

I promised I'd take down the top student on the next exam. That night, I dreamed about the girl who came first.

In the dream, I pushed her from the twenty-third floor.

The sound of her hitting the ground made my stomach turn.

I woke from the nightmare to a flood of messages in the class group chat.

The first message made my blood run cold.

[Zara Henson jumped from the twenty-third floor. She died on the spot.]

[Zara's mother insists it wasn't suicide. She says someone pushed her.]

[Can you hear the police sirens?]

* * *

I stared at the message for at least ten seconds.

Zara Henson was the girl who had placed first on the practice college entrance exam.

And the twenty-third floor was where she lived.

I remembered glancing at her details on the student information form at the start of the school year. Her address was Building 32, Rosewood Gardens.

In my dream, I pushed her from the twenty-third floor.

I put down my phone. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst.

I could still feel her pajamas against my palm.

The cotton was soft and so thin I could almost feel the warmth of her body through it.

It felt too real.

My fingers still trembled.

But it was only a dream!

How could anything that happened in a dream be real?

Messages kept flooding the class group chat.

[I heard the police are already there.]

[Zara's mom is beside herself. She says someone pushed her. She didn't jump.]

[She got the best grades in every exam. Why would she kill herself?]

[I live in the building next to hers. I heard a loud thud, and then a woman screamed...]

Someone posted a clear photo from the scene.

My heart seemed to stop when I saw Zara lying in a pool of blood.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

She wore the same pink pajamas covered in strawberry bears that I'd seen in my dream.

It had to be a coincidence!

My thoughts were a mess, but once I calmed down, I told myself one thing.

I could never have killed her just because she took first place from me.

So, I went to school the next day and acted as if nothing had happened.

Zara's desk sat empty, and the mood in our classroom was strange.

When class finally ended, I headed for the teachers' office.

I heard a police officer speaking as I reached the door.

"We found no fingerprints on Zara's body, so our preliminary finding is suicide."

"But she just placed first on the exam. She had no apparent trouble with her studies or anything else that might have driven her to it..."

Before the officer could finish, our homeroom teacher spotted me.

"Julian, why are you standing in the doorway?"

The officer's eyes sharpened when he saw me.

Our teacher quickly explained, "Officer Lewis, this is Julian Nash from my class. He placed second on the practice exam."

At the word "second," Daniel Lewis gave me a look I couldn't read.

"With Zara gone, you're the top student now."

I was too frightened to speak.

By the time I gathered my wits, Daniel was gone.

Our teacher saw that I was still standing there in a daze and patted my shoulder.

"Zara's death was an accident. Try to put it out of your mind. You can't let it affect your college entrance exam."