🗡️ Forward Without Him – They Stole Her College Spot and Her Boyfriend. She Walked Away with Both.─影片 Dailymotion

Karma Reels

😊Click to download the app to watch all episodes for free: https://reelslink.com/marketing/PxaDUT 📺Click ReelShort site link to see FULL HD Episodes 🔖https://www.reelshort.com/full-episodes/forward-without-him-6ab3cc6bccf5221f6c029385 📢Notice: Karma Reels is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.  Karma served me Forward Without Him and this one is a cold, quiet devastation.  Taylor's Columbia acceptance arrives. She's on top of the world. She secretly flies to New York to surprise her boyfriend Ethan and her best friend Lexi. Instead, she overhears everything. The truth spills out. They secretly altered her application. They made her miss the deadline. They stole her spot. And they've been dating behind her back for a year.  Ethan promises Lexi he'll stay with her until fall. Then he'll go back to being Taylor's boyfriend. Like Taylor is a backup plan. Like her entire life wasn't built on their betrayal.  Taylor stands outside, holding cupcakes and sunflowers, and realizes the truth. So she does the only thing she can. She walks away. And she never looks back.  This is peak quiet strength with a revenge arc that actually delivers. If you love stories where the betrayed one finally chooses herself, watch this.  — K, karma is a dish best served on screen 🥂

Transcript

00:00:04I thought back to last May 1st. That was Lexi's birthday. It was also the day I found out I

00:00:09was locked out of my dream school for good. I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't

00:00:14believe it. My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us. Both of them had

00:00:17gotten into Columbia without a problem. Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot. My parents panicked and called the

00:00:23admissions office. That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before

00:00:28the deadline.

00:00:29How is that even possible? The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry. Your record is outstanding. If we'd received the confirmation,

00:00:36you absolutely would have been on the fall roster. But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:00:41There's nothing we can do on our end. Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation? I was

00:00:45devastated. I couldn't accept it. And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me. Taylor, my birthday party's starting. Get over here. Ethan's

00:00:52already here. We're just waiting on you. I told them what happened. Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me

00:00:56feel better. Oh my God. How does that even happen?

00:00:59These things happen to everyone sometimes. So what are you going to do now? If all else fails, pick up

00:01:03some credits at community college and transfer next year? I looked at my parents' worried faces. I thought about four

00:01:09years of work. No. I'm taking a gap year and reapplying. There was a beat of silence on the call,

00:01:14then Ethan's voice.

00:01:15With your record, community college will be a waste of your time. Focus on reapplying. Lexi and I will be

00:01:20waiting for you at Columbia. Ethan's right. Then my birthday wish this year is for our Taylor to get her

00:01:25Columbia offer next year. No problem.

00:01:27Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak. Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned

00:01:32together. All of it just to hide what they were doing. To make her real birthday wish come true. Dating

00:01:37my boyfriend.

00:01:42The day my Columbia acceptance letter arrived, I kept it a secret from everyone. Flew to New York to surprise

00:01:47my boyfriend Ethan and my best friend Lexi. Instead, I overheard them confess it themselves. To keep dating behind my

00:01:52back. They'd altered my application, costing me an entire gap year.

00:01:56Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close? I wish she'd never gotten to Columbia.

00:02:03Don't say that. Last year, to make your birthday wish come true, the one where you wanted to date me,

00:02:08we snuck into her college application portal and clicked decline offer before decision day.

00:02:13Made her miss the deadline. She had to take a whole gap year because of us. We've been dating here

00:02:17in New York behind her back this entire time. That's already bad enough.

00:02:20When she moves to the city, I'll go back to being her boyfriend. Obviously.

00:02:26So we can still keep meeting like this? In secret?

00:02:28As long as Taylor doesn't find out.

00:02:30Right then, I was standing there. A complete joke. Ethan kept going, comforting her.

00:02:34I promised you a full year as your guy. Not one day less.

00:02:37Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year. It runs through May 1st this year. I'll give you an

00:02:42extra three months on top of that. I'm yours. Until the fall semester starts.

00:02:46I already told Taylor I'm staying in New York this summer to do pre-med clinical volunteering at Mount Simi,

00:02:50not going home.

00:02:51We'll stay in the city together. Whatever you want to do, I'm there.

00:03:03I thought back to last May 1st. That was Lexi's birthday.

00:03:06It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:03:09I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:03:12My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:03:15Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem. Only me, somehow, impossibly, had lost my spot.

00:03:20My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:03:22That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:03:27How is that even possible?

00:03:29The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:03:31Your record is outstanding.

00:03:33If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:03:36But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:03:39There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:03:40Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:03:43I was devastated. I couldn't accept it.

00:03:46And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:03:47Taylor! My birthday party's starting! Get over here!

00:03:50Ethan's already here! We're just waiting on you!

00:03:52I told them what happened.

00:03:53Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:03:55Oh my god!

00:03:56How does that even happen?

00:03:58These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:03:59So what are you going to do now?

00:04:00If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:04:04I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:04:06I thought about four years of work.

00:04:08No. I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:04:10There was a beat of silence on the call, then Ethan's voice.

00:04:13With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:04:16Focus on reapplying.

00:04:18Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:04:20Ethan's right.

00:04:21Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:04:24No problem.

00:04:25Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:04:29Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:04:31All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:04:33To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:04:35Dating my boyfriend.

00:04:38I knew Lexi had a boyfriend once she got to New York.

00:04:40That part didn't surprise me.

00:04:42What I didn't know was that her boyfriend and my boyfriend were the same person.

00:04:45She texted me constantly, every day, sharing little updates about this amazing guy she was seeing.

00:04:50I was home grinding through essays and AP coursework.

00:04:52Every weekend, I'd unlock my phone to a wall of unread messages for her.

00:04:55My boyfriend sat in on my sociology lecture today.

00:05:02The professor called on him randomly, and he completely blanked.

00:05:06I'm dead.

00:05:07He'd been eyeing this vintage turntable for a while, so, drumroll, I bought it for him.

00:05:12We got a hotel room last night.

00:05:14He's so hot.

00:05:17Hey, Taylor, have you and Ethan ever actually done it?

00:05:20No.

00:05:22Ethan and I had made it official on prom night.

00:05:25After that, it was straight into the chaos of application season.

00:05:28There wasn't exactly a lot of time for anything else, and then the whole mess with my acceptance happened.

00:05:32And that killed whatever mood was left.

00:05:33When Lexi heard Ethan and I hadn't gone all the way, she sent back a voice note that was practically

00:05:37a performance.

00:05:38No?

00:05:39No way!

00:05:40No way!

00:05:41No way!

00:05:46Taylor, don't you know, if a guy doesn't even want to sleep with you, he's not actually into you.

00:05:50Oops, did I say something wrong?

00:05:52I swear I'm not trying to start anything.

00:05:55Looking back, every single one of those messages was loaded.

00:05:58I was too stressed out from applications to catch it at the time.

00:06:01I just changed the subject.

00:06:03Anyway, you move fast.

00:06:05You got a boyfriend your first week of school at some party?

00:06:07What does he look like?

00:06:08Send a pic.

00:06:09Let me see if he's good enough for you.

00:06:11One word.

00:06:12Hot.

00:06:12How hot?

00:06:13Hot enough that the second you saw his face, you'd pass out on the spot.

00:06:17But he hates photos, so no pics for you.

00:06:19And now, standing outside the apartment, watching the two of them together, I genuinely felt a little dizzy.

00:06:25What are you up to?

00:06:31At the hospital doing shadowing, completely slammed.

00:06:34I held down the nausea and replied,

00:06:36Take a pic of the hospital and send it to me.

00:06:39Again?

00:06:40Why does she keep bothering you?

00:06:41She's taking up time that's supposed to be mine.

00:06:43She said it like she was the real girlfriend.

00:06:45Like I was some unhinged stalker.

00:06:48Good thing I'm careful.

00:06:49I got photos of a hospital hallway from an upperclassman ahead of time.

00:06:52Covers it.

00:06:52Lexi still wasn't happy.

00:06:53She pushed a little further.

00:06:54You're that scared of her finding out?

00:06:56You could just tell her about us?

00:06:59If she really cares about you, really thinks of me as her best friend,

00:07:01how could she even be mad?

00:07:03Don't.

00:07:03Whatever's going on between us, she cannot find out.

00:07:06Ever.

00:07:06Lexi read his face and switched gears fast.

00:07:09Okay, okay, forget it.

00:07:10Don't go back to the dorms tonight.

00:07:13Let's do something fun.

00:07:15That desperate?

00:07:20I'll take care of it tonight.

00:07:22ER is slammed.

00:07:23Hospital has strict HIPAA requirements.

00:07:25Phone access is limited until this is over.

00:07:27Don't worry.

00:07:27Love you.

00:07:28I read every word.

00:07:29Then I texted my parents.

00:07:30Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Columbia.

00:07:33I'm accepting MIT's offer.

00:07:38They called immediately.

00:07:40Sweetie, what happened?

00:07:41What changed?

00:07:41You've been talking about Columbia for a year.

00:07:43Being in New York with Lexi and Ethan.

00:07:45Lexi and Ethan are together.

00:07:46My mom pulled a sharp breath on the other end.

00:07:48What?

00:07:49But at prom last year, Ethan was...

00:07:51She stopped herself.

00:07:52Like she just figured something out.

00:07:53Didn't finish the sentence.

00:07:54I was the one reassuring them.

00:07:56My application this year was stronger.

00:07:58I got into MIT.

00:07:59Physics at MIT is better than Columbia by a long shot anyway.

00:08:02I was willing to go to New York because I had people there.

00:08:05Turns out those two aren't worth giving up the top engineering school in the country.

00:08:08I'll talk later.

00:08:09I need to book a flight home.

00:08:10Tonight I want your barbecue.

00:08:11My dad's voice came through, anger barely under control.

00:08:14We were all fooled.

00:08:15Lexi's private high school tuition, her college tuition right now.

00:08:19Your mother and I have been paying all of it.

00:08:21If this is how she's going to treat you, we are done being her ATM next semester.

00:08:25Done.

00:08:26Okay.

00:08:26Lexi and I had grown up together.

00:08:28She came from a broken home, ninth grade.

00:08:30Her parents divorced and moved to separate states.

00:08:32Left her behind.

00:08:33No plan for her education, nothing.

00:08:35I was the one who begged my parents to step in.

00:08:37Mom, Dad, can we please help her?

00:08:38She doesn't even have money to finish high school.

00:08:41Just think of it as charity.

00:08:42When we're in college, we'll get jobs and pay you back.

00:08:44My parents didn't even hesitate.

00:08:46They said yes.

00:08:46Paid her private high school tuition.

00:08:48Let her move into the guest room.

00:08:49Covered Columbia's 80-something thousand a year in tuition and housing without blinking.

00:08:53Taylor, I will never forget what your family has done for me.

00:08:55When I graduate and land something on Wall Street, I'll pay back every cent with interest.

00:08:59Turns out this was her version of paying it back.

00:09:03I turned around and called an Uber to JFK Airport.

00:09:15Boyfriend booked the room.

00:09:16$2,000 a night.

00:09:18He wants me to put in the effort tonight.

00:09:19What do you think I should do for him?

00:09:20I thought back to a night three months before the application deadline.

00:09:23I was barely holding it together.

00:09:25I called Ethan.

00:09:27Taylor?

00:09:27Can you come home this weekend?

00:09:29Just once?

00:09:29I really need you.

00:09:30He said no without missing a beat.

00:09:32Taylor, I genuinely can't afford the train ticket right now.

00:09:34You haven't been here yet.

00:09:35You don't know how expensive New York is.

00:09:37There's always something to spend money on.

00:09:39My coursework is brutal.

00:09:40I can't carve out the time.

00:09:42Can you try to be a little more mature about this?

00:09:46Couldn't scrape together a $40 train fare.

00:09:48But a $2,000 hotel suite?

00:09:49No problem.

00:09:50Brutal coursework, I'm sure.

00:09:52Racing to spend every available minute with my best friend.

00:09:56BFF jealous?

00:09:56I bet you've never stayed at a plaza suite.

00:09:59When you move to New York, I'll have my boyfriend book you your own room for a night.

00:10:02Just you, all to yourself.

00:10:07Reading her smug little mean girl tone, I almost felt sick.

00:10:10I didn't reply.

00:10:15Lexi didn't hear back from Taylor and didn't think much of it.

00:10:18She figured Taylor was just too jealous to respond, which honestly made sense.

00:10:22Lexi had spent the last year living her best college life, using Taylor's parents' card,

00:10:27going everywhere with Taylor's boyfriend.

00:10:29And Taylor, still home, hunched over essays.

00:10:34Her main priority now was locking Ethan down for good.

00:10:37She was dying to rub all of it in Taylor's face.

00:10:40But the timing wasn't right yet.

00:10:42For one thing, Ethan still felt guilty about Taylor.

00:10:46He'd been enjoying what she'd essentially handed him.

00:10:48But Lexi could tell, in the back of his mind, Ethan still saw Taylor as the right kind of girl.

00:10:53The one you actually end up with.

00:10:55If she pushed him into a confrontation with Taylor now,

00:10:58there was a real chance Ethan would panic and drop her to try to fix things.

00:11:01That was not the ending she was going for.

00:11:03Her plan was to replace Taylor in his head slowly, step by step,

00:11:07until Ethan was the one who called it.

00:11:09That moment hadn't come yet.

00:11:10And for another thing, she still needed Taylor's parents to cover the rest of her tuition.

00:11:14She could not blow this up too early.

00:11:15Although Ethan's family had money.

00:11:17Real money.

00:11:17Once she had him fully, tuition would be the least of her problems.

00:11:20She was still running through the fantasy.

00:11:24Who are you texting?

00:11:26Nobody.

00:11:27Ethan.

00:11:28For the next two months, can you stop talking to Taylor?

00:11:30I want you completely to myself.

00:11:32That worshipful, clingy thing she did worked on him every time.

00:11:35He didn't mind giving her that.

00:11:36It was a small ask.

00:11:37She only had two months of being his anyway, officially.

00:11:40After that, he and Taylor had all the day in the word.

00:11:42The volunteer program here is really demanding.

00:11:44There are strict rules around phone use.

00:11:46I'll be hard to reach for a while, slow to respond.

00:11:48Don't worry.

00:11:49I'll pick you up from the airport on move-in day.

00:11:53You're the best.

00:11:53I got that text, sitting at my kitchen table, eating barbecue.

00:11:58This little...

00:11:59He's still lying to you?

00:12:00Right now?

00:12:01Block him.

00:12:02Block both of them.

00:12:03So disgusting.

00:12:04Done.

00:12:05All blocked.

00:12:06Those two are never touching my life again.

00:12:09Time moved fast.

00:12:10Before long, it was move-in day.

00:12:14The last messages were from the day the results came out.

00:12:18Him telling her not to contact him over the summer.

00:12:21Ethan, I'm finally coming to New York to find you.

00:12:23He'd told her not to reach out, fine.

00:12:25But she'd actually gone the whole summer without sending a single text.

00:12:30Still, today was the day she was flying in.

00:12:32He let it go and started typing.

00:12:36Babe, are you at the airport yet?

00:12:38I'll come get you.

00:12:42He'd been blocked.

00:12:43He figured he'd misread it.

00:12:45What was going on?

00:12:52He called her straight to voicemail.

00:12:55The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

00:13:01That line, too.

00:13:02Blocked.

00:13:10I thought back to last May 1st.

00:13:12That was Lexi's birthday.

00:13:14It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:13:17I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:13:20My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:13:23Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:13:25Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot.

00:13:28My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:13:30That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline

00:13:33and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:13:35How is that even possible?

00:13:37The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:13:39Your record is outstanding.

00:13:40If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:13:44But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:13:47There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:13:48Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:13:51I was devastated.

00:13:52I couldn't accept it.

00:13:53And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:13:55Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:13:57Get over here.

00:13:57Ethan's already here.

00:13:58We're just waiting on you.

00:13:59I told them what happened.

00:14:01Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:14:03Oh my god.

00:14:04How does that even happen?

00:14:05These things happen to everyone sometime.

00:14:07So what are you going to do now?

00:14:08If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:14:12I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:14:14I thought about four years of work.

00:14:16No.

00:14:16I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:14:18There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:14:20Then Ethan's voice.

00:14:21With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:14:24Focus on reapplying.

00:14:25Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:14:28Ethan's right.

00:14:28Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:14:32No problem.

00:14:33Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:14:36Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:14:39All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:14:41To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:14:43Dating my boyfriend.

00:14:48The day my Columbia acceptance letter arrived, I kept it a secret from everyone.

00:14:52Flew to New York to surprise my boyfriend Ethan and my best friend Lexi.

00:14:55Instead, I overheard them confess it themselves.

00:14:57To keep dating behind my back.

00:14:59They'd altered my application, costing me an entire gap year.

00:15:02Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close?

00:15:06I wish she'd never gotten to Columbia.

00:15:09Don't say that.

00:15:10Last year, to make your birthday wish come true, with the one where you wanted to date me,

00:15:14we snuck into her college application portal and clicked decline offer before decision day.

00:15:19Made her miss the deadline.

00:15:21She had to take a whole gap year because of us.

00:15:23We've been dating here in New York behind her back this entire time.

00:15:25That's already bad enough.

00:15:26When she moves to the city, I'll go back to being her boyfriend.

00:15:29Obviously.

00:15:31So we can still keep meeting like this?

00:15:33In secret?

00:15:34As long as Taylor doesn't find out.

00:15:36Right then, I was standing there.

00:15:37A complete joke.

00:15:38Ethan kept going, comforting her.

00:15:40I promised you a full year as your guy.

00:15:42Not one day less.

00:15:43Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year.

00:15:46It runs through May 1st this year.

00:15:48I'll give you an extra three months on top of that.

00:15:49I'm yours.

00:15:51Until the fall semester starts.

00:15:52I already told Taylor I'm staying in New York this summer.

00:15:54To do pre-med clinical volunteering at Mount Simai.

00:15:56Not going home.

00:15:57We'll stay in the city together.

00:15:59Whatever you want to do, I'm there.

00:16:09I thought back to last May 1st.

00:16:11That was Lexi's birthday.

00:16:12It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:16:15I'd stared at my student portal showing, offer declined, and couldn't believe it.

00:16:18My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:16:21Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:16:23Only me, somehow, impossibly, had lost my spot.

00:16:26My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:16:28That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:16:33How is that even possible?

00:16:35The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:16:37Your record is outstanding.

00:16:39If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:16:42But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:16:45There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:16:46Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:16:49I was devastated.

00:16:50I couldn't accept it.

00:16:51And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:16:53Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:16:55Get over here.

00:16:56Ethan's already here.

00:16:56We're just waiting on you.

00:16:57I told them what happened.

00:16:59Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:17:01Oh my god.

00:17:02How does that even happen?

00:17:03These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:17:05So what are you going to do now?

00:17:06If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:17:10I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:17:12I thought about four years of work.

00:17:14No.

00:17:14I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:17:16There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:17:18Then Ethan's voice.

00:17:19With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:17:22Focus on reapplying.

00:17:24Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:17:26Ethan's right.

00:17:27Then my birthday wish this year is for our Taylor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:17:30No problem.

00:17:31Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:17:34Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:17:37All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:17:39To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:17:41Dating my boyfriend.

00:17:43I knew Lexi had a boyfriend once she got to New York.

00:17:46That part didn't surprise me.

00:17:48What I didn't know was that her boyfriend and my boyfriend were the same person.

00:17:51She texted me constantly.

00:17:53Every day, sharing little updates about this amazing guy she was seeing.

00:17:56I was home grinding through essays and AP coursework.

00:17:58Every weekend, I'd unlock my phone to a wall of unread messages.

00:18:01My boyfriend sat in on my sociology lecture today.

00:18:08The professor called on him randomly, and he completely blanked.

00:18:12I'm dead.

00:18:13He'd been eyeing this vintage turntable for a while, so, drum roll, I bought it for him.

00:18:18We got a hotel room last night.

00:18:20He's so hot.

00:18:23Hey, Taylor, have you and Ethan ever actually done it?

00:18:26No.

00:18:27Ethan and I had made it official on prom night.

00:18:31After that, it was straight into the chaos of application season.

00:18:34There wasn't exactly a lot of time for anything else, and then the whole mess with my acceptance happened.

00:18:38And that killed whatever mood was left.

00:18:39When Lexi heard Ethan and I hadn't gone all the way, she sent back a voice note that was practically

00:18:43a performance.

00:18:44No?

00:18:45No way!

00:18:52Taylor, don't you know?

00:18:53If a guy doesn't even want to sleep with you, he's not actually into you.

00:18:56Oops.

00:18:57Did I say something wrong?

00:18:58I swear I'm not trying to start anything.

00:19:01Looking back, every single one of those messages was loaded.

00:19:04I was too stressed out from applications to catch it at the time.

00:19:07I just changed the subject.

00:19:09Anyway, you move fast.

00:19:10You got a boyfriend your first week of school at some party.

00:19:13What does he look like?

00:19:14Send a pic.

00:19:15Let me see if he's good enough for you.

00:19:17One word.

00:19:18Hot.

00:19:18How hot?

00:19:19Hot enough that the second you saw his face, you'd pass out on the spot.

00:19:23But he hates photos, so no pics for you.

00:19:25And now, standing outside the apartment, watching the two of them together, I genuinely felt a little dizzy.

00:19:31What are you up to?

00:19:37At the hospital doing shadowing, completely slammed.

00:19:39I held down the nausea and replied,

00:19:41Take a pic of the hospital and send it to me.

00:19:45Again?

00:19:46Why does she keep bothering you?

00:19:47She's taking up time that's supposed to be mine.

00:19:49She said it like she was the real girlfriend.

00:19:51Like I was some unhinged stalker.

00:19:54Good thing I'm careful.

00:19:55I got photos of a hospital hallway from an upperclassman ahead of time.

00:19:58Covers it.

00:19:58Lexi still wasn't happy.

00:19:59She pushed a little further.

00:20:00You're that scared of her finding out?

00:20:02You could just tell her about us.

00:20:04If she really cares about you, really thinks of me as her best friend, how could she even be mad?

00:20:09Don't.

00:20:09Whatever's going on between us, she cannot find out.

00:20:11Ever.

00:20:12Lexi read his face and switched gears fast.

00:20:15Okay, okay, forget it.

00:20:16Don't go back to the dorms tonight.

00:20:19Let's do something fun.

00:20:21That desperate?

00:20:26I'll take care of it tonight.

00:20:28ER is slammed.

00:20:29Hospital has strict HIPAA requirements.

00:20:31Phone access is limited until this is over.

00:20:33Don't worry.

00:20:33Love you.

00:20:34I read every word.

00:20:35Then I texted my parents.

00:20:36Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Columbia.

00:20:39I'm accepting MIT's offer.

00:20:44They called immediately.

00:20:46Sweetie, what happened?

00:20:47What changed?

00:20:47You've been talking about Columbia for a year.

00:20:49Being in New York with Lexi and Ethan.

00:20:51Lexi and Ethan are together.

00:20:52My mom pulled a sharp breath on the other end.

00:20:54What?

00:20:55But at prom last year, Ethan was...

00:20:57She stopped herself.

00:20:58Like she just figured something out.

00:20:59Didn't finish the sentence.

00:21:00I was the one reassuring them.

00:21:02My application this year was stronger.

00:21:03I got into MIT.

00:21:05Physics at MIT is better than Columbia by a long shot anyway.

00:21:07I was willing to go to New York because I had people there.

00:21:10Turns out those two aren't worth giving up the top engineering school in the country.

00:21:14I'll talk later.

00:21:15I need to book a flight home.

00:21:16Tonight I want your barbecue.

00:21:17My dad's voice came through, anger barely under control.

00:21:20We were all fooled.

00:21:21Lexi's private high school tuition.

00:21:23Her college tuition right now.

00:21:25Your mother and I have been paying all of it.

00:21:27If this is how she's going to treat you, we are done being her ATM next semester.

00:21:30Done.

00:21:31Okay.

00:21:32Lexi and I had grown up together.

00:21:34She came from a broken home.

00:21:35Ninth grade, her parents divorced and moved to separate states.

00:21:38Left her behind.

00:21:39No plan for her education.

00:21:40Nothing.

00:21:41I was the one who begged my parents to step in.

00:21:43Mom, Dad, can we please help her?

00:21:45She doesn't even have money to finish high school.

00:21:47Just think of it as charity.

00:21:48When we're in college, we'll get jobs and pay you back.

00:21:50My parents didn't even hesitate.

00:21:52They said yes.

00:21:52Paid her private high school tuition.

00:21:54Let her move into the guest room.

00:21:55Covered Columbia's 80-something thousand a year in tuition and housing without blinking.

00:21:59Taylor, I will never forget what your family has done for me.

00:22:01When I graduate and land something on Wall Street, I'll pay back every cent with interest.

00:22:05Turns out this was her version of paying it back.

00:22:09I turned around and called an Uber to JFK Airport.

00:22:21Boyfriend booked the room.

00:22:22Two thousand dollars a night.

00:22:23He wants me to put in the effort tonight.

00:22:25What do you think I should do for him?

00:22:26I thought back to a night three months before the application deadline.

00:22:29I was barely holding it together.

00:22:31I called Ethan.

00:22:33Taylor?

00:22:33Can you come home this weekend?

00:22:35Just once?

00:22:35I really need you.

00:22:36He said no without missing a beat.

00:22:38Taylor, I genuinely can't afford the train ticket right now.

00:22:40You haven't been here yet.

00:22:41You don't know how expensive New York is.

00:22:43There's always something to spend money on.

00:22:45My coursework is brutal.

00:22:46I can't carve out the time.

00:22:48Can you try to be a little more mature about this?

00:22:51Couldn't scrape together a $40 train fare.

00:22:54But a $2,000 hotel suite?

00:22:55No problem.

00:22:56Brutal coursework.

00:22:57Sure.

00:22:58Racing to spend every available minute with my best friend.

00:23:01BFF jealous?

00:23:03I bet you've never stayed in a plaza suite.

00:23:05When you move to New York, I'll have my boyfriend book you your own room for a night.

00:23:08Just you.

00:23:09All to yourself.

00:23:10All to yourself.

00:23:12Reading her smug little mean girl tone, I almost felt sick.

00:23:16I didn't reply.

00:23:21Lexi didn't hear back from Taylor and didn't think much of it.

00:23:24She figured Taylor was just too jealous to respond, which honestly made sense.

00:23:29Lexi had spent the last year living her best college life, using Taylor's parents' card,

00:23:33going everywhere with Taylor's boyfriend.

00:23:35And Taylor, still home, hunched over essays.

00:23:40Her main priority now was locking Ethan down for good.

00:23:43She was dying to rub all of it in Taylor's face.

00:23:46But the timing wasn't right yet.

00:23:48For one thing, Ethan still felt guilty about Taylor.

00:23:51He'd been enjoying what she'd essentially handed him.

00:23:54But Lexi could tell, in the back of his mind, Ethan still saw Taylor as the right kind of girl.

00:23:59The one you actually end up with.

00:24:01If she pushed him into a confrontation with Taylor now, there was a real chance Ethan would panic

00:24:05and drop her to try to fix things.

00:24:07That was not the ending she was going for.

00:24:09Her plan was to replace Taylor in his head slowly, step by step, until Ethan was the one who called

00:24:14it.

00:24:15That moment hadn't come yet.

00:24:16And for another thing, she still needed Taylor's parents to cover the rest of her tuition.

00:24:20She could not blow this up too early.

00:24:21Although Ethan's family had money, real money.

00:24:23Once she had him fully, tuition would be the least of her problems.

00:24:26She was still running through the fantasy.

00:24:30Who are you texting?

00:24:32Nobody.

00:24:33Ethan.

00:24:34For the next two months, can you stop talking to Taylor?

00:24:36I want you completely to myself.

00:24:38That worshipful, clingy thing she did worked on him every time.

00:24:41He didn't mind giving her that.

00:24:42It was a small ask.

00:24:43She only had two months of being his anyway, officially.

00:24:46After that, he and Taylor had all the day in the word.

00:24:47The volunteer program here is really demanding.

00:24:50There are strict rules around phone use.

00:24:52I'll be hard to reach for a while, slow to respond.

00:24:54Don't worry.

00:24:55I'll pick you up from the airport on move-in day.

00:24:58You're the best.

00:25:00I got that text, sitting at my kitchen table, eating barbecue.

00:25:04This little...

00:25:04He's still lying to you?

00:25:06Right now?

00:25:07Block him.

00:25:08Block both of them.

00:25:09So disgusting.

00:25:10Done.

00:25:11All blocked.

00:25:12Those two are never touching my life again.

00:25:15Time moved fast.

00:25:16Before long, it was move-in day.

00:25:20The last messages were from the day the results came out.

00:25:23Him telling her not to contact him over the summer.

00:25:27Ethan, I'm finally coming to New York to find you.

00:25:29He told her not to reach out, fine.

00:25:31But she'd actually gone the whole summer without sending a single text.

00:25:35Still, today was the day she was flying in.

00:25:38He let it go and started typing.

00:25:42Babe, are you at the airport yet?

00:25:44I'll come get you.

00:25:48He'd been blocked.

00:25:49He figured he'd misread it.

00:25:51What was going on?

00:25:58He called her straight to voicemail.

00:26:01The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

00:26:06That line, too.

00:26:08Blocked.

00:26:16I thought back to last May 1st.

00:26:18That was Lexi's birthday.

00:26:19It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:26:23I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:26:26My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:26:29Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:26:31Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot.

00:26:34My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:26:36That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the

00:26:40deposit before the deadline.

00:26:41How is that even possible?

00:26:42The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:26:45Your record is outstanding.

00:26:46If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:26:50But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:26:53There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:26:54Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:26:57I was devastated.

00:26:58I couldn't accept it.

00:26:59And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:27:01Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:27:03Get over here.

00:27:03Ethan's already here.

00:27:04We're just waiting on you.

00:27:05I told them what happened.

00:27:06Lexi went into overdrive, trying to make me feel better.

00:27:09Oh my God.

00:27:10How does that even happen?

00:27:11These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:27:13So what are you going to do now?

00:27:14If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:27:18I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:27:20I thought about four years of work.

00:27:21No.

00:27:22I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:27:24There was a beat of silence on the call, then Ethan's voice.

00:27:27With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:27:30Focus on reapplying.

00:27:31Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:27:33Ethan's right.

00:27:34Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:27:38No problem.

00:27:39Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:27:42Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:27:45All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:27:47To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:27:49Dating my boyfriend.

00:27:54The day my Columbia acceptance letter arrived, I kept it a secret from everyone.

00:27:58Flew to New York to surprise my boyfriend, Ethan, and my best friend, Lexi.

00:28:01Instead, I overheard them confess it themselves.

00:28:03To keep dating behind my back.

00:28:05They'd altered my application, costing me an entire gap year.

00:28:08Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close?

00:28:12I wish she'd never gotten to Columbia.

00:28:15Don't say that.

00:28:16Last year, to make your birthday wish come true, with the one where you wanted to date

00:28:20me, we snuck into her college application portal and clicked decline offer before decision

00:28:23day.

00:28:25Made her miss the deadline.

00:28:27She had to take a whole gap year because of us.

00:28:29We've been dating here in New York behind her back this entire time.

00:28:31It's already bad enough.

00:28:32When she moves to the city, I'll go back to being her boyfriend.

00:28:35Obviously.

00:28:37So we can still keep meeting like this?

00:28:39In secret?

00:28:40As long as Taylor doesn't find out.

00:28:42Right then, I was standing there.

00:28:43A complete joke.

00:28:44Ethan kept going, comforting her.

00:28:46I promised you a full year as your guy.

00:28:48Not one day less.

00:28:49Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year.

00:28:52It runs through May 1st this year.

00:28:54I'll give you an extra three months on top of that.

00:28:55I'm yours.

00:28:56Until the fall semester starts.

00:28:58I already told Taylor I'm staying in New York this summer.

00:29:00To do pre-med clinical volunteering at Mount Simi.

00:29:02Not going home.

00:29:03We'll stay in the city together.

00:29:04Whatever you want to do, I'm there.

00:29:14I thought back to last May 1st.

00:29:16That was Lexi's birthday.

00:29:18It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:29:21I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:29:24My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:29:27Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:29:29Only me, somehow, impossibly, had lost my spot.

00:29:32My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:29:34That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:29:39How is that even possible?

00:29:41The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:29:43Your record is outstanding.

00:29:45If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:29:48But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:29:51There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:29:52Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:29:55I was devastated.

00:29:56I couldn't accept it.

00:29:57And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:29:59Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:30:01Get over here.

00:30:02Ethan's already here.

00:30:02We're just waiting on you.

00:30:03I told them what happened.

00:30:05Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:30:07Oh my God.

00:30:08How does that even happen?

00:30:09These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:30:11So what are you going to do now?

00:30:12If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:30:16I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:30:18I thought about four years of work.

00:30:20No.

00:30:20I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:30:22There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:30:24Then Ethan's voice.

00:30:25With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:30:28Focus on reapplying.

00:30:30Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:30:32Ethan's right.

00:30:33Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:30:36No problem.

00:30:37Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:30:40Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:30:43All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:30:45To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:30:47Dating my boyfriend.

00:30:49I knew Lexi had a boyfriend once she got to New York.

00:30:52That part didn't surprise me.

00:30:53What I didn't know was that her boyfriend and my boyfriend were the same person.

00:30:57She texted me constantly.

00:30:59Every day, sharing little updates about this amazing guy she was seeing.

00:31:02I was home grinding through essays and AP coursework.

00:31:04Every weekend, I'd unlock my phone to a wall of unread messages from her.

00:31:07My boyfriend sat in on my sociology lecture today.

00:31:14The professor called on him randomly, and he completely blanked.

00:31:18I'm dead.

00:31:19He'd been eyeing this vintage turntable for a while, so, drum roll, I bought it for him.

00:31:24We got a hotel room last night.

00:31:25He's so hot.

00:31:29Hey, Taylor, have you and Ethan ever actually done it?

00:31:32No.

00:31:33Ethan and I had made it official on prom night.

00:31:37After that, it was straight into the chaos of application season.

00:31:40There wasn't exactly a lot of time for anything else.

00:31:42And then the whole mess with my acceptance happened, and that killed whatever mood was left.

00:31:45When Lexi heard Ethan and I hadn't gone all the way, she sent back a voice note that was practically

00:31:49a performance.

00:31:50No?

00:31:51No way!

00:31:58Taylor, don't you know?

00:31:59If a guy doesn't even want to sleep with you, he's not actually into you.

00:32:02Oops.

00:32:03Did I say something wrong?

00:32:04I swear I'm not trying to start anything.

00:32:07Looking back, every single one of those messages was loaded.

00:32:10I was too stressed out from applications to catch it at the time.

00:32:13I just changed the subject.

00:32:14Anyway, you move fast.

00:32:16You got a boyfriend your first week of school at some party?

00:32:19What does he look like?

00:32:20Send a pic.

00:32:21Let me see if he's good enough for you.

00:32:23One word.

00:32:24Hot.

00:32:24How hot?

00:32:25Hot enough that the second you saw his face, you'd pass out on the spot.

00:32:29But he hates photos, so no pics for you.

00:32:31And now, standing outside the apartment, watching the two of them together, I genuinely felt a little dizzy.

00:32:37What are you up to?

00:32:43At the hospital doing shadowing, completely slammed.

00:32:45I held down the nausea and replied.

00:32:47Take a pic of the hospital and send it to me.

00:32:51Again?

00:32:52Why does she keep bothering you?

00:32:53She's taking up time that's supposed to be mine.

00:32:55She said it like she was the real girlfriend.

00:32:57Like I was some unhinged stalker.

00:33:00Good thing I'm careful.

00:33:01I got photos of a hospital hallway from an upperclassman ahead of time.

00:33:03Covers it.

00:33:04Lexi still wasn't happy.

00:33:05She pushed a little further.

00:33:06You're that scared of her finding out?

00:33:07You could just tell her about us.

00:33:10If she really cares about you, really thinks of me as her best friend, how could she even be mad?

00:33:14Don't.

00:33:15Whatever's going on between us, she cannot find out.

00:33:17Ever.

00:33:18Lexi read his face and switched gears fast.

00:33:20Okay, okay, forget it.

00:33:22Don't go back to the dorms tonight.

00:33:25Let's do something fun.

00:33:27That desperate?

00:33:31I'll take care of it tonight.

00:33:34ER is slammed.

00:33:35Hospital has strict HIPAA requirements.

00:33:37Phone access is limited until this is over.

00:33:39Don't worry.

00:33:39Love you.

00:33:40I read every word.

00:33:41Then I texted my parents.

00:33:42Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Columbia.

00:33:45I'm accepting MIT's offer.

00:33:50They called immediately.

00:33:52Sweetie, what happened?

00:33:53What changed?

00:33:53You've been talking about Columbia for a year.

00:33:55Being in New York with Lexi and Ethan.

00:33:57Lexi and Ethan are together.

00:33:58My mom pulled a sharp breath on the other end.

00:34:00What?

00:34:01But at prom last year, Ethan was...

00:34:03She stopped herself.

00:34:04Like she just figured something out.

00:34:05Didn't finish the sentence.

00:34:06I was the one reassuring them.

00:34:08My application this year was stronger.

00:34:10I got into MIT.

00:34:11Physics at MIT is better than Columbia by a long shot anyway.

00:34:14I was willing to go to New York because I had people there.

00:34:16Turns out those two aren't worth giving up the top engineering school in the country.

00:34:20I'll talk later.

00:34:21I need to book a flight home.

00:34:22Tonight, I want your barbecue.

00:34:23My dad's voice came through, anger barely under control.

00:34:26We were all fooled.

00:34:27Lexi's private high school tuition, her college tuition right now.

00:34:31Your mother and I have been paying all of it.

00:34:33If this is how she's going to treat you, we are done being her ATM next semester.

00:34:36Done.

00:34:38Okay.

00:34:38Lexi and I had grown up together.

00:34:40She came from a broken home.

00:34:41Ninth grade.

00:34:42Her parents divorced and moved to separate states.

00:34:44Left her behind.

00:34:45No plan for her education.

00:34:46Nothing.

00:34:46I was the one who begged my parents to step in.

00:34:49Mom, Dad, can we please help her?

00:34:50She doesn't even have money to finish high school.

00:34:53Just think of it as charity.

00:34:54When we're in college, we'll get jobs and pay you back.

00:34:56My parents didn't even hesitate.

00:34:57They said yes.

00:34:58Paid her private high school tuition.

00:35:00Let her move into the guest room.

00:35:01Covered Columbia's 80-something thousand a year in tuition and housing without blinking.

00:35:05Taylor, I will never forget what your family has done for me.

00:35:07When I graduate and land something on Wall Street, I'll pay back every cent with interest.

00:35:11Turns out this was her version of paying it back.

00:35:15I turned around and called an Uber to JFK Airport.

00:35:27Boyfriend booked the room.

00:35:28Two thousand dollars a night.

00:35:29He wants me to put in the effort tonight.

00:35:31What do you think I should do for him?

00:35:32I thought back to a night three months before the application deadline.

00:35:35I was barely holding it together.

00:35:37I called Ethan.

00:35:39Taylor?

00:35:39Can you come home this weekend?

00:35:41Just once?

00:35:41I really need you.

00:35:42He said no without missing a beat.

00:35:44Taylor, I genuinely can't afford the train ticket right now.

00:35:46You haven't been here yet.

00:35:47You don't know how expensive New York is.

00:35:49There's always something to spend money on.

00:35:51My coursework is brutal.

00:35:52I can't carve out the time.

00:35:54Can you try to be a little more mature about this?

00:35:57Couldn't scrape together a $40 train fare.

00:36:00But a $2,000 hotel suite?

00:36:01No problem.

00:36:02Brutal coursework.

00:36:03Sure.

00:36:04Racing to spend every available minute with my best friend.

00:36:07BFF jealous?

00:36:08I bet you've never stayed in a plaza suite.

00:36:10When you move to New York, I'll have my boyfriend book you your own room for a night.

00:36:14Just you, all to yourself.

00:36:18Reading her smug little mean girl tone, I almost felt sick.

00:36:22I didn't reply.

00:36:27Lexi didn't hear back from Taylor and didn't think much of it.

00:36:30She figured Taylor was just too jealous to respond, which honestly made sense.

00:36:34Lexi had spent the last year living her best college life, using Taylor's parents' card,

00:36:39going everywhere with Taylor's boyfriend.

00:36:41And Taylor?

00:36:42Still home, hunched over essays.

00:36:46Her main priority now was locking Ethan down for good.

00:36:49She was dying to rub all of it in Taylor's face.

00:36:52But the timing wasn't right yet.

00:36:54For one thing, Ethan still felt guilty about Taylor.

00:36:57He'd been enjoying what she'd essentially handed him.

00:37:00But Lexi could tell, in the back of his mind, Ethan still saw Taylor as the right kind of girl.

00:37:05The one you actually end up with.

00:37:07If she pushed him into a confrontation with Taylor now, there was a real chance Ethan would panic and drop

00:37:12her to try to fix things.

00:37:13That was not the ending she was going for.

00:37:15Her plan was to replace Taylor in his head slowly, step by step, until Ethan was the one who called

00:37:20it.

00:37:21That moment hadn't come yet.

00:37:22And for another thing, she still needed Taylor's parents to cover the rest of her tuition.

00:37:25She could not blow this up too early, although Ethan's family had money, real money.

00:37:29Once she had him fully, tuition would be the least of her problems.

00:37:32She was still running through the fantasy.

00:37:36Who are you texting?

00:37:38Nobody, Ethan.

00:37:40For the next two months, can you stop talking to Taylor?

00:37:42I want you completely to myself.

00:37:44That worshipful, clingy thing she did worked on him every time.

00:37:47He didn't mind giving her that.

00:37:48It was a small ask.

00:37:49She only had two months of being his anyway, officially.

00:37:52After that, he and Taylor had all the day in the word.

00:37:53The volunteer program here is really demanding.

00:37:55There are strict rules around phone use.

00:37:57I'll be hard to reach for a while, slow to respond.

00:38:00Don't worry.

00:38:01I'll pick you up from the airport on move-in day.

00:38:04You're the best.

00:38:06I got that text, sitting at my kitchen table, eating barbecue.

00:38:10This little...

00:38:10He's still lying to you?

00:38:12Right now?

00:38:13Block him.

00:38:13Block both of them.

00:38:15So disgusting.

00:38:16Done.

00:38:17All blocked.

00:38:18Those two are never touching my life again.

00:38:21Time moved fast.

00:38:22Before long, it was move-in day.

00:38:26The last messages were from the day the results came out.

00:38:29Him telling her not to contact him over the summer.

00:38:33Ethan, I'm finally coming to York to find you.

00:38:35He'd told her not to reach out.

00:38:36Fine.

00:38:37But she'd actually gone the whole summer without sending a single text.

00:38:41Still, today was the day she was flying in.

00:38:44He let it go and started typing.

00:38:48Babe, are you at the airport yet?

00:38:49I'll come get you.

00:38:54He'd been blocked.

00:38:55He figured he'd misread it.

00:38:57What was going on?

00:39:04He called her straight to voicemail.

00:39:07The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

00:39:22I thought back to last May 1st.

00:39:24That was Lexi's birthday.

00:39:25It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:39:29I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:39:32My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:39:35Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:39:37Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot.

00:39:40My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:39:42That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:39:47How is that even possible?

00:39:48The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:39:51Your record is outstanding.

00:39:52If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:39:56But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:39:59There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:40:00Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:40:03I was devastated.

00:40:04I couldn't accept it.

00:40:05And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:40:07Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:40:09Get over here.

00:40:09Ethan's already here.

00:40:10We're just waiting on you.

00:40:11I told them what happened.

00:40:12Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:40:15Oh my god.

00:40:16How does that even happen?

00:40:17These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:40:19So what are you going to do now?

00:40:20If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:40:24I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:40:26I thought about four years of work.

00:40:27No.

00:40:28I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:40:30There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:40:31Then Ethan's voice.

00:40:33With your record, community college will be a waste of your time.

00:40:36Focus on reapplying.

00:40:37Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:40:40Ethan's right.

00:40:40Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:40:44No problem.

00:40:45Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:40:48Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:40:51All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:40:52To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:40:55Dating my boyfriend.

00:41:00The day my Columbia acceptance letter arrived, I kept it a secret from everyone.

00:41:04Flew to New York to surprise my boyfriend, Ethan, and my best friend, Lexi.

00:41:07Instead, I overheard them confess it themselves.

00:41:09To keep dating behind my back.

00:41:10They'd altered my application, costing me an entire gap year.

00:41:14Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close?

00:41:18I wish you'd never gotten to Columbia.

00:41:21Don't say that.

00:41:22Last year, to make your birthday wish come true, you were the one where you wanted to date me.

00:41:26We snuck into her college application portal and clicked the client offer before decision

00:41:29day.

00:41:31Made her miss the deadline.

00:41:33She had to take a whole gap year because of us.

00:41:35We've been dating here in New York behind her back this entire time.

00:41:37It's already bad enough.

00:41:38When she moves to the city, I'll go back to being her boyfriend.

00:41:41Obviously.

00:41:43So we can still keep meeting like this?

00:41:45In secret?

00:41:46As long as Taylor doesn't find out.

00:41:48Right then, I was standing there.

00:41:49A complete joke.

00:41:50Ethan kept going, comforting her.

00:41:52I promised you a full year as your guy.

00:41:54Not one day less.

00:41:55Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year.

00:41:58It runs through May 1st this year.

00:41:59I'll give you an extra three months on top of that.

00:42:01I'm yours.

00:42:02Until the fall semester starts.

00:42:04I already told Taylor I'm staying in New York this summer to do pre-med clinical volunteering

00:42:07at Mount Sinai, not going home.

00:42:09We'll stay in the city together.

00:42:11Whatever you want to do, I'm there.

00:42:20I thought back to last May 1st.

00:42:22That was Lexi's birthday.

00:42:24It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:42:27I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:42:30My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:42:33Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:42:35Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot.

00:42:38My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:42:40That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the

00:42:44deposit before the deadline.

00:42:45How is that even possible?

00:42:47The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:42:49Your record is outstanding.

00:42:51If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:42:54But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:42:57There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:42:58Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:43:01I was devastated.

00:43:02I couldn't accept it.

00:43:03And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:43:05Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:43:07Get over here.

00:43:07Ethan's already here.

00:43:08We're just waiting on you.

00:43:09I told them what happened.

00:43:11Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:43:13Oh my God.

00:43:14How does that even happen?

00:43:15These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:43:17So what are you going to do now?

00:43:18If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:43:22I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:43:24I thought about four years of work.

00:43:26No.

00:43:26I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:43:28There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:43:30Then Ethan's voice.

00:43:31With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:43:34Focus on reapplying.

00:43:36Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:43:38Ethan's right.

00:43:39Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:43:42No problem.

00:43:43Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:43:46Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:43:49All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:43:51To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:43:53Dating my boyfriend.

00:43:55I knew Lexi had a boyfriend once she got to New York.

00:43:58That part didn't surprise me.

00:43:59What I didn't know was that her boyfriend and my boyfriend were the same person.

00:44:03She texted me constantly.

00:44:05Every day, sharing little updates about this amazing guy she was seeing.

00:44:08I was home grinding through essays and AP coursework.

00:44:09Every weekend, I'd unlock my phone to a wall of unread messages for her.

00:44:13My boyfriend sat in on my sociology lecture today.

00:44:20The professor called on him randomly, and he completely blanked.

00:44:24I'm dead.

00:44:25He'd been eyeing this vintage turntable for a while, so, drumroll, I bought it for him.

00:44:30We got a hotel room last night.

00:44:31He's so hot.

00:44:35Hey Taylor, have you and Ethan ever actually done it?

00:44:37No.

00:44:39Ethan and I had made it official on prom night.

00:44:43After that, it was straight into the chaos of application season.

00:44:45There wasn't exactly a lot of time for anything else, and then the whole mess with my acceptance

00:44:49happened, and that killed whatever mood was left.

00:44:51When Lexi heard Ethan and I hadn't gone all the way, she sent back a voice note that was

00:44:55practically a performance.

00:45:04Taylor, don't you know, if a guy doesn't even want to sleep with you, he's not actually

00:45:07into you.

00:45:08Oops.

00:45:08Did I say something wrong?

00:45:10I swear I'm not trying to start anything.

00:45:13Looking back, every single one of those messages was loaded.

00:45:16I was too stressed out from applications to catch it at the time.

00:45:19I just changed the subject.

00:45:21Anyway, you move fast.

00:45:22You got a boyfriend your first week of school at some party?

00:45:25What does he look like?

00:45:26Send a pic.

00:45:27Let me see if he's good enough for you.

00:45:29One word.

00:45:30Hot.

00:45:30How hot?

00:45:31Hot enough that the second you saw his face, you'd pass out on the spot.

00:45:35But he hates photos, so no pics for you.

00:45:37And now, standing outside the apartment, watching the two of them together, I genuinely felt

00:45:42a little dizzy.

00:45:43What are you up to?

00:45:49At the hospital doing shadowing, completely slammed.

00:45:51I held down the nausea and replied, take a pic of the hospital and send it to me.

00:45:57Again?

00:45:58Why does she keep bothering you?

00:45:59She's taking up time that's supposed to be mine.

00:46:01She said it like she was the real girlfriend, like I was some unhinged stalker.

00:46:06Good thing I'm careful, I got photos of a hospital hallway from an upperclassman ahead

00:46:09of time.

00:46:10Covers it.

00:46:10Lexi still wasn't happy.

00:46:11She pushed a little further.

00:46:12You're that scared of her finding out?

00:46:13You could just tell her about us?

00:46:16If she really cares about you, really thinks of me as her best friend, how could she even

00:46:20be mad?

00:46:20Don't.

00:46:21Whatever's going on between us, she cannot find out.

00:46:23Ever.

00:46:24Lexi read his face and switched gears fast.

00:46:26Okay, okay, forget it.

00:46:28Don't go back to the dorms tonight.

00:46:31Let's do something fun.

00:46:33That desperate?

00:46:37I'll take care of it tonight.

00:46:40ER is slammed.

00:46:41Hospital has strict HIPAA requirements.

00:46:43Phone access is limited until this is over.

00:46:45Don't worry.

00:46:45Love you.

00:46:46I read every word.

00:46:47Then I texted my parents.

00:46:48Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Columbia.

00:46:51I'm accepting MIT's offer.

00:46:56They called immediately.

00:46:57Sweetie, what happened?

00:46:58What changed?

00:46:59You've been talking about Columbia for a year.

00:47:01Being in New York with Lexi and Ethan.

00:47:02Lexi and Ethan are together.

00:47:04My mom pulled a sharp breath on the other end.

00:47:06What?

00:47:07But at prom last year, Ethan was...

00:47:09She stopped herself.

00:47:10Like she'd just figured something out.

00:47:11Didn't finish the sentence.

00:47:12I was the one reassuring them.

00:47:13My application this year was stronger.

00:47:15I got into MIT.

00:47:17Physics at MIT is better than Columbia by a long shot anyway.

00:47:19I was willing to go to New York because I had people there.

00:47:22Turns out those two aren't worth giving up the top engineering school in the country.

00:47:26I'll talk later.

00:47:27I need to book a flight home.

00:47:28Tonight I want your barbecue.

00:47:29My dad's voice came through, anger barely under control.

00:47:32We were all fooled.

00:47:33Lexi's private high school tuition, her college tuition right now.

00:47:37Your mother and I have been paying all of it.

00:47:39If this is how she's going to treat you, we are done being her ATM next semester.

00:47:42Done.

00:47:43Okay.

00:47:44Lexi and I had grown up together.

00:47:46She came from a broken home.

00:47:47Ninth grade.

00:47:48Her parents divorced and moved to separate states.

00:47:50Left her behind.

00:47:51No plan for her education.

00:47:52Nothing.

00:47:52I was the one who begged my parents to step in.

00:47:55Mom, Dad, can we please help her?

00:47:56She doesn't even have money to finish high school.

00:47:59Just think of it as charity.

00:48:00When we're in college, we'll get jobs and pay you back.

00:48:02My parents didn't even hesitate.

00:48:03They said yes.

00:48:04Paid her private high school tuition.

00:48:06Let her move into the guest room.

00:48:07Covered Columbia's 80-something thousand a year in tuition and housing without blinking.

00:48:10Taylor, I will never forget what your family has done for me.

00:48:13When I graduate and land something on Wall Street, I'll pay back every cent with interest.

00:48:17Turns out this was her version of paying it back.

00:48:21I turned around and called an Uber to JFK Airport.

00:48:33Boyfriend booked the room.

00:48:34Two thousand dollars a night.

00:48:35He wants me to put in the effort tonight.

00:48:37What do you think I should do for him?

00:48:38I thought back to a night three months before the application deadline.

00:48:41I was barely holding it together.

00:48:43I called Ethan.

00:48:45Taylor?

00:48:45Can you come home this weekend?

00:48:46Just once?

00:48:47I really need you.

00:48:48He said no without missing a beat.

00:48:50Taylor, I genuinely can't afford the train ticket right now.

00:48:52You haven't been here yet.

00:48:53You don't know how expensive New York is.

00:48:55There's always something to spend money on.

00:48:57My coursework is brutal.

00:48:58I can't carve out the time.

00:49:00Can you try to be a little more mature about this?

00:49:03Couldn't scrape together a forty dollar train fare.

00:49:05But a two thousand dollar hotel suite?

00:49:07No problem.

00:49:08Brutal coursework.

00:49:09Sure.

00:49:10Racing to spend every available minute with my best friend.

00:49:13BFF jealous?

00:49:14I bet you've never stayed in a plaza suite.

00:49:16When you move to New York, I'll have my boyfriend book you your own room for a night.

00:49:20Just you.

00:49:20All to yourself.

00:49:24Reading her smug little mean girl tone, I almost felt sick.

00:49:28I didn't reply.

00:49:33Lexi didn't hear back from Taylor and didn't think much of it.

00:49:36She figured Taylor was just too jealous to respond, which honestly made sense.

00:49:41Lexi had spent the last year living her best college life, using Taylor's parents' card,

00:49:45going everywhere with Taylor's boyfriend.

00:49:47And Taylor, still home, hunched over essays.

00:49:52Her main priority now was locking Ethan down for good.

00:49:55She was dying to rub all of it in Taylor's face.

00:49:58But the timing wasn't right yet.

00:50:00For one thing, Ethan still felt guilty about Taylor.

00:50:03He'd been enjoying what she'd essentially handed him.

00:50:06But Lexi could tell, in the back of his mind, Ethan still saw Taylor as the right kind of girl.

00:50:11The one you actually end up with.

00:50:13If she pushed him into a confrontation with Taylor now, there was a real chance Ethan would panic and drop

00:50:18her to try to fix things.

00:50:19That was not the ending she was going for.

00:50:21Her plan was to replace Taylor in his head slowly, step by step, until Ethan was the one who called

00:50:26him.

00:50:27That moment hadn't come yet.

00:50:28And for another thing, she still needed Taylor's parents to cover the rest of her tuition.

00:50:32She could not blow this out too early.

00:50:33Although, Ethan's family had money.

00:50:35Real money.

00:50:35Once she had him fully, tuition would be the least of her problems.

00:50:38She was still running through the fantasy.

00:50:42Who are you texting?

00:50:44Nobody.

00:50:45Ethan.

00:50:46For the next two months, can you stop talking to Taylor?

00:50:48Taylor, I want you completely to myself.

00:50:50That worshipful, clingy thing she did worked on him every time.

00:50:53He didn't mind giving her that.

00:50:54It was a small ask.

00:50:55She only had two months of being his anyway, officially.

00:50:57After that, he and Taylor had all the tea and the word.

00:50:59The volunteer program here is really demanding.

00:51:01There are strict rules around phone use.

00:51:03I'll be hard to reach for a while, slow to respond.

00:51:06Don't worry.

00:51:07I'll pick you up from the airport on move-in day.

00:51:10You're the best.

00:51:11I got that text, sitting at my kitchen table, eating barbecue.

00:51:16This little...

00:51:16He's still lying to you?

00:51:18Right now?

00:51:18Block him.

00:51:19Block both of them.

00:51:20So disgusting.

00:51:22Done.

00:51:23All blocked.

00:51:24Those two are never touching my life again.

00:51:27Time moved fast.

00:51:28Before long, it was move-in day.

00:51:32The last messages were from the day the results came out.

00:51:35Him telling her not to contact him over the summer.

00:51:38Ethan, I'm finally coming to New York to find you.

00:51:41He'd told her not to reach out, fine.

00:51:43But she'd actually gone the whole summer without sending a single text.

00:51:47Still, today was the day she was flying in.

00:51:50He let it go and started typing.

00:51:53Babe, are you at the airport yet?

00:51:55I'll come get you.

00:52:00He'd been blocked.

00:52:01He figured he'd misread it.

00:52:03What was going on?

00:52:10He called her straight to voicemail.

00:52:13Whatever you are trying to reach is unavailable.

00:52:18That line, too.

00:52:20Blocked.

00:52:28I thought back to last May 1st.

00:52:30That was Lexi's birthday.

00:52:31It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:52:35I'd stared at my student portal showing, offer declined, and couldn't believe it.

00:52:38My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:52:40Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:52:43Only me, somehow, impossibly, had lost my spot.

00:52:45My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:52:48That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:52:53How is that even possible?

00:52:54The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:52:57Your record is outstanding.

00:52:58If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:53:01But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:53:04There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:53:06Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:53:09I was devastated.

00:53:10I couldn't accept it.

00:53:11And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:53:13Taylor, my birthday party's starting.

00:53:14Get over here.

00:53:15Ethan's already here.

00:53:16We're just waiting on you.

00:53:17I told them what happened.

00:53:18Lexi went into overdrive, trying to make me feel better.

00:53:21Oh my God.

00:53:22How does that even happen?

00:53:23These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:53:25So what are you going to do now?

00:53:26If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:53:29I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:53:32I thought about four years of work.

00:53:33No.

00:53:34I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:53:36There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:53:37Then Ethan's voice.

00:53:38With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:53:41Focus on reapplying.

00:53:43Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:53:45Ethan's right.

00:53:46Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:53:50No problem.

00:53:51Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:53:54Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:53:57All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:53:58To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:54:00Dating my boyfriend.

00:54:06The day my Columbia acceptance letter arrived, I kept it a secret from everyone.

00:54:10Flew to New York to surprise my boyfriend Ethan and my best friend Lexi.

00:54:13Instead, I overheard them confess it themselves.

00:54:15To keep dating behind my back.

00:54:16They'd altered my application, costing me an entire gap year.

00:54:20Ethan, once Taylor gets here, can we really still be this close?

00:54:23I wish she'd never gotten to Columbia.

00:54:27Don't say that.

00:54:28Last year, to make your birthday wish come true, you're the one where you wanted to date me.

00:54:32We snuck into her college application portal and clicked decline offer before decision day.

00:54:37Made her miss the deadline.

00:54:39She had to take a whole gap year because of us.

00:54:41We've been dating here in New York behind her back this entire time.

00:54:43That's already bad enough.

00:54:44When she moves to the city, I'll go back to being her boyfriend.

00:54:47Obviously.

00:54:49So we can still keep meeting like this?

00:54:51In secret?

00:54:52As long as Taylor doesn't find out.

00:54:53Right then, I was standing there.

00:54:55A complete joke.

00:54:56Ethan kept going, comforting her.

00:54:58I promised you a full year as your guy.

00:55:00Not one day less.

00:55:01Your birthday wish kicked in May 1st last year.

00:55:04It runs through May 1st this year.

00:55:05I'll give you an extra three months on top of that.

00:55:07I'm yours.

00:55:08Until the fall semester starts.

00:55:10I already told Taylor I'm staying in New York this summer.

00:55:12To do pre-med clinical volunteering at Mount Simi.

00:55:14Not going home.

00:55:15We'll stay in the city together.

00:55:16Whatever you want to do, I'm there.

00:55:26I thought back to last May 1st.

00:55:28That was Lexi's birthday.

00:55:30It was also the day I found out I was locked out of my dream school for good.

00:55:33I'd stared at my student portal showing offer declined and couldn't believe it.

00:55:36My SAT scores and GPA were the highest out of the three of us.

00:55:39Both of them had gotten into Columbia without a problem.

00:55:41Only me, somehow, impossibly had lost my spot.

00:55:44My parents panicked and called the admissions office.

00:55:46That's when we found out someone had used my account to click decline and cancel the deposit before the deadline.

00:55:51How is that even possible?

00:55:53The admissions rep sounded genuinely sorry.

00:55:55Your record is outstanding.

00:55:56If we'd received the confirmation, you absolutely would have been on the fall roster.

00:56:00But what the system shows us is what it shows us.

00:56:03There's nothing we can do on our end.

00:56:04Is it possible a wrong option was selected during confirmation?

00:56:07I was devastated.

00:56:08I couldn't accept it.

00:56:09And right then, Lexi FaceTimed me.

00:56:11Taylor!

00:56:12My birthday party's starting!

00:56:13Get over here!

00:56:13Ethan's already here!

00:56:14We're just waiting on you!

00:56:15I told them what happened.

00:56:17Lexi went into overdrive trying to make me feel better.

00:56:19Oh my god!

00:56:20How does that even happen?

00:56:21These things happen to everyone sometimes.

00:56:23So what are you going to do now?

00:56:24If all else fails, pick up some credits at community college and transfer next year?

00:56:28I looked at my parents' worried faces.

00:56:30I thought about four years of work.

00:56:32No.

00:56:32I'm taking a gap year and reapplying.

00:56:34There was a beat of silence on the call.

00:56:36Then Ethan's voice.

00:56:37With your record, community college would be a waste of your time.

00:56:40Focus on reapplying.

00:56:41Lexi and I will be waiting for you at Columbia.

00:56:44Ethan's right.

00:56:45Then my birthday wish this year is for our tailor to get her Columbia offer next year.

00:56:48No problem.

00:56:49Back then, I was so touched, I almost couldn't speak.

00:56:52Turns out every bit of it was something they'd planned together.

00:56:55All of it just to hide what they were doing.

00:56:56To make her real birthday wish come true.

00:56:59Dating my boyfriend.

00:57:01I knew Lexi had a boyfriend once she got to New York.

00:57:04That part didn't surprise me.

00:57:05What I didn't know was that her boyfriend and my boyfriend were the same person.

00:57:09She texted me constantly.

00:57:11Every day, sharing little updates about this amazing guy she was seeing.

00:57:14I was home grinding through essays and AP coursework.

00:57:16Every weekend, I'd unlock my phone to a wall of unread messages for her.

00:57:19My boyfriend sat in on my sociology lecture today.

00:57:26The professor called on him randomly, and he completely blanked.

00:57:30I'm dead.

00:57:31He'd been eyeing this vintage turntable for a while, so, drumroll, I bought it for him.

00:57:36We got a hotel room last night.

00:57:37He's so hot.

00:57:41Hey, Taylor, have you and Ethan ever actually done it?

00:57:44No.

00:57:45Ethan and I had made it official on prom night.

00:57:49After that, it was straight into the chaos of application season.

00:57:51There wasn't exactly a lot of time for anything else, and then the whole mess with my acceptance happened.

00:57:55And that killed whatever mood was left.

00:57:57When Lexi heard Ethan and I hadn't gone all the way, she sent back a voice note that was practically

00:58:01a performance.

00:58:02No?

00:58:03No way!

00:58:09Taylor, don't you know?

00:58:11If a guy doesn't even want to sleep with you, he's not actually into you.

00:58:14Oops.

00:58:14Did I say something wrong?

00:58:16I swear I'm not trying to start anything.

00:58:19Looking back, every single one of those messages was loaded.

00:58:22I was too stressed out from applications to catch it at the time.

00:58:25I just changed the subject.

00:58:27Anyway, you move fast.

00:58:28You got a boyfriend your first week of school at some party?

00:58:31What does he look like?

00:58:32Send a pic.

00:58:33Let me see if he's good enough for you.

00:58:35One word.

00:58:35Hot.

00:58:36How hot?

00:58:37Hot enough that the second you saw his face, you'd pass out on the spot.

00:58:40But he hates photos, so no pics for you.

00:58:43And now, standing outside the apartment, watching the two of them together, I genuinely felt a little dizzy.

00:58:49What are you up to?

00:58:55At the hospital doing shadowing, completely slammed.

00:58:57I held down the nausea and replied,

00:58:59Take a pic of the hospital and send it to me.

00:59:03Again?

00:59:04Why does she keep bothering you?

00:59:05She's taking up time that's supposed to be mine.

00:59:07She said it like she was the real girlfriend.

00:59:09Like I was some unhinged stalker.

00:59:12Good thing I'm careful.

00:59:13I got photos of a hospital hallway from an upperclassman ahead of time.

00:59:15Covers it.

00:59:16Lexi still wasn't happy.

00:59:17She pushed a little further.

00:59:18You're that scared of her finding out?

00:59:19You could just tell her about us.

00:59:22If she really cares about you, really thinks of me as her best friend, how could she even be mad?

00:59:26Don't.

00:59:27Whatever's going on between us, she cannot find out.

00:59:29Ever.

00:59:30Lexi read his face and switched gears fast.

00:59:33Okay, okay, forget it.

00:59:34Don't go back to the dorms tonight.

00:59:37Let's do something fun.

00:59:39That desperate?

00:59:43I'll take care of it tonight.

00:59:46ER is slammed.

00:59:47Hospital has strict HIPAA requirements.

00:59:49Phone access is limited until this is over.

00:59:51Don't worry.

00:59:51Love you.

00:59:52I read every word.

00:59:53Then I texted my parents.

00:59:54Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Columbia.

00:59:56I'm accepting MIT's offer.

01:00:02They called immediately.

01:00:03Sweetie, what happened?

01:00:04What changed?

01:00:05You've been talking about Columbia for a year.

01:00:07Being in New York with Lexi and Ethan.

01:00:08Lexi and Ethan are together.

01:00:10My mom pulled a sharp breath on the other end.

01:00:12What?

01:00:12But at prom last year, Ethan was...

01:00:15She stopped herself.

01:00:16Like she just figured something out.

01:00:17Didn't finish the sentence.

01:00:18I was the one reassuring them.

01:00:19My application this year was stronger.

01:00:21I got into MIT.

01:00:23Physics at MIT is better than Columbia by a long shot anyway.

01:00:25I was willing to go to New York because I had people there.

01:00:28Turns out those two aren't worth giving up the top engineering school in the country.

01:00:32I'll talk later.

01:00:33I need to book a flight home.

01:00:34Tonight I want your barbecue.

01:00:35My dad's voice came through, anger barely under control.

01:00:38We were all fooled.

01:00:39Lexi's private high school tuition.

01:00:41Her college tuition right now.

01:00:43Your mother and I have been paying all of it.

01:00:44If this is how she's going to treat you, we are done being her ATM next semester.

01:00:48Done.

01:00:49Okay.

01:00:50Lexi and I had grown up together.

01:00:51She came from a broken home.

01:00:53Ninth grade.

01:00:54Her parents divorced and moved to separate states.

01:00:56Left her behind.

01:00:57No plan for her education.

01:00:58Nothing.

01:00:58I was the one who begged my parents to step in.

01:01:01Mom, Dad, can we please help her?

01:01:02She doesn't even have money to finish high school.

01:01:05Just think of it as charity.

01:01:06When we're in college, we'll get jobs and pay you back.

01:01:08My parents didn't even hesitate.

01:01:09They said yes.

01:01:10Paid her private high school tuition.

01:01:12Let her move into the guest room.

01:01:13Covered Columbia's 80-something thousand a year in tuition and housing without blinking.

01:01:17Taylor, I will never forget what your family has done for me.

01:01:19When I graduate and land something on Wall Street, I'll pay back every cent with interest.

01:01:23Turns out this was her version of paying it back.

01:01:27I turned around and called an Uber to JFK Airport.

01:01:39Boyfriend booked the room.

01:01:40Two thousand dollars a night.

01:01:41He wants me to put in the effort tonight.

01:01:43What do you think I should do for him?

01:01:44I thought back to a night three months before the application deadline.

01:01:47I was barely holding it together.

01:01:48Taylor, I called Ethan.

01:01:51Taylor?

01:01:51Can you come home this weekend?

01:01:52Just once?

01:01:53I really need you.

01:01:54He said no without missing a beat.

01:01:56Taylor, I genuinely can't afford the train ticket right now.

01:01:58You haven't been here yet.

01:01:59You don't know how expensive New York is.

01:02:01There's always something to spend money on.

01:02:03My coursework is brutal.

01:02:04I can't carve out the time.

01:02:06Can you try to be a little more mature about this?

01:02:09Couldn't scrape together a $40 train fare.

01:02:12But a $2,000 hotel suite?

01:02:13No problem.

01:02:14Brutal coursework.

01:02:15Sure.

01:02:15I'm racing to spend every available minute with my best friend.

01:02:19BFF jealous?

01:02:20I bet you've never stayed in a plaza suite.

01:02:22When you move to New York, I'll have my boyfriend book you your own room for a night.

01:02:26Just you, all to yourself.

01:02:28Good.

01:02:30Reading her smug little mean girl tone, I almost felt sick.

01:02:34I didn't reply.

01:02:39Lexi didn't hear back from Taylor and didn't think much of it.

01:02:42She figured Taylor was just too jealous to respond, which honestly made sense.

01:02:47Lexi had spent the last year living her best college life using Taylor's parents' card,

01:02:51going everywhere with Taylor's boyfriend.

01:02:53And Taylor, still home, hunched over essays.

01:02:57Her main priority now was locking Ethan down for good.

01:03:01She was dying to rub all of it in Taylor's face.

01:03:04But the timing wasn't right yet.

01:03:06For one thing, Ethan still felt guilty about Taylor.

01:03:09He'd been enjoying what she'd essentially handed him.

01:03:12But Lexi could tell, in the back of his mind, Ethan still saw Taylor as the right kind of girl.

01:03:17The one you actually end up with.

01:03:19If she pushed him into a confrontation with Taylor now,

01:03:22there was a real chance Ethan would panic and drop her to try to fix things.

01:03:25That was not the ending she was going for.

01:03:27Her plan was to replace Taylor in his head slowly, step by step,

01:03:31until Ethan was the one who called it.

01:03:33That moment hadn't come yet.

01:03:34And for another thing, she still needed Taylor's parents to cover the rest of her tuition.

01:03:37She could not blow this up too early.

01:03:39Although, Ethan's family had money.

01:03:40Real money.

01:03:41Once she had him fully, tuition would be the least of her problems.

01:03:44She was still running through the fantasy.

01:03:48Who are you texting?

01:03:50Nobody.

01:03:51Ethan.

01:03:52For the next two months, can you stop talking to Taylor?

01:03:54I want you completely to myself.

01:03:56That worshipful, clingy thing she did worked on him every time.

01:03:59He didn't mind giving her that.

01:04:00It was a small ask.

01:04:01She only had two months of being his anyway, officially.

01:04:03After that, he and Taylor had all the tea and the word.

01:04:05The volunteer program here is really demanding.

01:04:07There are strict rules around phone use.

01:04:09I'll be hard to reach for a while, slow to respond.

01:04:12Don't worry.

01:04:13I'll pick you up from the airport on move-in day.

01:04:16You're the best.

01:04:18I got that text, sitting at my kitchen table, eating barbecue.

01:04:22This little...

01:04:22He's still lying to you?

01:04:23Right now?

01:04:24Block him.

01:04:25Block both of them.

01:04:26So disgusting.

01:04:28Done.

01:04:28All blocked.

01:04:30Those two are never touching my life again.

01:04:33Time moved fast.

01:04:34Before long, it was move-in day.

01:04:38The last messages were from the day the results came out.

01:04:41Him telling her not to contact him over the summer.

01:04:44Ethan, I'm finally coming to New York to find you.

01:04:46He told her not to reach out.

01:04:48Fine.

01:04:49But she'd actually gone the whole summer without sending a single text.

01:04:53Still, today was the day she was flying in.

01:04:56He let it go and started typing.

01:04:59Babe, are you at the airport yet?

01:05:01I'll come get you.

01:05:06He'd been blocked.

01:05:07He figured he'd misread it.

01:05:09What was going on?

01:05:16He called her straight to voicemail.

01:05:19The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

01:05:24That line, too.

01:05:26Blocked.

01:05:28The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

01:05:33The number you are trying to reach is unavailable.

🗡️ Forward Without Him – They Stole Her College Spot and Her Boyfriend. She Walked Away with Both.

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