The Variations by Jones M (christmas read aloud txt) 📖

for your projects."

It had only been a day, but Marie was not complaining.

"Now, would you please handout your forms?"

The room was immediately filled with murmurs as everyone went to grab their papers.

"Pass them along to the people in front of you," the professor continued. After grasping her form, Marie waited for the people behind her to give her their forms. Then she proceeded to give them to the person in front of her.

About a minute later, the professor had stacked everyone's forms.

"Okay. Now..."

To everyone's surprise, the lecturer turned his attention to another subject. They were expecting him to sort out issues with the project first, but it looked like that was not going to happen. It was apparent that the class would go on as usual.

Time passed, and soon, ten minutes were left until the end of the class. The professor had ended his lecture to sort out the filled forms.

"These are the groups I have formed according to the choices everyone had ticked."

'What?' Marie thought, feeling surprised by the speed with which his professor had grouped everyone according to their project's choices.

In an instant, he started calling out names. Marie's ears perked up as she waited to hear her name.

"Brian is with Lucy and George..." Mr. Bernard continued. An eternity seemed to have passed before she heard her name.

"Kate Marie..." the lecturer trailed off. Kate felt worried by the tone of his voice.

"Wow. This is a surprise!" The professor stated, turning to look at Kate. Marie thought she was the only one who had made the selection for her project. She relaxed in her seat, but when she noticed the professor turning to look at someone else, she tensed in dread.

It didn't take long for Kate to realize that she had been partnered with someone else. She didn't know who, and as a result, she found herself clenching her fingers in anticipation.

"Well, Kate, you are going to do your project with Chris Robins."

 

Chapter 03

Kate had been in a state of shock ever since she had heard Chris' name.

'Partnered with Chris...?'

Kate wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. How could that have happened to her?

As if automatically, she turned to look at Chris. She spotted him looking back at her with an unreadable expression, and that had her quickly swerving her head to face the front.

Kate had always been nervous about Chris ever since she had joined the class. She had gone her first two years of college without talking to him, and then suddenly, it seemed like the universe had decided to end that.

Marie's mind started running with thoughts that made her worry. For instance, she wondered how she would act in front of her project partner. What would she say, especially since she had been trying her best to avoid him for two years?

She was startled out of her thoughts when she saw the people around her suddenly rise from their seats.

'Oh. Is class over?'

Kate stood up from her seat and began to gather her items. She was planning to leave the class and to retreat to her dorm. The project had taken her by surprise, more so because of the person she had to do it with, and she wanted a moment to think about how she would proceed.

"I would like to see Kate and Chris before they leave," the professor requested.

'Crap,' Marie thought. With a sigh, she began making her way towards the front desk. In her peripheral vision, she spotted Chris approaching the professor, and it made her nervous all of a sudden.

Chris and Kate soon found themselves facing their professor. By then, most of the students had already left the room. The few who had remained were probably the ones who wanted to talk to Mr. Bernard.

'Do not act weird,' Marie told herself.

"I do not know how to begin with the two of you," Mr. Bernard started. "Although I must say I am surprised with the option the both of you had chosen to do as your project. I mean, motion graphics. Do you even know what you are up against?"

"We do," Chris answered before Kate could. The deep yet smooth level of his voice made Kate tense in awareness of him.

Meanwhile, the lecturer was looking back and forth between the two. Then he sighed.

"Most of my students would opt to avoid such a project. However, I am glad that you picked it. You just made this semester interesting for me."

Kate felt pleased by the professor's words.

"That is why I'm planning to make the guidelines for your project special. I know it will take a lot of time and effort, and so that is why I'm giving you up to the end of the semester next year to come up with a short film."

A moment of silence passed before Chris and Kate said: "What?"

"You should also feel free to get help from the students in drama and film."

"Sir--" Chris sounded excited.

"No stick figures," the professor cut him off. "I want actual detailed cartoons. You can choose drawing styles between those of Adventure Time, and those of Disney characters. Or even anime characters. Your pick. Just no stick figures."

"Sir--"

"The film should be at least 20 minutes long."

Kate was shocked. If she had known what the project expected from her, she would have chosen another one. More so, she would have done that in order to avoid being partnered with Chris.

"I also want an original, creative story."

As the seconds went by, Marie started feeling like she was less in I.T and more in English Literature.

"Anything with a clichéd happily ever after will cost you. Put your minds and effort into this. Do something that will shock me and the rest of the class, okay?"

"Okay," Chris and Marie agreed at the same time. They glanced at each other before looking back at the professor.

Kate wanted to back out of her choice for the project. She was just about to voice it out, but the pleased and excited expression in her professor's eyes had her thinking twice.

Mr. Bernard smiled before saying: "You are dismissed."

It was evident that the choice had been made. The problem was, how was Kate going to talk to Chris, especially with the past they shared?

 

 

Chapter 04

 

Chris Robins...

There was no way that Marie could forget him, especially with the way he looked. He had the form of a jock. His blonde hair, olive skin and sharp jaw did nothing to deter his attractiveness, and that had made him known as one of the hottest guys around the college grounds.

However, that was not why Marie was hesitant to be around him. It was something else entirely that had happened in the past when they were in the same high school.

"Hey," came a voice from her right. She turned, and she felt herself straighten in surprise.

It was sudden. Even though Marie had been expecting it, it had been quick, and she still felt unprepared. Chris had settled himself on Marie's left with the computer designated for the student who had sat there switched on.

"Hi," she replied with an unsure smile before facing the professor at the front as he droned on about printer basics.

Usually, a girl would occupy the space beside her. But then, every I.T student in the class had been grouped according to their projects. The professor had come that morning and advised everyone to sit near his or her partners. And so, in the process, many were dislocated.

Marie, like a few, had found herself situated far from her common spot. She usually sat in the middle where she was close enough to hear Mr. Bernard but not close enough to be suddenly picked to answer a question; it was perfect for her. However, the project had ruined that. She was forced to sit at the back of the class. 

She found it foreign, but she knew she could get used to it. What she was not sure of was getting used to Chris' presence.

Marie eyed his form on her left. Chris was facing the front, and his brown eyes screamed focus. Kate took her time to observe him, realizing that there was no doubt about his good looks. In fact, he seemed to have grown in the past years. His blonde hair had been styled into a spiky haircut that surprisingly worked well for him. The green T-shirt he had worn exposed part of his forearms, showing off the biceps that had increased in volume over time.

Marie found it odd that he had worn the shirt since the room was always air-conditioned.

She suddenly turned away, realizing she had been looking at him for a couple of seconds too long.

'What the hell am I doing?' she thought to herself. She tried to listen to the lecture, but after a while, she gave up. It was hard for her to focus, especially with a certain someone sitting right next to her. She had to think of how to approach him. But then, what would she tell him after years of ignoring him?

"What do you think we should start with?" Chris suddenly asked as he turned to face her. Kate had not been paying attention, and her thoughts seemed to jumble themselves in her brain.

"Uh... What?" she was able to make out. The person facing her furrowed his eyebrows.

"You are right. We should come up with a story first. Then that way, we can--"

"Okay. Okay. What is going on?" Marie asked.

"Class dismissed!" Mr. Bernard announced before Chris could reply, and many students stood up to leave the room.

"So we can agree to come up with stories for our project, right?"

Marie chose to nod her head in agreement.

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Then Chris proceeded to take off without saying another word. Kate's mind had caught up with his words, and she was going to ask him where they should meet up when he had upped and left. 

'The F?'

Kate was surprised. She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking that her former high school classmate was nervous around her.

'No,' she denied the thought. 'That can't be possible. What does he have to be nervous about?'

With a sigh, she gathered her things and turned to leave the class.

*************** ******************** ********************* *********************** **

The following day had arrived much quicker than Kate had anticipated. She had been dreading meeting up with Chris, but the universe had made the hours feel like minutes. Her class had passed with barely any word exchanged between her and Chris. In fact, their conversations seemed strained.

It was evident that neither wanted to talk to each other.

Marie sighed as she scratched the back of her head. After