Could you fall in love with someone you never met, saw or spoke to? Sounds unlikely?
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Ella is an overworked college student whose only plan is to complete her degree swiftly & proficiently. Sounds simple en...
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CHAPTER 17: Magic & Enchantment
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Ella never thought she would prefer peacefully slow and boring classes, but that changed when she had to share her work and time with Neo, her new project partner and now every minute seems that much more aggravating and unbearable.
His behaviour towards her was less than friendly, his mannerism standoffish and the few words he sometimes spoke dripped with indifference.
Any expectations she had of having a fun semester was down the drainage. This one was gonna be stressful and might end with a possible homicide. Ella thought as she frowned at Neo who was hunched over his thick book, reading with focused concentration.
It's usually like that with him, he's either researching on his laptop, taking notes or reading a book silently to himself after assigning her a task without discussing it with her as if he was her boss rather than her project partner.
And she has had enough.
When Ella tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, he turned to her with a disgruntled look that only made her angrier. "Can we speak after class?" She forced herself to say calmly.
His brows pinched as he frowned at her question, but seemingly intrigued, he nodded, "sure."
That satisfied her for now as both of them returned to work, while Ella waited impatiently for the class to end.
When the time was finally up and everyone started packing up their stuff, Neo sat in his chair as if he had all the time in the world. He didn't even pack the book he was reading, maybe he wasn't going to.
When Ella came to stand next to him, he stood up, as if to intimidate her with his height and with his aloof face. "What do you want to talk about? I don't think there's anything to discuss." He mumbled.
Her anger that had ebbed away a little, returned in full force, "Discuss? I'm surprised you even know what that means!" She snapped. "I understand you don't want to work with me, it's clear to me, but this project is important, and whether you like it or not we're stuck with each other." Ella breathed in, as if to calm herself, while Neo looked shocked.
"We are supposed to be a pair, a team and the project is supposed to be a reflection of both our ideas and opinions, and combined work, I don't care if you don't want to work together with me, frankly I'm not over the moon about it, but if we are doing this, we are gonna do it right. We are going to discuss and redo everything we have worked on so far. You can't give me tasks and expect me to complete them without questions. We need to come to a conclusion together. There's going to be a Q and A at the end of the presentation and we both should know the answers to the questions raised. Let's meet tomorrow after class and go over everything...okay?"
Neo nodded a few times, eyes slightly wide as he said, "Okay."
And then, with that confirmation, Ella pushed the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder and left the classroom, saying, "See you later."
