24th January 2021 — the day everything changed.
You know, people always talk about remembering "important days" — wedding days, birthdays, the day they won an award, the day they met some prophet at the bus station, whatever. But me? My important day was none of those things. Mine was 24th January 2021, a random morning in a random year… the day I met her.
I swear, that day is printed in my head like someone stamped the date on my forehead with permanent ink.
I arrived at school around 7:00 a.m., half-sleeping, half-regretting all my life choices. Ideal College again. Another Monday. Another round of boredom, lectures, and pretending I understood whatever the teacher was explaining on the board that looked like it was fighting for its life.
As usual, I went straight to the back of the hall — my permanent seat. No one even questioned it anymore. It was like it had my name written on it:
"Reserved for Elvis: King of Mind-Your-Business."
I dropped my bag, sat down, stretched my legs under the table, and sighed that heavy sigh that only students understand. You know the "Why am I even here?" sigh. The "God, please, let school close" sigh.
Class hadn't really started, so my mind was just wandering. I was bored, annoyed, hungry — the normal student starter pack. I gave myself a small pep talk:
"Look, Elvis, we're not here to make friends. We're here to pass and flee. Behave yourself. Don't talk to anybody. Don't let trouble see you."
Little did I know trouble was already wearing lip gloss and walking in my direction.
The teacher finally started the lesson, and the whole class went quiet. Not because we wanted to learn, but because we had no energy to make noise. Monday morning silence — one of the strongest forces in nature.
Time crawled. I kept staring at the clock like it owed me money. Thirty minutes until the first break. Thirty long, painful minutes.
And then it happened.
The classroom door opened.
At first, I didn't even look up. Students enter class late all the time, and usually it's some guy holding a pie and fanta. But then I noticed something — the room actually changed. Not dramatically, not like a movie with slow motion and background music… but something shifted.
So I looked up.
And… damn.
She walked in.
Slowly. Calmly. Naturally.
Like she had no idea the universe was using her as a weapon against my peace of mind.
I don't believe in love at first sight. I still don't think what I felt was "love." But something hit me — hard. My heart didn't just skip a beat; it jumped, somersaulted, landed wrong, and started limping.
I genuinely whispered to myself,
"Ei, Elvis… what is this?"
Everyone else was seated, so I had a perfect, clear view. I actually thanked Ideal College — for the first time ever — that the classroom was a wide hall and not those tiny SHS classrooms where you have to twist your neck like an owl to see anything.
She took a step forward, looking for a seat, and I just stared. Not in a creepy way — okay maybe slightly creepy — but I couldn't help it. She had that presence, you know? That kind of calm glow that makes you feel like the world just switched to HD.
Her hair, her face, the way she walked — quiet but confident. She didn't talk. She didn't do anything dramatic. She just existed… but somehow that was enough.
And I remember thinking something so stupid:
"Of all the days to brush my teeth quickly and not moisturize my face…"
I never, never imagined I would fall for someone like that. Me? Elvis? Falling in love? I used to laugh at people who behaved like that in movies. I thought those guys were exaggerating.
But now look at me — sitting at the back of the class like a broken Bluetooth speaker, unable to function properly.
In that moment, I knew one thing:
I wanted her.
Not in a shallow, childish way. Not because she looked nice.
But because, for the first time in a long time, something inside me woke up.
And it scared me.
And excited me.
And confused me.
All at the same time.
But one thing was clear —
24th January 2021 became my precious day.
The day everything started.