The moment Rose returned to the school clinic she hit the ground hard. Her breath came fast and shaky while she clutched the floor, trying to remind herself that she was no longer running for her life. The memory of those bunnies still clung to her like cold fingers. They were small and adorable one second and nightmares with teeth the next. The feeling of their tiny feet pattering behind her still echoed in her bones. She could almost hear their squeaks. She could almost feel their shadows touching her heels.
Her heart thudded against her ribs. Her palms were sweaty and her legs refused to stop trembling. Yet in the middle of all that fear something else rose inside her. A spark. A strange excitement that made her chest lift and fall in uneven breaths. Fear and excitement mixed together like a wild storm inside her chest. She felt alive in a way she had not felt for 28 years. This world was terrifying, yet it was everything she used to dream about on earth. A place filled with danger and wonder instead of boring lifestyle.
She lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, letting her breath slow down. She could almost taste the difference between her old world and this one. The air here felt sharper, cleaner, filled with something unknown. It buzzed against her skin. Even though her old life had been fun, something always felt incomplete, like she had been living half a story. But this world changed that. This world felt alive. It felt like it was created for her.
She curled one hand into a fist and placed it over her chest as if promising something to herself. Her voice came out in a shaky whisper that grew steadier with each word. "This is it. My chance to live the best way possible."
She sat up slowly, breathing in the clinic's cool, clean air. She let it fill her lungs, then let it out again in a long exhale. The glow of the system screen still lingered faintly in her mind. It felt like a dream she could touch. She was in a fantasy world. Anything could happen. And now she knew she was the main character. She would survive no matter what. She would grow stronger and make sure she never returned to the life where a furious jealous husband waited to shoot her again.
A grin stretched across her face as her shoulders shook with laughter she could not hold back. "This is going to be fun and legendary. Hahaha… hahaha…"
She rolled on the floor laughing, her legs kicking lightly like an excited child who had just entered a candy factory with no adults in sight. Her laughter bounced around the clinic walls as she moved in small circles on the ground. She grabbed the edge of a chair to spin herself and nearly hit her head on the bed frame. None of it stopped her. She felt wild and free and foolish in the best possible way.
Then she froze.
Someone was standing by the door.
Rose snapped into a sitting position and pretended to act cool. Her laughter died instantly as if someone pressed pause on her soul. The woman wore a faded uniform and held a cleaning cloth. By the way she carried herself, she could only be the school janitor. Her expression was flat, steady and clearly done with life. Rose had seen that expression a lot in her previous world whenever bar workers dealt with drunk customers.
Rose blinked at her, completely shameless. Her smile returned but in a much quieter way. She even gave the woman a playful wink.
The janitor stared for a moment, then sighed softly as if she had seen far stranger things in this school. Her shoulders slumped a little and she shifted the cleaning cloth to her other hand. "School has been dismissed. You may leave now since you look full of energy, Miss," she said while wiping her hands on the cloth. She did not bother asking why Rose was laughing like a maniac on the floor. After all, she had been working here long enough to know the academy attracted many students with unusual behavior.
Rose dusted off her clothes, still catching her breath, already planning how she would conquer this world.
She changed her clothes before she stepped outside into the cool hallway where the lights hummed faintly. Each step helped her calm down. Each step reminded her that she had survived and earned another chance. That thought alone made her spine straighten and her heart lift.
The next morning when Rose woke up it was still early. The digital clock read five in the morning. The system bing hit her ears and the screen lit up with the brightness of a solar flare. It forced her eyes open whether she liked it or not. The glow washed across the small room, outlining every shelf and dusty corner.
[Daily Quests Available]
[Run: 20 km / 0]
[Jumping Jacks: 100 / 0]
[Squats: 100 / 0]
[Pushups: 100 / 0]
[Plank: 30 minutes / 0 minutes]
[Drink water: 5 liters / 0 liters]
[Note
Completing Daily Quests will help your body grow stronger and fit]
[Warning
Incomplete Quests will result in a Time Out
01:28:13 Time Remaining]
"Wow, not only was I given detention for being disobedient but now you removed thirty minutes. Cool" Rose whispered with sleepy irritation. She pushed herself up from the bed and stretched her arms until her back popped. She breathed out softly. The stretch loosened her shoulders and she rolled her neck in slow circles.
She paused for a moment, then touched her boobs and gave it a squeeze. "Well at least I do not have to sweet talk all night in a bar to get to do this" she said with a lazy grin as she continued her little morning
entertainment.
When she stepped out of her room she took a moment to look around. The place looked like a garage more than a bedroom. The walls were rough and the floor was cold. Tools hung on hooks and a faint smell of oil lingered in the air. Thanks to the bits of memory left behind by the previous owner of this body she knew where everything was. It was not awful but Rose already promised herself she would renovate it the moment she got the chance.
She walked past the main house with a low mutter. "At least I do not have to meet creepy people called family members and I will not take it lightly if anyone tries to insult me." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the windows. In her previous life she had been the black sheep. Yet even then she had never been treated the way this current family treated the old Rose. These people did not deserve the word family at all.
She finished her quests an hour later. She was drenched in sweat and her legs shook but she did not collapse. The system rewarded her with twenty points. She was allowed to distribute them however she wanted. Rose put all twenty into strength. At least it gave her a better chance to punch anyone who acted stupid with her.
After that she took a bath and got ready for school. Steam filled the bathroom and she let the warm water calm her muscles. It still felt unbelievable that she had already finished high school in her old world but now had to live through it again. Still it was better than waking up as a baby.
Rose trimmed her hair, cutting the girly length into something shorter. The strands fell to the floor and she watched them with a small satisfied smile. She styled it into a tomboy look she actually liked. Her school tie hung loose and she did not bother buttoning her shirt all the way up.
"Wow what is the new look today" Augustus Royale said the moment he saw her. Gus was a tenth grader and the easiest target for bullies. He was also the only one in Rose's class who ever talked to her since both of them were usually at the bottom of the food chain.
They sat together in the cafeteria for lunch. The smell of fried food filled the air and the chatter of students buzzed around them. Rose dug into her meal with surprising hunger.
"Well Gus this is my new look. Like it. Love it. Hate it. I do not give a fuck" Rose said as she started eating.
Gus stared because Rose was eating far more than usual. She used to be a light eater and someone who dressed properly for school. Maybe something that happened yesterday had changed her.
"Your new behavior. Does it have to do with the experiment we did yesterday" Gus asked. He lowered his voice and Rose leaned in too.
"Why are you talking like someone on his first day as a spy. And what experiment did we do yesterday" Rose whispered. She had no memory of it. Not all of the old Rose's memories had returned to her yet.
"You do not remember. The thing we did in the lab when nobody was there" Gus said.
"Dude if I had the memory why would I be asking you. And why does it sound like we had sex in the lab or did some forbidden trope shit" Rose said with a raised brow.
"Eww no. Fuck you. I have a girlfriend. I was talking about the risk you took. You wanted to check if you actually had a talent or not" Gus said.
Before Rose could reply they were interrupted by a group of nuisances approaching their table.