Monday
I was merely minding my own business when a group of students passed by me in the library. They were just a tad bit noisy enough to distract me for a second. I’m only here to waste my time away— my friends too busy to take some time drowning in the silence of the moment. Hell, I can’t really blame them. It’s not like they’re sad about anything. Maybe they are, but they choose to avoid feeling sad by doing all those things: playing, hanging out to talk about any sort of topics— not that I don’t like those. It’s just that every once in a while, I reach my limit and have to retract myself for a few minutes or hours.
What I’m looking for is someone to be with me even in times like these.
Having friends is important and being in a circle helps develop your social skills and social life. But, there’s always a boundary with friends. It’s only been a week after exams, so there’s lots of free time: enough for me to be able to stay here in the library, with books, some read and some not, by my side. It was then that I noticed her: she took a glance at me longer than her cohorts did. This led me to wonder, but I immediately assumed that she was also just wondering on whatever the hell I was doing. I have books I took from the shelves with me, but none of them are open at the moment. I closed them just to focus on my thoughts. She wouldn’t know that, would she? Or is that the very thing she’s curious about...
My phone rings to notify me of a message from my friend. “Hey, we’re at the cafeteria. Are you not gonna come with?”
“I think I’m gonna pass. I’m still reading something here.” I replied. With that, it was time to ironically return some of the books, but not before taking note of the titles just so I can come back to them at a later time. As I made my way to the Natural Sciences section, we coincidentally lock eyes from opposing sides as we turned the corner towards the shelves. “Interesting. She didn’t impose me as someone who’d be into this sorta stuff. Maybe she’s just looking around?” I thought to myself. The book I was aiming to return discussed things on astronomy. I still remember where it was placed and there weren’t many people in the library to have messed up the positions, so it doesn’t seem like a big deal to just put it back to where it was. As I did, however, she casually scooted over and seemed to see that the book I’m returning was interesting and immediately reached for it, our hands grazing each other for a moment.
“O-Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want to read this?” I asked, my hand just a few centimeters away from having returned the book to its place.
“Y-Yeah, thanks.”
She stuttered? What... why would she? I guess that was embarrassing enough. But hey, maybe she’s creeped out? She slightly turns away as I take a glance at her, her hand resting on the shelf in the attempt to take the book. As I get a closer look at her, I notice that she’s actually an underclassman in the Sciences Department. So that’s why she likes this sorta topic. Very stereotypical somehow. Our encounter was short-lived, as she notices her friends already starting to tease her about what happened. She grabs the book and goes back to them. Maybe I should go back to my friends as well.
As I walked out the library, a group of boys enter and made their way to the girl from earlier and her friends. They’re probably batchmates or something— not sure if I should be intrigued. A few steps was all it took for me to reach my friend. “You sure took your time, man. We’ve been waiting for you,” he nudges me as we walk side by side and puts an arm over my shoulder.
“What is it this time?” I ask.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just that the girl you like is a few seats away from where the group is.”
“Bro, I already told all of you that I’m over her. What gives?”
“Look at this way: maybe you have a chance. And why not take it, right?”
“Yeah, as if.”
We finally reach the table and I take a few chips out of the bag my friend just opened. I notice the girl he mentioned, while my friends stared at me as if they were anticipating for me to make a move.
“No, I am not going to approach her,” I say stoically.
“It’s your loss,” a short-haired girl from one of my friends replies. “I heard she’s actually single.”
“Yeah, but no way in hell am I a match for her. She’s out of my league.”
“Chill out, bud! We’re just making sure you’re having a great time. You’ve been down lately. What’s up?”
“Nothing much, really. And that’s why I’ve been down.”
“If that’s the case, why don’t you come with us to a party this Wednesday? We only have morning classes, so our afternoon is pretty free.”
A party, huh? I’m not really one for drinks, but... I am kind of in need to have some liquor run down my throat lately. Maybe I’ll need it.
“I’ll think about it,” I respond while proceeding to munch on chips.
“And I’ll give you a heads up if she’ll be there,” my best friend winks. “Let’s make sure you have a great time.”
The group’s banter fades into the background as I notice the girl from earlier in the library enter the cafeteria. She seems to be with her friends, but one dude approaches her as if they know each other. And apparently, they do. They seem to be having a friendly interaction. But not long after, the guy reaches for her hand as he escorts her and her friends to a table. So I guess she has some things going on for her, huh? I should make moves on my end as well.
