x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOwngR1JFL
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qAg07S42p
Learn C. Not because I had to…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSw7hvKgmfO
But because I wanted to.
To be better.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtYevrqfiu
To maybe help her with something someday.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsssQ9STDuF
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEliJtT3Fsv
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lCYC91IhC
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlRlj0T5M4
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bl4PGCApr
But texts? Texts felt safer.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE308aeVw4J
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LXMx9ZE5B
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8gTFlm5nL
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cUJZyCM8r
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAh21yx2tw
“Who are you?”185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEqkb9G2oN
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7WYOCLtdv
Hopeful? Maybe.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiR8A8CO1m8
Desperate? Nah.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7mEfQIhIc
Romantic? Probably.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWBGnw36Mq
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC9YRGjjQs
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg0Nfy9QMg
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66lXAA63Wu
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcr5y60g8vU
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsvjjOUMlN
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4INXzk1zpE
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhPtGf3vB8
And I replied:185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI416zIR9B
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEZDI2GwwB
to anime…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2rgjwwzeG
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugGun4g2Eg
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDYKj6v1RA
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Nq2QYRPvQ
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOtBPfhT56
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCijmZMrY78
Did I explain my intentions?185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNsjrfuqjY
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWff3eNqfX
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
