The next morning, I woke up like a man who had accidentally hit snooze on both his dreams and his alarms.
I had 20 minutes.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3wGwp8Fie
Twenty.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5AzBJ5aL6
Minutes.
To brush, bathe, dress, pack, and pretend like I had my life together.
But that’s me. I know these moments — the mornings that come faster than expected, the rushes that feel oddly familiar. It’s chaos, but it’s my kind of chaos.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZjIP3yb4u
And in that chaos, sometimes... I am speed itself.
No breakfast, obviously. Just vibes and the sound of the bus horn pulling up like a ticking clock from the universe.
I hopped in.
Today felt different, though.
Because I was carrying two versions of myself:43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdcTBXn0VX
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jhHW41gnn
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVOVyRRnKc
They don’t ask for your permission.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aIN79Tcm2
They just show up.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5gX10cX8V
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pEZlCosHt
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡju0An7hewZ
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelUNEFkBGk
Even I would run from me.
But I didn’t think too much about it because… we messaged that morning. Just casual. Like friends do. And somewhere between the emojis and the awkward “how was the bus?” — we decided to walk to our block together.
Together.
Pause.
Now, before you think that’s normal, remember: I had twenty minutes to get ready.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6DOGy9OwU
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcmIE9V85H
My hair was doing interpretive dance.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHkSfiKqEg
Pure chaos.
But when she said, “Let’s meet near the canteens,” I didn’t say no.
And so, under that huge tree outside the Ball Canteens — for the first time — we met.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19TNpEpaYr
Not as strangers.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2wVj4jyAX
Not as accidental classmates.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5MR48MOcF
But as friends.
She had another girl with her. I smiled, nodded, and immediately forgot the name. It just… didn’t stick. Because my entire focus was just being there. And she was there too.
We walked to the block together.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE50I2BJAAS
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4m5t1hyTA
Close. Almost like… the universe teasing me.
I was the happiest guy that day.
But evening had other plans.
After our last lecture, just as I was about to leave the building, I saw a girl — standing near the entrance — looking kind of nervous. Almost like she was waiting.
For someone.
For me.
Now, I don’t watch a lot of romance anime.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT2DRFOvkn
Okay, maybe I do.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF5T9qVHiM
Okay fine, I watch a lot.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Lm01fquz3
But even I didn’t expect this to happen in real life.
She walked up to me and said, in a voice soft enough to break glass:
“Hi… I’m Leona. I’m in your class. I just wanted to talk.”
I froze.
Because no girl had ever said those words to me. Ever.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGiTzsxIq8
But here she was.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR27YicjoSh
Leona.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7QDyzR0xh
From my class.
Talking. Smiling. Initiating.
And I was standing there like a deer in romantic headlights.
We talked. Or, well, she did. It felt more like a Q&A session, with her asking the questions and me pretending not to be awkward.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhKuHqMDxh
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2yshxYe5h
We chatted as we walked.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhIfnsb479
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLrPmU6XTg
Why wait outside just for that?
I didn’t get it. I still don’t.
And as I climbed into the bus, I stared out the window and made a quiet decision.
I slowly stopped messaging in the class WhatsApp group.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqqDww1AcG
Not suddenly. Gradually.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nHmQnEeYS
So, no one would notice.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4I3rLk4no
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeID1LrVuV
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0uMVqcu3a
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVERe9PXoT
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgH38p4S7N0
But the signal?43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLO42apr9u
Well, it had other plans.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5dsSNhgSU
