Ellie glanced at the open window.
The wind blew, and the curtains moved. The temperature in the room became colder because of the night breeze, but she remained motionless.
Her eyes were distant and lost, gaunt and sleepy, but she refused to succumb to sleep. She was exhausted, struggling to finish a chapter of her new novel, but her mind felt numb and empty.
When did she last step out of that door? She couldn't remember. Her mind was too tired to think. Still, she needs to come up with something. She had a deadline.
The soft glow of her desk lamp casts long shadows over the scattered pages. The faint clicking of her keyboard resumed again.
But her eyes only grew heavier, and soon, her fingers paused over the keyboard.
The words began to blur. She closed her eyes just for a moment. When she opened them again, she was in a different place…
—
Warm sunlight. The smell of freshly brewed coffee. Laughter echoed from a distance.
Ellie blinked. Her gaze then landed on the book before her. What was she doing? She wondered.
She glanced at her wristwatch, and her eyes widened.
Crap, it's time for my history class!
She gathered her belongings and stood abruptly. As she turned to leave, she accidentally bumped into someone. The next thing she knew, her arm and the book she was holding were drenched in cold coffee.
Four cups of coffee fell on the floor.
"Shit—I'm so sorry!"
Ellie looked up.
Everyone's eyes were on theirs. She hated being the center of affection, so she ignored the guy trying to apologize and walked away.
She heard someone speak as she left.
"Did you do it on purpose?"
"What? Of course not!"
"Sure, dude."
Ellie hastened her steps.
She had been hurrying to get to class before, but this time, she didn't care. She wanted to change her clothes, dry her books, and go somewhere quiet.
Even though her blouse didn't have a spill, her pants had a few. It was fortunate that the coffee was cold, and she was hugging the books.
She stopped by a thrift store on her way and bought something to change into. She didn't want anyone looking at her, but she was still conscious about her appearance.
Perhaps it was the result of constantly receiving stares in her high school days for being a nerd.
She didn't fit in. She had no interest in the trends, gossip, or whatever a teenager should be; therefore, she was seen as weird. She only had an interest in books. She didn't even like studying.
Later on, even her appearance got picked on.
After graduating, she made a note to change, at least act as if what they see as normal, but even then, she couldn't follow.
She didn't like drinking, so she kept refusing invitations to drinking parties. The conversation always died down when she was involved. When she tried to fit in, everyone felt awkward.
In the end, she gave up.
She leaned back and rested her head on the bench. She skipped class because she was drying the books.
The sun wasn't too hot because it was close to setting already. She could have gone home, but she needed to return the books to the library by today.
"Excuse me."
Ellie opened her eyes.
She found the guy who spilled coffee on her standing a meter away from her. She straightened her body and waited for him to continue.
The guy scratched his head and hesitantly spoke.
"I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't do it on purpose, so please don't misunderstand. You suddenly stood, and I was talking to the other dude, so I reacted too late."
He sounded like he was blaming me. Well, part of it is my fault, I guess.
So, she replied nonchalantly, "Okay."
The guy stared at her, waiting.
She raised her brow.
"O…kay. We're good…right?" the guy asked again.
She nodded. She gathered her books and was about to leave when the guy spoke again.
"I noticed your clothes had changed. If it's because of what happened, let me compensate you for that."
"It's fine."
She walked away, but the guy followed her persistently.
"I…really don't feel good being indebted to someone."
"You said part of it is my fault, too. So, it's fine."
She hurriedly walked away without looking back at the stranger.
She thought it was the last time she'd see him, but the next day, he was sitting on her right, smiling and trying to pull her in on a conversation during a lecture.
She glared at the guy while pointing at the whiteboard, but he just shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
—
Ellie found him annoying. He was the exact opposite of her. Always the center of attention, always smiling and talking even with a person he only just met, always surrounded by people. To her, doing all that seems exhausting.
She moved away, but the guy scooched closer.
"I'm Daniel, by the way. I'm in your group."
She frowned. She looked around, and everyone was staring. She knew what would come next, so she waved her hand and answered, "We don't have any spots for another."
Daniel replied, "But you're alone, aren't you? The professor said, five members per group. Let's group together, then we can find three more."
Before she could refuse, three other girls excitedly jumped into their circle and began chatting with him.
She sighed in frustration.
She knew what was coming—the girls were doing nothing but flirting with the guy while dumping everything on her. It was always like that, so she really hated group reports or projects.
However, her expectations were different from reality.
She was dumbfounded when Daniel tapped the desk and indifferently remarked, "Let's stop chatting and do our own parts. It's been three days, but you guys haven't added anything to what Nora finished. Tomorrow's the group presentation. If you don't finish your parts by today, we'll be taking your names off the list. Clear?"
Nora?
She glanced at Daniel.
He noticed her staring, and his stern expression softened.
The other girls gasped in shock after getting scolded and threatened, but Daniel paid them no attention, even when they tried to excuse or complain.
—
The presentation went well, but Daniel's reputation turned a bit negative.
Ellie distanced herself from him, thinking it was because of her, but he just kept approaching her.
Closer and closer…that before she could realize it, he had become a constant presence in her university days.
She found herself waiting for him whenever her classes ended first. She looked forward to going home because he was always waiting for her by the gates.
Her study sessions in the library weren't as quiet as before, but she didn't mind another person scribbling nonsense beside her, trying to distract her from reading with a silly grin anymore.
Her lunches were no longer lonely, and she found someone who would listen to her talk about her dreams without getting bored.
"One day, I'll build something incredible."
Daniel looked at her tenderly. His eyes sparkled with dreams, and as he turned to look at her, they twinkled brighter than before.
"But first, I'll build a house we'll call home."
She froze under that gentle and hopeful gaze.
"Our house. That's one of my dreams. Nora, will you make it come true?"
The day Daniel was down on his knees was the happiest day she had ever had. A single answer completed his dream.
And his dream…became her world.