Chapter 1

My sister Lily wanted to swap her life with a dog.

Specifically, our neighbor' s dog.

"Sarah, are you even listening to me?" Lily' s voice was sharp, cutting through the low hum of the air conditioner. "The college entrance exams are in three days. This is my only chance."

We were in her bedroom, a place that smelled of expensive perfume and desperation. Pink and white covered every surface.

I looked at her, really looked at her. Her face was pale under the makeup, her eyes wide with a manic gleam. She was holding a cheap-looking flyer with a picture of a swirling vortex on it. "Life-Swap Rituals," the text proclaimed in bold, ugly letters.

"Lily, this is insane," I said, my voice quiet. "You can' t swap your life with a dog just to get into an Ivy League school."

"Why not?" she snapped, tossing the flyer onto her messy desk. "Max is brilliant. He' s smarter than any person I know. Ethan takes him to all those advanced math clubs, and the professors love him. If I had his brain, I' d get a perfect score. Harvard would be begging for me."

Max was our neighbor Ethan Blackwood' s golden retriever. He was, unnervingly, a very intelligent dog. But this was a new level of crazy, even for Lily.

"He' s a dog, Lily. He can' t take the SATs for you."

"That' s where you' re wrong," she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "The witch doctor said the ritual swaps our souls. I' ll get his intelligence, and he' ll... well, he' ll be me for a while. It' s a win-win."

Our mother, Brenda, walked in without knocking, holding two glasses of juice. She handed one to Lily and ignored me completely.

"What' s all the yelling about?" she asked, her eyes landing on the flyer. A slow smile spread across her face. "Oh, are you two finally discussing the plan?"

I stared at her. "You know about this? You actually support this?"

Brenda took a sip of Lily' s juice. "Of course I do. Your sister has ambition. It' s more than I can say for you. You' re just happy with your good-enough grades, aiming for some state school." She looked me up and down, her lip curled in disgust. "You' re just jealous that Lily is willing to do what it takes to succeed."

"Jealous?" I couldn' t believe what I was hearing. "She wants to put her soul into a dog' s body! This is dangerous, and it' s wrong."

"Don' t be so dramatic, Sarah," Lily sneered. "You' re just scared I' ll finally outshine you and you won' t be Mom' s little favorite anymore."

The laugh that escaped my lips was bitter. I was never the favorite. I was the maid, the cook, the live-in tutor for a sister who couldn't care less. I was the punching bag for our mother' s endless frustrations.

The argument went on, but it was useless. They were a team. I was the enemy.

Defeated, I retreated to my own small, plain room. I couldn' t let this happen. I had to protect Lily, even if she hated me for it. I found the witch doctor' s number on a discarded copy of the flyer in the trash. My hands shook as I called him. I scraped together my savings and paid him to sabotage the ritual. I told him to make it look real but ensure nothing actually happened.

He promised. He lied.

The day of the exam results came. The air in our house was thick with tension. Lily was preening in front of the mirror, already picking out her Harvard sweatshirt.

The email arrived. The neighbor' s dog, Max, had a perfect SAT score. An acceptance letter from Harvard followed.

Lily' s portal showed a score so low it was laughable. She had failed. Miserably.

The silence in the room was terrifying. Then, Lily turned. Her face was a mask of pure hatred, and it was all directed at me.

"You did this," she hissed. "Your witch doctor. You sabotaged me."

"I was trying to help you, Lily!"

Brenda slapped me, hard. "Help her? You ruined her life!"

They dragged me out of the house, up the stairs to the rooftop of our apartment building. The city lights swam below us. Lily tied my hands with a rope she' d brought. Her eyes were wild.

"You' re so jealous," she screamed, her voice cracking. "You never wanted me to be happy. If I can' t go to Harvard, then you can' t live at all. Jump, Sarah. Jump!"

She pushed me toward the edge. I scrambled for footing, pulling back with all my strength.

"I won' t!"

"Then I' ll make you!"

She lunged at me. But the rooftop was slick with evening dew. Her expensive heel slipped. Her eyes widened in shock as she lost her balance. She grabbed my arm in a death grip, and her weight pulled me forward.

Together, we fell.

The wind rushed past my ears. The city lights spiraled into a blur. My last thought was of the irony. I had tried to save her, and she had killed us both.

Then, nothing.

...

"Sarah, are you even listening to me?"

I gasped, my eyes flying open. I was sitting on Lily' s pink bed. The air smelled of perfume. Lily was standing in front of me, holding a familiar, ugly flyer.

"The college entrance exams are in three days. This is my only chance."

My heart hammered against my ribs. I looked around the room. The date on her digital calendar blinked in bright red letters. It was the same day. The day she first proposed the life-swap.

I was back.

I had been given a second chance.

Brenda walked in, carrying two glasses of juice. The scene played out exactly as it had before.

"What' s all the yelling about?" she asked. She saw the flyer. She smiled. "Oh, are you two finally discussing the plan?"

I looked from my mother' s cruel face to my sister' s delusional one. In my past life, my concern for them had gotten me killed. My kindness was a weapon they used against me.

This time would be different.

"You' re just jealous that Lily is willing to do what it takes to succeed," Brenda said, her voice dripping with scorn.

A cold calm settled over me. The fear was gone, replaced by something hard and clear. I looked straight at Lily.

"No, I' m not jealous," I said, my voice even. "I think it' s a brilliant idea."

Lily' s jaw dropped. Brenda stared at me, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What did you say?" Lily asked.

"I support you," I repeated, forcing a small, encouraging smile. "You should do it. Whatever it takes to get into your dream school. I' ll even help you."

Lily' s suspicion melted away, replaced by smug triumph. "See, Mom? I told you she' d come around. She finally realized who the smart one is in this family."

Brenda still looked at me strangely, but she couldn' t find any fault in my words. She just grunted and watched as Lily launched into an excited monologue about her future as a Harvard genius.

I sat there, nodding along, my face a mask of sisterly support.

Inside, I was watching them. I was watching them walk right into a trap they couldn't see.

Because I remembered something else from that fall, a fragmented memory that hadn' t made sense until now.

As we fell, I' d looked at the window of our neighbor Ethan' s apartment. He was standing there, watching us. And on his face was not shock or horror.

It was a look of cold, calculated satisfaction.

He had wanted this to happen. The dog, the ritual, all of it.

And this time, I was going to let him have it. I was going to sit back and watch the show.