All Chapters of Avoid Her Like the Plague: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Ms. Brown, my homeroom teacher, was just about to sign my school withdrawal form when I snatched it back and ripped it to pieces.Her eyes flashed with anger as she berated, "Do you think I've got time to joke around with you? You've consistently received outstanding results. However, you spent a whole month insisting that I help you withdraw from school, so why have you just torn up the form?"I lowered my head and apologized sincerely, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Brown. I won't be withdrawing from school, after all. I want to focus on my studies and become a teacher in the future."Our exchange ended up being quite the commotion, and it drew the attention of all the teachers around us."Have you finally come to your senses? That's wonderful! I'll finally have a shot at getting the year-end performance bonus!" Ms. Thompson, my math teacher, exclaimed.I was the top scorer for math among all the seniors at my high school, and that benefited Ms. Thompson, who might earn a bonus because of m

Chapter 2

After school, Eliza made it a point to get onto Carl Jamison's bicycle in full view of me. Ignoring her antics, I got on my bicycle and rode slowly behind them, keeping a distance between us.Eliza and I were childhood sweethearts. My family, the Harpers, and Eliza's family, the Stewarts, both came from the countryside and moved into the city for a better life. At the time, our families maintained a good relationship. They decided to let Eliza and me get engaged to each other, even though we were still children.However, as we got older, the relationship between our two families slowly changed. It had been 13 years since our families became neighbors in the city. I could sense that the Stewarts didn't like me.They continued to treat me fairly courteously. However, they had long since begun taking Eliza to various social events and introducing her to the sons of powerful and influential families. Among the ones they met, they were most pleased with Carl.In my previous life, I ha

Chapter 3

In the middle of the night, Eliza sent me a text."You ripped up the school withdrawal form?"Soon after that, she sent me a screenshot of her conversation with Mr. Duffy, our physics teacher. She was better at physics than I was, and Mr. Duffy mentioned what I did when he asked her to tutor me.I swiftly replied, "That's right. I've thought things through. My mom and dad are right. I should at least finish college first before thinking about anything else."However, Eliza couldn't understand my decision. She questioned indignantly, "What's the point of you working so hard? Both our families are doing perfectly well financially. Who's going to look after me if you focus all your time and energy on your studies?"I wanted to tell her to get Carl to do it. Alas, even though I typed that message out several times, I kept deleting it. In the end, I didn't send that message to her.Carl didn't know Eliza that well. She was born with a weak constitution and needed a great deal of tende

Chapter 4

After school, Carl dropped by to give Eliza a ride home, but a teacher had summoned her to the faculty office, and she hadn't returned yet.Carl noticed me and purposely got in my way, saying, "I heard that instead of being a househusband, you've decided to attend college with Lizzie."Standing still, I asked him, "Did you want something?"Carl snorted. "You should know your place if you know what's good for you. Your family hasn't done as well as hers. You guys moved to a rather remote area recently, didn't you? Isn't it better for you to just focus on taking care of Lizzie?"I couldn't quite understand why he was saying this."She's frail and requires a lot of care. I can't be spending time doing that, which means we won't be able to hang out and have fun if you're not around to attend to all her needs," Carl continued. "I have it all figured out. Once she and I get married, I'll allow you to accompany her and continue to look after her. How about it?"He was grinning tauntin

Chapter 5

Feeling completely at ease, I went home, had dinner, and began reviewing my lessons. There were only 20 days till the SATs.At night, just before I went to sleep, I came across an unexpected update on social media. Eliza, who rarely ever posted on social media, had posted an Instagram story. It was a photo of her and Carl attending an event together, both dressed in blue. Someone had taken the photo just as their glasses clinked.They did look like a good match.Paying no mind to it, I turned off my phone, switched off the lights, and went to sleep.…The next morning, I received a stiffly worded text from Eliza. "Don't overthink it. My family posted it on my behalf."What a clumsy excuse that was. I continued to ignore it.When I ran into Eliza in the hallway outside the classroom, I simply turned to the side to avoid her. Out of the corner of my eye, however, I saw the way she stood still and stared at me.She started updating her Instagram stories more. Her relationship wi

Chapter 6

I had seen the way Eliza acted when she truly loved someone. In my previous life, she loved Carl so very dearly. Even when he simply made an offhand remark about how good a limited-edition tie clip looked, she would remember it and find a way to get it for him.Yet, when it came to my birthday, she would forget about it, even though I specifically told her on that day itself which restaurant I'd booked for a celebration. Even after that, she would simply brush me off with a curt apology.Instead of answering Eliza's questions, I said, "Be it in terms of looks or social standing, Carl makes a good match for you. He can even be of help to your family's business in the future, so what more do you want?"Eliza looked even more hurt and indignant. "But I don't like him! I wanted to try and accept marrying him just for our families' mutual gain, but I realize now that I can't do it. You're the one I like. Why aren't you jealous at all? How are you able to remain so calm?"It was because

Chapter 7

Soon, the SAT results were out. I was extremely relieved to see that my scores qualified me for a guaranteed spot at Southwell University.Even Mom and Dad hugged me and exclaimed in delight, "I knew you could do it, Matt!"Ms. Brown sent me a message asking me to head to school to complete my college application. As soon as I left the house, I saw Eliza leaning against a car with Carl standing beside her.When she saw me, she quickly ushered me into the car as well. And once we were inside, she couldn't resist asking me about my results. It looked like she was rather excited. She eagerly talked all about what life would be like for us once we got to Northcrest.I could tell she was pleased with her results as well.Carl, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, took this all in. When I inadvertently looked over, I could see that his eyes were dark with jealousy.Once we arrived at school, he walked beside me and warned, "Don't forget what you said!"He needn't have wasted h

Chapter 8

The journey to Westridge was pretty grueling. Never would I have expected Eliza to be among the group of volunteers. I couldn't believe that a wealthy heiress like her would be willing to do volunteer work at a remote village.All of the volunteers stayed at the same dorm in the village. Carl was the one who helped Eliza with her things, moving the suitcases one by one. He froze in shock when he saw me."Matthew? You're here?"Upon hearing what he said, Eliza immediately stuck her head out the window. "Matthew?"Once she confirmed it was me, she dashed out of the vehicle and ran toward me. I quickly took a step back, saying, "Please have some sense of propriety, Ms. Stewart."Eliza's eyes turned red when her attempt to hug me failed."It's been four whole years! I couldn't find you at all… You have no idea how much I missed you."I looked behind her before commenting, "Your fiance's right here with us."Carl's eyes flickered with awkwardness, while Eliza's expression hardened i

Chapter 9

I went back to the dorm and began preparing for my upcoming lessons.The kids in the village had fallen too far behind in their studies. Even the sixth graders didn't have a strong foundation and couldn't even compare to first graders from the city.Late at night, I continued working tirelessly by candlelight. When things started feeling a little hot, I looked up, only to spot smoke seeping in beneath my door.I jumped to my feet, shouting, "Fire!"Immediately, I tried to escape through the window, but it was sealed shut. From the looks of it, someone had done it on purpose!All I could do was pound on the door, hoping that those nearby could hear me."Help! Anyone there?"No one seemed to have heard me, despite the lack of soundproofing in the building. How could it be that not a single person was around?Soon, I noticed that the flames were starting to lick at my door. Taking a deep breath, I decided to try and dash out of the room instead. However, the door didn't budge at a

Chapter 10

I was rendered speechless when I heard that Eliza and Carl had already gotten married. Nevertheless, I expected as much."Why did you still want to kill me, then?" I asked.Carl became even more agitated."Because you showed up again! Why did you come here to volunteer as a teacher? Eliza was on the verge of accepting me, but everything got ruined because of you! I hate you!" he roared."I don't understand. How am I not better than you? How am I any worse off when it comes to my looks or my family background? Why is it that you're the one she wants?"I listened as Carl kept screaming and venting his frustrations. Finally, when he was panting from exhaustion, I replied curtly, "It's because you made her your entire world and lost your own identity."No one would cherish those who didn't live for themselves.…The next day, Carl was taken into police custody. He was going to prison for his crime. Due to this incident, his college revoked his academic credentials, and he was even

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