"Why don't you relax for now..." Adrian, Adriana' elder brother sighed.
"How can I? You know that the results are going to be declared tomorrow... I'm so nervous." Adriana paced around the room.
"Your pacing around the room won't really solve things. Why don't you look for something to do to keep your mind occupied?" He suggested.
"I can't..."
"This pressure of yours, may result in feelings of anxiety or nervousness, and this exam stress can interfere with your peace of mind... While a certain amount of stress may be beneficial, too much exam stress can cause you to perform poorly tomorrow that mean so much to you. Don't you want to go there fresh..." He tried again.
"You told me to kill time... How do I do that?"
"A webnovel maybe? I know novels aren't really your thing but trust me, this one will make you go crazy. It's so good!" Adrian almost jumped up from his seat.
In truth, Adriana had passed out her graduation and now, she was preparing to enter in IRRI. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was the world's premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition through rice science and she wanted to be a part of it. The IRRI was an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. But, she wanted to go Philippines, for it was the best place among others.
She had already given her exam and was just waiting for the results to be out tomorrow. There was another exam after the result declaration but, it wasn't that important if she passed tomorrow. She was not scared but more nervous. This exam wasn't a piece of cake for her. For sure, she didn't make a big deal out of it but as tommorow approached, she was getting more nervous. Everyone said to calm down and just hope for the best cause getting anxious will only had to it and it'll be chaotic inside her head. But, it was easier said than done.
"I'm afraid of the results..." Adriana finally calmed down a little and sat on her bed.
"Well, it's a natural thing to occur. Whenever we are looking for something important, fear and anxiety will set in. So first of all, we need to accept it and don't think its something abnormal. To move forward, whenever you feel that fear or anxiety just tell yourself that the result gonna be good. Just actually speak it so that you can hear your own words. If there are repeated emotions, do this again. I think this will help you relax." Adrian spoke lightly.
"Just when I finished my exams, it hit me that the exam results were on the horizon. All my happiness was gone and all I could feel was anxiety about the results. We all try very hard to make something come true, to achieve something for ourselves and for others. Exams are one such step towards our achievement. It is a test of fire. Passing or failing these exams makes us feel positively or negatively about ourselves. It affects our confidence. I also worry about how others, especially family and close ones, might react to my results."
"It's your exam sis. You studied for it and you gave it. Results will also declare your name, either pass or fail. So, you shouldn't really think about others. You know I and Mom, will always support you, right? Even Dad is okay with whatever you score. Then what's the issue." Adrian moved to sit with her and patted her hair.
"You know... Just leave it! You were saying something about a webnovel?" Adriana was a lot calm now that she was reassured by her brother.
"Curling up with a good book is not only enjoyable, it can positively impact your mental and emotional health. Simply by opening a book, you allow yourself to be invited into a literary world that distracts you from your daily stressors. Reading can even relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. Think of a good book as stress reduction, self-care, sleep aid, and brain booster all rolled into one. Especially this one... It literally takes you to a new world where there's magic." Adrian almost squealed at the last line.
"Okay okay... Just give me that novel."
"Here." Adrian unlocked his phone and gave her his phone to read that webnovel.
"Love is... What?" Adriana looked quizzically at the novel's cover page which was multicolored with the title "Love is..."
"The title is so mysterious, know?" Adrian looked happily at his sister.
"This looks mysterious to you? This is absolutely stupid. Love is... What? Stupid? Magical? Destruction? Murder? Killing one's soul or mind? Theory? Unknown? Nothing? I can go on and on about how stupid this title is... And the subtitle? 'We Are Infinity'? What the actual hell is this? What does this even signify?"
"Well, your thoughts are... Mixed? Love is... Simply what we imagine in our head. Love is something that is cultivated between two people and grows over time, through getting to know him or her and experiencing life's many ups and downs together. It involves commitment, time, mutual trust, and acceptance. For me, Love is Magical. True love magic is one of the main aspects of life. It is the most powerful and simple form of magic with capabilities of breaking curses through the act of true love. It is so powerful, that sometimes it can break not one, but two curses simultaneously. I know I'm blabbering nonsense now... But yeah, for me it's that and for you, it may be something else. The author just wanted this blank to be filled by us and think what love really means for us." Adrian explained, almost beautifully defending his favorite book's title.
"What about the subtitle then?"
"For me, the meaning of the word 'infinite' means that you have that special moment when you feel complete and happy and nothing can bother or hurt you. If you realize that in that very moment, than you are infinite. You feel infinite so many times that we even forget what that feeling is... like when you're listening to your favorite song for the first time in a while or when you've an honest conversation or when you loose yourself in nature, food, glorious, laughter or even true friendship... Just wait till you read it you'll get why the characters call themselves infinite." When Adrian finished, he left the room to let her read in peace.
Adriana scrolled down and started reading it.
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"What sort of crappy story is this?" Adriana passed the phone to her brother at the breakfast time.
"But..."
"Don't even get me started on this..." Adriana glared at her brother.
"But you'll have to tell me what you didn't like... Did you finish it though?" He asked trying to tell her how good the story is and maybe, she had missed the important parts.
"I don't think I can finish it. They said Althea is the villainess that stole the male lead from the female lead. And Jaslene? Like seriously..."
"See, I told you you'll get so attracted to the plot. But..." He thought she was just being emotional when her favorite character met their fates.
"What is it? You better say it cause I've to leave now..."
"Why are being so attached to Althea and Jaslene... They were evil throughout the whole plot..." He understood the feeling of getting attached to unnecessary characters. He felt bad for Adriana.
"What? But from what I've read, they're just victims..." She defended her favorites. How could anyone find them villainous? All they did was go through pain.
"This can't be..." He started but, their conversation was cut off soon for Adriana had to go see her results.
"We'll definitely discuss it later." Adriana waved at him from the window.
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"Say Liz... Have you read that webnovel 'Love is...'?" Adriana asked her best friend Liz, when they were in Waiting hall, waiting for the results to be hung over the Notice Board. Afterwards, they were going to take another exam together.
"Of course I have. Like, who hasn't?" Liz answered while locking her phone.
"Do you think Althea is a villainess woman whose whole world revolved around the male lead and who stole him from the female lead only to experience her wrath and revenge at the end?"
"Obviously. If Althea and Jaslene weren't villainous, who would fit that role. But why are you asking this?"
"Actually..." Adriana summed up the story that she had read last night to Liz and to say Liz was shocked, would be an understatement.
"Wait... Though your characters are the same. There has to be some problem. The plot in this is..." Liz stopped midway, took out her phone and showed her the webnovel. And now, it was Adriana's time to get shocked.
"This isn't what I had read. I swear the characters were the same. Their introduction was same..." She fumbled with her words. Why did the story change only for her.
"Can you show me something... Of what you read?" Liz tried to calm herself.
"I can't because I read it in Adrian's phone. But, I have the screenshots of character introduction... See?" She took out her phone and showed her the character introduction.
Each character had three to four line introduction with a flower, a butterfly and a quote to describe their personalities. It was the same as Liz and everyone else's.
"Then..."
"The results have been put up. Please check if you passed or not." Liz's world got cut in between with the professor coming out to declare the announcement of results.
Everyone proceeded to check their results. To their utmost relief and happiness, both of them had passed. It meant that they would be able to get into IRRI, Philippines.
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The happiness of passing exams surpassed every single topic and all they could talk about was Philippines and exams. They were walking towards their exam centre when suddenly, Adriana got excited and walked a few steps ahead.
As she approached the intersection, she saw headlights coming down the road from a few blocks away. She figured she could make it across the street before the car arrived, so she started walking a little faster. She was almost at the end of the intersection, just a few feet away from the sidewalk. She should have been too close to get hit. But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
You know how some people say that when something's coming at you fast, your mind processes it in slow motion? It was kind of like that for her too, except instead of everything being in slow motion, it was more like she was hyper-aware of what was going on. First she saw the blinding flash of the headlights out of the corner of her right eye. Next, she heard the screech of the brakes being slammed. Then she, turned towards the car, which her body just did on its own. All of a sudden, she "saw" herself from the POV of the pavement. She was flying through the air with her back parallel to the ground, and she was a simple black silhouette while everything else was blank and white. The next thing she knew, she was on her back on the asphalt, knees bent, trying to get up, when all of her energy died and her body fell on the ground.
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Number of words : 1933
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Thoughts so far? Thank you for reading and giving this book a chance.
What the cover may have looked like...