The school courtyard was louder than Claire had ever heard it before.
Clusters of students filled every corner of the campus, their voices blending into a restless wave of excitement and nervous anticipation. Some stood in tight circles with their friends, whispering guesses about their scores. Others paced back and forth near the bulletin board where the announcement would soon be posted.
No one wanted to miss the moment.
The results of the final exam.
The last barrier before graduation.
Claire stood among the crowd, her arms loosely folded in front of her. The warm morning sun fell across the courtyard, but it did little to calm the tension hanging in the air.
A group of students nearby burst into laughter.
"Do you think they'll post it soon?"
"They said ten o'clock!"
"It's already past ten!"
Another group leaned against the wall, nervously refreshing the school website on their phones in case the results appeared online first.
Everywhere Claire looked, faces were filled with hope, fear, excitement.
For most of them, today felt like the beginning of their future.
For Claire, it felt like stepping further into a path she still didn't fully understand.
"Claire!"
Vienna pushed through the crowd toward her, slightly out of breath.
"Why are you standing so calmly?" Vienna complained. "I feel like my heart is about to explode."
Claire smiled faintly.
"You studied hard. You'll pass."
"That's not the point!" Vienna groaned. "What if something went wrong?"
Claire glanced toward the bulletin board where several teachers were beginning to gather.
"They're coming," someone shouted.
Instantly the crowd surged forward.
Students pressed closer together, trying to get the best view. The nervous chatter grew louder, mixed with excited whispers and anxious sighs.
Claire and Vienna moved forward with the others.
The teachers finally pinned the large sheets of paper onto the board.
For a moment, silence fell.
Then chaos exploded.
"I passed!"
"Oh my god, I passed!"
"Where's my name?!"
Students rushed toward the board, pushing slightly as they tried to find their names among the long list.
Vienna grabbed Claire's arm.
"Come on!"
They squeezed through the crowd together.
Claire scanned the list calmly.
Her eyes moved down the rows of names until—
She saw it.
**Claire Adine — Passed**
She exhaled quietly.
Next to her, Vienna suddenly grabbed her shoulders.
"I found mine!"
Claire looked up.
Vienna was practically glowing.
"I passed!" she shouted, laughing with relief.
Claire chuckled softly.
"I told you."
Students around them were celebrating, some hugging their friends, others already calling their parents.
The heavy tension from earlier had transformed into pure excitement.
Graduation was no longer just an idea.
It was real.
Vienna wiped imaginary tears from her eyes dramatically.
"Two more weeks," she said. "Then we officially graduate."
Claire nodded.
Two weeks.
Two weeks until farewell.
Two weeks until they all walked across the stage one last time as high school students.
The thought felt strangely distant.
Claire turned slightly, preparing to leave the crowded board—
And that was when she noticed someone watching her.
Tasya.
She stood a few steps away, half-hidden among the other students.
Her eyes were fixed directly on Claire.
Not smiling.
Not celebrating.
Just watching.
Claire felt a faint chill.
Before she could react, Tasya began walking toward her.
Step by step, slowly pushing through the crowd.
Vienna didn't seem to notice. She was still talking excitedly about graduation preparations.
"I need to find a dress," Vienna was saying. "And we should take pictures that day—"
Tasya stopped beside Claire.
So close that Claire could feel her presence.
Then Tasya leaned slightly closer.
Her lips moved near Claire's ear.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Will you be alive till graduation, Claire?"
Claire froze.
Every sound around her suddenly felt distant.
Laughter.
Celebration.
Students shouting happily.
All of it faded into the background.
Claire slowly turned her head.
Tasya was already stepping back.
Her expression was calm.
Almost amused.
As if she had said something completely ordinary.
But Claire's heart had begun to beat faster.
Because that sentence—
Didn't sound like a joke.
And for a brief moment, a terrifying thought crossed her mind.
*Does Tasya know something too…?*
Claire's body went completely still.
For a moment, she couldn't even hear the noise around her anymore.
Students were still celebrating nearby—cheering, laughing, calling their families—but all of it sounded distant, like muffled echoes underwater.
*Will you be alive till graduation, Claire?*
The whisper replayed in her mind.
Slowly.
Coldly.
Claire's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
She knew that sentence wasn't random.
Because in her previous life… something terrible had happened.
A memory rose quietly inside her mind.
Not new.
Not surprising.
Just something she had already known before her rebirth.
Tasya and Diana had tried to kill her.
Claire closed her eyes for a brief moment.
She still remembered that night.
The cold air.
The empty place where they had met.
The look on Tasya's face.
The same girl who used to laugh with her, eat lunch with her, share secrets with her.
They had been close once.
Very close.
Which was exactly why the betrayal had hurt so deeply.
But even in her previous life, Claire had never understood *why*.
Why would Tasya and Diana want her dead?
That part of the memory was still missing.
Even after being reborn, the answer had never returned.
All she remembered clearly was the moment when everything fell apart.
And that moment had happened when she was **twenty-two years old**.
Not now.
Not during high school.
Not before graduation.
Which was why Tasya's whisper just now felt so wrong.
Claire slowly opened her eyes again.
*Why would she say that now…?*
Her heart beat unevenly.
In the previous timeline, Tasya had never shown hostility during high school. They had stayed close for years before everything collapsed later.
But today—
Tasya had looked at her like a stranger.
And whispered something that sounded more like a warning… or a threat.
Claire lifted her gaze.
Across the courtyard, she saw Diana standing at a distance.
Diana wasn't celebrating like the other students.
She wasn't talking to anyone either.
She was simply watching.
Her eyes were fixed on Claire.
Sharp.
Quiet.
Almost calculating.
Claire felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Then Tasya walked past her again.
As if nothing strange had happened.
She didn't look back.
She didn't apologize.
She simply walked toward Diana.
When she reached her, the two of them stood together for a moment.
Tasya leaned slightly closer and said something quietly.
Claire couldn't hear the words.
But suddenly both of them lifted their heads.
Their eyes met Claire's across the crowded courtyard.
For a brief moment, neither side looked away.
Then Tasya turned first.
Diana followed.
Together they walked away, disappearing into the crowd of celebrating students.
Claire remained where she was.
Her thoughts tangled.
Her chest tight.
*In my previous life…*
*You tried to kill me when I was twenty-two.*
Her fingers slowly curled.
*So why are you saying something like that now…?*
The future was supposed to be years away.
Yet somehow—
It already felt like something had begun to move.
Too early.
Too quietly.
And Claire couldn't tell if what Tasya had said was a warning…
Or the beginning of the same tragedy all over again.