Chapter 2

News of my breakdown spread through the school like a virus. By lunch, everyone was talking about it.

"Did you hear about Liam?"

"Yeah, he completely lost it. Ripped up his Ivy League applications."

"I guess the pressure finally got to him. Sad."

I walked through the crowded hallway, and the whispers followed me. Ethan and his football friends were leaning against the lockers. He was the school's star quarterback, a TikTok influencer with millions of followers.

He smirked as I passed.

"Couldn't handle the competition, huh, bait boy?" his friend jeered.

Ethan just shook his head, a look of fake pity on his face. "It's a tough world, Liam. Not everyone is built for it."

I ignored them and kept walking.

Later, Jessica found me by the library. She was an aspiring actress, beautiful and popular. She was also my secret girlfriend, a fact we kept hidden because she was publicly linked to Ethan for social status.

"Liam, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice full of practiced concern. "Everyone's worried about you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, my voice flat.

"No, you're not. Withdrawing? Working at a bait shop? This isn't you. You're throwing your future away."

I looked at her, at the face I once loved. The face that smiled next to Ethan in photos while I was being destroyed.

"My future is my business," I said, and walked away from her.

The next day, the preliminary exam results were posted on the main bulletin board. I didn't need to look, but I did anyway.

A crowd was gathered around it.

Liam Hayes: F.

Ethan Vance: A+. Perfect Score.

Someone in the crowd laughed. "From genius to failure in one day. What a fall."

Ethan and Jessica were standing nearby, accepting congratulations. He was the hero. I was the cautionary tale.