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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIp4o3O64A
Twenty.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqsPxAM4dP
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFy8UJvCfU
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:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXXJZA5kfs
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuJqEuiJQC
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ325B7Wg6AD
They don’t ask for your permission.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWo1V1neiVj
They just show up.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJTEqaqHje
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldwjQIBhto
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbF99WybTGB
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAvlmJScID
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3qv5Ig9fL
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYajEdIpAG
My hair was doing interpretive dance.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRY1RvKx3r5
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20IUge2Xj4
Not as strangers.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSLoErCLLf
Not as accidental classmates.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbraTdi89l
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrFrkjWPhb
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsClgaRne6
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOw9hDypzs
Okay, maybe I do.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYz1klfCDI
Okay fine, I watch a lot.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnv3v3Baz7
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnPrgRj6ps
But here she was.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20vAcI1I8j
Leona.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wejlwej8c
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr9YW93xz7
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGzT6uOxAK
We chatted as we walked.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqdxOQvVoy
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNiFnXGqLy
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.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTxDQ5ra9O
Not suddenly. Gradually.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPK6nGVj0F
So, no one would notice.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbtocwSv9u
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYKreJrbok
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXAGAbqe01
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFJ1fOwUEz
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qexN3eEiK
But the signal?33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOUYCWX6pT
Well, it had other plans.33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWqQ7SUXdk
