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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfhlVSXHQC
Twenty.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7iUn3ML8G
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPGRjc7Vx6
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:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡab2qaDF40X
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZC5GC8aaV
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xJ1txFROy
They don’t ask for your permission.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZXuoBfHSx
They just show up.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKaLY6hCnt
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6HkAqIVV1
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaP6QqPa0B
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVt6p4whCDK
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zG3HOUKNm
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sy9a5tt6m
My hair was doing interpretive dance.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7c63Gk45fs
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfUxcrOZFp
Not as strangers.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyIzCkxwXx
Not as accidental classmates.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm9itOaskn
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosDqevYi6V
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIm6LbapCO
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1NwRn7tFU
Okay, maybe I do.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwIBENiaI0
Okay fine, I watch a lot.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbVVcHUinY
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41SrcSE3OK
But here she was.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7OymbkBD1
Leona.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFxDgFvwBI
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsc05B1Jl8S
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQtk0ZVzbi
We chatted as we walked.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDo3hIkCEVO
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FCRKh6fMp
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.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjJmLV0AOk
Not suddenly. Gradually.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeOAGWqS8A
So, no one would notice.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiKujuMLf9
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWteYRijydO
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DSAzqj7oS
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0U8FSy6RU
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMLTRIttyM
But the signal?41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldIEZphrYl
Well, it had other plans.41Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1703gOTkD
