x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff1HghQ3MH
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:179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqPeQlWgdL
Learn C. Not because I had to…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoiJz3Ytl3G
But because I wanted to.
To be better.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJkUIATHoV
To maybe help her with something someday.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4kp2Bu0Jr
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.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTeKaF01kn
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…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUchSl9NQFs
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhRN9NlSRT
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vUCAspDlw
But texts? Texts felt safer.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRH8daw56kK
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOD3EjDLmnH
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp0VbBBSay
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0M3PHMLVCR
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJOUsl3yXF
“Who are you?”179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqejhiBwLa
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqCtt1Wj3t
Hopeful? Maybe.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqPPNoFVt3
Desperate? Nah.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVn0NQodp7t
Romantic? Probably.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvAu8liHqK
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaS3pJiFiOM
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.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5W8OZYNIu3
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.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuKss6IzmO
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GUtDzD8cV
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcQ7CGEBZF
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWVUODGC0n
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsolLvNVNbC
And I replied:179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcWwSImy44
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qw8stxLEu
to anime…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhX40Ja4Z9i
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiK4heJx6wd
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Rh92RXHSJ
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5BJ7x7ZYo
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNEkSk3Lrg
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZByiQE4YAp
Did I explain my intentions?179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedslN56HwA
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbF8HihE1L
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
