Second Life, Different Choice

I studied the corners of the cage carefully, shaking it over and over until I found one loose metal bar.

I pulled out a shard from my broken laptop and started grinding it against that spot again and again.

A shadow suddenly fell over me.

Hope surged, and I looked up fast, only to see a skinny, bony stray cat. I reached out, trying to pet it, but it bared its teeth and hissed.

I let out a quiet sigh and murmured to myself, "My classmates were scared I'd ruin their rafting trip, so they locked me in here. My phone doesn't have any signal. I can't reach my parents. You're my only shot. If you could find a cop…"

My voice trailed off. I sat back down and kept sawing at the bar.

Blood slid down the metal, dripping slowly onto the ground.

The cat in front of me gradually relaxed, its guard lowering as it let out a soft meow.

I quickly poured some water into my palm and held it out carefully. It hesitated for a second, then lapped it all up.

Looking into its bright eyes, I pulled out a few bills, wrote SOS on them, and tucked them into its worn collar.

"Hey, little guy, remember how to get back here. Find someone to help me, okay? I'll convince my parents to take you in."

It let out a small cry, then darted off.

Three hours passed before I finally managed to cut through that loose bar. I gripped the empty bottle in my hand, tears spilling uncontrollably.

Mom, Dad… Even after getting a second chance, I still couldn't save myself.

The application deadline was getting close, and I still couldn't even get out of this rusted cage.

The air around me warped in the heat. The scorching temperature baked me until my consciousness started slipping away.

Something rough brushed against my eyes again and again. I instinctively reached up and grabbed at it.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I realized it was the same cat I had trusted with that huge task earlier.

"She's awake. Good thing we got here in time, or she could've died from heatstroke!"

Someone gently lifted me out of the cage.

"What happened here? How did a kid end up locked in a place like this?"

The sound of police sirens filled my ears, and everything went dark again.

My father rushed to my bedside, his voice tight with panic.

"Katrina, the moment I got the call from the police, I came straight here. Where's Terry? Didn't he promise me he'd look out for you?"

As I thought back to what happened this morning, tears slipped down my face before I could stop them.

I saw the exhaustion in my father's eyes and shook my head.

"Dad, I'm fine. Just…give me my laptop. I haven't finished my applications yet."

I couldn't trust Terry. I was scared he had already picked the worst possible colleges for me.

As soon as I got the laptop, my hands trembled while I logged into the application site and changed everything back to the ones I actually wanted.

Terry had probably forgotten those promises he once made to me a long time ago.

I had just handed the laptop back when I saw my father holding up his phone.

"How would Katrina know where the others are? What rafting livestream? I'm heading over right now!"

My face went pale. "Dad, don't go. My stomach hurts."

He immediately sat back down beside me and poured me some water.

If those ungrateful classmates twisted the story like last time, saying I tricked them into going, their parents would tear my father apart.

This time, I wasn't getting involved, no matter what happened to them.