Chapter 1: The Last Minute

The moment I submitted the changes to my college application, a line of text flashed across the screen: "Modification Successful."

I stared at those words, my eyes burning with unshed tears. There was one minute left before the system closed.

Just then, the phone on my desk buzzed. It was Silas Lind.

I answered, and his cheerful voice came through the speaker. "Sonia, you finished your application, right? I can't wait for us to go to college together."

I fell silent for a moment before asking, "Are you really looking forward to it?"

"Of course, I am," he said lightly, as though the answer were obvious. "We've been planning this since we were kids."

I couldn't take it anymore, so I hung up on him.

My mother and Silas' mother had been college roommates. They were as close as sisters. Hence, Silas and I had grown up together from the day we were born. We were inseparable.

When we were little, he always said we'd stay together forever.

We went to the same preschool, the same elementary school, the same middle school, and finally the same high school.

During our freshman year of high school, he grabbed my hand and said, "Sonia, let's go to Bradford University together."

I said yes.

The truth was, I'd always wanted to attend Defense Technology Institute. However, I thought it didn't matter as long as I was with him.

When sophomore year started and our classes were reshuffled, Rachel Morgan ended up in the same class as us.

Rachel was the school belle. She was gorgeous, charming, and had those adorable dimples whenever she smiled. Everyone liked her.

Silas started eating lunch with her, walking home with her, and studying with her.

Initially, I sensed something going on between them. So, I quietly started keeping my distance.

Alas, Silas wouldn't let me. "Sonia, why are you avoiding me? Aren't we best friends?"

Rachel took my arm with a bright smile. "Sonia, I'm not here to come between you two. I'm here to join you."

I believed her.

The three of us grew closer and closer until everyone in class called us the Three Musketeers.

So, I promptly gave up my lifelong dream of attending Defense Technology Institute without a fuss when I heard they both planned to apply to Bradford University.

I thought that choice was the sign of our friendship. I never imagined it was the trap they'd carefully built for me.

If my future self hadn't sent me that video, I never would've guessed they'd secretly logged into my account and changed my college application.

My phone lit up. Silas had sent me two WhatsApp messages.

"Why'd you hang up all of a sudden? Bad signal?"

"Rachel and I will come see you tomorrow. We'll get your favorite cupcakes from Southside."

I looked at the messages and let out a cold laugh. Then, I turned on my computer.

I did two things before I changed my application to Defense Technology Institute.

First, I took a screenshot showing that my application had been changed to the local community college.

Second, I looked up the IP address from the most recent login and took a screenshot of that too.

The IP address pointed to an internet cafe in town. I also quickly found out that the internet cafe was right downstairs from Silas' apartment.

I bundled the two screenshots together, encrypted the file, and uploaded it to cloud storage.

…

The next day at noon, the doorbell rang right on time.

The moment I opened the door, I saw Silas standing there. He was holding a box of cupcakes from Southside, smiling as brightly as ever.