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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlChNwlg3Qz
Twenty.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1Z7IbmPo7
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc9qAywdql
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:127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLX4PTdu16o
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxnRRJ01Wo
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkRluhEpB5
They don’t ask for your permission.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf3zjFLqGR
They just show up.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSQ3se8l7o
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz2bEmFpFI
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTXv1NKFIm
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVTBH6MOfK
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEQBuatdWC
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcBujIWdw1
My hair was doing interpretive dance.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHhygvIzBm
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp55wCNJhJy
Not as strangers.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgZyLpIBi2
Not as accidental classmates.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeK5FSmzEY
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIxbj1YgVF
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04oQY5Iopv
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmdzQeyAfq
Okay, maybe I do.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojXH3Sx6TR
Okay fine, I watch a lot.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOF9unAx5A
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZghQqMwnj
But here she was.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqfJgXL0Sw
Leona.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZaDblrFEF
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16x0R8vWbt
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjmgpHv6Kh
We chatted as we walked.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznzdfHAf7m
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1AuPHqftx
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.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cUdtG5zsx
Not suddenly. Gradually.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ouuFZTXG6
So, no one would notice.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QwmTq6Xg4
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SAyDxnfjw
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3y1CnLe05
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARRe6kPC8Y
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyY5oWbGDBi
But the signal?127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSna3rp96pi
Well, it had other plans.127Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NobghGRcl
