The Dead Girl's Wheel of Wish

On the seventh day after the girl everyone called the school beauty died, a mysterious Wheel of Wishes suddenly appeared on the school forum. At first, everyone assumed it was just a prank. Then the class president secretly spun the wheel and landed on "Future." The very next day, he was offered a guaranteed spot at a top university. Once word got out, nobody thought the wheel was ominous anymore. The school bully spun "Money," and his family won $5 million that very night. Even the girl's 200-pound desk mate, who had been mocked for years, landed on "Beauty" and woke up dramatically thinner, becoming the school's new beauty. As more wishes came true, the whole class went wild, scrambling for a chance to spin the wheel. My best friend was tempted, too. She said she did not want money or beauty. All she wanted was for her seriously ill mother to get better. But I snatched her phone and refused to let her participate. The whole class erupted. "Of course you don't care about anyone else's mother dying. Your mom's perfectly healthy!" "If her mom misses her only chance to live, you'll be a murderer!" "Who are you kidding with that holier-than-thou act? You're just afraid she'll get lucky and outshine a loser like you!" Even my best friend, her eyes red with tears, demanded to know why I was being so cruel, why I would take away her mother's only chance to live. But I was not being cruel. There was just one thing I could not understand. Would the school beauty who had been driven to jump from a building by vicious rumors really grant wishes from beyond the grave to the very people who helped destroy her? After all, when an avalanche came crashing down, not a single snowflake was innocent. Chapter 1 The Wheel of Wishes The day someone started spreading sexual rumors about Naomi Ellington, everyone in class claimed they were just watching the drama unfold. They had not taken the photos. They had not made the post. As for cornering Naomi and asking, "How much for a night?" or stuffing condoms into her backpack, those were just jokes. … After she jumped off the roof, they were even more innocent. "She was the one who couldn't handle it. What does that have to do with us?" I was the only one who remembered that the day before it happened, Naomi had been locked inside the girls' bathroom. When I broke the door open, she was sitting on the floor, clutching her soaked backpack, trembling from head to toe. She looked up at me and asked, "Clara, if enough people say something, does that make it true?" That day, I told her again and again that it was not true. But the next day, she still jumped from the roof. … Three months after her death, her old account suddenly posted something called the Wheel of Wishes. I did not believe she had come back to grant these people their wishes, so when Sophia Davenport tried to spin it, I snatched her phone away. "Give it back." Sophia reached for it, her eyes red. "The doctor says my mom has, at most, another week." "This wheel came out of nowhere. We don't know what it is." "But three people's wishes have already come true!" Her voice suddenly shot up. "Felix got guaranteed college admission, Gregory's family won $5 million, and Beatrice got prettier. What more proof do you need?" "I just want you to wait a little longer." "Wait for my mom to die?" The entire classroom went silent. Beatrice Winslow leaned against a desk and let out a mocking laugh. "Clara, her mom's lying in a hospital bed, and you're still playing detective? Besides, your mom isn't sick. Do you care whether someone else's mother lives or dies? Is proving you knew Naomi best really that important?" I stared at her coldly. "I'm just asking her to wait." "Wait for what? Until her mom takes her last breath? Then, are you going to hug Sophia and tell her you were only trying to help?" Laughter rippled through the room. The class president, Felix Montgomery, tapped his desk. "Clara, enough. The wheel has already granted three wishes. The facts are right in front of us. If you can't save someone, don't stop someone else from trying." I looked straight at him. "The person who posted the wheel is Naomi." "So?" Felix shrugged. "She came back to help us. That means she forgave everyone a long time ago. It was just a few comments back then. She was the one who couldn't handle it. Are we supposed to carry that guilt for the rest of our lives?" Beatrice covered her mouth as she laughed. "A certain someone really wants Naomi to hate us. After all, if the whole class is the villain, that makes her the only good person, doesn't it?" Someone immediately jumped in. "Maybe she's jealous of Sophia. If Sophia's mom gets better, she won't have to depend on Clara every day anymore. Of course she'd be upset if her best friend suddenly got a better life." Sophia's expression slowly changed. "Clara, is that really what you think?" "You believe that?" "Then, why won't you let me spin it?" I tightened my grip on the phone. "Because something about this feels wrong." "Feels wrong?" Her eyes were red, and her voice had gone cold. "My mom's life is on the line. Why should I trust your gut over that? You were so close to Naomi. Who knows what happened between you two when no one else was around?" I froze. Sophia bit her lip, as if she'd finally convinced herself. "The whole class made a few comments, and she jumped off the roof. It doesn't make sense. You were with her every day. And now you're doing everything you can to stop us from touching the wheel she left behind. Clara, do you know something?" The room fell silent. Suddenly, everyone was looking at me differently. Beatrice stared at me as if she had finally figured it out. "Wait a second. Naomi only ever hung around you when she was alive. Now that she's dead, you're the one who wants her to hate us most. Could it be that the one who really drove her to suicide has been pretending to be the good person all along?" My fingers shook with anger. "Do you all have no shame?" Felix snatched the phone from my hand and gave it back to Sophia. "Why are you getting so worked up? Did we hit a nerve?" Sophia clutched the phone tightly, her eyes filled with distrust. "Clara, if something happens to my mom, I won't let you get away with it." Chapter 2 The Wish Is Granted Sophia had just opened the post when the wheel suddenly started spinning on its own. The whole class crowded around her. The pointer swept past "Money," "Beauty," and "Love" before slowly coming to a stop on "Health." Cheers erupted across the classroom. "See? Naomi came back to save someone! She even knew exactly what Sophia needed!" A button appeared in the center of the screen. "Claim Your Wish." Sophia's trembling finger reached toward it. I rushed forward and turned off the screen. "Don't press it!" She jerked her hand away from me. "You're still trying to stop me?" "Why did the wheel start spinning on its own? Who's running this account? We don't even know what's going on." Beatrice rolled her eyes. "What, do we need an investigation before someone can be saved? Naomi's dead, and you're still doubting her. No wonder you were her only friend when she was alive. Maybe she couldn't stand you, either." I clenched my fists. "Shut up." "Am I wrong?" Beatrice leaned closer and lowered her voice. "You keep saying you were helping her. So, why did she jump without even telling you? Was it really that she didn't want to live, or did someone keep making her feel like the whole class couldn't stand her?" I slapped her pointing hand away. Beatrice's eyes immediately reddened. "Everyone, look. She's getting defensive again." Felix stepped in front of me. "Clara, quit the act. We really thought you and Naomi were close. But think about it. Who would stop a dead girl from granting someone's wish? You keep saying there's something wrong with the wheel. Are you afraid we'll find out that you're the one Naomi really hated?" The more they talked, the more convinced everyone became. "That has to be it. She was jealous of Sophia and used Naomi to make herself look good. Now Naomi's back to grant Sophia's wish. Doesn't that expose her?" Sophia stared at me. Whatever hesitation she had left was gone. "Clara, move." "Sophia—" "Stop it!" Her voice trembled. "I trusted you too much. You told me Naomi was being bullied, so I stayed away from everyone else with you. Now that I think about it, everything I knew came from you. I never saw any of it myself." My heart sank. "You forgot what they wrote on her desk?" "What does writing on a desk prove?" Beatrice immediately chimed in. "Maybe she wrote it herself just to make you feel sorry for her." The whole class burst out laughing. I tried to rush over and grab the phone, but several girls immediately blocked me. No one hit me. They simply stood shoulder to shoulder, forcing me to the back. "Don't let her mess this up. This is Naomi giving Sophia a chance." One of the boys took the phone and grinned. "Sophia, can't bring yourself to do it? Want me to?" Sophia nodded through her tears. "No!" I shoved past the person in front of me. But the finger had already pressed "Claim Your Wish." The phone chimed with a ding. "Wish claimed successfully." Sophia covered her mouth, laughing through her tears. "My mom's going to be okay!" Everyone crowded around her, congratulating her. I was the only one left outside the circle, growing more and more uneasy. Beatrice turned around and smiled at me. "Quit looking so miserable. Anyone would think it was your mom who was dying, not Sophia's." Chapter 3 Turning Against Me The hospital called during lunch. Sophia put the call on speaker, and the doctor's excited voice filled the classroom. Her mother was awake. The lesions had shrunk rapidly, and her test results were returning to normal. Sophia cried as she made the doctor confirm it several times. The moment the call ended, the whole class erupted. "She's really better!" "Naomi was so kind!" "Guess a certain someone has nothing to say now!" I stood outside the crowd, and for the first time, I wavered. Could I really have been wrong? But the doubt lasted only a moment. Someone who had been dead for three months. A wish wheel that had appeared out of nowhere. A good outcome, at least for now, did not mean we could stop being cautious. "I'm glad your mom is getting better, too." I looked at Sophia. "But she still needs to be monitored. You'd better keep all her test reports. And don't touch that wheel again." The smile vanished from her face. "So, you're still hoping something happens to my mom?" "I never said that." "Then, why can't you admit it? The wheel is a gift Naomi left us." Felix gave a cold laugh. "Because if she admits it, she won't be able to keep pretending. Naomi didn't hate us. That proves we never drove her to that. If anything, the person who claimed to be closest to her is more suspicious." Beatrice pulled out her phone and pointed the camera at my face. "Clara, apologize to Sophia. Then apologize to Naomi." I blocked the camera. "Why should I apologize?" "You almost stopped Sophia from saving her mom." "I stopped her because I had no idea what that wheel was." "Now you do. It's a gift Naomi left us!" I looked at them, unable to believe the irony. When Naomi was alive, they called her dirty and accused her of putting on an act. Now that she was dead and the wheel was giving them what they wanted, she had suddenly become the kindest person they knew. What right did people like them have to demand that I apologize to her? "I'm not apologizing." Sophia suddenly took off the bracelet I had given her and threw it at my feet. "Then, we have nothing left to say to each other. Anyone who can't even be happy that my mom is getting better doesn't deserve to be my friend." … That afternoon, a video of me stopping Sophia from claiming her wish was posted in the school group chat. The video had been edited down to show only me grabbing the phone and stopping Sophia from claiming her wish. The title read, "The Person Who Drove Naomi to Her Death Is Now Trying to Kill Sophia's Mom." The next day, my desk had been moved into the girls' bathroom. My backpack was soaked in the mop sink. My workbooks had been torn apart and scattered across the floor. The word "Murderer" was written all over the back of my school uniform. I dragged my desk back into the classroom. They carried it away again right in front of me. When I tried to stop them, Beatrice raised her phone and laughed. "Don't touch me. I don't want to become the next Naomi." "This is bullying." Felix frowned. "Don't throw that word around. We're just demanding justice for Naomi." Sophia stood among the crowd and enunciated clearly, "Clara, you know exactly what you did to Naomi." Chapter 4 The Wishes Must Be Repaid Over the next two days, more and more people spun the Wheel of Wishes. One person received a confession from their crush. Another went from near the bottom of the grade rankings to the top 100. One person's parents got back together. Another won a championship. Every wish came true, exactly as promised. The whole class went wild. They became convinced that Naomi had made peace with them. They also became convinced that I was the only one who had done anything wrong. They moved my desk next to the trash can and smeared glue on my chair. They cut up my cafeteria card. They blacked out my homework. Every day, new words appeared on my desk. "Why don't you go and keep her company?" I fought back. I tore down the photos they had put up on the walls. I poured the water they had dumped on my desk right back at them. I also saved every secretly recorded video they had posted in the class group chat. But there were 46 of them. I could deal with one person. I could not fight all of them. … In the end, they dragged me into the bathroom stall where Naomi had once been locked in. Someone pinned my hands down while someone else snatched my phone. Beatrice held up the Wheel of Wishes in front of me. "You're the only one in the class who hasn't spun it. Just spin it. Prove you had nothing to do with Naomi's death." I leaned against the stall door and looked at her coldly. "What would that prove?" "Naomi grants wishes to good people." She smiled as if it were obvious. "You've been afraid to spin it this whole time because you know she won't forgive you, right?" Sophia stood beside her. "Clara, stop pretending. If there's nothing to hide, why have you kept trying to stop me? Did you think that if my mom passed away, no one would be able to expose you?" I looked at her, and the last bit of warmth in my chest went cold. "Sophia, you know how I helped Naomi back then." "All I know is that you were the last person she saw before she died." She looked away. "The whole class only made a few jokes, but she jumped off the building right after seeing you. Can you honestly say you had nothing to do with it?" Everyone crowded around me again. Someone held me by the shoulders. Someone else grabbed my hand, trying to press it onto the wheel. "Get revenge for Naomi!" "Make her spin!" "If Naomi won't grant her wish, that proves she's the killer!" I struggled to break free, my hand slamming against the wall. Beatrice grabbed my index finger and forced it toward the screen. "Stop pretending. Everyone else spun it and turned out fine. What could possibly go wrong?" That was what I had never been able to understand. Why did the wheel only bring good things? Why had Naomi invited the entire class instead of just certain people? If it really only granted wishes, why did everyone have to participate? What did this wheel actually want from them? For a moment, I saw Naomi curled up in this same stall. That day, she had been surrounded just like this. Everyone had laughed. Everyone had said it was only a joke. Every time she tried to explain herself, ten more voices drowned her out. Back then, she'd cried as she told me, "Clara, they've already decided I'm a bad person. No matter what I say, it only makes them more excited." And now they were surrounding me again, using the excuse of getting justice for her to repeat everything they had once done to her. How ridiculous. They had never thought Naomi was innocent. They only needed a reason to prove they had always been right. I closed my eyes and silently asked, 'Naomi, was it like this for you, too? You hadn't done anything wrong, yet they'd driven you to the point where you didn't even have a place to stand and speak.' "Hurry up!" Beatrice held my hand in a death grip, my fingertip just short of the wheel. Just as I was about to touch the screen, everyone's phones rang at once. A text slowly appeared on the wheel. "All 46 wishes have been claimed. Now, please choose how you will repay them."