Chapter 250: week before midterms III
Friday
Friday morning, Vivienne sent her usual message before leaving for her physical activity club, equestrian.
Good morning! I hope you have a lovely day ahead. Take care of yourself.
She sent it without waiting.
Then she went to class.
By the time Christopher saw it, she was already busy with her own morning.
He smiled when he read it.
He had become accustomed to seeing her name first thing.
It was a pleasant way to start the day.
He replied:
Good morning, Vivienne. Thank you. I hope your day goes well too.
--
(Equestrian club)
Vivienne stood near the riding grounds with the other members, watching as several horses were brought out.
She still didn’t particularly like them.
She had joined the club because of Anthony, after all.
That had seemed like a perfectly reasonable decision at the time.
Now, however, she knew something else.
Christopher liked polo.
And his father apparently had a fondness for horses.
Vivienne watched one of the horses pass.
She sighed inwardly.
Fine.
Perhaps she should continue learning to tolerate them.
She didn’t have to love horses.
Tolerance would be enough.
At least, that was what she told herself.
--
Later that afternoon, she attended a Literature Society activity.
Catherine Lovell, the society’s president, was there as usual.
The fourth-year Political Governance student seemed to glance at Vivienne more often than necessary.
Vivienne noticed.
She still couldn’t understand why.
She considered wondering about it for approximately three seconds.
Then decided she didn’t care.
Nothing was going to spoil her mood.
Not horses.
Not strange looks.
Not even the mountain of reading waiting for her that evening.
She liked Christopher.
He liked talking to her.
And somehow, that made everything else feel considerably less important.
--
That evening, Vivienne returned to her room and studied until dinner.
Before eating, she sent Christopher a message.
I hope you had a good day. Don’t forget to have a proper dinner before you go back to studying.
She sent it.
She smiled faintly.
Then went to eat.
Later, when she returned, his reply was waiting.
I did. Thank you. I hope you had a good day too.
She smiled.
I did.
She put her phone away.
Before sleeping, she sent:
Good night, Christopher. Sleep well.
Then she finally went to bed.
--
Saturday
This Saturday, Foundation volunteer work had been cancelled to give the students more time to prepare for their midterm examinations.
Unfortunately, that didn’t make it a rest day.
It had become exactly what it was intended for—a full day of studying.
By the time Vivienne and the girls arrived at one of the study areas on campus, finding an empty table had become an accomplishment in itself.
Students were everywhere.
Books occupied almost every available surface.
Amelia stared around the room.
"Everyone had the same idea."
Claire laughed.
"Apparently."
They eventually found a small table near the windows.
It wasn’t ideal.
But it would do.
Vivienne arranged her books and glanced at the clock.
Then, almost unconsciously, she looked at her phone.
Nothing.
She stared at the screen for a moment.
She hadn’t heard from Christopher since their exchange the night before.
She had been hoping—
Well.
Perhaps she had been hoping he might message her first.
Just once.
The thought made her smile faintly at herself.
They were both studying. He was probably busy.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering whether he enjoyed talking to her as much as she enjoyed talking to him.
After all, she was always the one who started their conversations.
She didn’t know what that meant.
Perhaps nothing.
Perhaps everything.
Vivienne looked down at the books scattered across the table.
Then back at her phone.
She sighed softly.
She wanted to talk to him.
That was the problem.
She wanted to tell him about the ridiculous difficulty of finding a place to study.
She wanted to know what he was doing.
Whether he was studying alone.
Whether he had eaten.
What he had been reading.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend that she didn’t simply enjoy having him in her day.
So, despite the small uncertainty sitting somewhere in the back of her mind, she picked up her phone.
She typed:
Good morning, Christopher. We finally found a table to study at, but apparently half the university had the same idea.
She smiled.
Then added:
Are you studying with your friends today?
She sent it.
Vivienne placed her phone down.
She didn’t regret it.
Because she wanted to talk to him.
And, for now, that was reason enough.
--
Christopher saw the message later.
He had been studying on his own when he finally checked his phone.
A smile appeared when he saw Vivienne’s name.
He read her message again.
He could almost picture her sitting somewhere with her friends, surrounded by books and probably complaining about the lack of tables.
He typed:
I’m studying on my own at the moment. I usually prefer it that way, although my friends tend to convince me to join them.
He paused.
Then added:
I hope you and your friends found somewhere comfortable. Good luck with your studying today, Vivienne.
He sent it.
--
Vivienne saw his reply much later.
She smiled.
There was no grand revelation in his answer.
Nothing that told her exactly what he felt.
But he had answered.
He had asked about her.
He had wished her luck.
She typed:
We did. It’s a little crowded, but we’ll manage. Good luck with yours too.
She sent it.
Then finally turned back to her books.
She still hoped that soon, he would be the one to message her first.
But she wasn’t going to stop herself from talking to him simply because she wasn’t sure what he felt.
--
The rest of Saturday passed quietly.
Study.
Break.
Study again.
A quick lunch.
Another round of revision.
By evening, Vivienne was tired enough that even Christopher couldn’t distract her for long.
She sent him her usual good-night message.
Good night, Christopher. Rest well.
Then she closed her books.
Tomorrow was the last full day before the examinations.
--
Sunday
Sunday arrived with the quiet understanding that there was no time left to waste.
Tomorrow was the first examination.
Vivienne spent most of the morning reviewing her notes with Claire, Amelia, and Eleanor. By afternoon, their study sessions had become quieter, interrupted only by the occasional question or the turning of another page.
Even Amelia had stopped complaining.
That alone was proof of how serious things had become.
Vivienne barely touched her phone.
She didn’t want to.
Not today.
She knew Christopher was studying too.
She knew Christopher was studying too, and she didn’t want to distract him.
Still, whenever she happened to glance at the screen, a small part of her wondered whether he might message her first.
Nothing.
Then she’d return to her notes.
By evening, she had finally finished the last section she wanted to review.
Vivienne closed her notebook and leaned back in her chair.
She was tired.
But she felt ready.
A tiny disappointment touched her when she glanced at her phone again.
Tomorrow was the examination.
Of course he was busy.
She knew that.
And besides, she had already told herself she wasn’t going to make this into something it wasn’t.
They were still getting to know each other.
She liked him.
Very much.
Perhaps more than was sensible after such a short time.
But she didn’t know what Christopher wanted yet.
She only knew that he enjoyed talking to her enough to answer whenever she reached out..
Vivienne picked up her phone.
She had wanted to message him all day.
She had resisted.
But now she didn’t see any reason to.
She wanted to wish him luck.
She typed:
Good evening, Christopher. Good luck with your exams tomorrow. I hope everything goes well for you.
She read it once.
Then added:
You’ve worked hard for this. I know you’ll do well.
She sent it.
She didn’t expect anything from him.
She simply wanted him to know that she was thinking of him.
--
Christopher saw the message later that evening.
He had spent most of the day studying and had barely checked his phone.
When he finally did, Vivienne’s name was waiting for him.
He opened the message.
Good evening, Christopher. Good luck with your exams tomorrow. I hope everything goes well for you. You’ve worked hard for this. I know you’ll do well.
He smiled.
She had remembered.
He typed:
Thank you, Vivienne. I appreciate that. Good luck to you as well. I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.
He paused.
Then added:
And don’t stay up too late tonight.
He sent it.
--
Vivienne’s phone vibrated a few minutes later.
She opened the message.
Her smile appeared immediately.
Thank you, Vivienne. I appreciate that. Good luck to you as well. I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow. And don’t stay up too late tonight.
She read it twice.
Then smiled.
He had remembered to worry about her too.
She typed:
I won’t. Good night, Christopher. Sleep well.
She sent it.
A moment later, his reply came.
Good night, Vivienne.
She placed her phone beside her.
Tomorrow was the first examination.
For the next few days, they would both have to put everything else aside.
She still didn’t know what Christopher truly thought of her.
She didn’t know whether he wanted anything beyond these little conversations.
And perhaps she didn’t need to know yet.
For now, she was simply happy that when she reached out, he was always there on the other side.
Vivienne turned off the light.
Tomorrow could wait until morning.
Tonight, she was content.
--