Chapter 5
1257 Words
Mary
Chemistry must have been invented by someone who hated happiness so much and was inspired from staying locked in his old, rickety house for ten years. I could see why Emily loved it.
Nothing made sense in this class.
The only chemistry I cared about was the kind that happened between me and Ethan Sparrow.
And right now, he was busy stealing glances at Emily.
And Emily was standing there like she had been born in a lab, handling chemicals like it was second nature, instead of doing the PDA Ethan and I always did.
Goodness, I have to teach her everything.
She couldn’t even try to act like me.
I stared down at the bottle in front of me.
Acid.
That’s what the teacher said, right?
Na.
What kind of name was that?
Nallum?
Nallie?
Wasn’t that the name of my cousin’s wolf spirit?
My thoughts drifted instantly. My coming of age was close. Eighteen was right around the corner, and I couldn’t wait to meet my wolf. I had already picked out names for her. Elegant and powerful ones.
And there was no way my first shift was happening in this body.
I didn’t care how much I upgraded it. It was still Emily’s. I looked up just in time to see Ethan walking toward her. She grabbed her pipette like it was a weapon and moved away.
Good. Because if Ethan kissed her, I was going to go so red in the face that the teacher would think I poured acid in my face.
But also… embarrassing.
Ethan Sparrow was an Alpha. The kind of wolf I was meant to be with. And she was acting like he carried a disease.
Meanwhile, I was stuck here with chemicals I didn’t understand.
“Aren’t you going to start?”
I turned and found Grace watching me. I was this close to telling her to get lost. Across the room, Bernice, Joye, and Clara stood in their usual corner, chewing gum and whispering. Those were my clique and that was how I usually spent chemistry classes, not noisy as they did, but certainly not touching something labelled ‘Na’.
And here I was, stuck playing lab assistant.
“I’ll start now,” I said, forcing a polite tone. I picked up the acid.
“Emily!”
Grace’s voice rang out like an alarm as she pulled the bottle away. Everyone turned. Because apparently, subtlety wasn’t part of her personality.
Any day for Grace to steal the attention of everyone and she'd take it, even if it involves embarrassing her friend.
Emily certainly made poor life choices and now, I was stuck in her annoying life, staring confused as Grace stared back at me like she was seeing a ghost.
The teacher walked over, frowning. “That’s wrong, Emily.”
His tone stung my ego. I pouted slightly, already preparing a response, when Emily suddenly coughed loudly from across the room.
Without covering her mouth.
Gods.
She was trying very hard to embarrass me.
I lowered my head quickly. “I’m sorry, sir. I… I have a headache.”
He studied me like he didn’t quite believe it. “You know how important these practicals are for you, Emily. What you almost did was dangerous. If Grace hadn’t stopped you, you could have caused an explosion.”
Laughter burst out across the class.
Ouchie.
Emily stood there, face tight with anger. Which was unfair. How was I supposed to know what went first? Why did it even matter which went first?
“I’m sorry, sir,” I repeated, keeping my head down as the laughter continued.
Joye’s voice cut through it.
“Looks like Emily traded her brains for lip gloss and a crop top from a yard sale.”
The class erupted again into laughter. I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. Because that was actually funny.
“Enough,” the teacher snapped. “One more word and I start failing people.”
Everyone quieted down immediately. We all knew he favored Emily. I looked back at the label.
Na.
It was still confusing, and honestly, if it had exploded, it would have been Emily’s face taking the damage.
Not mine.
And that was one big comfort.
***
Emily dragged me back to the lab the second practical ended.
“What was that?” she demanded. “I told you to follow me.”
“How was I supposed to do that,” I shot back, “when Ethan was practically glued to you?”
She stared at me like I had lost my mind. “That’s your excuse? That’s what you have to say after embarrassing me like that?”
“Don’t act like it’s not normal, Emily. You get embarrassed for existing.”
She pressed her lips together. “I need an apology.”
I crossed my arms. “Never.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you even understand what you just did? Chemistry is my life. My future!”
“And cheerleading is mine.”
“I’m not the one making a fool of myself in class.”
“Oh, you did,” I said quickly. “What was that coughing performance? You sounded like you were auditioning for a dying animal role.”
She scoffed. “You felt embarrassed, didn’t you?”
Gods.
I could not deal with this girl. I had always hated Emily Carter. Always. But this? This was a whole new level of suffering. If she wasn’t in my body, I would have walked straight to Ethan and let him handle her.
I reached up instinctively to grab her hair—my hair—then stopped myself and stepped back.
She laughed. “Aw. Isn’t it cute?” Then her expression shifted, sharper now. “You broke the rules today, Mary Saint Laurent,” she said quietly.
I crossed my arms, lifting my chin. “What are you going to do about that?”
She didn’t answer immediately. She just stared at me like she’d already decided something I wouldn’t like.
“Tonight?” she said at last.
That smile followed. The smile I gave when I was up to no good.
“I’m ruining your perfect little love story.”
For a second, I didn’t react. The words didn’t land properly…until they did.
“Emily, don’t—”
“Relax,” she cut in smoothly. “I’ll play my part.”
Play her part? What did that even mean?
My stomach tightened.
She turned toward the door like the conversation was already over, like I was supposed to just ignore her threat, or clap at her for coming up with something so brilliant.
“Emily,” I snapped, but she didn’t stop.
After all, she had nothing to lose. She was just plain Emily Carter. No one cared if she had a pimple.
And I had everything to lose if anything goes wrong. Everything.
She paused at the door, glancing back just once, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Let’s see how long Ethan Sparrow still wants you…” she said softly, “when you stop being perfect.”
The door shut behind her.
And for the first time since this nightmare started, I felt it creep up to my stomach, twisting it.
Not annoyance that I was in her body.
Not even anger that I had to be her.
What I felt was fear. Because if she ruined this, I wouldn't only lose Ethan, I would lose everything I had worked so hard for.
- Writer
