The auditorium smells exactly like I remember—stale coffee, anxiety, and the desperate ambition of sixty graduate students pretending they're not terrified of the next five years of their lives. I'm sitting in the same seat I chose in my previous life. Third row, left side, perfect view of the stage where the department heads are about to present their research groups. In exactly four minutes, Professor Chen will stand up, adjust his designer glasses, and deliver the speech that made me waste six years of my life chasing his approval. Six years that ended with me sobbing in a bathroom stall after my third thesis rejection. Six years that ended with me stepping in front of a bus because I couldn't face telling my parents I'd failed again. But that was my past life. This is my second chance. "Welcome to the Molecular Biology graduate program at Sterling University," Dean Morrison's voice booms through the speakers. "Today, you'll hear from our principal investigators. By