Chapter 55: The Innocent Trap
The morning air on campus was sharp, the kind that made most students clutch their coffee like lifelines. Me? I clutched my sanity—because Celestia was already halfway through dismantling it.
We’d barely sat down when she leaned across the desk, chin propped on her palm, eyes glittering with mischief.
"Husband," she whispered, dragging the word out like honey. "Your handwriting is so ugly. It looks like... mm, like chicken scratch. No—duck scratch. No—" she tilted her head, "—like a dying pigeon."
I closed my notebook halfway, sighed. "Val, it’s eight in the morning."
"Exactly," she said brightly. "Prime time to critique my husband’s flaws." She reached over, doodling a heart right on the top corner of my notes. "There. Fixed it. Now it’s cute."
A few students around us chuckled under their breath. Professor Halifax hadn’t arrived yet, so no one dared tell her to stop.
Across the room, Avery Prescott sat with perfect posture, legs crossed, pen resting elegantly against her notebook. She wasn’t laughing. She was watching. Not obviously, not in a way that anyone else would notice—just a flicker of her eyes every time Celestia touched me or leaned too close. Calm. Composed. Patient.
Celestia, oblivious or uncaring, pressed her lips together dramatically. "Husband, husband, husband," she sang, poking my arm with her pen each time she said it. "Pay attention to me. Look, look—I braided my hair differently today. Don’t I look like your dream girl? Don’t I?"
"You look like a distraction," I muttered.
Her eyes widened like I’d just confessed to murder. "Distraction? From what? This boring lecture you love so much?" She leaned even closer, brushing her shoulder against mine. "Admit it—you’d rather stare at me than your notes."
Before I could reply, Professor Halifax strode in. The class straightened instantly, whispers fading. Celestia... did not straighten. She sat back with a smug grin, like she’d already won whatever silent game she was playing.
Meanwhile, Avery finally lowered her gaze, scribbling something neat and precise into her notebook, expression unreadable.
I tried to focus, I really did. But with Celestia sighing dramatically every five minutes and whispering things like, "You’re lucky I’m so devoted, other guys would be begging for my attention," and Avery sitting there like a chess master plotting twelve moves ahead...
Yeah. I knew this wasn’t just another class.
This was the beginning of something.
---
The bell rang, and Professor Halifax closed his folder with that tired sigh that said be grateful I survived you lot another day. The shuffle of notebooks and bags filled the room, chatter rising instantly.
Celestia stretched her arms high, smacking my head lightly with her notebook in the process. "Oops. Sorry, husband." She didn’t sound sorry. She grinned, tossing her hair back like a model. "I’m going to grab a snack before the next class. Don’t go running off with other women while I’m gone, okay?"
"Val—" I started.
She leaned down, lips brushing my ear just enough to make me tense. "I mean it, husband. Be good." Then she winked and pranced out of the classroom, leaving half the guys watching her like she’d just drained the oxygen from the room.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Peace. Just five minutes of peace. That’s all I wanted.
And then, Avery Brooke Prescott walked over.
"Hey," she said, voice smooth but not sharp, like she’d consciously lowered the usual edge she carried. She was holding her notebook loosely, pen tucked behind her ear. "Uhm.. Kai?"
I looked up. "Uh... yeah?"
Her lips curved into something resembling a polite smile. "I wanted to ask—do you mind explaining a bit of Halifax’s breakdown from today? The cost-push inflation part. I... didn’t really get it."
I blinked. "Oh. Uh, sure. But Halifax will probably post the slides later—"
"Yes, but you made notes," she said, gesturing faintly at my open notebook, the pages full of dense scribbles. "And honestly, I’ve heard you’re kind of... the smartest guy in our department. It’d probably make more sense coming from you."
I froze. "Smartest guy?"
Avery tilted her head like it was the most natural statement in the world. "You got a 4.82 last semester, didn’t you? Everyone knows. People talk."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean... yeah, but—"
"Exactly." She leaned one hand on the desk, not too close, but close enough. "See, I can’t really ask Moreau to explain it. Not when she got a 4.95. She’s untouchable. If I admitted I didn’t understand something, she’d eat me alive." She chuckled softly, the sound just shy of self-deprecating. "But you... you seem a little less intimidating."
That got a laugh out of me. "You think Val’s intimidating?"
"Isn’t she?" Avery’s brows arched delicately, though her tone stayed casual, almost teasing. "She’s brilliant, confident, gorgeous, and somehow still terrifying. Don’t get me wrong—I respect it. But not exactly the person I want tutoring me."
I smirked. "Fair point."
"So... maybe sometime later this week?" she asked, her tone careful, measured. "You could walk me through Halifax’s graphs? Doesn’t have to be long. Just enough so I don’t bomb the quiz."
I hesitated. "I guess I could—"
Her smile brightened like a sunrise, but not too wide. Perfectly measured. "Thank you. I promise I won’t waste your time. Just... think of it as a good deed. Helping a classmate who’s desperate."
"You’re not desperate," I said before I could stop myself.
Avery tilted her head again, hair sliding over one shoulder like she’d practiced the motion. "You’re sweet to say that. But I really would appreciate it. And don’t worry—I’ll owe you one."
She straightened, gathering her notebook, all business again. "Anyway, thanks, Kai. I’ll text you or something to set it up."
And with that, she turned and walked away, smooth and composed, just as Celestia came back through the door with a juice box in hand.
"Hey," Val said, sliding into her chair beside me. "What’d I miss? Did the girls form a club without me?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, closing my notebook. "Just someone asking about Halifax’s lecture."
Celestia slurped from her straw suspiciously. "Mhm. Don’t get recruited into boring things, husband."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Boring things."
Across the room, Avery sat down again, her face perfectly calm as she flipped through her notes. But her eyes lingered just a fraction too long on me before dropping back to the page.
Check, her thoughts might as well have whispered.
---
The last class of the day buzzed differently. Professor Ramos, the only one in the department who actually seemed to enjoy teaching, was grinning ear to ear like he had a secret.
"All right, everyone, we’re not just talking theory today," Ramos said, clapping his hands. "We’re playing. Teams of ten. Quiz-style. Correct answers earn your group points. Wrong answers... well, I’ll try not to roast you too hard."
Groans and laughter filled the room as he started splitting us into groups. Predictably, Val and I ended up on the same team.
Celestia leaned against her desk, arms crossed, hair sliding over her shoulder like she was about to nap. "This is boring."
I gave her a sideways glance. "Everything’s boring to you."
"Not true. You’re entertaining." She smirked, tapping my chest with her pen. "This, though? Snooze fest."
I chuckled, then lowered my voice. "Tell you what. If you actually participate, I’ll let you kiss me."
Her eyes snapped to mine instantly, narrowing. "Let me?"
I swallowed. "Okay, fine—reward you with a kiss."
She didn’t even hesitate. "Deal."
Great. I’d just unleashed a monster.
The first question went to our team: "All right, who can tell me the difference between nominal GDP and real GDP?"
Our teammates looked at each other nervously. I opened my mouth—
Celestia leaned in, whispering, "Nominal’s unadjusted. Real accounts for inflation. Say it, husband."
I blinked. "Uh, nominal GDP is the unadjusted value of goods and services, and real GDP accounts for inflation."
"Correct!" Ramos clapped. "Ten points."
Our team cheered.
Next round: "Who can explain the concept of opportunity cost?"
Celestia didn’t even look up from doodling on her notebook. She whispered, "Value of the next best alternative forgone. Go."
I repeated it.
"Right again!" Ramos grinned. "Looks like someone studied."
I shot Celestia a look. She batted her lashes.
And so it went—question after question, her voice sliding into my ear with crisp, flawless answers before I could even think.
By the time the quiz ended, our team had steamrolled everyone else. Ramos shook his head, laughing. "I don’t know what’s in your water, but that was a flawless victory. Well done."
Celestia stretched like a cat, smug. "Looks like I just won your little game, husband."
I raised a brow. "Technically, I answered."
She leaned close, lips curving wickedly. "Technically, I fed you everything. So, pay up."
The second Ramos slipped out of the room, Val pounced—literally. She swung into my lap, straddling me without a shred of shame, and crashed her mouth onto mine.
Our team erupted—half cheering, half groaning.
She pulled back with a triumphant smirk. "Payment received."
I buried my face in my hand while across the room, Avery was watching.
---
Val was mid-conversation with a few girls, tossing them her easy smile, but when she glanced at me by the door, her expression softened and she folded her hands in a plea. "Just five minutes, husband... please wait for me?"
They giggled, and I felt the weight of her words—her showing them I mattered.
I waited in the hallway, scrolling my phone, when Avery appeared. Her smile was soft, almost hesitant.
She slowed her steps when she spotted me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear like she wasn’t sure if she should even approach.
"Um... Kai?" she started softly. "This is kind of embarrassing, but... I just realized I don’t even have your number. I was going to text about Econ later and..." She gave a sheepish laugh, looking down at her shoes. "It’s fine if you don’t want to, really. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I just thought... you know, since you’re the only one who would explain things without making me feel dumb..."
She trailed off, almost shrinking back like she’d already decided I’d say no.
I handed it over without much thought because it was the kind of harmless request anyone would agree to.
Her smile was small but warm, almost grateful. "Thank you. I promise I won’t bother you too much."
By the time Val came out, Avery was gone.
But as she disappeared around the corner, Avery’s lips curved into the faintest smile. Checkmate.
---
To be continued...