Before the final SAT exam, my genius boyfriend’s mom got hit by an electric scooter right in front of the testing center. He was a complete mess when he saw me. “Tori, can you please take my mom to the ER?” I was about to say yes without a second thought, but then a few lines of text flickered into existence in front of my eyes: 【The male lead was planning to dump the side character right after the test anyway. He only stayed with her for a few more years because she saved his mom.】 【Just say yes! He’s freaking out. Yesterday, he intentionally bombed two major problems on the math section just to lower his score enough to get into the same college as the female lead. If he misses the reading comprehension section today, he won’t even get into a top-tier school!】 The words, like comments from a livestream only I could see, left me stunned. It took me a moment to find my voice. “No.” Even if he had the potential to be a National Merit Scholar, that wasn’t a good enough reason for me to throw away my own future for him. … Ethan couldn’t believe I’d refused. He got agitated. “Tori, my mom raised me all by herself. She’s the most important person in my life. I can’t just leave her here and go take a test.” Mrs. Davis was unconscious on the pavement, and the kid who hit her with the scooter looked like he was about to faint. “You’re really not going to help me?” Ethan’s voice rose, sharp and accusing. “You talk a big game about loving me, about wanting me to succeed, but it’s all just talk, isn’t it? The second something real happens, I see who you really are. You’re just selfish.” I looked down, my voice barely a whisper. “The reading section is first. If you miss it, you’ll have to guess on the whole thing. And they lock the doors fifteen minutes after it starts.” He let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Like it makes a difference for *your* score? What, you think acing the reading section is suddenly going to get you into a UC school?” My breath hitched. I couldn’t believe those words came out of Ethan’s mouth. Ethan was always number one in our class. I knew how much this test meant to him. I was the one who stood in the long lunch line for him every day so he’d have more time to study. I was the one who asked my cousin at a rival magnet school to sneak me their test prep materials for him. But seeing those floating comments—that he’d *deliberately* tanked part of his math score—made it hard to breathe. “Isn’t that the valedictorian? What’s going on?” “We’ve got twenty minutes till the doors close. C’mon, let’s go.” Other students were whispering as they hurried past. In the distance, I could hear a siren getting closer. 【What’s wrong with this side character? The simp won’t even help? She’s going to ruin everything for him.】 【The female lead is here! Oh no, please don’t make our girl Chloe take his mom to the hospital. Don’t let it mess with her test!】 “Ethan? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I snapped my head up and saw Chloe’s cool, composed face. So *she* was the “female lead” the stream was talking about. Ethan’s voice was weak. “My mom… she got hit. She’s unconscious.” “Oh my god, what are we going to do? The test is about to start.” Ethan seemed to pull himself together. “It’s okay, I’ll figure it out. You should go get to your seat. Don’t worry about this, just focus and do your best.” The stream chat exploded again. 【See? The difference between love and not-love is so obvious. He’s panicking but still tells the female lead not to worry. Such a man!】 【Yeah, our girl Chloe has to do well! Go get into the same college as him!】 I watched the glowing text scroll by and silently took two steps back. The ambulance arrived. I moved forward to help lift the stretcher, but Ethan shoved me away. “We don’t need your fake sympathy.” Before he climbed into the ambulance, his eyes skipped over me and landed squarely on Chloe. “Don’t worry. Go on. Do great.” Sitting in the exam room, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart. I listened to every single word of the proctor’s instructions with laser focus. I didn’t let myself relax until the very last second of the exam. When I walked out, it was no surprise that Ethan wasn’t there. My best friend, Maya, grabbed my arm. “We’re free! The class president is having a huge bonfire at the beach tonight. Are you and Ethan coming together?” I shook my head. I didn’t even know if he’d made it back in time for the test. “Hey, isn’t that Ethan over there?” I followed Maya’s finger and saw him standing under the big old oak tree with Chloe. He flagged down a cab, held the door for her with his hand over the frame so she wouldn’t hit her head, and then slid in beside her. “Where are they going? Wait, why isn’t he waiting for you?” Maya immediately realized how awkward and sad I must have looked and shut her mouth. “They’re probably going to the hospital,” I said. I told her what happened before the test, leaving out the part about the weird, magical comments. Maya was furious on my behalf. “Why should *you* have to take his mom? Is he the only person whose future is on the line today? So what if he’s number one, he can’t just expect his girlfriend to sacrifice her own SATs for him.” I thought about the comment saying he was going to dump me anyway and gave a weak, bitter smile. Maybe it was for the best. Better to get it over with now than be strung along for a few more years. I skipped the bonfire. After dinner, I just locked myself in my room. I opened my chat with Ethan. I typed and deleted, typed and deleted, and finally just sent: *How’s your mom doing?* The class group chat was blowing up with thousands of post-exam messages, but my chat window with Ethan was silent. I felt like a prisoner with a bag over my head, waiting for the executioner’s axe to fall. Eventually, I couldn’t resist opening Instagram. Chloe had just posted a new story. 【First time seeing you like this. It’s okay, I’m here.】 The picture was a silhouette of a guy under a streetlight, his shadow stretched long on the pavement. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew Ethan’s profile anywhere. The only thing I didn’t recognize was the cigarette between his fingers. Even as a shadow, I could feel his despair. My throat tightened. I wanted to call him. But then the comments popped back up. 【He’s totally broken. He’s never done this badly on a test in his life. Chloe, our baby, go hug him! Don’t let him be sad all alone!】 【Yes! Run your fingers through his hair and then reward him with a kiss! Don’t wait until he’s at the altar with the side piece to finally make your move!】 【How can she not see it? His eyes are screaming ‘I’m vulnerable, please comfort me!’】 My eyes widened at the text. *At the altar?* I immediately canceled the call I’d just started. So even if we somehow made it to our wedding day, he would still leave me for her? Why should I bother fighting to be a supporting character in their story? I waited all night. I didn’t get a reply, and I didn’t get a breakup text. The next day, the news about Ethan’s mom had spread. A few mutual friends planned to go visit her at the hospital. We walked into the room with a bouquet of flowers and were met by an exhausted-looking Ethan. He glanced at me, his voice ice-cold. “What are you doing here?” “I’m sorry I didn’t take your mom to the hospital yesterday. I…” “Tori, you can drop the act. I see exactly what kind of person you are now.” From the bed, Mrs. Davis’s voice was weak. “Ethan, what’s going on?” “Your classmates are here to see you, Mom.” He stepped aside to let everyone else in, but he physically blocked me from entering. Our friends froze, not knowing what to say. I stared at him, stunned, and quietly held out the flowers to him. He shoved them back at me. “I will never forgive you,” he hissed, then turned and shut the door in my face. Tears blurred my vision, but the floating text became sharper than ever. 【Smart move by the ML. His mom was only won over by the side character’s constant, perfect care. By not giving her the chance to do that now, his mom won’t pressure him to stay with her later.】 【But wait, why hasn’t he broken up with her yet?】 【Yeah, for real. Shouldn’t he just dump her? Why keep such a selfish girlfriend around?】 Reading that, I felt a surge of anger. If I helped him, I was a doormat. If I didn’t, I was selfish. Did anyone in this stupid “narrative” care about *my* future? For the next few days, I didn’t bother texting Ethan. Instead, I called my dad, who had moved to California a few years ago when his company expanded. We talked about college options out there, and he offered to help me find an internship for the summer. I’d always planned on staying in-state for college—not at Ethan’s Ivy League choice, obviously, but at least in the same city. But now that we were ending, the farther away the better. Before the scores were released, our class president organized a big grad party at a local pizza place. When I got there, Ethan had already arrived. Chloe was sitting right next to him. They were both wearing clothes in the same shade of blue, looking for all the world like a couple. I had just sat down when Maya slid in next to me. “What is going on with you and Ethan? Did you break up?” I gave a grim smile. “Basically.” “What do you mean, ‘basically’? Are they wearing matching outfits? That’s so messed up. Does he have to rub it in your face the second you break up?” I hadn’t thought about it, but now that Maya mentioned it, I felt like everyone at the table was whispering, waiting to see me fall apart. Someone at the table started talking about another class. “Did you guys hear about the senior couple from Mr. Henderson’s homeroom? They broke up.” “No way! They were so solid. The principal even called their parents in, and it didn’t change anything. Why break up after graduation?” “Their scores were just too different. Reality hits, you know? It was bound to happen eventually.” I kept my head down and sipped my soda. But then Chloe laughed. “People really break up over test scores? I thought guys just liked pretty girls. I mean, look at our class, at least half the guys have a crush on Tori.” My head shot up at the sound of my name. I met Chloe’s taunting gaze. Then Ethan chimed in from beside her, his voice casual. “What’s the point of being pretty if you’re a selfish person?” Ethan’s friends started piling on. “Seriously, man, if I were there, I would’ve driven your mom to the hospital for you, no questions asked. I’d never let you miss your shot at a school like Princeton.” “I’d be pissed too if I were you.” Maya muttered, just loud enough to be heard, “Wasn’t Chloe there, too?” The table went dead silent. The quiet was broken by a rowdy cheer from across the restaurant. The other senior class was having their party here, too, and Liam, their class heartthrob, was walking toward our table. Our class president called out, “What do you want, Liam? Here to start a turf war?” Maya nudged me. “I think he’s coming for you,” she whispered. I looked up and met Liam’s eyes. He was clearly a little drunk, the tips of his ears bright red, but his voice was sincere when he stopped in front of me. “Tori, can I get your number?” The question was followed by a chorus of whistles and catcalls from both tables. I was totally flustered, but before I could respond, Ethan’s voice cut through the noise. “What are you doing asking for my girlfriend’s number?” Liam looked at Ethan, then glanced at Chloe in her matching blue shirt. “I don’t want your girlfriend’s number. I’m here for Tori’s.” The cheering got even louder. “We’ve been in the same grade for four years, and I’ve always wanted to get to know you,” Liam said to me. “Just adding you on Snap isn’t a crime, right?” It wasn’t. I pulled out my phone and let him scan my code. He grinned. “Talk to you later,” he said with a little wave, and walked away. From across the table, Ethan stared daggers at me and chugged his entire glass of beer. The stream chat lit up. 【Why is the ML so mad? And look at the FL’s face, she’s so upset.】 【Drink up, drink up! Get drunk and tell Chloe how you really feel. I bet we’ll see some real progress tonight!】 【What kind of progress? 😉 I’m excited. They’re both eighteen, after all.】 The comments were making my head spin. Suddenly, someone yelled, “Chloe, are you okay?” Sometime in the last few minutes, Chloe had gotten herself completely drunk. She swayed in her seat and collapsed right into Ethan’s arms. Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her stand up. “I’m gonna take her home.” As he was leaving, he looked back at me. “You and Maya get an Uber together later, okay? Don’t go home by yourself.” Maya couldn’t help herself. “Is he for real? One minute he’s calling you his girlfriend, the next he has his arm around another girl and is taking her home. What a psycho.” Our class president tried to smooth things over. “He’s probably just still mad at you, Tori. You guys should just talk it out. It doesn’t have to be this dramatic.” Watching them leave, I laughed without any humor. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Ethan hated public displays of affection. He’d lecture me if I even tried to secretly hold his hand in the school hallway. Being held that intimately? That was something new. Angry or not, the person he liked was never me. While we were waiting for our ride, my phone buzzed. It was a DM from Chloe. 【Sorry. I don’t think he likes you anymore.】 Attached was a picture. It was dark, clearly taken in a car, but it was unmistakably Ethan, and she was kissing him. Maya, who had been reading over my shoulder, exploded. “What is WRONG with her? Is she proud of kissing someone else’s boyfriend? She has to send you a picture to gloat? And Ethan is a total scumbag! I swear, I want to slap them both! This is insane!” Listening to Maya use every curse word she knew, I felt my own tears dry up before they could fall. “It’s for the best,” I said, my voice hollow. “Better to face reality now than get dumped at my own wedding, right?” “You and your silver linings,” Maya grumbled, but she pulled me into a hug. “If you want to cry, just cry. Don’t hold it all in.” I watched the stream comments fly by, all of them celebrating. 【Our girl Chloe is so brave! They don’t have to waste all those years apart anymore!】 【Yes! Finally! I was so tired of watching the genius ML with a dumb girl who he has nothing in common with.】 【Seriously, geniuses should be with other geniuses. That’s a relationship of equals.】 I didn’t cry. I just felt numb, thinking about all the years I had wasted. On the way home, I sent one last text to Ethan. 【Ethan, we’re done.】 As expected, he didn’t reply. The next day, the SAT scores were released. I did a little better than I expected—good enough for a great university in California. Without hesitating, I accepted my spot, then booked a flight. My dad had already set up an internship for me at a friend’s tech company. It was time to get a taste of the real world. Right before the plane took off, my phone rang. It was Ethan. “Tori, where are you applying? Did you score high enough for State U? It’s closer to my campus. Send me your scores, I’ll help you figure out which school is the best fit.” It took me a few seconds to process what he was saying. “Ethan, we broke up. You don’t need to worry about where I’m going.” “Tori, come on. I was just giving a friend a ride home. You don’t have to be so dramatic about it.” The flight attendant announced that all electronic devices needed to be turned off for takeoff. I hung up the phone and switched on airplane mode.
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