Pushed Off the Roof by My Best Friends

I died on the night of my eighteenth graduation party, pushed off a rooftop by the two people I trusted most.

In my past life, I was the ultimate fool.

When my two childhood friends—both heirs to top elite families—decided to throw away their futures, I panicked.

They actually wanted to reject their admission offers from Harvard and Yale.

All to follow Lily, a charity case from the slums, to a literal no-name trade school called Sunny Valley Vocational Academy.

I begged them to stop.

I even used my family's connections to try and get Lily into a legitimate university.

But Lily wept in front of them, claiming my money insulted her dignity, and that I was just jealous of their "pure love."

Liam and Noah completely lost their minds.

That night, they cornered me on the roof.

"Vivian, you killed Lily. Go to hell!"

As it turned out, Lily went to that trash school alone and committed suicide.

They blamed me entirely for her death, nursing that grudge until they finally pushed me into the abyss.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the exact day we were supposed to lock in our college choices.

This time, count me out.

Vivian

"Vivian, if you don't come with us to Sunny Valley Vocational Academy, it means you look down on Lily."

"It means you're betraying the friendship we've shared since we were kids!"

A sharp, accusatory voice snapped me out of my memories and dragged me back to reality.

My eyes flew open.

I was back in the lavish VIP lounge at St. Jude's Preparatory Academy.

Liam stood right in front of me.

Dressed in his varsity quarterback jersey, he was glaring down at me with absolute, self-righteous fury.

Beside him stood Noah—my stepbrother—holding a girl wearing a faded, washed-out T-shirt tightly in his arms.

Lily.

Lily's eyes were rimmed with red.

Like a startled little deer, she tugged gently on Noah's sleeve, her voice trembling with unshed tears.

"Noah, please, just let it go. Vivian is a Sterling. She's destined for Yale."

"How could she ever willingly accompany me to a bottom-tier community school? It's all my fault. I don't deserve to be friends with you guys anyway…"

"Shut up, Lily! You are worth a thousand times more than any of the trust-fund parasites sitting in this room!"

Noah cooed, tightening his embrace around her to comfort her.

Then, Liam looked at me, his tone shifting into smooth, practiced guilt-tripping.

"We've been best friends forever, Vivian. You're going to come with us, right? We can't just leave Lily all by herself."

Before I could even open my mouth, Noah cut in, his voice dripping with arrogant certainty.

"Of course she's coming. Vivian always does what we tell her to do."

Listening to this coordinated, completely braindead routine, I felt absolutely nothing.

In fact, I almost wanted to laugh.

In my past life, this was the exact moment I played the fool.

I had practically begged them on my knees not to ruin their futures over a girl.

I had even pulled family strings to try and get Lily into a proper university.

And what did it get me?

Lily refused my help, went to that trash school alone, and ended up committing suicide.

Liam and Noah blamed me entirely for her death.

They harbored a twisted, psychotic grudge, letting it fester until graduation night.

They trapped me on the roof of the school and pushed me into the abyss.

The phantom pain of my bones shattering against the pavement still shivered through my blood.

I looked coldly at the three clowns putting on their little circus, the corners of my lips curling into a sharp, mocking smirk.

"Since you brought it up, let me make myself perfectly clear."

I stood up slowly, smoothing down the creases of my custom, high-end uniform.

My gaze cut through them like a blade.

"If you two want to experience life at the bottom of the food chain by enrolling in some sketchy, no-name trade school, be my guest."

"That is your absolute freedom."

"But I, Vivian Sterling, am not joining your little freak show."

Liam's eyes widened, looking at me as if I were speaking a foreign language.

"Vivian, how can you be so cold-blooded? Lily has been nothing but sweet to you!"

Noah frowned, jumping in. "She used to organize your study notes for you. Do you have a single shred of empathy left in your body?"

"Organize my notes? That was a campus work-study job that paid her thirty dollars an hour out of my family's pocket," I sneered.

My expression froze into ice.

"Do I look like a recycling bin to you? Do I look like I collect trash?"

"Don't use your cheap, pathetic version of friendship to hostage me."

"As of today, we are officially done. Consider our relationship severed."

"Go off to your dumpster-fire school, and I will go to Yale. Let's pretend we never knew each other."

"You—"

Noah's face flushed an ugly, furious purple, his jaw twitching with rage.

He stepped forward, pointing a shaking finger right at my face.

"You're going to regret this! Without us, you'll be absolutely nothing in college!"

"I can't wait to find out."

I snapped, slapping his hand away without a hint of hesitation.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed straight for the door.

As I brushed past them, I caught a glimpse of Lily's lowered eyes.

For a split second, a flash of pure, unadulterated envy and malice distorted her face.

Her eyes were locked onto my laptop, which sat wide open on the marble table.

It was still logged into the university matriculation portal.

A venomous, plotting smile touched her lips.

I pretended not to see it, stepping out of the lounge without looking back.

Want to touch my computer and sabotage my university application?

Too bad for you, I expected nothing less.