UNEXPECTED

CHAPTER 8:OPPONENT FEVER

Weekends ended and classes started. That morning, Rosie went to university with Draco. The moment she stepped out of the car, she felt envious looks. Draco was the popular guy after all and all the girls were rooting for him. "Don't you think there are way too many envious vibes towards us?" she asked him.

"That's because the lucky king had finally found the most beautiful queen and make her his," Draco replied placing his hand on Rosie's hip, pulling her closer as they walked to their lockers.

     Draco leaned against the locker which was beside Rosie's. "So, we can only meet during the break which is only for a few minutes, and after all the classes?" he asked with a sad face. "Yes," Rosie answered smiling. She pecked him on the cheek before going to her class. Rosie sat beside Alice and they talked while waiting for the professor to enter.

      Soon, the professor entered and classes went on as usual. Rosie and Alice went to their lockers before going for the break. Alice left with Asher after keeping her things while Rosie was searching for something in her locker. She then took a file and walked down the hallway to the caféteria when someone pulled her to a silent side of the hallway. That person pushed her against the wall. She soon realized it was Draco.

     Draco held one hand on the wall and the other embraced Rosie's cheek. She took a deep breath, butterflies flying in her stomach. "Don't you think someone might see us?" she whispered. "I don't care," he said kissing her neck. She tried pushing him away but he just held her hand press it against the wall, kissing her cheek seductively. She finally managed to push him and walked down the hallways. She looked back and gave a sweet smile while he just stood there blushing.

      After the break, everyone went back to their classes. As Rosie entered the classroom, she saw Mr.Blaze sitting, doing some work. She greeted him and took her seat. Mr.Blaze started his lessons after everyone came. Before that, he reminded them of the upcoming exams and competitions.

"As you all know, you'll be having your mid-term exams soon which is next week. Then, the following week our university will be having the International Smartness Competition Week, which most of you had signed up for. So, there will be some changes in your results day. Usually, you will get your marks right after the teacher marks your paper but this time, your results will be given on the same day you'll be knowing the champions of the competitions,"

      Everyone gasped as they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Alice told Rosie that it will be a super-double-boom because they are joining all the competitions and the results day was on the same day as the basketball competition. "We'll be getting the results right after we know the sport's result," "Calm down, Alice. It will be alright," Rosie told her panicking friend.

      That evening, Rosie came home tired and hungry, after work. Alice greeted her from the living room. She had a lot of papers and was doing something on her laptop. Rosie went straight into the bathroom. When she came out, with only a towel wrapping around her body, she froze seeing Draco sitting on her bed. "Oh my god! You should really get out of my room.NOW!"

"Wow babe, you look hot with just a towel on,"

"Now, get out I say,"

"Babe, come on,"

"Out, Draco!" she pushed him out of the room.

         She put on a pair of sweaters and went downstairs to the study room where everyone was studying. There was a pizza box in the corner for Rosie and they have already had their shares. They were all having study sessions for the upcoming exam and getting ready for the competition which will be right after the exam week.

        In the middle of studying, Alice stood up to go get some drinks after a long time of studying. Asher followed behind her. After they left, Draco came closer to Rosie to teach her a Maths equation that she didn't understand. She felt his breath on her cheek and he placed one of his hands on her waist pulling her even closer. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Then in between teaching her, he kissed her cheek.

      Rosie stood up but Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her. She fell on his lap. "We should be studying right now," she told him, her arms around his neck. "We studied too long. Time for a short break," he said caressing her cheeks. Asher and Alice stood near the door staring at them, not making any noise.

"Wow, they are so into it," Alice said.

"I bet. I just don't understand why they hadn't got deep,"

"Me too,"

         Alice cleared her throat and Rosie moved to her place whereas Draco tidied his shorts. They looked at each other and went on doing their work. It was already 11 p.m when Asher and Draco left. The girls went to their rooms and slept thinking about the exams and competitions.

       Rosie and her friends had a lot of study sessions. Even their teachers helped them with it. They had to prepare for their exams and competitions as well. They knew that it will be hard and they will be stressed so, they decided to make a schedule. Rosie concentrated on her studies a little more than work.

     One week passed by, exam day soon arrived. Rosie went into the exam hall with her friends. They wished each other good luck and took their seats. Exams started, Rosie was concentrated on her exams that she didn't look anywhere but her paper. She was confident that she will pass her exam but felt slightly nervous.

       Soon enough one week passed by, it was the last day of exams, last minute to be exact. "Pens down," the examiner said and started collecting the papers. Rosie looked behind at Alice and smiled. The moment they stepped out of the examination hall, they hugged each other. "Damn, exam stress is finally over!" Alice said.

"Yes," Draco agreed with her.

"Competitions left," Asher continued.

"It's not too much stress though," Rosie said.

        Exams week came to an end. Rosie only had the weekends to prepare for the competitions. She worked hard and she was ready for all the 8 competitions together with her friends. Rosie was enthusiastic. All her friends were by her side. They were pairing up only for a few competitions which required group and the other competitions were joined only by Rosie. Time flew by real quick.

---Day 1:Poem writing and Brainstorming---

         Rosie had two different competitions for that day. The first competition was poem writing which was at 9 a.m. She went to the place the competition was being held. Since her friends are not joining they could roam around freely so they came to see Rosie doing her best. The theme was to write about something the writer misses. She wrote the poem, hand it in, and joined her friends.

      Then, at 11, after the break, she had the brainstorming competition. She went in and took a seat. She was nervous at some point but her friends cheered her up. The competition started and the teacher-in-charge gave some really hard rapid-fire questions and brain teasers. There were different types of brain teasers. They even had memory games. Rosie did it all as fast as she could and she finished.

     That evening, after work, Rosie was having dinner with her friends before practicing for tomorrow's competition. After dinner, Rosie went to her room to get her phone while the others went to the special room in the corner. Draco came in after her and hugged her from the back. "We haven't had some alone time since exams started," he said laying his head on her shoulder. She turned to face him and buried her face in his chest.

"Let all this stress get over. We'll go for a vacation and spend some time having fun," Rosie said.

"Okay. I'll wait," he replied, kissing her on the forehead.

---Day 2:Sing and Dance---

    Rosie was standing near the stage with her friends, ready to be called on stage. They were going to dance while singing as they can't participate in two different rounds but the prize will be given in two different categories. They had practiced all night. This was actually the first time Rosie accepted to sing an original she herself wrote. Draco had put the music.

     They got called on stage. Rosie took a deep breath and started singing. Her voice sounded sweet. Then, they started dancing. All the audience started cheering, looking at their wonderful performance. They finished it. They felt happier and more relieved than ever. They only had two more days left.

---Day 3:Debate, Research, and Draw--

      Rosie had three competitions for that day. The first was the art competition which was held for an hour. Then, she and Alice had to go to the science competition. That lasted for 1 hour 30 minutes. Lastly, the girls joined their boyfriends for the last competition after the break which was the debate. They had to get into the finals.

      The judge gave them a few topics and the debate started. Their opponents were tough that at some point they thought they will lose but they stayed strong and tried hard in a smart way. They manage to defeat all their opponents and got into the finals. They were eager to know the winners. Unfortunately, they couldn't know it that very day.

       That afternoon, Rosie, Alice, Asher, Draco, and a few other friends of theirs met up at Draco's place to practice basketball as they will be competing with the most famous and toughest group. They practiced and came up with new strategies. They were allowed to mix up because their opponent group was a mixture of boys and girls.

---Day 4:Basketball and Results---

      That morning, they had an intense game against their opponent's team. They managed to lead the game with a total score of  6-5 in the first half. Then they planned a new strategy and used each and every strategy they had come up with the day before for each round after examining their opponent's moves so that it will be hard to determine their main move. They played the last half and won by a total score of 16-15. They defeated the topmost group in the latest basketball history.

       Right after the break, everyone gathered at the main hall to know all the results they had been waiting for. Everyone was anxious. The principal gave a long speech before announcing the winners. "First, for the poem writing competition. The best poem which caught everyone's heart was, 'Deep Down', by Rosie Hearts," Everyone clapped and cheered as Rosie received her prize. "Next, the winner for the brainstorming contest. The winner is Rosie Hearts," he called her name again.

"Next, winners for the Sing and Dance competition, Science competition and the Debate competition which are all won by the same group. Wow! I'm literally speechless. The leader of the group is really great. Rosie Hearts' group won!" Rosie and her friends went up and receive their prizes. "Lastly for the art competition.Oh my God! I'm really proud right now. Rosie Hearts won again!" Rosie received her award.

"Now, for the most awaited moment, your exam results. Let's have the top five on stage. From the fifth place, Riley Aiden. In the fourth place, we have Asher Axels. Third, Alice Blair. Second, Draco Lightwing. Now the top student, Rosie Hearts yet again! What a comeback, Rosie!"

       Rosie was over the moon as she received her awards and certificates. She also received a special award. Finally, she had made a great comeback. Everyone was happy for her and she threw a party to celebrate her comeback. Everyone congratulated her and gave her congratulatory gifts. Draco hugged and kissed her. He and Alice were the happiest among everyone because they knew how much Rosie suffered after the loss of her family.