After My Childhood Sweetheart Betrayed Me

At the post-exam party, a game of Never Have I Ever turns cruel for Bertram Harding. Neal James announces his early admission to Northbridge University, then declares he has a girlfriend and kisses Ellie Pruitt in front of the whole room. Bertram, who grew up beside Ellie and believed her promise that they would be together once exams ended, folds down his last finger and loses the game—and far more than that.

The crowd's laughter reveals what everyone else already knew: Ellie made the meal that triggered Bertram's allergy attack, costing him the Olympiad competition and the recommendation Neal took instead. When Bertram asks her if it is true, she answers that it does not matter. He flees, then runs back on a hope that is met with a basin of ice water, a bet won, and Ellie handing Neal the jade luck pendant she once called a token of a promise.

Left kneeling on the cold floor with a bloodied knee, Bertram checks into a hotel rather than go home. When he comes out, his phone holds several messages from Ellie.