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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HsLomHi9g
Twenty.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2npzzbQ1k
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpcYC9kATc
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:135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWLEn6PdTT
One — light, smiling, joyful — the version of me that found a friend.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcxoa3PApU
The other — quiet, heavy — the version that almost said something he shouldn’t have.
Because here’s the thing about feelings:135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGbdfJZIep
They don’t ask for your permission.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFEiQQ0xI2
They just show up.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSo77KEggA
And when they arrive too fast — it’s scary. For you, and especially for the other person.
Imagine it from her side:135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENZhsyvM5T
You meet someone by chance, a coincidence wrapped in everyday moments…135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiC5SvLj0F
and suddenly they’re showing up in your sky like a comet.
That’s terrifying.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPEDb73b45
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrGT5qgIpB
Just imagine a guy who threw on a shirt while arguing with his hairbrush and lost.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3srAkPLWp
My hair was doing interpretive dance.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnFB8CTBQK
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHgUK90bC6
Not as strangers.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEe98M5OD1
Not as accidental classmates.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvVuvBxjJ2
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVtM8H8dWD
And — surprise — our classes are side by side. Same floor, barely a few steps apart.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzylR6Uu1G6
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfPI3kC0Tu
Okay, maybe I do.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceuJWgZtwz
Okay fine, I watch a lot.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHy2QHeaxdT
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHcn5Faal6
But here she was.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa6hxadHqb
Leona.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDO68Wdg1jM
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9R65lkb3f
Eventually, she asked for my Insta.
I gave it.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruALhYbiFT
We chatted as we walked.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKuHPbsR0B
The buses arrived. We said goodbye.
But in my head, I was spinning.
Why would someone want to talk to me?135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj55Ad7iiiY
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.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4441oZjtCG
Not suddenly. Gradually.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7p3gUnd2c
So, no one would notice.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKCj6zL86y
Because I had achieved what I came there for.
The plan?
Operation: One conversation with Seren.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nvU7mpiPD
Status: Complete.
Bonus: We became friends.
And I didn’t care about anything else.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZK74Bzkwtm
Because when you find one person who feels like more than a coincidence — that’s enough.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLGg14mqcD
Whether it’s a friend, a crush, a someday-maybe-never.
One is enough.
I tried texting her again from the bus.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWp1krrYT0
But the signal?135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrOumCf0wn
Well, it had other plans.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMn2hP4IrW5
and then Add to home screen.