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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQdQgBEzw2
Twenty.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2mwEXZZb1
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGWqVnrRR2
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:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMlXQhbLfI
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBa1Qsw3UT
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUiceUu6U8
They don’t ask for your permission.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RaHebL3te
They just show up.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdLxmx3gaz
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdm7eDsMKD
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVLeWf6kw0
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1OY8Jizvd
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3l7FNr40Xu
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjKnlLkpO4
My hair was doing interpretive dance.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl2TnmmpKQ
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYU7pLdLtdb
Not as strangers.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cJd25wE5K
Not as accidental classmates.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVSZcNrZCx
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0v4JTPnnUZ
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBgwqC5B1M
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqO7wbBB8cg
Okay, maybe I do.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzVtW7zcoG
Okay fine, I watch a lot.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8haTLOm2Qx
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGdBAvLvKE
But here she was.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlH8LFrWhOA
Leona.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUePVEsY9jR
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMNNKwPrHq
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlzyQmvNQj
We chatted as we walked.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqe1A1Fd09I
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkby8xXkyc
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.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zQVMBqJZl
Not suddenly. Gradually.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaBEz60tqd
So, no one would notice.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2FJF66BPi
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92KyKha4iE
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfY4l9gkEo
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wxLVOIuLY
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xAjGpD6Xo
But the signal?77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnM6rXiCxZl
Well, it had other plans.77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gbofxk4pm
and then Add to home screen.