My Genius Best Friend Ruined His Life

My childhood best friend, Ethan, fell head over heels for the new girl at school.

She smoked, drank, got tattoos, and picked fights.

But in Ethans eyes, that wasn't being a delinquent. It was freedom. It was cool.

I once warned him to stay away from her. She wasn't the kind of girl kids like usstraight-A studentsshould mess with.

But Ethan just looked at me and said, "Chloe, you don't get it. Shes living the life Ive always wanted."

I went to the counselors office to hand in my AP Physics Olympiad form.

That was when I saw Ethan. He was wearing ripped jeans and a graphic teethe exact same one Skylar wore. He stood in front of Mrs. Gable with his arms crossed.

The respect he used to have for teachers was gone. His eyes held nothing but arrogance and annoyance.

"Ethan, look at your grade on this practice exam. You dropped from an A straight to a C."

"Look at yourself. Do you even look like an honors student anymore?!"

Mrs. Gables desk was covered with Ethans latest test papers.

I squinted. The pages were covered in red ink, and his handwriting was a sloppy mess.

Was this a joke?

Ethan used to get perfect scores on every single test. His handwriting was always flawless.

His test papers used to be scanned and distributed to the entire school as answer keys.

A C? He couldn't get a C even if he took the test with his eyes closed.

Yet, Ethan just stood there, completely unfazed. He smirked, looking up at the ceiling, ignoring every word Mrs. Gable said.

"Ethan! Im talking to you! What is this attitude?"

Ethan let out a cold laugh. "Its just who I am now."

Suddenly, he leaned down, getting right in Mrs. Gables face. He lowered his voice.

"Are you only worried about my grades because youll lose your Ivy League placement bonus if I don't get into Harvard?"

Mrs. Gables face turned bright red.

She pointed a finger at the smirking Ethan, but she was so angry she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Honestly, if it weren't for the school's strict code of conduct, I was pretty sure Mrs. Gable would have cursed him out right then and there.

In the end, she didn't say anything else.

She just let out a heavy sigh, threw the test paper at Ethan, and waved him off. "Fine. Whatever. If you want to ruin your life, go ahead."

After Ethan left, I stepped up and handed my Physics Olympiad registration form to Mrs. Gable.

She took it, looked at me, and nodded with a small, relieved smile.

Ethan and I had been competing in physics since our freshman year.

In freshman year, I took third place, and Ethan took second.

In sophomore year, I took second, and Ethan took first.

I was always exactly one spot behind him, and it drove me crazy.

I had made a bet with him. I told him that during our senior year, I would definitely take first place and rub it in his face.

Back then, Ethan had just smiled, gently ruffling my hair.

"Chloe, some things are just about raw IQ. You can't beat me, and you never will."

"Even if you somehow get first, your overall SAT scores will never touch mine."

Looking at his confident, proud face back then, I had been more determined than ever to beat him.

I always believed that if I worked hard enough, I could have everything I wanted.

Just as I turned to leave, Mrs. Gable called out to me.

I turned around, confused. She looked at me with worried eyes.

"Chloe, you and Ethan are close. Can you please talk to him?"

"Hes such a good kid. I don't want him getting dragged down by the wrong crowd."

"Skylars family has serious money. Even if she drops out of high school, she can just go inherit her dads company."

"But what about Ethan? What is he going to do without college?"

"Look at his grades lately. Theyre in a freefall. And hes starting to act like a street punk."

"I think I saw a tattoo on his arm earlier today."

"He used to be such a sweet, sensible boy. How did he ruin himself so fast?"

Honestly, it wasn't just Mrs. Gable who couldn't figure it out. I couldn't understand it either.

My mom and Ethans mom, Sarah, had been best friends since college.

When they got pregnant, they made a pact. If they had kids of the same gender, theyd be best friends. If they had a boy and a girl, theyd arrange for them to end up together.

So, Ethan and I grew up together. We were attached at the hip because of our moms.

Later, when our families got richer, we bought houses right across the street from each other.

In our moms' eyes, we were practically engaged. Obviously, living closer was better.

Ethan was incredibly handsome. He had big eyes, long eyelashes, and pale skin. Sometimes, he looked prettier than I did.

Honestly, even without our moms pushing us, I had fallen for him anyway.

Ever since kindergarten, I had told my mom that I was going to marry Ethan when I grew up.

I told her, "Hes so pretty. Our babies are going to be gorgeous."

My mom just laughed and called me shameless.

I also told Ethan, "Im going to marry you when we grow up."

Ethan had just patted my head. "Sure. But you better keep up with me. Don't get left behind."

So, starting in elementary school, I spent my life chasing after him.

But the older we got, the more I realized how unfair life was. Why did Ethan get to sleep in class, play video games all night, and still rank first in the state?

Meanwhile, I had to pay 100% attention in class, go to prep school after hours, and study until midnight just to barely keep up with his pace.

I worked hard for over ten years, waiting for our senior year.

I thought if I pushed myself for one more year, wed go to the same Ivy League university, and eventually, wed get married.

But then, senior year started, Skylar transferred to our school, and everything changed.

Skylar wasn't stunningly beautifulat least, not to me.

She had a messy, short haircut, wore oversized cargo pants, and carried a worn-out crossbody bag. She always looked incredibly relaxed, like she didn't have a care in the world.

She stood at the front of the classroom on her first day, chewing gum like a movie rebel.

Before Mrs. Gable could even finish introducing her, Skylar interrupted. "Is that empty seat in the back mine?"

She didn't even wait for a nod. She just walked straight to the back row, threw her bag into the desk, put her head down, and went to sleep.

Everyone said Skylar looked like trouble. For her first week, nobody dared to talk to her.

Not that she cared.

During breaks, she played on her phone. During class, she slept.

I didn't know what her deal was, but all the teachers seemed to have a silent agreement to leave her alone.

Whether she slept, skipped homework, or cut class entirely, they just turned a blind eye.

One day on our walk home, I brought up Skylar to Ethan.

"Life really is unfair," I sighed. "The AP exams are right around the corner, and I feel like twenty-four hours a day isn't enough."

"But look at Skylar. She sleeps or plays on Snapchat all day. She doesn't worry about a thing. Im so jealous of her."

Usually, when I complained like this, Ethan would encourage me.

He would say, "Don't worry about others. Just focus on your own path."

But this time, he actually agreed. "Yeah. I envy her too."

"Shes free. She does whatever she wants. Nobody is forcing her to go to Harvard."

"Shes so relaxed. No dress code, no constant studying, she doesn't even have to show up to class if she doesn't want to."

"Shes wild. The other day, I saw her climb the school fence with some guys. Her world is so colorful."

Ethans eyes literally lit up when he spoke about Skylar.

He whispered, "Chloe, I really envy her. I think... I want to try living like that."

At the time, I thought he was just venting, the same way I was.

I never imagined he didn't just want to dream about it. He wanted to live it.

Its hard for a bad student to become good, but it is incredibly easy for a good student to go bad.

I didn't know when Ethan and Skylar actually started dating. I hadn't even noticed him talking to her.

But by the time I found out, they were already wearing matching vintage jackets at school, and Ethans grades had begun to plummet.

On a Friday walk home, the silence between us was deafening.

As we neared our houses, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Ethan, are you dating Skylar?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Is that why your grades are dropping?"

His face instantly darkened.

"Chloe, why are you acting like everyone else? Why does everyone blame Skylar for my grades?"

"My grades have nothing to do with her."

"How can you say that? I saw you. You bought a burner phone."

"You spend all of class texting her, don't you?"

Ethan stiffened. He snapped, "Mind your own business," and got off the bus early.

We weren't even at our stop yet. He was practically running away.

But I didn't chase him. I had AP prep homework to do. I didn't have time to chase a boy.

Soon after, Ethan started skipping study hall with Skylar.

Before he skipped, he would always come to my desk and beg me to cover for him.

Since he had always been a golden student, the teachers were incredibly lenient with him.

All he had to say was, "The classroom is too loud for me to focus," and they would let him go study in the library. They only cared about his final scores anyway.

"Ethan, did you even finish the homework packets for this week?" I asked him one day when he begged me to cover for him again.

He scoffed. "Please. That baby stuff? I don't even need to look at it."

He glanced down at the AP English practice test I was working on. With just a single glance, he pointed out two mistakes I had made in the multiple-choice section.

Then, he smirked at me, as if to say:

"See? You work so hard, and I can spot your mistakes in a second."

"Do you really think someone like me needs to do homework?"

I swallowed my anger, corrected my answers, and nodded.

I knew Ethans personality too well. You had to stroke his ego.

If I nagged him like Mrs. Gable did, he would only hate me, and hed hate school even more.

So, I tried to trick him into focusing on his studies again.

For example, I would take a brutally hard math Olympiad question to him and ask him how to solve it. But just as he got focused and started sketching out formulas, I would suddenly snatch the paper back and say, "Oh, never mind, I got it!"

Then Id explain the solution to him with a smug grin, adding, "Bummer, Ethan. Guess you're getting a bit rusty." I wanted to trigger his competitive nature.

But my tricks stopped working because Mrs. Gable finally called Ethans mom about his failing grades.

The two middle-aged women staged an intervention. They sat him down, begging him to focus on his future, telling him he could date whoever he wanted once he got into a good college.

Ethans mom even brought me into it.

"Look at Chloe! She used to have average grades, but she worked her butt off just to get into the same AP classes as you."

"Ethan, Im not trying to control your life. But you are brilliant. If you ruin your shot at the Ivy League over a high school crush, you will regret it forever."

"Exactly," Mrs. Gable chimed in. "Even if you want to date, you should date someone who shares your goals. This Skylar girl..."

Mrs. Gable trailed off.

Ethan didn't say a word. He just sat there, taking their lecture in silence.

The summary of their speech was simple: "Break up with Skylar, study hard, and get into Harvard."

They thought his silence meant he was listening.

But after that day, Ethan didn't just skip study hall. He started skipping core classes too.

See? I told you. You have to handle him with care, or he snaps.

By the end of the semester, Ethan went from straight As to failing multiple classes.

When Sarah came back from the school meeting, her face was completely pale.

That night, I could hear her screaming through the walls of our house.

"Your father and I worked ourselves to the bone to pay for your tuition and prep classes! Youre on the verge of graduation, and you're just throwing it all away?!"

"You could date anyone, anytime! Why does it have to be during your senior year?!"

"Do you have any idea how hard Chloe is working? She studies until midnight every single night!"

"How did you become like this? Tattoos?! Who taught you that?!"

I tried to tune it out, but our houses were close, and Sarah was completely hysterical.

At 11:00 PM, I was fully focused on a tough physics problem when someone knocked on my door.

Weird. My mom never disturbed me when I was studying.

I opened the door. My mom stood there, looking uncomfortable. "Chloe... can you come out for a second?"

I walked into the living room and saw Sarah sitting on our couch, her eyes red and swollen.

The moment she saw me, she burst into tears again. "Chloe... Ethan ran away."