The Future Texted Me the Truth, the Exam Bell Called Me to the Lies Chapter 01

The Future Texted Me the Truth, the Exam Bell Called Me to the Lies Chapter 01

A new app had been trending online lately — texting your future self.

Right before the final section of the state scholarship exam, I downloaded it out of curiosity and sent one message:

“Future me, did I marry Ethan Caldwell?”

The screen flashed. A text from an “Unknown Number” replied instantly.

“Yeah. The wedding was huge.”

I gripped my phone and typed fast.

“Was Soph Langford my maid of honor? She’s my best friend!”

The reply came just as quick. “She was. But she wasn’t just the maid of honor. She wasn’t just your maid of honor—she also became your husband’s wife on your wedding night.”

My smile froze.

The next message hit even harder.

“You never needed to deliberately keep your score down for him. He bombed his math section on purpose so he could stay in the same city as Soph, whose grades were at the bottom of the class.”

“He wanted you to give up admission to a top university just so Soph wouldn’t feel bad about doing worse than you.”

The warning bell rang outside the testing room.

I stood there, ice cold, unable to move.

The final text drove the nail in.

“If you don’t believe me, go to the budget motel behind the school after the test. You’ll see the truth.”

…

The proctor walked in and told everyone to power off their phones and place them in the collection bag.

I shut mine down on autopilot and dropped it in the collection bag.

Back at my desk, the test booklet landed in front of me.

The questions blurred in front of me. Those texts kept screaming in my head.

Two nights ago, Ethan had held my hand, looking so sincere. “Lila, I messed up my test today. There’s no way I’ll get into a top university.”

“Can you hand in a blank answer sheet for your last exam? Then you, me, and your best friend Soph can all go to the local college together. We’ll never have to split up.”

“As long as you stay with me, I swear I’ll only ever love you.”

I had been so touched. I agreed without hesitation.

For him, I was ready to give up my dream school.

But now that text told me he bombed on purpose — for Soph.

Soph was my best friend. Petite, sweet, always playing helpless, but her grades were terrible.

Ethan always said she was slow and pitiful, and told me to take care of her.

Were they really…

“Exam begins. Manage your time carefully,” the proctor announced.

I snapped back to reality and stared at my answer sheet.

If I left it blank, I’d get what he wanted. We’d all go to the same local college.

I gripped my pencil so hard the tip stabbed a black dot into the paper.

If the text was fake, I could just apologize later for scoring high.

But what if it was real? Was I really going to destroy twelve years of hard work for a guy who was betraying me?

No.

I took a deep breath, eyes stinging, but my hands stopped shaking.

I gave that exam everything I had. My pencil flew across the page, scratching rapidly over the paper.

I filled in every answer I had originally planned to leave blank.

The final bell rang across campus.

The SAT was over.

Outside the hall, cheers exploded. Some students tore up their textbooks. Others hugged and cried.

I grabbed my phone. The second it powered on, two messages popped up.

Ethan: [Babe, how’d it go? You left it blank, right? My mom suddenly took me back to our hometown to visit Grandma. Can’t hang with you and Soph tonight. Love you! I’ll make it up later!]

Then Soph’s message.

Soph: [Lila, my period hit hard and my stomach is killing me. Heading home to lie down. We were supposed to get BBQ to celebrate, but you two go on your date. Don’t worry about me.]

I tightened my grip on the phone. I already knew the answer.

Without that text, I would have ordered Soph something warm and told Ethan to drive safely.

Instead, I dodged the celebrating crowd and ran toward the back street behind the school.

Wind roared in my ears. My heart pounded like it wanted to burst out.

I had to see it for myself.

The budget motel’s hallway smelled like cheap air freshener. The worn carpet felt squishy under my shoes.

Following the room number from the text, I stopped outside the door, chest heaving.

Voices came from inside.