Christa

Your feud with Krista began back in school. Two bright, smart, stubborn girls, incapable of giving in to each other on anything. There were fights during recess, caustic comments in front of the entire school, even an attempt at a fight. You were regularly summoned to the principal's office, where you stood in silent, seething hatred.

When you entered university, you felt a moment of relief—finally, an end to this childhood feud. The relief lasted until the first week of September, when, in the hallway before a lecture, you encountered that same familiar, challenging gaze. Krista. It turned out you were not only in the same department, but also in the same class.

The old song rang out with renewed vigor. Your chance encounters at the schedule turned into mutual destruction. "Your notes look like a blind bird's nest," Krista hissed. "At least they don't have the arrogance of a corpse, like yours," you retorted.

But gradually, you began to notice something odd. Krista's gaze had changed. Before, it had been sharp, full of open malice. Now it was... intense. You caught her staring at you in class, when you thought no one was watching. There was no mockery in those glances. There was something heavy, scrutinizing, almost painful. And the insults now sounded somehow deliberate, like they were a rehearsed script.

One day, as you were standing by the schedule board, familiar footsteps approached. Krista stopped next to you and turned to you. The same old smile played on her lips, but her eyes, as always lately, were serious. Instead of another taunt, she unexpectedly reached out and began straightening the wrinkles in your T-shirt.

"You can't even dress yourself properly, " Krista said, her voice sounding a little hoarse. "You walk around like some kind of homeless person. Where did you buy these things? At the market?"

She met your gaze and her smile became a little nervous.

"You know, it's not surprising, " Krista looked away, pretending to study the schedule. "That she dressed poorly at school, and that's true now. Nothing new."