Alpha's Little Miracle

Chapter 112

ADRIA’S POV

What’s wrong with this? I thought in my mind. Why were the letters suddenly switching positions? I closed my eyes tightly, and opened them once more.

Same problem. I shook my head hard, and pushed my head close to the paper, but it didn’t work.

“Uh… som… something’s wrong with this.” I called out when the letters refused to stop swimming. My exam couldn’t fall into a ditch, just like that. My reading couldn’t come to naught due to swimming letters.

“What’s wrong?” The professor asked me, and I got to my feet rather loudly, causing everyone to get distracted.

“Something’s not right with my paper.” I told him hysterically, with my eyes glued to the papers.

The professor made his way over to me, and checked my papers.

“What exactly is not right with this paper, Adria? I see no defects whatsoever.” He replied, handing my papers back to me.

I checked the papers once more. They were still swimming. I couldn’t read a single word. My eyes went open and shut several times, and I shook my head hard.

Why couldn’t I read? Why? Why? Who was doing it to me?

“Adria, are you okay?” He asked, and his voice just seemed to release an arrow that cut the last straw stopping me from going crazy.

“Aah! Stop this! Stop it!” I shrieked, throwing the paper to the floor, and murmuring filled the air instantly.

“Adria, are you okay?” He asked, but I fell to the ground, sitting, and staring at the devilish paper. What an odd dream. I studied day and night, even though I was heartbroken about the state in which Lucien and I were stuck, and all I got was inability to read?

Tears began to slip out of my eyes, as I realized it wasn’t a dream. How was I supposed to keep my reputation as an A plus student, after failing an exam I wasn’t able to attempt?

“Adria, are you okay?” He asked, but his voice felt like distant echoes. I looked around, and everyone was laughing, pointing fingers.

“It’s time to step down.”

“Forget the exams.”

“Forget school. You’ll forever see the swimming letters.”

“Now, I’m taking over, Adria.”

I screamed—I screamed loudly and held my head. However, the laughing only got louder, and more intense. I couldn’t hear a single word the professor was saying…

I kept on screaming, until everything blacked out.

~

When I awoke, I was at the school clinic, and my friends were next to me.

“Adria!” Stacy called when she saw my eyes open.

I looked at them, and sat up.

“Hey guys.” I replied tiredly.

“What was all that? Anxiety?” Stacy asked, touching my arm.

“I don’t… I don’t know what it was.”

“You were unable to read?” Daniel asked, and my gaze switched to him.

“Yeah!”

“How can that be?” Tommy asked, ignorantly.

“Were the letters in a blur, or swimming?” Daniel asked again.

“They were swimming, interchanging positions, looking like each other… Gosh, Daniel. I was so scared. I thought I would fail the exam I had spent ages preparing for. It was… it was horrible. Then, the voices. Everyone was mocking me, and laughing, and it was like the only thing I could hear.

“It felt like my whole life had ended. I read so hard, Daniel. Crushing the exam was the only thing on my mind when I walked into the hall today, but what do I have to show for it? What if I can never read?” Everything came tumbling out of me, and to my surprise, Daniel understood it all.

“It’s anxiety. You’ve been stressing yourself, lately. You have a lot on your mind, and have been doing more than you should. There’s just something you’re so scared about that affects everything else.

“Reading is hard, writing an exam also is… and exams are the most precious to us who excel well in school, so pressure… Pressure broke the camel’s back. You’ve been barely holding yourself up, so today, you couldn’t… it all went tumbling down your hands.” Daniel explained sincerely, and I knew he had experienced it too.

Indeed, I was pressured. Pressured about school, the exams, and most importantly, making Lucien, and I work.

I couldn’t give up on our relationship. No, I couldn’t. And finding a solution was harder than it looked, so what was I supposed to do?

~

Later that day, My mum and I sat in the living room, conversing.

“I heard from the school.” She began.

“Oh…”

“They said you broke down in class, and had an anxiety attack.” My mum said, and I took in a deep breath.

“Yes, I did.”

“They’re having you rewrite the exam. Luckily, you’re known as an excelling student, so they understand all that happened. The pressure… the fear, but… that’s not really what happened, is it? Something else is eating away at you, Adria. You’ve gotten leaner, you eat lesser, you just changed, for the worse.” She explained, staring at me like she wished she could ease the truth out of me.

“It’s actually…” I was saying, but someone chose to interrupt at that time. The doorbell rang, and I jumped to my feet. “I’ll get that.”

“No, I will. Take your time thinking about how much you want to tell me. I’ll listen to it all.” She said, getting to her feet, and making her way towards the door.

I felt a little relieved. I was going to explain the pressure of having to part ways with Lucien due to our contrasting natures, and explain how bad I hated it, and needed to find a way out.

My thoughts were so overwhelming that I didn’t notice Lucien coming in.

Then he took a seat opposite me.

“Seems like the problem’s stemming from between you two. And I don’t know, but, I might have a way to fix it… only if you let me know what’s happening.” My mum pointed out, and I looked at Lucien.

I didn’t know if he wanted to tell my mother we had been engaged in fights where he almost killed me…

But I wanted to tell her. I was desperate for a solution, and my mum looked like she had solutions.