The Aloof Observer

Before the SATs, everyone had filled in their dream colleges they'd like to apply to. Now that the results were out, my boyfriend, Sheldon Miller, and many of my classmates had successfully gotten into Astraeus University, which happens to be their dream university.

In order to celebrate the success, Sheldon's childhood friend, Winnie Frost, decided to invite Sheldon and the classmates over to the tattoo parlor her family ran for celebratory tattoos.

I grabbed Sheldon's hand and reminded him that students in aviation majors weren't allowed to have tattoos of their own, only to get slapped by him instead.

The classmates around me even started mocking me relentlessly.

"Just how shameless are you, Cassandra? Sheldon and Winnie are the actual childhood friends here! You don't want him to get a tattoo at her family's parlor out of jealousy, right?"

I was so pissed that I could feel a headache coming. For the sake of Sheldon's future, I forcibly dragged him away.

But what I didn't expect was that Winnie would secretly carry two barrels of gas to my residence. Just like that, she set my residence ablaze. That fire ended up killing my parents and me.

Sheldon and our classmates even forged Winnie's alibi just so they could wash her off the police's suspicion.

When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Sheldon is about to walk into Winnie's tattoo parlor.

Sheldon shakes my hand off ruthlessly and begins berating me angrily. "Aren't you just being jealous because Winnie and I are close to each other? I'll have you know that not only do I want to get a tattoo with Winnie, but I also want to have her name tattooed on my body!"

This time, I just flash a wide smile at him.

"Go on, then. You'd better have her name tattooed on an obvious spot."

I remembered it clearly. In the final moments of my life, Winnie Frost had leaned close and laughed smugly by my ear. "Cassandra, weren't you trying to stop Sheldon and me from getting matching tattoos? Why bother? Just die already. Sheldon is mine. Don't even think about taking him from me."

I jolted awake, only to feel a burning sting across my cheek.

Sheldon Miller shook his hand impatiently, then grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the tattoo shop. "Cassandra, quit wasting time. Today, you're going to stand there and watch me get Winnie's name inked onto my wrist."

The classmates around us immediately echoed him.

"Cassandra is just jealous."

"She acts all proper, but maybe she just doesn't have the money for it."

"She is seriously messed up. She knows we have exams tomorrow, yet she is still dragging this out. She is trying to mess it up for all of us because she can't stand other people getting what they want."

As their malicious guesses piled up, a chill slowly seeped into my heart.

In my previous life, I knew most of them came from ordinary families. After grinding through three years of studying, their biggest dream was to get into a stable, government-backed major. I also knew those majors strictly forbade tattoos.

To make them believe me, I had searched through piles of information and showed them everything I found.

In the end, all my good intentions were treated like trash. They accused me, slandered me, and even threatened to beat me up for Winnie's sake.

Now, I looked at Winnie's smug face. She waved her hand grandly at the crowd and gently said, "Today, I am giving everyone a discount. Get whatever design you want. Don't hold back."

The classmates immediately returned her kindness with warm smiles.

"Winnie is so generous, and she's pretty and kind too."

"Yeah. I've wanted a tattoo for ages. School rules wouldn't allow it back in high school, but now I can finally get one."

"I want a rose on my chest."

"Give me a fierce tiger on my arm. I'll look amazing when I transfer to my new school."

Just like that, they all left tattoos on their bodies.

I sneered and turned away.

When they were rejected by their schools because of those tattoos, I wanted to see if they would still be able to smile.

After the students finished getting tattooed and returned to school, their homeroom teacher, Ms. Arianna Tyson, who usually wore a gentle smile, froze the moment she saw the tattoos on their bodies. Her face turned pale as she exclaimed, "Who allowed you all to get tattoos?"