Chapter 2: The Second Chance

The beeping monitors and hospital smell vanished. Suddenly, I was staring at a cinderblock wall covered in faded motivational posters. My heart hammered. Had I lost my mind? Fluorescent lights. The distant sound of school bells. My body felt younger—lighter, unscarred. My teeth were all there. The calendar on the wall read exactly the day it all started. I blinked. Was this really happening? Had I just… come back?

This was my second chance. I wouldn’t let them destroy me again.

I'd actually returned to the day when the popular girl lured me into the classroom.

The air felt different, thick with the tension of déjà vu. The same flyers taped to the walls, the same bored-looking janitor buffing the floors. I could smell pencil shavings and old textbooks, hear the muffled chatter of students outside.

This time, I had no intention of explaining myself.

I could feel the old fear bubbling up, but it was drowned out by something colder, sharper—a resolve that wasn’t there before. No more playing by their rules. This time, I would decide how the story ended.

First, lock the door—then we talk.

My hand hovered on the doorknob, adrenaline surging. The stakes felt real, but this time, I wasn’t stepping in blind.