Chapter 1: Goodbye, Harvard. Hello, MIT.

When the SAT results dropped, I messaged my online girlfriend with trembling fingers.

I can't get into Harvard anymore. Goodbye.

My chest tightened, the words barely visible through the static in my head. I hit send before I could regret it.

Then I closed the chat, packed up my dreams, and headed to MIT—blocking her before I could talk myself out of it.

But during my freshman year lab rotation, the grad student filling in for our class called my name in front of everyone.

"You—come up and solve this problem. I taught you this before."

My brain short-circuited. Was this some twisted MIT hazing ritual, or was the universe actually screwing with me?

Me: "..."

What kind of joke is this? Why is the online girlfriend who wanted me to get into Harvard showing up at MIT?

I stared at the grad student, my heart doing backflips, the cold, antiseptic tang of the lab hit my nose, mixing with the faint whir of machines and the scratch of sneakers on tile. Around me, other students rustled papers and exchanged confused glances, probably wondering why I looked like I'd seen a ghost. But for me, it was as if time slowed down, and every fluorescent light overhead flickered just a little too bright.