Reborn, I’m Smiling as I Turn the Roommate Who Murdered Me into a Superstar Influencer

I wasn’t sick, but I was chewing through a bottle of Tums like they were candy.

I was doing it because in my last life, my roommate—a girl who ordered her curries mild and scraped the jalape?os off her nachos—transferred every agonizing side effect of her viral “Spicy Food Challenge” career directly into my body.

She would swallow a bowl of ramen designed to melt steel, her expression as placid as a lake, while I collapsed in our dorm room, my stomach twisting in violent cramps. She skyrocketed to fame as a competitive eater, a social media darling, while my tongue swelled and blistered until drinking water felt like swallowing shards of glass.

I remember sobbing, begging my boyfriend, Alex, to help me. He’d just yanked his hand away, his face a mask of disgust.

“God, Leah, you’re just jealous she’s famous,” he’d sneered. “You probably binged on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos behind her back and now you’re trying to blame her for your own mess.”

After that, my roommate, Maya, grew bolder. Right in front of me, she’d accept challenges that were less about food and more about masochism: the Ghost Pepper Gauntlet, the Wasabi Scream, the Inferno Noodle Nightmare, even a single drop of a military-grade pepper extract.

The last thing I remembered was the taste of blood as it poured from my nose and mouth, then darkness.

The doctors could find nothing wrong. They ran every test, scanned every organ, and found no pathological cause. In the end, they chalked it up to a complete system collapse brought on by extreme psychological stress.

I died from multi-organ failure, triggered by a massive gastric hemorrhage. Maya became a seven-figure influencer, living her best life with my boyfriend.

Then I opened my eyes. And I was back on the day she signed up for her very first spicy challenge.

1

“Guys, you will not believe this,” Maya chirped, waving her phone in the air. The screen glowed with a fiery red promotional poster. “The King of Spice Inferno Ramen Challenge. First prize is five grand!”

She fluffed her hair in the mirror. “Leah, what do you think? Should I do it? If I win, I’ll be the first real food influencer on campus.”

Our other roommate, Chloe, laughed from her desk. “Maya, get real. You order your pad thai with zero stars. You’re going to take on the ‘Inferno’ anything?”

Maya’s face flushed, and her eyes darted to me, pleading for backup.

In my last life, I had been her earnest friend. I’d told her it was a terrible idea, that her stomach was too sensitive, that she would destroy her health for a stupid stunt. She’d smiled gratefully, thanked me for my concern, and then proceeded to channel a private, personalized hell directly into my digestive system.

This time, I met her expectant gaze and let a slow, wide smile spread across my face.

“Do it,” I said, my voice smooth as silk. “Why wouldn't you?”

I swung my legs off my bunk and walked over to her, looping my arm through hers. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Maya. This is how stars are born.”

She blinked, clearly thrown by my enthusiastic support.

I ignored her surprise, pulling her toward the door. I pitched my voice just loud enough for the entire dorm hallway to hear.

“Everybody! Big announcement! Our Maya is entering the King of Spice challenge! She’s going to put the Communications department on the map!”

Instantly, heads popped out of doorways. Curious, excited faces turned toward Maya.

“For real? Maya’s doing it?”

“Damn! We have to go cheer for her!”

I pushed her gently into the center of the growing audience. “Maya’s our secret weapon,” I announced with a conspiratorial grin. “She can handle more heat than anyone I know. She’s just always been too modest to show off.”

I leaned in, my voice full of manufactured pride. “But for the honor of our department, she’s decided to finally unleash her true power.”

Across the hall, a freshman girl filming a “day in the life” vlog for her YouTube channel brightened, immediately swinging her camera toward us. I caught the movement, and my smile deepened.

The cheers and sudden attention were like a drug to Maya. She couldn’t back down now, not from this. She visibly straightened her spine, basking in the spotlight.

“Of course,” she said, her voice ringing with newfound confidence. “I always do what I say I’m going to do.”

Her calculating gaze landed on me. “Besides, Leah, you’ve always been my biggest supporter. I have to do something amazing. I can’t let you down.”

I just smiled, saying nothing. As she moved to hug me, I took a subtle half-step back, ensuring there was no chance for her skin to touch mine.

2

I’d barely made it to my morning lecture when a hand slammed against the classroom door, pinning me against the frame.

“Are you insane, Leah?”

It was my boyfriend, Alex, his face dark with fury.

“You know what Maya’s stomach is like! The girl thinks black pepper is spicy. You’re her friend, and instead of talking her out of it, you hyped her up in front of the entire dorm? You basically forced her into it! What the hell is your problem?”

I shoved him back, my own anger flaring hot and real.

“She said she wanted to do it. She said she could win. What right do you, an outsider, have to stand here and yell at me about it?” I jabbed a finger at his chest. “And let’s get something straight, Alex. I’m your girlfriend. Not Maya.”

A slow, deliberate clap echoed from the doorway.

Our department advisor, Ms. Albright, stood there, a wry smile on her face as she nodded at me.

“Ms. Miller is right.”

She adjusted her glasses, her eyes sharp and intelligent behind the lenses. “This is a time for encouragement, not doubt. This isn’t just an opportunity for Maya, it’s a fantastic publicity opportunity for the Communications department.”

Alex’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “But what if she fails? She’ll be a laughingstock! Her reputation will be ruined!”

Looking at him, so desperately worried about Maya, I almost laughed out loud.

Ms. Albright’s expression was one of pitying disappointment, the kind reserved for a student who just doesn’t get it. “If she fails,” she explained slowly, “we frame it as a testament to her courage. ‘Northwood Student Bravely Takes on Impossible Challenge.’ It’s a story of ambition. The attempt alone gets us clicks, boosts our department’s profile. It’s perfect material for our submission to the University Excellence Awards this year.”

She paused, letting the brilliance of it sink in. “And if she succeeds? Even better. We’ll have a bona fide celebrity in our ranks. Think of the value for student recruitment and alumni engagement.”

Alex, who had been shouting at me moments before, was utterly silenced.

Ms. Albright gave him a pointed, warning look. “This is about our department’s reputation now, Alex. As a member of the Student Government, you need to understand the big picture. Don’t make this messy.”

That single bucket of ice-cold pragmatism extinguished Alex’s fiery crusade for Maya’s honor.

After Ms. Albright swept down the hall, Alex turned his glare on me. “You knew she couldn’t do it. You’re just letting her walk right into a train wreck. You make me sick.”

He leaned in closer. “I’m telling you, Leah. If anything happens to Maya, I will never forgive you.”

Looking at his pathetic, posturing face, I honestly couldn't believe I’d ever loved him. A past life of blindness.

I let out a cold, short laugh. “Then we’re done.”

Alex froze. “What? I was just angry, I didn’t mean… If Maya—”

I had no interest in hearing him squirm. I shoved him out of the classroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

“Don’t make me call your parents!” I shouted through the wood.

Outside, Alex’s protests died instantly. His footsteps faded down the hall in a furious retreat. His parents were respected academics, obsessed with their reputation. If they knew their son was blowing up his long-term relationship to champion another girl, they would ground him until he was thirty.

3

Three days later, the King of Spice challenge went live.

Onstage, under the glare of streaming lights, Maya calmly consumed an entire platter of ramen swimming in a blood-red chili oil. She didn’t even break a sweat.

The crowd went wild.

That evening, I was in the library trying to study when a familiar, savage cramp seized my stomach. It felt like a vise grip tightening around my organs.

I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out, a cold sweat instantly drenching the back of my shirt.

It was the exact same pain as before.

But this time, I hadn't touched Maya. I hadn't even accepted a bottle of water from her. The pain had found me anyway. I realized with a sickening lurch that this wasn't about physical contact. It was something deeper, something parasitic. A transfer of pure harm.

I immediately left the library and went to the nearest urgent care.

The diagnosis came back quickly: acute gastric mucosal lesions with erosive hemorrhaging.

My phone buzzed. It was Alex.

His voice was electric with excitement. “Leah, Maya won! The whole team is at O’Malley’s celebrating. Get over here and cover the tab, will you?”

I pressed a hand to my mouth, fighting back a wave of nausea. “I can’t,” I rasped. “I have a fever. I don’t feel well.”

A saccharine voice cut in from the background. It was Maya. “Oh, don’t be such a baby, Leah. What’s a little cold? But if you need anything, just let me know. I can have Alex take you to the ER.”

She knew. The triumphant smirk was audible in her voice. She knew exactly how I was feeling.

“That’s so thoughtful of you,” I managed to say, my voice dripping with irony. “My best friend.”

“Maya, you’re too nice!” another girl’s voice chimed in. “If it weren’t for Leah pushing you into this, you wouldn’t have had to take such a risk! If I were you, I would have dropped her as a friend ages ago.”

I had no desire to listen to their little performance. I ended the call and shut off my phone.

Just like last time, Maya became an overnight campus celebrity.

She immediately capitalized on the momentum, announcing a month-long “Ultimate Spice Tour,” where she would take on the Ghost Pepper, the Wasabi Scream, and the Inferno Noodle Nightmare in succession.

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