HARUKA
The bell finally rang. Class was over. It had only been an hour, but it felt like a full decade. I was halfway through packing my bag when the teacher suddenly remembered she hadn't thrown a bomb at us yet. She turned with that cheerful, annoying smile.
"We're going to conduct a project I forgot to mention," she said. "This is a group project with two membersThe project is for pairs. It's manageable, so no excuses about the workload "
Yeah, right. She said it won't be a burnout if it's a group project? The project is the burnout. Doing it alone would've been perfect: just copy from the internet, paste, and done. But no college ever fails to find a new way to make me suffer.
The teacher started calling out names, pairing us up. I sat there waiting for my name and the person I was destined to suffer with. Being an introvert is such a pain in the ass.
"Haruka." The teacher finally reached my name.
"With Kaito Minase."
What. The. Hell.
Me with him. Me with the guy I secretly have a massive crush on. Me with Kaito.
No way. Not him. Anything but that.
Cool down, Haruka. Cool, calm. Stay composed. No one can know. It's just a project, but the fact that it's with him makes it ten times worse. I could feel him looking at me—no, not at me. He was looking at his "project partner." But shit, his partner was me.
I pretended to look at him like it didn't affect me, like I wasn't dying internally. Then the worst happened—he gave me that stupid, soft smile. It made me want to blush and cry at the same time. Since it wasn't the right time for either, I gave him the most polite smile I could muster, acting like my soul wasn't currently exiting my body.
The teacher ended the class, and the second she stepped out, the room erupted into the usual noise and Scott's shouting. I grabbed my bag and bolted for the door, already planning the ice cream and movie that were the only reasons I was still alive.
"Haruka!"
A sharp voice stopped me. My steps froze. I turned back, and for a second, my brain completely forgot how to function.
Kaito Minase.
Kaito. It seems the universe is officially against my peace today and decided to embarrass me in front of my crush. He walked up to me like everything was normal, like it was nothing. And for him, it really was nothing.
"Hey, I think we should start the project. I'm not good at maths, so my whole marksheet depends on this. Let's make it perfect."
I nodded like a doll, as if words had never existed.
"Let's exchange WhatsApp numbers so we can discuss the topic." He pulled out his phone and passed it to me.
I hesitated for half a second before taking it. I typed my number like I was defusing a bomb rather than just tapping digits. I handed the phone back after I was done.
"Thanks," he said, saving it. "I'll text you later."
I gave him a small nod. "Okay."
One word. I spoke exactly one word. Great—what a conversational masterpiece.
He smiled as if my awkward silence didn't bother him at all, like it was totally natural. It was a freaking awkward conversation, but he didn't seem to care.
"Alright then," he said. "See you later haruka."
Hearing my name from him felt weird, but honestly? It felt good.
I nodded one last time and turned around before my face could betray me. I started walking, but my mind was somewhere else—not on my plans for ice cream and a movie, but on the way he said my name.
It's just a name. People say it all the time—teachers, classmates. But it never felt like this.
I tightened my grip on my bag. This is ridiculous. I'm reacting like he just confessed his love or something.
He didn't. He just said my name.
And somehow… that was enough to make my heart lose its balance.