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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbhiQiVsNP
Twenty.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIsmTfg4gn
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiybr3rDUK
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:160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDTOc0o6yl
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZIUoc7gcr
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSyPoizyW7
They don’t ask for your permission.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdneqbkowCk
They just show up.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8ZWAe7Rs7
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJ7CXpejSB
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvl81oYdJg
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycg4RAqgbc
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzxTJoGDTN
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnvD7p1MA1
My hair was doing interpretive dance.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWno1x88oSP
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFZxXqxbcS
Not as strangers.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLn37Zgamn
Not as accidental classmates.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQNm86Im5V
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCy84vR6Xg7
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GUl3YGvuS
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj4RFdce7S
Okay, maybe I do.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNiePzmNZL
Okay fine, I watch a lot.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dAzjj11pf
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjn48CIbdd
But here she was.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcNUX2L6I0
Leona.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyN5cXAuaXU
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6KIvVDE4F
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreRGxQATz4
We chatted as we walked.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUm9lu0bSfS
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzmGY8mHmX
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.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwATpOPO2N
Not suddenly. Gradually.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkzGI7tdAD
So, no one would notice.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPD0ameW2e
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EdJ2jaiy7
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyyXVYNyKj
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzag6qIxbL0
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLFtKqmTKb
But the signal?160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAVcErV4Ad
Well, it had other plans.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5U6IDvrjYv
