365 Days To Save The Campus Bad Boy

Second Chance

“Wake up, Aurora. WAKE UP!”

I jolted upright, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. My entire body was drenched in sweat. Tears streamed down my face as I frantically ran my hands over myself.

My arms. My chest. My stomach. There were no broken bones, no blood flowing from my skin, and most importantly, no pain. Yet the erratic beating of my heart and the sense of dread that had yet to fade away left me deeply unsettled.

“Oh, God.” My voice trembled. “I’m alive.”

Was this the afterlife? Did my soul go to heaven? Was that why I no longer felt pain?

“Aurora!”

I flinched as a hand closed around my arm. My eyes snapped to a familiar pair of dark ones that now looked at me with worry. My voice cracked.

"Mom?"

“What’s wrong? Why are you so frantic? Did you have a nightmare?” My mother stroked my face.

Nightmare?

My eyes widened as the memories kept flooding back. The agony of metal crushing into flesh and bone. That couldn’t have been a nightmare. The memory of death was too vivid.

My gaze darted around the room. The familiar floral curtains, the reading desk I’ve had since high school, the family photos hanging on the wall.

My breath caught.

This was my bedroom. Not my dorm room, but my room at home. How had I gotten here? What was happening?

"I'm alive," I whispered again.

But how?

“Why do you keep repeating that? Of course you’re alive.” Mom wiped my face with the back of her hand, something she always did whenever she wanted to soothe me. “Come on. Shake it off. It’s Monday. You’re supposed to return to campus. Don’t be late for class.”

The unease in my chest refused to fade. How could it all have been a dream? I remembered the pain, the ridicule, the betrayal—

My hands shot toward my phone so suddenly that Mom jumped. Ignoring her bewildered look, I opened the campus gossip site and began scrolling frantically. I kept scrolling, searching for the deepfakes and mean comments, but there was nothing. The last message was from the anonymous admin welcoming everyone to a new week.

Relief hit me so hard that my eyes watered. It had really been a dream. The betrayal, the murder, none of it was real.

Suddenly, I felt pissed. What type of realistic nightmare was that? It had me questioning reality!

“What an odd child.”

I looked up. My mom was shaking her head at me. A lump formed in my throat. Without warning, I threw my arms around her, burying my face in her neck.

“Mom, I was so scared. I thought I was finished for real.”

I felt her relax as she hugged me back.

"What did you dream about this time?" she teased. "Did your scary third-year lecturer show up again?"

A laugh escaped me. The sound felt foreign after everything I'd been through.

"Why would I dream about my third-year lecturers when I'm in my fourth year?"

She pulled away and chuckled.

"Don't be silly, Aurora. Since when did you skip a year?"

I froze. "What?"

"You're only in your third year." She shook her head, amused. "You still have plenty of studying ahead of you."

The unease returned with vengeance. My eyes skimmed her face for any signs of a joke, but she seemed oblivious. She couldn’t crack a joke without laughing her head off.

She stood up and headed for the door.

"Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast. I'll wake your father for work."

Then she left.

I sat motionless on the bed, my mind completely blank. Slowly, I picked up my phone again. The moment the screen lit up, all the color drained from my face.

The date read Monday, May 25, 2026.

The phone slipped from my fingers and landed on the mattress.

No, that wasn’t possible. The betrayal and my death might have been a dream, but I couldn’t have dreamed an entire year. The memories were vivid. I remembered my fourth-year classes. My exam results. The next faculty president.

All those couldn’t have been a dream.

What the hell was this?

If I weren’t sitting right now, my knees would have given out by now. I wasn’t dreaming. I had indeed died and somehow… I’d come back. Exactly one year before my death.

The realization dawned on me.

A moment of silence followed. Then, a hysterical laugh escaped my lips. Tears followed. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both. I buried my face in my hands.

A second chance. I'd been given a second chance. A chance to fix everything. A chance to avoid Jace. A chance to expose Quinn. A chance to save my scholarship. A chance to survive.

A chance to avoid the terrible fate waiting for me exactly three hundred and sixty-five days from now.

For the first time since waking up, hope bloomed inside my chest.

I sat there for a long time, trying to process everything.

Eventually, reality settled in.

This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a hallucination. It wasn’t a twisted form of heaven either.

This was real.

I stood and got ready for school.

When I came downstairs, Mom and Dad were already having breakfast. Both were dressed for work.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I found myself grateful for something as ordinary as breakfast.

Neither of my parents earned extraordinary salaries, but they had worked tirelessly to give me a good life and opportunities others didn't have.

My dad worked as the managing director of a company in town while my mom was an accountant.

Everything they did was for me.

A year from now, I had almost thrown all of it away. The thought made my chest ache.

"Aurora," Dad called, patting the empty seat beside him. "Hurry up and eat. I'll drop you off at the bus stop before work."

I smiled. A genuine smile.

Walking over, I kissed his cheek before sitting down.

Dad blinked in surprise.

"Well, that's new."

"Can't I kiss my favorite father?"

He snorted. "I'm your only father."

"Exactly."

Mom shook her head fondly.

"Are you feeling better now?"

I stabbed a piece of food with my fork.

"I feel fantastic."

And for once, I meant it.

***

By the time I passed through Westbridge University's gates, my mood had improved considerably. The feeling was still eerie to me. I had lived this day before. My details of the coming year were blurry, but the sense of familiarity lingered like a shadow.

The cool morning breeze, the chatter of students, the pristine buildings and expensive murals decorating the campus, and the luxury cars constantly passing through the gates. Everything felt familiar.

Westbridge was one of the most prestigious universities in the city. It was filled with future heirs and heiresses of big conglomerates, social climbers, and spoiled rich kids, but its academic standards were among the best in the country.

Attending Westbridge had always been my dream.

My father had been even more excited than I was when I got in. He never missed an opportunity to brag about his daughter attending such a prestigious university. One that even his boss's children attended. But now, I realized the dreamy walls weren't all peaches and roses; they contained enough mystery, chaos, and insanity to write a best-selling novel. Too bad I was a business major.

On the bus to my dorm, I swore, regret lacing my voice. “Damn. I should’ve invested in lottery tickets when I had the chance.”

I could’ve made us billionaires in an instant if I had. Unfortunately, I didn't dabble in gambling in my previous life. The only thing I remembered was that a certain football team would win the Premier League after more than two decades without a title. I only knew because of the chaos it had caused among football fans on campus.

Maybe I should put some money on them.

After flashing my student ID at the dorm security, I headed straight for my room. I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The room housed two students: me and my roommate, Denis.

It was the middle of the semester, and we hadn’t had much time to get to know each other yet. Then again, even by the end of the year, we barely spoke. I was too busy chasing Jace to pay attention to anyone else.

"Good morning, Denis." I greeted as I passed by her, sitting at her desk.

She paused midway through reading one of her massive biology textbooks. The glasses perched on her nose made her look even more studious than usual. Slowly, she lifted her head. The expression on her face was almost comical.

"Did you say something?"

"I said good morning."

I dropped onto my bed and stared at the beige ceiling.

A few moments later, I felt her staring. I turned my head.

"What?"

Denis removed her glasses.

"Are you okay?"

My brows furrowed. Could she somehow tell I had died and come back to life?

"What? What’s wrong?”

"You've never wished me good morning before."

I blinked, then winced. That sounded exactly like something I did.

Denis continued.

"Usually you're too busy texting Jace when you walk in. Half the time I greet you and get a wave in return."

At the mention of his name, my stomach twisted.

Jace. That bastard.

A cold anger settled in my chest.

This time, things would be different.

I glanced at Denis. We had been roommates for about three months now. In my previous life, we'd barely interacted despite sharing a room. She spent most of her time studying while I spent mine in love with that bastard.

Sometimes I even skipped my own classes just to sit outside the engineering faculty, waiting for him.

The entire campus knew.

Looking back now, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment. Had a spell been cast over me?

"I owe you an apology."

Denis blinked.

"For what?"

"For ignoring you all this time." A smile tugged at my lips. "I'm a changed person now."

She laughed. Clearly, she didn't believe me.

"Whatever you say."

Before I could respond, the dorm room door swung open.

"Aurora, you're back!"

The smile instantly dropped from my face. The cheerful voice made my blood boil.

I looked up to see Quinn, my so-called best friend.

There she was in her usual miniskirt and heels, looking every bit the campus queen she was. Beautiful blonde hair. Perfect makeup. A dazzling smile — the same one that had fooled me.

Seeing her again felt like being stabbed.

Memories flashed through my mind.

The fake friendship, the betrayal, the humiliation, the laughter she shared with Jace while my world collapsed around me.

We had met during our first-year orientation. I was a business major, and she was studying Economics. We were both on scholarship too and we quickly hit it off. We exchanged numbers and became close during the second year when we ended up as roommates.

Halfway through, she introduced me to Jace and told me he secretly loved me. He was shy to say anything and just needed a push. Jace was handsome, and I was flattered. She'd encouraged me to chase him.

Every step of the way, she'd pushed me forward while secretly laughing behind my back. She'd even turned my obsession into entertainment for social media pages. She became popular fast.

Now, in our third year, she was an influencer and had even moved into off-campus housing for more freedom.

I'd been stupid enough to trust her before. Not this time though. This time, I knew exactly who she was.

Unfortunately, I had only gone back one year, and the damage had already been done. We had already been friends for two years. I had already spent countless hours chasing Jace around campus. That couldn’t be undone.

But what happened next was entirely up to me.

Too bad I had only returned a year earlier before the betrayal. So unfortunately, we already knew each other for two years, and I was already her friend. I had already started chasing Jace around campus too.

I forced a smile, but there was nothing warm about it. Jace and Quinn had destroyed my life once. This time? They were going to regret ever crossing paths with Aurora Kennedy.