Her Love Is Traumatic

Rivalries and Revelations

The week after Christine fainted in the school corridor, life seemed to return to its usual hectic pace. Christine was not in school the past week as she went to attend some debate competition which made her miss a lot on classwork. She was hoping to ask some of her classmates to help her coverup.

Thinking about all this in her mind, physically Christine was busy sticking posters all around the school for the upcoming event she was organizing. The corridors were bustling with students, but Christine was in her own world, focused on making sure every poster was perfectly aligned.

As she turned a corner near the principal's office, she spotted Lara coming out, her expression stormy. Christine instantly knew something was wrong.

"Lara!" she called out, jogging over to her. "What's up? You look like you're ready to murder someone."

Lara huffed, clearly frustrated. "Mid-term results are about to be posted, and I just saw the list. I’m second."

Christine blinked in surprise. "Second? But that’s still really impressive! Who came first?"

Lara scowled. "Some guy named Alex Carter. He’s a new student from the Mathematics major. Apparently, he was doing homeschooling because he had a major accident, and only joined regular classes a week ago."

Christine frowned, thinking. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him.”

"You wouldn’t have," Lara said, her tone sharp. "He wasn’t around much before. But he’s here now, and he’s already beaten me. By five marks."

Christine tilted her head. “Well, that’s not too bad, right? You can definitely catch up and beat him in the final exams!”

Lara wasn’t convinced. “I don’t know. My trophy is important to me, Kay. I’ve always been the top student, and now this... this Alex comes out of nowhere.”

Christine tried to lighten the mood. “Well, if it’s that serious, I'll help you as your best friend."

"And how are you going to do that? Don't say you'll teach me Biology " said Lara

"Oh no, why work so hard when I got such a pretty face?  That Alex guy, I could always make him fall in love with me. That should distract him from studying, right?” Christine said twirling around excitedly..

Lara gave her a small, reluctant smile. “You’re impossible.”

Christine grinned, happy to see her friend smile again, even if it was just for a moment. But the thought of this mysterious Alex Carter lingered in her mind as they headed off to their next classes.

Later that day, Christine found herself rushing to get to her Math class on time. She was barely a second ahead of the teacher, panting as she paused at the door. Just as she was about to step inside, a voice from behind caught her off guard.

"Are you planning to go inside on your own, or should I carry you around for the second time?"

Startled, Christine turned around and was met with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she had been dreaming about for the past week. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt her cheeks flush.

It was him.

She quickly moved aside, mumbling a quiet, “Sorry,” as she let him pass. He gave her a slight smirk before stepping into the classroom. Christine followed him in, her heart pounding in her chest.

Class went by in a blur. Christine could barely focus, her mind racing with thoughts of those blue eyes. As soon as the bell rang, she hurried to pack up her things, eager to escape the awkwardness she felt. But as she stepped out of the classroom, there he was again, waiting.

He walked up to her, a calm, confident smile on his face. "Alex Carter," he said, extending his hand. "And you?"

Christine’s mind went blank for a second. That name—Alex Carter. It all clicked into place. "Oh no," she thought. "This is Lara's rival?"

She shook his hand, feeling her heart race even faster. "Christine... Christine Hale," she managed to mumble before abruptly pulling her hand back and practically running away.

Once she was out of sight, Christine leaned against a wall, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest.

"Out of all the people, why does he have to be Alex Carter? Lara’s going to kill me," she muttered under her breath, a mix of excitement and dread washing over her.

Outside the classroom, Alex was still trying to process what just happened. Mr. Morris, their maths teacher asked him to help Christine with last week's classes and assignments and for the same he was waiting for her after class. Before he could say something she literally ran away as if she saw a ghost.

"Girls these days" he exclaimed and started walking towards his next class.

Later that day, Christine encountered her maths teacher, who mentioned that Alex had been asked to help her catch up on the material she missed. Realizing that Alex was supposed to be assisting her, Christine felt a pang of embarrassment over her earlier behavior.

Her teacher handed her Alex’s contact number, advising her to reach out to him soon. Christine took the number with a mix of dread and relief.

"Kay, what are you doing here standing like a statue ? Let's go " said Lara when she found Christine standing at the corridor holding a piece of paper in her hand.

They started walking together.

"So? Whose number is this?" asked Lara

“This is Alex’s number. Apparently, he’s been asked to help me with my math.” mumbled Christine still expressionless.

“Really?” Lara’s voice was sharp with curiosity. “And how did that go?”

Christine hesitated. “Well, I kind of made a fool of myself in front of him. I’m not sure I’m ready to text him after that weird encounter.”

Christine narrated the series of events that happened after her Maths class.

Lara laughed softly. “Sounds like you’ve got quite an adventure ahead of you. Good luck!”

Christine shrugged with a sigh, staring at the contact number. The thought of reaching out to Alex was daunting, but she knew she had to make it work.

With a heavy heart and a sense of impending awkwardness, Christine prepared to face the challenge that awaited her.

" Hey,
This is me, Christine.
Sorry about the incident earlier, I was in a rush to attend my club meeting.
If you are free tomorrow, can we study together after school?"
It took Christine half an hour to type this message and she pressed the send button hesitantly.

After accomplishing her task, Christine covered herself with a blanket and dozed off instantly without waiting for any reply.