My name was Emma Pitt, and I was a straight-A student when I entered college.

But one day, everything changed. The world darkened around me like a storm cloud on a sunny day, leaving only chaos and confusion in its wake.

I found myself accused of plagiarism for a paper I had so proudly published, and suddenly, I was the target of scorn from every corner of the campus.

Students hurled insults at me, calling me shameless and a fraud. Their words were like knives, each one slicing deeper into my soul.

Determined to clear my name, I tracked down the original work they claimed I had copied, only to discover that the paper was indeed identical to mine—only it had been published one day ahead of mine.

My heart sank like a stone in a deep lake.

But I knew deep down that my paper was the result of countless sleepless nights and endless experiments.

The hours spent in the lab, the countless rewrites, the moments of doubt, and the moments of triumph—every bit of it was mine.

I tried to explain my side of the story, but no one wanted to listen.

They raged against me, launching a brutal online campaign that dragged my family into the chaos.

The school administration quickly sided with the mob, labeling me as academic trash and expelling me without a second thought.

My life crumbled around me like a house of cards.

Overwhelmed by the weight of it all, I couldn't take it anymore. I leaped from the 18th floor of the academic building; my body shattered upon the impact.

Even in those final moments, I couldn't wrap my head around what had happened.

Why had my work been stolen from me and published by someone else?

The world faded to black, and I thought that was the end.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back in time.

The sunlight was blinding, and it took me a moment to realize I was alive.

I had been given a second chance.

I checked my phone—April 14th, the day before I was set to publish that crucial paper. My lab mates crowded around me, their eyes filled with envy.

"Emma, once you get your data, you're ready to publish, right? A high-quality paper as a freshman? That's amazing!"

They sounded like they were congratulating a hero.

My professor nodded approvingly.

"Emma, all those late nights you've put in are finally paying off. With this set of data, you're a shoo-in for the Outstanding Student Award this year!"

His words were a balm to my battered soul.

A wave of gratitude washed over me.

The support from my professor and classmates had been invaluable; I couldn't have succeeded without their help. If it hadn't been for them, I might have given up halfway through.

I glanced at the incomplete data in my hands, and a chill ran down my spine as memories of my previous life flooded back.

If I remembered correctly, I had stayed up late on the night of the 14th to finish my paper, unable to contain my excitement when I posted it online.

The very next morning, the campus turned into a battlefield.

"Emma, have you no shame? You plagiarized others and even flaunted about it?"

"Seriously? A plagiarizing rat? That's disgusting!"

"Plagiarizers should just disappear! You think you can just copy someone's hard work and act like it's your own? How pathetic!"

Even walking to class became a nightmare. Students threw coffee at me and littered my path with trash, and their gazes were filled with hatred and contempt. It felt like they wanted me dead.