She Wants to Be Me

My shift ended late, so I split a rideshare with a coworker.

The second we got in, the driver started giving us a weird, twitchy once-over.

You ladies have it good, huh? Working in a place like the Apex Tower, you must be rolling in it. Not like me, breaking my back for peanuts.

I remembered the horror stories I'd seen online and immediately started laying it on thick. "Don't even get me started. We're just contract workers. I take home maybe twenty-eight hundred a month, and my boss treats me like dirt!"

The driver's expression softened a little, and he even muttered a few words of sympathy.

But then my coworker piped up. "That's not true at all! Our Ivy is a total winner. Graduated from a top university, makes a six-figure salary, and her parents are both professors. The biggest hardship she's ever faced was probably a bitter iced Americano!"

The driver's face contorted with rage. "Goddamn it, I can't stand you people born with a silver spoon in your mouth!"

He floored it, sending the car plunging off a cliff.

Amid the explosion, I was blown to pieces.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the office.

My coworker, Hailey, walked up to me with a smile. "Ivy, I called a car. Let's go home together!"

01

The memory of the heat tearing my body apart left me drenched in a cold sweat.

A low groan escaped my lips, and a colleague next to me called out in concern.

"Ivy, are you okay?"

My eyes shot open. I felt like I had just clawed my way back from hell.

I wasn't dead?

I patted my arms and legs, all blessedly intact, then glanced at the time on my phone.

It was real. I was alive.

The first thing I did was grab my bag and make a run for it.

"Weren't you going to finish that report before you left?" my coworker, Mark, asked, looking puzzled.

I shook my head vigorously. Who cares about a report when your life is on the line?

"Hey, wait," Mark called out. "There's a number I can't figure out. Can you take a quick look? The client's in a hurry."

I had no choice but to go back and quickly sort it out for him.

But that small delay was all it took. A chillingly familiar voice, like the sound of my own doom, echoed from behind me.

"Ivy, I called a car. Let's go home together!"

It was Hailey.

Hailey was an intern who had started in the spring, and I was assigned to mentor her. She was diligent and sweet-talking, but she had a fatal flaw: no filter.

Our department head was dealing with a classic bald patch and one day showed up wearing a toupee. Hailey immediately rushed over to compliment him. "Mr. Davison, you look so young today!"

Before he could even smile, she added, "The hairpiece really suits you! Without it, everyone says you look like an old bald coot!"

Mr. Davisons face fell. "Is that so?" he asked, his smile frozen. "When do they say that?"

Hailey whipped out her phone and showed him our private team chat group. "See? Just today, someone was asking if the 'old bald coot' was coming in!"

That incident got every single person in the group called into his office, and our promised heatwave holiday was canceled. We had to apologize to our innocent colleagues one by one and walked on eggshells for weeks.

Another time, I took Hailey to a client meeting. The client was picky, and we revised the proposal seven or eight times before finally getting it approved. As we were leaving, Hailey chirped happily, right in front of the client, "That's great! Ivy, you're so experienced. You just used the first draft, and they didn't even notice!"

The client blew up on the spot, stormed into our boss's office, and our entire team's bonus went up in smoke. Three months of work, all for nothing.

After that, I started keeping my distance. There's a saying: a fool's impulse can cause more damage than a villain's calculated plot. I knew Hailey's unfiltered mouth would get someone seriously hurt one day.

I just never thought it would be me.

02

Company policy stated that only full-time employees could get reimbursed for rides home after working overtime. Our office was notorious for late nights. Hailey lived in the same direction as me, but her place was closer. Since I had to take a car anyway, Id often give her a lift if we finished late.

To her credit, Hailey was always considerate. Whether I called a car or hailed a cab, shed handle the receipt and give it to me, making sure it was no trouble on my end.

And so, just like before, she had called a car and asked me to join.

But as soon as I got in, I knew something was wrong with the driver. His eyes would go vacant for a moment, then snap into a wide, intense stare. His mouth moved silently, as if he were muttering to himself.

What sent a real chill down my spine was the way he kept watching us in the rearview mirror.

I wanted to tell him to keep his eyes on the road, but it was late, the streets were empty, and he was clearly unstable. I didn't dare start a conflict. My plan was to get out with Hailey at her stop and then call another car for myself.

It wasn't long before he started talking to us.

"Life's not fair, is it? I work my ass off every single day, and you women just sit in an office, all dolled up, making easy money. I swear to God, I just want to die and be reborn as one of you." His tone turned aggressive. "Hey! You work in the Apex Tower, a place like that your salaries must be huge, right?"

His words were laced with resentment. I remembered a rule I'd read online: when dealing with someone unstable, you de-escalate. You never, ever flaunt your good fortune. So, I started complaining.

"You have no idea, sir. We're just contract workers. I make maybe twenty-eight hundred a month, and even then, my boss acts like he's overpaying us. He makes us work overtime for free and yells at us constantly. Honestly, I envy you. You're your own boss, working for yourself. That's real freedom."

His expression softened slightly. He nodded at me in the mirror. "Huh. Guess it's not easy for anyone."

As he spoke, his eyes fell on my wrist.

My heart leaped into my throat. It had been hot in the office, so I'd pushed up my sleeves, revealing a new bracelet I'd bought.

The driver's eyes narrowed. "That's a nice bracelet. Must've cost a fortune."

Stay calm, I told myself. Don't let him see you're scared.

I casually flicked my wrist. "This old thing? Looks flashy, right? It was a 9.99 knockoff from some website."

This time, the tension in his face completely dissolved. The hostility in his eyes faded.

Just then, Hailey chimed in.

"Oh, Ivy, I remember that bracelet! It's the new one from Cartier, right? The 18-karat gold one that costs over sixty thousand? You're so rich!"

As her words hung in the air, the driver's jaw clenched so hard the muscles in his cheeks bulged.

Hailey, seemingly oblivious, continued to sing my praises to him.

"Our Ivy here has it all! Master's degree from a top university, six-figure salary! Her parents are both professors, and she has a childhood sweetheart who adores her. The biggest hardship she's ever faced was probably a bitter iced Americano!"

"That's enough!" I yelled, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

With every word Hailey spoke, the driver's gaze grew more menacing. He looked at me as if I had murdered his entire family, as if he wanted to tear me limb from limb right then and there.

The car was approaching Hailey's apartment complex. I threw the door open, ready to bolt.

But Hailey, in a sudden fit of madness, shoved me back inside.

"I know you think you're better than everyone, but you don't have to yell at me! So I hitched a ride with you, what's the big deal? I won't do it again, okay?!"

She slammed the door shut.

At the same instant, I heard the click of the central locks.

In the rearview mirror, the driver's face was a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.

"Goddamn it, I can't stand you people born with a silver spoon in your mouth!"

He stomped on the accelerator, and the car shot forward.

A few minutes later, it smashed through the guardrail on the mountain road and plunged off the cliff.

With a deafening roar, I saw my own body being blown to pieces.

03

Remembering this, my face turned to ice. "I'm not going home tonight," I said to Hailey, my voice flat. "You go on ahead."

She wrung her hands, a sheepish grin on her face. "Come on, Ivy. It's the end of the month, and my wallet's empty. Wherever you're going, can't you just drop me off on the way?"

My patience snapped. "I already told you, it's not on the way! What does your empty wallet have to do with me?"

My shout was loud enough to turn the heads of the few colleagues still working.

Hailey's face fell, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"I just graduated. My salary isn't much, and I was just trying to save a little money. Why are you yelling at me?"

Her damsel-in-distress act made it look like I was bullying her.

Mark was the first to jump to her defense. "We've all been there, Ivy. Hailey didn't mean any harm. If you don't want to give her a ride, just say so. There's no need to humiliate her."

My blood boiled at the sight of him. If he hadn't stopped me earlier, I would have been long gone, and Hailey would have been a distant memory.

"If you're so compassionate, why don't you give her a ride?" I retorted. "I told her it wasn't on my way. Is she deaf, or just stupid? Does she not understand the words 'not on my way'?"

I was generally well-liked at the office, and as a supervisor, I had some seniority. The other colleagues, except for Mark, started to side with me.

"Yeah, Ivy already said she's not going that way. Why are you clinging to her like a leech?"

"Giving you a ride is a favor, not an obligation. Stop with the pity party."

Seeing that the tide had turned against her, Hailey burst into tears. "I know I'm just a newbie! I can't compete with a supervisor like you! You don't have to gang up on me! I'll go by myself!"

She ran out of the office, sobbing. I finally let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

I waited another half hour, figuring she would be home by then, before calling a car and heading out. As I settled into the back seat, all I could think about was a long, hot shower to wash away the day's bad luck.

Suddenly, the other car door was yanked open, and Hailey scrambled in.

I was stunned. "What are you still doing here?"

She pouted, pressing her palms together in a gesture of apology. "I'm sorry about earlier, Ivy. Please don't be mad. Let's just go home!"

A creeping sense of dread washed over me. Even if she was desperate to save a few bucks on a ride, would she really wait outside for me for over half an hour?

Unless

My heart pounded in my chest. I leaned forward to look at the driver.

A familiar, malevolent face turned to look at me.

"You work in the Apex Tower, a place like that your salaries must be huge, right?"

It was him. The same driver.

An icy terror seized me. I had deliberately waited, changed the timing how could it still be him?

Was I going to die again?

The primal fear of being blown apart urged me to flee, but Hailey suddenly grabbed my arm, her grip like a vice.

"Where are you going, Ivy? Let's go home."

Her voice was a soft whisper, like a demon at my ear.

04

While we struggled, the driver had already started the car.

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. The driver's eyes fell on my wrist, and he asked the same question as before. When I just stared down and said nothing, he exploded. "What's your problem? You think you're too good for me?"

Right on cue, Hailey started her spiel. "My friend Ivy here is a total winn"

"Shut your damn mouth, you idiot!" I roared, cutting her off. "Your breath stinks. Did you have dinner in a toilet? I called this car. Did you pay? Then what gives you the right to get in? And you!" I rounded on the driver. "I ordered a private car. Why did you let this freeloader in? Is she paying you?"

They say it takes a monster to beat a monster. Some people, when they see you're polite and well-mannered, will just push and push. Show them a flash of aggression, and they back down.

My outburst seemed to stun him. The rage simmered down a bit, and he focused on driving.

"Ivy, why are you being so rude?" Hailey said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "The driver was just being friendly. You don't have to be so disrespectful. Or is it because you come from a rich family, you look down on everyone else?"

The driver's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he shot me a venomous glare in the rearview mirror.

I crossed my arms and sneered. "My family has nothing to do with you. Compared to a broke loser like you, everyone's a millionaire. At least this driver has a car. You can't even afford the fare. Why are you even alive?"

Hearing this, the driver actually cracked a small, self-satisfied smile.

To my surprise, Hailey dropped her sweet-and-innocent act. Her face twisted into a sneer.

"Yeah, I'm not as rich as you. But at least I'm a good person, not a show-off! When everyone else orders Dunkin' for the office, you have to get Starbucks. Just to flaunt your money, right?"

She was talking about the time our boss asked me to order Starbucks for a client, and I bought some for the rest of the team as well.

"You pretend to be so down-to-earth, but you secretly look down on all of us, don't you? You have a closet full of LV bags at home, but you come to work carrying some crappy canvas tote. You think that makes you look humble? You're a fake!"

Something clicked in my mind. The canvas bag was a designer brand, just one Hailey didn't recognize. But that wasn't important. What was important was how did she know I had a closet full of designer bags at home?

Seeing my silence, she continued her tirade, turning to the driver. "Her parents are both professors at a top university. And what a coincidence, she got into that same university. You'd have to be an idiot to believe there wasn't some string-pulling involved."

I scoffed. "If your dumb ass could get into a decent college, did your parents pull some strings for you? They must be pretty important people. It takes a lot of power to rig college entrance exams. My parents are just law-abiding citizens. Not nearly as impressive as yours."

"Shut up, both of you bitches!" the driver suddenly screamed, his whole body starting to shake. "One more word and I'll kill you both!" He started banging his head against the steering wheel.

When the driver threatened to kill us, I saw a flicker of excitement in Hailey's eyes.

Soon, we passed Hailey's neighborhood, but the driver showed no signs of slowing down.

The smile on Hailey's face vanished. "Sir, this is my stop. You can pull over here."

The driver ignored her, heading straight for the mountain road.

Panic finally set in for Hailey. "I'm just a regular person!" she shrieked. "I'm a working-class person, just like you! If you're going to kill someone, kill Ivy! It's the rich people like her who deserve to die!"

The driver let out a chilling laugh. "You're both a couple of scheming bitches!"

He slammed his foot on the gas. "Two women to keep me company in hell worth it!"