(4) What is going on?

Brittany does not exist. It's all in my head.

My doctor says I'm suffering from psychosis, that whatever I think I remember is a lie. There was no Brittany. No fatal accident. My mind is just playing tricks on me.

I pace around the rooftop, trying to recall exactly where I stood when I saw the girl. But no matter how hard I try, I can't place it. It's so unbelievable that my own brain would deceive me like this. It felt real—so real. I can still feel the fresh tears on my cheeks as I watched her fall.

A shiver runs down my spine, and I quickly step away from the edge. The pavement, which was once open and unguarded, is now lined with railings taller than the average human. A transparent roofing sheet now covers the entire rooftop, I guess to seal off any possibility of a fall.

"Didn't she miss a whole year of school? Why isn't she repeating the class she missed?"

"Her parents are rich, obviously. She can afford to skip a session. Besides, I heard she's a genius. She'll catch up in no time."

"How is she a genius? She's always third in her class. Anita was the real genius, not her. But now that Anita is gone, that's one less competitor for her."

I clear my throat. "Hello."

The girls jump, as their eyes widen with terror. I guess they didn't expect the person they were gossiping about to be standing right behind them.

"You seem to know a lot about me," I say, folding my arms. "Why don't you help me with my investigation?"

"Sorry, ma. We didn't know you were here."

Ma? That's weird. Why is a fellow student speaking to me with such respect?

"I didn't say anything about you! It was just the two of them!" one of the girls whimpers, pointing at her friends, tears brimming in her eyes.

What the hell is going on?

"Please have mercy, Ice Lady," another stammers.

Ice Lady?

The other two girls stumble onto their knees, sobbing.

I take a step back, stunned. Why are they so afraid of me? And why did she just call me that?

After a lot of reassurance, I finally manage to convince them that I'm not going to hurt them.

Up until now, I've been focused on finding out what happened to Brittany. But I never stopped to ask a more important question—who was I before all this?

I learn a lot from the girls. Apparently, I wasn't the kindest person. In fact, I was terrible.

I forbade anyone outside the top ten richest students from calling my name. They were to refer to me as "Ice Lady"—Ice from Beatrice. What a cheeky name. In my academics, I was always in the top three, with Corey and a girl named Anita as my biggest competition. According to them, I never considered Corey a rival because we were in a romantic relationship.

Ugh. There's no way I'd believe that. Me? In a relationship with that arrogant boy? Hell to the no!

Anita, on the other hand, was my sworn enemy. She consistently ranked first in class. To make things worse, she had the nerve to confess to Corey—my supposed boyfriend. That was enough for me to hate her. But there was something else, something that fueled my resentment even more.

"She looked a little like you," one of the girls had said to me, "and you hated that."

"She was a nobody, yet she held so much power."

"She was the only one who refused to bend to your and Clara's rules, despite her mid-economic status."

Processing the informations was hard an to be honest, I was a total douchebag.

I would have loved to meet Anita, to apologize for the way I treated her. But she left the school a year ago.

"Here you are, Bea! I've been looking everywhere for you."

Caleb plops down beside me.

"Are you skipping class?" he asks.

"I should ask the same of you," I reply.

"Who cares? It's the last period anyway."

Yeah, besides, it's Agricultural Science. If it were a practical class, I might have considered going, but theory? No, thanks.

I hesitate before speaking. "Do you know who Anita is?"

"Yes."

I want to ask more, but something holds me back. Maybe I should just let it go. Maybe I should move on with my life. But something inside me won't let me.

"Why do you ask?" Caleb probes, but I say nothing.

A beat of silence passes before I finally ask, "How terrible of a person was I?"

"You?" Caleb chuckles, shaking his head. "You're the nicest girl I know."

I blink at him, startled.

"You're beautiful, smart, brilliant…" He hesitates, staring deep into my eyes, as if searching for something. "And you're… strong."

His voice drops to a whisper, but I hear him loud and clear.

Now I'm even more confused. If I keep getting contradicting information, I'm afraid my brain will be completely fucked up.

I search his face for any sign of his usual goofiness—anything—but he's dead serious.

"What about Corey?" I ask. "Did anything ever happen between us?"

"You mean like a romantic relationship?" He raises a brow.

I nod.

"Nothing like that ever happened," he says, smirking.

I look away, suddenly embarrassed. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. What if he thinks I like Corey now?

"You like him?" Caleb asks.

Just as I suspected.

"Well… no," I reply quickly. "Someone told me we were in a relationship. I just wanted to confirm if it was true."

Caleb doesn't say anything, and we fall into silence. But it isn't awkward—it's peaceful.

 I must admit this school is really beautiful. There are a lot of trees acting as shade and flowers to beautify the environment, it's indeed a beauty to behold.

I close my eyes and imagine taking a nap on the grass, the rustling leaves lulling me to sleep. Also, waking up to the sight of these flowers would be the most pleasant thing in the world.

The peaceful moment is short-lived as chaos erupts.

Before I even process what's happening, Corey is on top of Caleb, gripping his collar and shoving him to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Corey demands, pinning him down.

Instead of answering, Caleb lets out a chuckle.

"Be for real, guys! We're not doing this again."

Clara storms toward them, shoving Corey off Caleb.

"Mom and Dad will hear about this, Corey," she snaps.

Corey's face pales for a second. He tries to mask it, but I catch it. He's scared, scared of his parents.

"You're the cause of this! I hate you!" Clara turns to me, yelling in anger.

I flinch. "Me? What did I do?"

"Shut it, Clara!" Caleb snaps back.

"You'll both be hearing from our parents. Just wait and see," she hisses before storming off.

And just like that, an awkward silence falls over us.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"