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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBnEicSdwp
Twenty.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHj9TM6fD9L
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRV95hxsBuq
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:74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtqdqpIiVZ
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PmjK9bTuQ
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NR9usRA1r
They don’t ask for your permission.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnctriUCOcx
They just show up.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0PIVXYmCZ
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hNCWMBfhI
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZxoi75fD4
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvCN9IOA1d
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCRp5yGRx2
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzyYyccF9r
My hair was doing interpretive dance.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpLxeViASH
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQ2Bjbf1Va
Not as strangers.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLuQSbBStR
Not as accidental classmates.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnIJ4zpfTr
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnw5MLlxm6h
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73ilV5ke8X
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiX9fmipFIp
Okay, maybe I do.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhdlJfsU33
Okay fine, I watch a lot.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiJRxRA0Db
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvCZLtNTlH
But here she was.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5a0dsDBZpc
Leona.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1vpJdRL5M
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvatJHJJwY
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw11aJDuBnL
We chatted as we walked.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kWi7avOWF
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhG6lI9elX
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.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPssmviRNQ
Not suddenly. Gradually.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg9hhTEkwx
So, no one would notice.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPqUk9KSC6
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7FgCrnSCD
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdxfnUroa7
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoSWlVkprE
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgy97IGoca
But the signal?74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNvYagnoKH
Well, it had other plans.74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9AeOdnmwY
and then Add to home screen.