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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqqmOYh5GC
Twenty.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7ruTdRi9q
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT5l7B7TXi
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:114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWZawmWL3k
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKEIsPgz1W
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSeoVNSU1u
They don’t ask for your permission.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiFRLlqeU8
They just show up.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5ck097eGY
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOZ4INkWMY
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORAk3fUZZK
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRs69JN8gu
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aGqYwFJVA
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9d892Mmxgq
My hair was doing interpretive dance.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6levvnRuZI
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEsfcFpTGR
Not as strangers.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNu8oivt3r8
Not as accidental classmates.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkqM4sJVE6
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpvj3PEAvp
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWPYBdk1CQ
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dQvn1Qhxf
Okay, maybe I do.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡassR0ZzeSk
Okay fine, I watch a lot.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gOBrvIlD6
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitdezseydm
But here she was.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoT73qp6Uy
Leona.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlS4w4AgbOg
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjfQTVtYBC
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2nZ75Nzmx
We chatted as we walked.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4s7bEDIM0
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeD4SUQIPW
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.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkISPJa02p
Not suddenly. Gradually.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYgMzsUtjr
So, no one would notice.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPwDVJtAr7
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnA654l5Tdt
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlFlRJXc6f
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjgUp30j5N
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4C9sNQ5s6
But the signal?114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjuI7L0aHB
Well, it had other plans.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD6LBLSn7R
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