The Bloody Charity Trip, Rebirth of the Victim

I used a razor blade to slash my own arm.

Amid the curses of my entire class, I forced that charity bus to hell to come to a screeching halt.

I ignored their furious faces and pushed open the bus door. I'm not going. You guys have fun.

The class beauty and the campus heartthrob were livid, but only I knew that I was escaping a literal slaughterhouse.

In my past life, it was this same "charity teaching trip" where a landslide happened.

I had risked my life to save the whole class, only to be buried under a massive boulder myself.

They thought I was dead.

Under the class beauty's tearful persuasion, not a single person called for help.

They simply moved on with their luxury vacation, feeling perfectly justified.

But I didn't die.

When I woke up in agony, dragging two broken legs and covered in blood, I crawled back to their camp.

I didn't find rescue. I found a deeper level of despair.

To hide the scandal of packaging a luxury vacation as a "charity trip" to steal high subsidies, the class beauty cried again.

She blocked the only person trying to make a 911 call.

"We can't report this! It will leave a stain on all our permanent records!"

The whole class went silent.

They threw me into a dark corner and let my wounds rot.

They turned around and started a party around a bonfire.

I watched myself bleed out to their laughter and music.

I took my last breath in hunger, thirst, and unbearable pain.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day she invited the class to the "charity trip."

I woke up with a start and realized I was sitting in a noisy classroom.

On the podium, Sierra Sterling, our class beauty, was promoting something with great passion.

"We should bring our love to the mountains and help those underprivileged kids!"

The whole class erupted in thunderous applause.

But I knew the truth.

It was just a luxury trip funded by stolen subsidy money.

A phantom pain shot through my legs.

It was the memory of being crushed by that boulder.

The smell of blood still seemed to linger in my nose.

Desperate images flashed through my mind like a horror movie.

Sierra smiled and called my name. "Willow Vance, you're always the kindest. You'll support me this time, right?"

Chase Huntington, the campus golden boy, chimed in.

"Yeah, Willow is always into volunteer work. There's no way she'd miss this."

I felt the burning gaze of the entire class on me.

I spit out three words coldly. "I'm not going."

The room went dead silent.

Then, the whispers of accusation started.

"What's wrong with Willow?"

"She's usually so nice. Why is she being a bitch now?"

"How can she skip out on something this good?"

A flash of malice crossed Sierra's eyes.

"Willow, are you mad at me? I thought we were best friends"

Her words triggered my memories of the past life.

Back then, I believed her tears. I believed in her friendship.

What did I get in return?

She pushed me into the abyss with her own hands.

She chose silence while I was dying!

I knew the consequences of a direct refusal.

They would use every dirty trick to force me onto that bus to hell.

I clutched my chest and spoke in a weak voice.

"I I was just diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. The doctor said I can't go to high-altitude areas."

Sierra and Chase traded a look. They clearly didn't believe me.

Chase pretended to be concerned.

"That's too bad. But the school permit was filed based on the full class count. We can't be missing one person."

"And the subsidy money is calculated per head," Sierra added, a hint of urgency in her eyes.

The students started gossiping again.

"Is Willow doing this on purpose?"

"Of course she gets a heart problem right when we're about to leave. How convenient."

"It's a bit too suspicious!"

The class president, Zackery Pyles, stood up.

"Willow, do you have a doctor's note for this condition?"

I clenched my fists. These absolute vultures!

"I haven't had time to get the official paperwork yet," I said, forcing down my rage.

"So you're saying you have no proof?" Chase stepped closer, cornering me.

Sierra wiped away fake tears.

"Willow, I know you might have other concerns, but those kids in the mountains really need us"

"Yeah, it's for a good cause!"

"How can you be so heartless, Willow?"

"So selfish!"

I was surrounded. It was me against the world.

These people's faces were exactly the same as in my previous life.

"Willow, do you really want to let all your classmates down?" Sierra's tears fell harder.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

My voice trembled as I spoke.

"I I'll go back and ask the doctor if there's any way I can make it work."

Sierra immediately broke into a smile.

"I knew Willow wouldn't let us down!"

Chase followed up instantly.

"It's settled then. We head out tomorrow!"

The class burst into applause.

I just sat there, my heart feeling like cold ash.

On the day of departure, I was still "invited" onto the bus.

Sierra sat right next to me, just like in my past life.

She kept saying she cared about my "heart," but she was actually watching my every move.

"Willow, you look a bit pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

I didn't give her an answer.

The scenery outside blurred as we drove further from the city.

My heart began to race for real.

Chase sat in the front row.

He looked back at me occasionally with a smug look in his eyes.

He thought he had me trapped.

"Willow, did you know? Those kids really need our help."

Zackery said loudly on purpose.

"The supplies we're bringing are worth thousands of dollars."

Thousands? I sneered internally.

That money was going straight into their pockets.

The students were excitedly discussing their "volunteer" life.

They had no idea what was waiting for them.

I knew if I didn't act now, it would be too late.

When the bus reached a stretch of highway with no exits, I suddenly clutched my chest.

I began to gasp for air.

I let my body twitch as if I couldn't control it.

"I I can't my heart"

I performed the agony perfectly, squeezing tears from my eyes.

The bus went into a frenzy. Some students actually looked panicked.

"Oh my god, what's happening to Willow?"

"Does she really have a heart condition?"

"Stop the bus! Get her to a hospital!"

But Chase stood up immediately to calm everyone down.

"Don't panic! It's just her old issue. She just needs some rest!"

He gave the driver a cold look, signaling him to keep driving.

The driver hesitated but hit the gas anyway.

Sierra whispered in my ear.

"Willow, stop it. We all know you're just acting."

A wave of desperate rage surged in my chest.

They had no intention of stopping.

I stopped pretending.

I whipped out the razor blade I had hidden in my bag.

"Willow, what are you doing?" Sierra's voice was full of terror.

I didn't answer her.

Amidst the screams of my classmates, I didn't hesitate for a second.

I slashed the blade deep into my own arm.

Blood sprayed out instantly, soaking my sleeve in red.

"Ah!" Screams echoed through the bus.

I held up my bleeding arm and roared at the terrified driver.

"Stop the car! Or I will die right here on this bus!"

The driver was spooked by my madness.

He slammed on the brakes.

Sierra's face twisted with fury. "Willow, you're insane!"

"Insane?" I laughed coldly. "I just don't want to die with you people."

"What are you talking about?" Chase stood up. "We're doing a good thing!"

"A good thing?" I looked at their hypocritical faces.

"You know exactly what you're really doing."

The blood was still flowing.

I felt the sting, but it was nothing compared to the agony of my past life.

"Willow, you're going to have a scar!" Someone tried to talk me down.

"A scar?" I smiled. "This little scar is nothing."

I stumbled off the bus.

I looked back at those faces filled with shock, anger, and disgust.

"Willow, get back here!" Sierra screamed from the window.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

What are you supposed to do?

"You can keep going. I hope you guys have a blast."

I turned my back on them and walked toward the highway railing.

Their angry curses followed me, but I never looked back.

I didn't call the police right away.

My wound was throbbing, so I caught a cab straight to the ER.

I didn't make a sound while the doctor stitched me up.

The pain of the needle through my flesh was nothing compared to my previous life's despair.

"Honey, don't do something this reckless again," the doctor sighed.

I nodded, but my eyes remained icy.

After leaving the hospital, I went straight to an internet cafe.

First, I sent an anonymous tip to the Board of Education and the school's internal affairs.

I only provided a few things.

I sent screenshots of Sierra's luxury resort bookings and the obvious gaps in the budget.

A little hint was enough for now.

Then, I registered a brand new social media account and posted a long thread.

I wrote from the perspective of a bullying victim.

I cried about how I was forced to self-harm just to escape a "corrupt group activity."

I hinted at the massive "financial interests" behind the trip.

Finally, I contacted a frustrated investigative journalist named Liam Miller.

He was full of justice but had no big breaks lately.

"Liam, I've got a massive story for you," I said over the phone.

"What kind of story?"

"A total circus that's about to go public."

I gave him all the clues.

I told him to watch the news closely over the next few days.

Liam was pumped. "If this is true, it's going to blow up!"

"Just watch," I said, hanging up with a smirk.

A few days later, the news of the landslide arrived as expected.

The report said a small landslide occurred in the mountains, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

Seeing the news made my heart race.

If I hadn't escaped, if I had actually gone with them

Right after that, Sierra's "heroic deeds" took over the internet.

During an interview, she said with teary eyes:

"A girl in our class was jealous that I was chosen as the lead. She stole the donation money."

"She even used a blade on herself on the bus to frame us. It was horrible."

"She lied about a landslide to scare us! Our trip was a success. We helped so many kids."

Chase also acted all righteous on camera.

"Willow has some serious mental issues. We're worried about her. She needs help."

The whole class gave the exact same testimony.

The media praise turned Sierra into a golden girl.

And I became the local pariah, the girl everyone loved to hate.

My parents' phones were ringing off the hook.

Red paint was splashed on our front door.

"Your daughter is a psycho!"

"How did a person like this get into a top university?"

"Send her to the asylum!"

Neighbors whispered, and classmates avoided me like the plague.

I endured the online hate with a calm heart.

The fish had already taken the bait.

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