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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcuGnJ3HFg
Twenty.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSE6znsSHw
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C80FXEda7
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:42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBezlw5x0w
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wZq9RJxuQ
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHvXLgklyj
They don’t ask for your permission.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRRqU50A2T
They just show up.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33XeT6Afjy
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJ5xLy4ySh
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBy5rDdDmTH
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnzOSTt6lK
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASMdyxVbrn
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFJjbcKypk
My hair was doing interpretive dance.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1Dr0J6z9A
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMH6D7SSRb
Not as strangers.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpn2ao47p62
Not as accidental classmates.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqVjxdFgai
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoj7uQ4DBV
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYq7KENuFNR
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdFXsPIeUW
Okay, maybe I do.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlBX2BLCvY
Okay fine, I watch a lot.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoMHK2CEzE
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhZkZ0Cbxz
But here she was.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xw60N005i
Leona.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUg4kDmH3A
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Vvg8nlC9s
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqIsZu81r5
We chatted as we walked.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAdF18OzMx
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDm7FxTf9qQ
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.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvlahhFTIh
Not suddenly. Gradually.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBbwdZaDfh
So, no one would notice.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91mWDmIob9
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElVbW8BIZO
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAH052MDpc
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAP5A40Vk8z
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4k2rshDkp
But the signal?42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZEaj0I8dC
Well, it had other plans.42Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngLOqWoaJ1
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