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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQxG4DiFvR
Twenty.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mawWRLQdq
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwd84YasdA
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:368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaPsemsMyL
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpImO5lCUlp
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMq7GAjeK0
They don’t ask for your permission.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxZOorJ2O8
They just show up.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uOAJ5kjb6
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXNzfxD8Wy
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4FsMCUeQO
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfniG5FrZ8Z
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj0pILXCMA
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNiSklsbOO
My hair was doing interpretive dance.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6u7NTbHwJ
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXk3hlVxrO
Not as strangers.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAioJRisTS
Not as accidental classmates.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXiNH9YUVv
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPaaeIjkvi
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0jFfAKLeG
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRtwh8rvUF
Okay, maybe I do.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dv9BXjczr
Okay fine, I watch a lot.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffNRuNiySc
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1OXNX4TAb
But here she was.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQrac1w0MR
Leona.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftomDUyNZj
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkNC7kLdzo
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIR84RqVhY5
We chatted as we walked.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsJ7cmy8hd
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyfAEjaVfQ
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.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWKkaRphlF
Not suddenly. Gradually.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qf6kC5PkM
So, no one would notice.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0g1QnLc5yj
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqlFj2jv7P
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMY6QEjKuI
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtn3TzTNtM
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqj1fPt75W
But the signal?368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ncs4OAZ1S
Well, it had other plans.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejCpeOXSZe
and then Add to home screen.