With that thought, I cupped the flu medicine in my hands.

"Thanks, Sierra," I said with a polite smile. "But my throat really hurts right now, and I feel a little nauseous. I don't think I can take anything."

Then I added, sweetly, "But since it's such a thoughtful gift from you, I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

I turned to look at Mandy Price, who was sitting nearby, sniffling. "Hey, Mandy, you want this? Sierra brought this back from abroad, and it's supposed to work wonders."

Mandy's dad, Mr. Price, was the grade director, and she'd held the top spot in our entire year since freshman year. Her family was politically connected and thus powerful.

She glanced at the packaging and was just about to reach for it when Sierra suddenly snapped, "No!"

Her voice shot up, startling everyone around us.

Catching my surprised look, she quickly tried to cover up. "Vera, Mandy's got allergies. What if she reacts to it?"

Mandy leaned in to read the ingredients. "It's fine. I'm only allergic to penicillin. This doesn't have any."

A flicker of tension crossed Sierra's face.

Then, Hailey snatched the box from my hands, her voice sharp. "This was meant for you! If you don't appreciate it, fine. Don't just hand it off to someone else."

Her tone was biting. Mandy's face darkened, and she turned away, storming off.

Nevertheless, I already had the answer I needed.

If someone else took whatever Sierra gave me, their grades would be stolen instead.

Interesting.

If that was how her little trick worked, then I'd play along, just on a bigger scale.

My own exam score? That was too small a price. If she wanted to steal, I'd make sure she got the entire school's scores as her prize.

I made up my mind and reached for the box again, ready to take it back.

However, afraid I'd actually share it around, Sierra quickly pulled something else from her pocket. It was a piece of candy wrapped in shiny gold foil.

"Vera, if you're worried about mixing medicine, don't take it. Here, have a throat lozenge instead."

Her sweetness made the onlookers swoon.

"Aww, Sierra's such a caring deskmate!"

"She even brought lozenges just in case! Vera's so lucky to have someone like her."

Sierra laughed lightly, basking in the praise. "I just figured being sick before exams must feel awful. It could even mess with your test performance. Vera's our class pride. Of course, I had to come prepared."

I stared at her perfect, fake smile and couldn't help recalling what I'd overheard after I died in my last life.

Hailey had been gushing about how Sierra became the top scorer in the entire city.

Sierra had just laughed and waved it off. "Please, I'm going abroad anyway. It's not like I actually care about the score. It just sounds nice to be number one.

"Honestly, I just wanted to mess with that broke little nerd. She was always acting so high and mighty, so obsessed with studying. It pissed me off. Now look at her! Let's see how she pretends now. Trash should stay in the trash where it belongs."

The memory almost made me laugh.

All that effort, all that scheming was just to toy with me?

This time, I wouldn't back down.

I accepted the candy and casually slipped it into my pocket.

Sierra's smile faltered. She frowned slightly. "Vera, I thought your throat hurt. Why aren't you eating it?"

I stifled a yawn. "I'm a little tired. I think I'll nap first and eat it later."

Sierra tensed immediately.

A single piece of candy was too small. If I just pocketed it, there'd be no way for her to know whether I'd actually eaten it or not.

"Your throat's already hoarse," she said, feigning concern. "You should really take the lozenge now. And since you've got the flu, you need to keep your blood sugar up. What if you faint during class?"

Her brows knitted together in perfect imitation of worry.

The others bought it. Whispers rose from the back of the classroom.

"It's just a piece of candy. You'd think she's being asked to swallow poison."

"Honestly, she's just petty and too proud to accept kindness."

"She's already on scholarship and still acts like she's above everyone else. She doesn't even know how to appreciate people being nice to her."

Each word jabbed into my chest like a needle.

Was giving me candy really "kindness"?

Did they expect me to wag my tail in gratitude just because a rich girl offered me something cheap and sweet?

Was being poor enough reason for them to use morality as a weapon to shame me for not playing along with their fake generosity?

My fingers trembled slightly under the desk, though I forced myself to keep my expression calm.

Hailey chimed in, her tone sharp and mocking, "Would you look at that? She wouldn't take the medicine, now she won't even take a lozenge. What's your problem, Vera? You don't like Sierra or something? Are you trying to bully her?"

Her words carried power. The tension in the room turned on me, and everyone suddenly stared at me like I was the villain.

After a moment's silent calculation, I made my move. I pulled the candy from my pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into my mouth.

A rush of coolness spread instantly across my tongue, and the sharp sting of mint flooded my senses.

Sierra's smile brightened like the sun. "That's better, isn't it? Feeling any relief?"

I forced a polite smile. "Yeah. Thanks. My throat does feel a little better."

Satisfied after watching me swallow, Sierra finally turned away, her victory complete.

I rested my head on my arms, pretending to sleep. When her attention drifted, my hand slipped quietly into my pocket.

The real piece of candy—her candy—was still there.

Earlier that morning, I'd stocked up on cheap lozenges from the school shop. Fortunately, the store only sold one brand, so no one would notice the swap.

During a quick trip to the restroom, I hid the special candy somewhere safe, then made my way back to class.

However, as soon as I stepped through the door, I froze.

Sierra was sitting at my desk, and on top of it sat my empty tin, the one I used to store lozenges.

My heart lurched.

Hailey spotted me standing by the door and shot Sierra a quick, meaningful glance.

Sierra turned slowly, her expression dark and cold. Her eyes locked onto mine. "Vera," she said, her voice like ice, "did you buy these lozenges yourself?"

My stomach tightened as I walked toward her, my mind spinning.

Why was Sierra suddenly digging through my desk?

Before I could ask, Hailey stumbled forward—her "accident" almost too perfect—and the water in her cup splashed squarely onto my jacket.

Sierra jumped to her feet at once, grabbing tissues and patting at my clothes. "Oh no, Hailey! Be more careful next time! What if our class genius catches a cold now?"

Then she turned to me with mock concern. "Vera, check your pockets. Make sure nothing important got wet!"

Her little act was so transparent I almost laughed. I forced my expression to stay neutral, then methodically turned out both pockets of my jacket, just like she wanted.

Only a small, palm-sized notebook, which was my vocabulary book, fell out.

Sierra's eyes flicked over it, suspicious, but she couldn't find anything wrong. She finally backed off.

I gave my jacket a shake and sat down.

She leaned toward me again, her voice light as she probed, "Vera, why didn't you just tell me you already had lozenges? I wouldn't have bothered bringing any."

I met her gaze, calm and steady. "Oh, those? I ran out earlier. And I didn't want to turn down your kindness."

I even managed a grateful smile.

Her face softened at last.

Then, pretending to make up for Hailey's "accident", Sierra bought me two more boxes of lozenges "to keep on hand, just in case".

Afterward, I went to the campus store, bought a new batch of lozenges, and secretly swapped the ones in my desk for mine.

Later that night, I hid Sierra's two boxes safely in my dorm room.

There were over four thousand students at Ridgeway High. If I was going to share Sierra's "goodwill", I'd need enough to go around. I wouldn't want to shortchange my generous deskmate's high school finale.

The next day, we took the third mock exam.

I walked into the exam hall and quietly finished my paper.

When I stood to turn it in, I passed Sierra's desk. She looked up and gave me a smirk full of arrogance and mockery as if to say, "Your score's already mine. Your effort means nothing."

I smiled back, just as politely, and handed in my test.

A few days later, the results came out.

Every class posted their rankings by the door, and the hallways buzzed with gossip. Even before I reached the board, I could feel the stares and hear the whispers cutting through the air.

"Vera's scores have tanked lately…"

"Maybe she was cheating all along?"

"Guess she cracked under the pressure. Happens before college exams all the time."

I scanned the ranking sheet carefully.

I used to be in the top three in the entire school, but I had dropped to rank eight hundred and something. My teeth sank into my lip as I pushed through the crowd, face flushed with shame, and rushed back to class.

Not long after, Sierra returned too, her expression just as dark.

She strode right up to my desk and snapped, "Vera, what rank did you get this time?"