Stench Transfer System, Revenge of the Skunk

My roommate, who hasn't showered in a month, somehow acquired a Stench Transfer System.

From that day on, my entire body began to reek like a mountain of rotting industrial waste.

My roommate, Skylar Vance, started shamelessly gorging on fermented fish, pungent blue cheese, and expired canned meats.

Meanwhile, no matter where I went, I couldn't escape the foul odor that should have been coming from her.

My boyfriend called me disgusting, screaming that I smelled like I spent my days rolling in a pigsty. My other roommates, unable to stand the stench in the sweltering heat, kicked me out of the dorm.

Because I emitted a horrific smell during my scholarship presentation and internship interviews, I lost both my grad school spot and my job offer.

My parents were devastated. They spent their life savings taking me to every specialist they could find, crying the whole way.

During one of those frantic trips, the taxi driver passed out from the smell. My parents and I died instantly in the resulting crash.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the scholarship presentation.

I can't wait to see how long Skylar lasts when that stench backfires on her a hundred times over.

"Ugh!" A violent sound of gagging erupted from the audience.

A guy in the front row jumped up in terror, clutching his nose and mouth as if he were about to suffocate.

"What the hell is that smell? Is someone using a bio-weapon?!"

"Sienna Quinn! What the hell are you doing?!"

My consciousness snapped back into place. I was instantly flooded with that familiar sense of absolute despair.

I was back, but I was back at the exact moment the stench first manifested.

It was the scene of my Ivy League fellowship presentation.

On the judge's panel, the usually gentle Professor Miller lurched backward. His brow was knotted in a tight grimace as he fanned the air frantically.

"Ms. Quinn, what is going on with you?" His voice was strained, barely holding back the urge to vomit.

The auditorium descended into chaos.

"Oh my god! It's putrid! It's worse than a landfill in July!!"

"Did she just crawl out of a sewer?! Get her out of here!"

"Leave! Just leave! You're going to kill us all with that smell!"

The stares from my classmates and teachers were filled with shock and pure loathing.

That indescribable odor, like fish that had been rotting for weeks, seeped from every pore of my skin. It aggressively invaded my nostrils and pounded against my brain.

My stomach churned, and cold sweat soaked my back. The world started to spin.

It was exactly like my last life. From this day forward, I would become a walking bio-hazard, losing my future and my family because of it.

I clenched my fists so hard my nails drew blood. The sharp pain pulled me back from the brink of a breakdown.

I couldn't cry.

I couldn't collapse here and let the person who did this win again.

I looked toward the front row of the audience and spotted Skylar Vance.

She was sitting there elegantly, covering her nose with a silk handkerchief. Her brow was slightly furrowed, her eyes filled with the perfect amount of fake concern.

"Sienna Quinn!"

The Dean slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face pale.

"Out! Right now! Get the hell out of here!"

Amidst the ruthless mockery and laughter, I stumbled off the stage and ran.

"Sienna! Sienna, wait for me! Don't run so fast!"

Skylar chased after me, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of tears.

"Oh my god, Sienna, how did this happen? It's so sudden!"

"Don't be scared! I'll go to the hospital with you! I'll explain to the professors!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her beautiful, hypocritical face.

Skylar hadn't showered in a month. In this ninety-degree summer heat, she should have smelled like a locker room.

Instead, she was surrounded by a sweet, floral perfume.

The sour stench of sweat that belonged to her had vanished completely. It had been transferred entirely to me.

I let out a cold laugh. I didn't acknowledge her performance or look at her again as I walked straight toward the campus gates.

I didn't go back to the dorm. I went straight to an off-campus apartment agency.

When I signed the lease, the agent pinched his nose, his voice sounding muffled.

"Miss, you might want to take a shower first?"

I ignored him, took the keys, and left.

Once inside the studio apartment, I slammed the door shut, isolating myself from the world.

I collapsed onto the sofa like my bones had been removed.

The thick, suffocating stench was everywhere, wrapping around me like a greasy cage.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number from my memory.

"I've been targeted by a Stench Transfer System. You told me there was a way to reverse the binding. Tell me now."

Listening to the instructions from the occultist I had met in my previous life, I slowly curled my lips into a smile.

I wanted to see how long Skylar would survive once this nightmare returned to her a hundredfold.

Three days later, I showed up at the classroom door.

The moment I pushed it open, the noisy chatter stopped dead.

I ignored the judging glares and walked straight to an empty seat in the back.

"Wow, she actually showed up? She looks like she just crawled out of a dumpster."

A girl in the front row pinched her nose and whispered loudly.

"She's got thick skin, I'll give her that. After that disaster at the presentation, she still shows her face?"

"Seriously. It's a hundred degrees out. If that smell starts up again, I'm going to die."

I sat down without expression.

There was no smell on me right now, but the previous incident had left a deep scar on everyone's memory.

In their eyes, I was a ticking biological bomb.

"Don't be so mean to Sienna!"

Skylar's voice rang out. She hurried over from the front and sat in the empty chair next to me.

"Sienna, I know you're hurting. That day was just an accident. I don't care about the smell."

She paused, her tone becoming even more earnest.

"It's dangerous for you to live off-campus alone. Move back to the dorm! We miss you, and we can take care of each other."

Move back? I laughed inwardly.

The transfer system only worked at its peak efficiency when we were close to each other.

In my last life, I fell for this crap. I stayed in the dorm until the system stabilized, and I became her permanent trash can for filth.

I knew exactly what she was plotting.

"No thanks," I said flatly, not even looking at her. "I like living alone."

"Sienna!" Skylar looked shocked that I'd rejected her so bluntly. Her face twisted into a look of hurt.

"Don't be stubborn! I know you're proud, but your health comes first! You need to find a way to fix whatever is wrong with you."

"She's right, Sienna. Skylar is just worried about you," another girl chimed in.

"Skylar has been frantic trying to help you. She's been up all night."

Skylar jumped back in, her voice filled with desperate helpfulness.

"Exactly! Sienna, I contacted a famous specialist, Dr. Miller at the General Hospital. His appointments are impossible to get!"

"I pulled so many strings to get you an appointment for tomorrow morning! Please, just come with me?"

She pulled a printed appointment slip from her bag and tried to shove it into my hand.

I rolled my eyes mentally.

This so-called specialist was actually Skylar's uncle.

In my last life, this quack doctor drained my family's savings with useless tests and expensive placebos.

All that money went straight into their pockets.

He eventually ruined my reputation by claiming my condition was due to poor hygiene and a loose lifestyle.

I slapped the paper out of her hand, watching it flutter to the floor.

"I said, I'm not going!"

Skylar acted like I'd struck her. she clutched her hand, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sienna! How could you? I was only trying to help"

"Sienna! What the hell is wrong with you?!" a furious voice boomed.

Caleb Brooks stormed over, pulling the trembling Skylar behind him. He pointed a finger at my face.

"Skylar worked her ass off to get you that doctor! Do you have any idea how hard it is to see Dr. Miller? You're treating her like trash!"

His eyes were filled with disgust.

"Look at you! Everyone hates being near you! You're a filthy, ungrateful bitch, and you deserve to rot!"

Skylar hid behind Caleb, gripping his arm and sobbing softly.

"Caleb, stop. It's okay. Sienna didn't mean it"

I looked at the two of themDthe perfect couple of liars. I stood up, picked up the appointment slip, and slapped it against Skylar's chest.

"My body isn't your business."

"Keep this precious appointment for yourself, Skylar. You might need it more than me very soon."

A week later, the campus career fair was packed with people.

I held my polished resume and walked toward the booth of a prestigious law firm.

They were known for their professionalism. In my last life, I had walked in with confidence, only to be kicked out when I started smelling like rotting trash mid-interview.

"Sienna?"

Skylar appeared out of nowhere. She was wearing a professional suit and light makeup, looking fresh and charming.

She also had a resume in her hand. It seemed we had the same target.

"What a coincidence, Sienna. You're applying here too?"

She wore a harmless smile. Her voice was just loud enough for the two recruiters at the booth to hear.

"This firm has very high standards. But you have great grades, so I'm sure you'll be fineDas long as that smell doesn't come back"

She suddenly acted like she'd slipped up, covering her mouth and looking at the recruiters with feigned regret.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sienna! I didn't mean to bring that up!"

"I just meant that even though you had that incident at the presentation, your skills are still there"

Her words, designed to look like a defense but acting as a knife in the back, immediately made the recruiters look at me with suspicion.

I suppressed my rage and spoke calmly.

"Thank you for your concern, Skylar. My professional abilities and experience are all listed clearly on my resume."

"As for the incident at the presentation, it was a sudden medical flare-up that has since been resolved. It has no bearing on my work ethic."

The HR manager took my resume and flipped through it. The doubt was still there, but my perfect GPA seemed to earn me a chance.

He placed my resume in the folder.

It wasn't a warm reception, but it was already a thousand times better than my last life.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, at a nearby booth for a major luxury fragrance company, a manager let out a small gasp of surprise as she looked at Skylar.

"Excuse me!"

The female manager stepped forward, ignoring Skylar's resume and staring at her with wide eyes.

"Are you wearing our latest body wash? This scent blends so perfectly with your natural chemistry! It's so fresh and effortless!"

Skylar froze, and then a look of pure joy erupted on her face.

She hadn't showered in nearly two months, so she definitely wasn't using any body wash.

She didn't know where this sudden amazing scent was coming from, but she wasn't about to question it.

"Oh? I I didn't do anything special" Skylar said, acting shy.

The manager became even more excited.

"Would you be interested in being our campus brand ambassador? We need someone who radiates this kind of natural, fresh charm!"

The surrounding students immediately cast looks of intense envy at her.

Skylar looked like she was walking on air. She nodded gracefully.

"Thank you. I'd be honored."

Skylar walked over to me, her face glowing with triumph.

"Don't feel bad, Sienna. That law firm is pretty picky but if you can't find a job, I can ask my manager if they need someone to clean the backrooms?"

Caleb, standing nearby, let out a snort. "Sienna, you should thank her! She's giving you a lifeline!"

I stood there, watching her bask in her glory. I let a meaningful smile creep onto my face.

"Brand ambassador?"

"Congratulations, Skylar. I hope you can keep that freshness up forever."

Skylar's smile flickered for a second, but she was quickly drowned out by the praise of the crowd.

The commercial shoot for the fragrance company was held at the most scenic part of campus.

A professional film crew was ready. School officials, company executives, and hundreds of students gathered to watch.

Skylar wore a white designer dress and perfect makeup, standing at the center of the frame.

"Action!" the director shouted.

She took a deep breath, flashing her sweetest smile for the camera.

"Essence of Nature. Awaken your inner freshness!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a horrific stench exploded from her. It was the smell of a bursting septic tank mixed with a thousand rotting eggs.

Everyone's memory flashed back to my incident in the auditorium. Their eyes immediately locked onto me.

I put on an innocent face and pointed toward the girl on camera.

Skylar's smug expression shattered. She looked down and sniffed herself, nearly fainting from the overwhelming rot.

She looked up, her voice screeching into a high-pitched break.

"Sienna Quinn! It's you! What the hell did you do to me?!"