My world revolves around you

Don’t forget my pillows and my green box,and please clean the room before you arrange everything. Put the plants near the window shelf.”

I was taking my only bag from the cab and slipping my backpack onto my shoulder when I heard someone giving instructions very quickly, almost breathlessly — like he was running.

When I turned around towards the voice and I saw him,

For the very first time.

He was running toward me, not even looking in my direction he ws looking at something behnd me, He almost bumped into me — but instead, he twisted smoothly around me, one arm circling my waist like a ballet dancer, steadying me so I wouldn’t fall.

And then he was gone. Witout even looking at me, and i felt I foegot how to brath,my head forgot the corrct rhythm,

He was running toward the basketball court where a few boys were already playing. He reached there,all the boys playing there were very tall,but he was the tallest among them all.

He was smiling. Giggling. Completely carefree.

But that wasn’t the only thing I noticed.

I noticed his eyes.

They were unreal — a mixture of every beautiful shade of blue that could possibly exist. His curly hair shimmered in a dull golden glow under the sunlight. And when he passed by me, his fragrance lingered — warm, mesmerizing, unforgettable.

He was at least a foot taller than me or two with a very strong body, very tanned, his skin was almost copper coloured,

He definitely didn’t look at me. He was too focused on the court, on the game, on everything except me.

“Danny! Don’t be silly, come with us! Danny!!!!!!!

I snapped out of my daze when I heard a girl’s voice. A cute girl was standing there holding a planter, with all the annoyed excpresions one could have on her face, a cute little girl, most probably 10 years old, She had the exact same features — the same striking eyes. She had to be his sister, she was so annoyed but then she looked at me an smiled, with all of her face, I didnt even know how to react so I jut gave her my weirdest smile and she giggled,

Behind her, three cars were parked. Most robably His whole family was there to help him to get settled , unloading things.

Bags. Storage boxes. A huge comforter bag. Books. Kitchen supplies. Laundry baskets. Things labeled and organized.

They were there to settling him into his new room mot probably for a ong period of time,

And suddenly, I felt alone all over again. It's not new thing, it never bothered him,but suddenly I felt alone.

I stood there with only one bag and one backpack.

That was it.

I would have to buy everything from here. I didn’t even have a pillow. Or a blanket.

I swallowed hard. No. I promised myself I wouldn’t think negatively again.

“Have you taken everything, boy? Am I free to go?” the cab driver asked.

“Yes — sorry. Yes, thank you.”

I stepped away from the cab and watched it drive off.

Then I looked at my things.

Then at his.

They were carrying his belongings into the dorm building. Laughing. Talking teasing that Barbie doll who was still looking towordw the ground and making faces.

I searched for him again.it was not difficult.he was so prominent.and then I looked around,almost everyone was lookng at him. I felt something inside, something heaey, something deep,uknown.

Danny was playing basketball with the boys now — carefree and impossibly happy.

He was smiling, pushing eachoother,no one could say that they jus met. He was smiling with all of his heart.

And for the first time since arriving, Nambi smiled too.

Not just with his lips.

But with his eyes.

And his heart.

My goodness his mile is so contagious I thought to himself.

He started walking toward the dorm building. It was huge — black stone walls and a wide staircase of 12 to 13 massive steps stretching across the front. The steps were joined together in one long line but split into three openings, each leading to a separate main gate. He watched people enter through the first gate while he made his way toward the third, His room was in third floor,he had all th maps and all the information he needed in his phone,uni administrator emaild him everything with his door pad code.

He loved the building. It was thevery first time he saw it in person. Back in Thailand, he had only seen videos — clips shared by the university when he applied, showing the campus, his room, the cafeteria, and some of the famous city landmarks.

Beyond the university’s fame or its biology program, he loved the way it looked. Within a week of applying, he hadn’t just been admitted — he had received a 100% scholarship. He studied hard to earn it,e iok almost 17 interviews His family was well-off, but he never needed to use their money for his studies. In fact, he never had many expenses anyway. He usually owned only a couple of t-shirts, a few trousers, one or two pairs of jeans, and two shoes. He was either a minimalist or simply careless about his appearance.

He remembered his grandma taking him shopping as a child. They would finish within half an hour. His mother had been only fifteen when she had him. He never met his father. His relationship with his mother was minimal — she ran a restaurant and was always chasing love. She moved out of her parents’ house at least twelve times, never once thinking to take him along. Even when he was very little, his grandma had filled that space in his life.

He had been very close to her, but she died when he was only twelve. His grandpa loved him, but he was a busy businessman. He tried to provide everything he needed, yet he could never fill the emptiness in Nambi’s heart. He has a sister but she was almost the photocopy of his mother, she was not attached to anyone even with hr mother, she atudied in boarding school throughout her life, they always have had a very rude relationship.

He never had a friend. He was the nerd of his school — the topper, adored by teachers, but ignored by everyone else. Nobody cared about anything he said unless it was about studying. But he had always been fascinated by science — chemistry, physics, and biology were his greatest loves.

He walked through the crowded dorm, watching families helping their kids settle in. His phone was in his hand as he searched for his room. Finally, he found it.

The door had a digital code lock, and he already knew the code — it had been emailed to him by the university. He entered it, and the door clicked open.

The room was bright, flooded with sunlight from a large window directly in front of the entrance. Two beds sat on either side of the window, perfectly aligned with the corners. He paused at the doorway, taking it all in. On both sides, long corridors stretched away from him, and behind him, a three- to four-foot-high wall gave him a full view of the buildings across the campus. People were walking on the other side; he could see the rooms, the parking lot, and even the bustling activity below from his third-floor vantage point.

Curious, he approached the edge of the wall and leaned over carefully. Right below was the basketball court. He smiled.

Then his gaze drifted across the parking lot to the building opposite his. There, Danny's family was busy cleaning the room — so far away yet so close in sight. Near the corridor wall he saw her. Barbie doll was arranging plants, sunlight catching her hair. When she stepped back and looked out the same wall toward him she was looking in her eyes from a huge distance but he felt her eyes into his soul, she smiled.

It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Nambi froze for a moment, then smiled back — genuinely, without hesitation. Their smiles were contagious. She turned back, returning to the room to fetch another plant, and somehow, watching her made him feel lighter than he had in months.at this very moment he wished them in his life,not as a family of a student lives acrose the yard,but more, but way more. He wished lots of things,he wished for a family for a very first time. He was looking at her and then he looked for him,it took him less than a second.He looked back at his family again

He felt somthing inside him, he felt something absolutely unknown, absolutely new.