Evangeline had always been okay with being a loner. She'd learned to enjoy her own company—just her, her cats, her books, and the book boyfriends she made up.
Not that she had a choice. No one wanted to hang out with the ugliest girl in school, the one everyone said looked like she'd been cursed straight out of hell. She'd gotten used to it, convinced herself it didn't bother her anymore.
But now? Now, she wanted a friend more than anything. Someone real. Someone she could trust with her thoughts, who'd listen and actually understand her.
That thought barely formed before she was yanked back to reality—a sharp slap to her face sent her stumbling. The metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.
She didn't dare look up. Her bullies had made it clear a hundred times, "Someone as ugly as you doesn't deserve to even look at us." So she kept her gaze down, swallowing her anger.
"Sucks to be you, Eva," Ulia, one of her tormentors, said with a cruel smirk. "Clarissa just got dumped, and guess who's gonna pay for it?"
Ulia's words earned her a glare from Clarissa, who stepped forward, her face twisted with rage.
"What are you looking at?" Clarissa snapped at Evangeline.
Evangeline's mind conjured a thought based on repressed anger "Maybe your boyfriends wouldn't leave if you weren't such a mean b*tch
But of course, she'd never say that out loud.
Except… she had.
The silence that followed was louder than anything. Clarissa's eyes were wide with disbelief, and the other girls exchanged shocked glances.
"What did you just say to me?" Clarissa hissed, her voice dripping with fury.
Evangeline's heart sank. She didn't even have time to apologize before they all lunged at her. Hair pulling, kicks to her stomach, blows to her chest— she couldn't dare fight back. She didn't even scream. The sharp crack of her neck breaking was the last thing she heard before her vision blurred.
She was left lying on the cold, hard ground as their laughter faded. No one was coming to help. She had no family. No friends. Just her—18 years old, unloved, and alone.
And as her strength slipped away, she gave up. Maybe her next life would be better. Maybe she'd come back as someone beautiful, with a family and people who actually cared about her and maybe even a boyfriend.
Her eyes closed, and everything went dark.
Then she felt it. Falling. She landed softly, not on the ground, but on… a cloud? A lavender mist swirled around her as she opened her eyes.
She was no longer in her body. Instead, she was a glowing strange, warm energy form.
"Is this what dying feels like?" she murmured, glancing around at the endless field of tulips stretching to the horizon.
Before she could make sense of it, a translucent purple screen appeared in front of her, floating in midair.
"No way," she whispered. "Is this… is this what I think it is?"
Words appeared on the screen.
"Player 482, you have been selected by the Beauty System. You are being given a chance to start a new life."
Her chest tightened with a mix of shock and relief. Her mind reeled as the screen shifted.
"Accept the system?"
Two buttons appeared below the question, YES and NO.
Evangeline didn't need time to think. She glanced back at the memory of her old life—lonely, miserable, and filled with pain. She wouldn't miss any of it.
She raised her hand and hit YES.
The screen lit up.
"Integrating system and altering reality in 3… 2… 1…"
Everything faded to black.