So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtCtr3p5BS
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmred3LBlU
Learn C. Not because I had to…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9E5gm2dahD
But because I wanted to.
To be better.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjdIWBKKwz
To maybe help her with something someday.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguBwXZYP3C
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkS4iRbJ4f
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9APwP6I89K
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8mLAyCq1l
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkBSxkl3MX
But texts? Texts felt safer.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyZBXBeTYg
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhikY9NHlu3
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaCfxF7WoJ
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrH5oUUI3SI
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9cAzR3Y2i
“Who are you?”212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlyd830aFW
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eme6AJjuX
Hopeful? Maybe.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhqstlvs2c
Desperate? Nah.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANedYZTabM
Romantic? Probably.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWbkQQ4h6l
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXijmrRzJb
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28DT3AT3CM
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvFnODHUMz
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHh5WV8b4N
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTg0FMcXeR
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcUc3gO083
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjfnqht0NH
And I replied:212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNWhhAExio
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4c7SwpgfT
to anime…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvOVDu5dOQ
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2f713tztm
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaaxRYI7uO
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7r2xwOdyT
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgp81lzPsE
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oIVWYxcU0
Did I explain my intentions?212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwEwAFOtZ7
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:212Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiP6ZGFiS7
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
and then Add to home screen.