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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mrKLDzWXE
Twenty.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyQEVianAM
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFG8NIY5Ec
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:137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdr47S1wWTb
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49JhJms118
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTwKIguaUY
They don’t ask for your permission.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDCZczZ1Nx
They just show up.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEwLCMfD3x
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIESlHBzC1
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yV1R3Qf2h
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoson4VtMd
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuxYpruO1G
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5Knfcz6gA
My hair was doing interpretive dance.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8G0lsm6Rn
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5ZBudruJE
Not as strangers.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyY4rdgjBDB
Not as accidental classmates.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiauJutQaXP
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrOxp3FuZO
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUlPBFgT95
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhV91uM1vI2
Okay, maybe I do.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmC92LgUfA
Okay fine, I watch a lot.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXZnMzOba4
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxJCpiOgBC
But here she was.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPqWLCNtXr
Leona.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47biFPDzkA
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIC2j9QWUdD
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRigiVY9Ype
We chatted as we walked.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PSh5Lg3oQ
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgSjNHSqig
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.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AWgY1dlGA
Not suddenly. Gradually.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyBjCHrXTo
So, no one would notice.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkqu4SJhXQ
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0P1E9OF3o
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnsLARIxC6r
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVf0C89zvsI
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1mORw4ot9
But the signal?137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1zDrrmFFa
Well, it had other plans.137Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdY6QIEwr6H
