So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0125aQXjGn
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:430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3jofEKHfH
Learn C. Not because I had to…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SvT64fJQa
But because I wanted to.
To be better.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZs9I7QQLT3
To maybe help her with something someday.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMrKDIfQGs
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.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJg4HiCJVU
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…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3YpdhUSSs
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqIszX7Slo
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMESQ10LXH
But texts? Texts felt safer.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54ssp6EK1i
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMud63WQDQf
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSzGrqCMxU
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJej3BqxM5
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kbvjaaqMg
“Who are you?”430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWeJAJakav
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVLmfEh4p3
Hopeful? Maybe.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT675txlEm5
Desperate? Nah.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRiwwy0C9P
Romantic? Probably.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QDJ7iU8F8
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlNL0GCSau
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.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cr5jsh48W
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.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs1VFDvQSZ
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8izYlP9mQ
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26mH5okbTg
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUZ7tJTK7E
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQDmO6x4Q4
And I replied:430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcg9uaNjrX
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjgWoGHpXq
to anime…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJ9BHiQ659
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFcczWKsiG
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C9dV6xcKC
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXZC7j10lh
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxnM54S0sq
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEUSvTDmuM
Did I explain my intentions?430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzu6psgzTOD
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:430Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKUo1ZB9hi
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
and then Add to home screen.