2 Chapter 2

Scarlett's eyes go wide. "Karina? How—Wha—"

I smile cruelly. "You made me into the cold-hearted bitch I am today, Scar. I'm your greatest creation. Isn't that what you always said?"

Scarlett's mouth open and close like a goldfish, and this sadistic feeling inside my chest bubbles. "Karina, how…I'm sorry, it wasn't…" she stammers.

"Wasn't intentional?" I ask coolly, raising my eyebrows. "Wasn't intentional? Let's see. You cyber bullied me for four years. You publicly humiliated me. You told me that I was imagining things, that everything was an illusion. You hurt me—physically—and told me that it was all a dream. You forced me into the panic room. It was you, Scarlett. All of it was you, wasn't it?" I state. She bites down on her lips. "It wasn't like that," she says finally. "Oh? How do you explain sending me to Mrs Cho's school, then? You knew that Mrs Cho wouldn't take me in unless you were around to take care of me. And then you came to NXT LVL. I was free. Free. And you had to come in again," I say calmly, voice void of any emotion. "Bitch," she spits, her cheeks turning as red as her hair, "I was the one who helped you when you went to detention for the first time. I took the fall for you when Mrs Cho asked who vandalised her office!"

I tilt my head to the side. "Really? Or was it all in your imagination? Are you imagining things?" I mock. Without another word, I stalk to class.

+++

I remember the day I met Scarlett. My name, by birth, was Karina Chan. Then, I was a thin girl with large round glasses and dull blue eyes. I had short hair then. Scarlett, contrary to me, was a popular girl. We were both ten then, young and stupid. I was never noticed, but I noticed everybody, and I envied Scarlett for being able to carry herself the way she did. One day, she noticed me. She talked to me. Her charming smile, her straight teeth, her rosy cheeks. We were friends for a while, until one day, she told me it was all a dream. She told me that once I woke up, she wouldn't be here. Foolishly, I believed her. And that's when it got worse. She made me delude myself. She made me think that everything I was doing was for the good of me. That I was helping myself wake up from this horrible dream.

I guess I was really asleep, then, if I didn't see that Scarlett was just playing with my mind.

+++

The next day in school, Scarlett shows up, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Do this right, Karina, or I'll make life hell for you," she hisses under her breath. "Last time I checked, my name is Keira Wu," I inform her. She rolls her eyes and walks beside me, smiling cheerily to everyone that passes by. Fake bitch. "Why do you pretend to be someone you're not?" I ask bluntly. I mean, do I give a shit about what she'll do to me? No. I've experienced hell before. Literally.

She shoots me a look of annoyance. "Shut your damn mouth up, will you?" she asks. "Then stop being a Zara Dearborn!" I snap. "Last I checked, you were the one who believed me. No one asked you to," she shoots back. "Well, last time I checked, you were the one who changed my name from Karina Chan to Keira Wu, killed me and sent me to hell and got me reincarnated, and tortured me out of my mind!" I fire. She stops in her tracks. "Reincarnated?" she asks in disbelief. There you go, Scarlett Blackwell. "Yeah, reincarnated. Heard of it? It's the process where a dead human is reburned. They have memories that their past self has, know things that they aren't supposed to, can map out places they've never been to…most importantly," I explain, lowering my voice, "They can murder you without a trace." She shivers but says nothing. I grin in triumph. "Scarlett Blackwell," I say, my voice devoid of emotions, just cold and chilling, "I have your secrets. Try and make my life hell, and I'll make sure yours is destroyed." She doesn't turn and face me, but I can see the colour draining from her face. "Where's the good girl?" she asks.

"Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught," I reply. "And good girls are reincarnated girls waiting for their chance for revenge."