“ Huh..”

I felt a poke on my back.

“ Don't sleep during class, or else you want to keep standing the whole class. ”

I looked back sleepily to see my friend, Sajim smiled at me.

“ Hey you. Boy in glasses beside the window, stand up.”

I heard someone yelling at me. When I looked forward with my sleepy eyes, I felt screwed. I really forgot our English class had already started.

Damn it, how could you forget that you were in the class. It was our homeroom teacher, Mr. Saiful, pointing the laser light on me.

I nervously stood up and looked at him with my barely open eyes.

“ What were you doing in the middle of the class?”

Saiful sir asked me in a tone of disappointment.

I was nervous and sleepy enough to be unable to answer anything.

“ Sorry, sir.”

I unconsciously muttered. Well I was still very much sleepy at this point.

“ Sigh…”

Saiful sir left a huge breath of disappointment.

“ You will be pardoned if you can answer my question?”

Huh..

Where did this come from? When did this turn into a viva? I don't want that. I just want to sleep for a bit.

“ Boy, tell me the opposite word of Awake?”

“uh.. Sleep…?”

Barely looking at him, I answered?

“Sigh…”

Once again he released a deep breath in disappointment.

“ No! You sleepy head. The opposite of Awake is Asleep.”

I yawned unconsciously.

“ Then maybe I am the opposite of Awake… so I must be right.”

As I said it out unconsciously, the class erupted into laughter.

“ Well, you are definitely the opposite of paying attention. So get out of the class.”

Saiful sir said it in a seriously disappointed tone.

As sir said that, the laughter in the class became silent.

I turned back to see the face of my friend Sajim, only to find him in a facepalm pose.

Seeing me still standing there, sir got pissed.

“ You are still here? Get out before I take you to the principal.”

He yelled like crazy.

“ Sorry sir..”

I murmured while I took my bag and ran out of the class.

Well, that was easy. I don't have to suffer from the boring lecture now. But, I can't really go to the infirmary. That will create another mess. If I linger through the hallway, I may got caught by teachers. So I think about a place where I can rest without being seen by the teachers.

I quietly move through the corridor and then make my way toward the stair. I climb the stairs carefully enough not to be seen. I keep on until I reach the rooftop. I slightly push the door as it opens.

The bright sunlight blinded me. I put my hand on my eyes to see the clear blue sky.

“ Well, no one is gonna come here to face the sun..”

I said out loud. Well, that's the same for me. But I know a place where I can rest in the shade.

I walked towards the huge water tank at the corner of the roof. Beside the roof, there was a shade for keeping working stuff. For me, it's just perfect for taking a nap.

I put my bag down and use it as a pillow and lay down on it. Not so long after I was completely asleep.

But, the sound sleep doesn't last long. I don't really know how much time has passed, but I was feeling pokes on my cheeks.

The pokes were way too real to be a dream. So it wakes me up from sleep.

I slowly opened my eyes. In my sleepy eyes, I see a figure whom I don't know very well. She had bent her knees to reach near me, while her brown hair was swinging in the air.

“ Yoo.. it's already lunch hour, you know?”

The mysterious figure, who had a red ribbon tied on her hair, seems to be a first year student. But from her voice, it seems to be way too casual for talking like that. But, not gonna lie, her voice was way too sweet for me. Maybe because I rarely have conversations with girls.

Her glare was frozen at me. I couldn't think about how to respond to a girl. At this point, all my sleep is completely gone.

Who is this girl?

Why is she here?

Why is she talking to me?

A lot of questions are running over my head.

★ Sara’s POV ★

“ Good morning, Sara. You are early today.”

I was greeted by the class representative as soon as I entered the classroom. I wasn't shocked to hear that kind of response. I wasn't really a morning person by any means, so I had the habit of missing my morning classes. But due to some miracle, I am early today.

“ Good morning.. ”

I half heartedly responded to his greeting. To be honest, I don't even know his name. All I know is he is the class representative.

I quickly walked over to my seat. As I was sitting down, the girl next to me waved hi at me.

I smiled slightly at her.

“ Hey, don't be so mean to Abir. He means no harm..”

She told me as I sat down.

“ Umm.. who is Abir?”

That was my actual response. She looked hopeless at my response.

“ You don't even know the class representative’s name… you must be joking, right?”

She tried to take my answer sarcastically. But it wasn't the case.

I barely know anyone in my class. The main reason might be because I joined the school a bit later than others and I often skip classes.

Well, I don't care a bit what they think of me. After all, I just want to live peacefully on my own terms.

I just put a smile on my face, as she backed off seeing my reaction.

I know for a reason why the boys in my class wanna get close to me. Some of them , whom I don't even know, have already asked me out.

“ I won't date someone I don't even know ”

I escaped my way through their proposal in a cold way. Since then they have been talking shit about me behind my back, yet some still try to approach me. I can be careless about that as I put on a pair of earbuds on my ears to listen to music.

Soon after that the classes begin.

The classes weren't anything special, rather they were boring.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, I made my way out of the classroom before anyone could approach me. This might have made a few of my classmates disappointed.

I have been doing this since I came to this school. I like to have my lunch alone. More importantly, I need my time alone. If I could have done the classes alone, maybe then I could have paid attention to the class.

“ For now, let's grab something to eat.”

I said it to myself as I rushed towards the cafeteria. I brought a vegetable roll and a cold coffee from the cafeteria and started to move towards my secret base.

Most students here don't know that the rooftop is always open. But those who knew, often thought that there was no shade on the rooftop. But I know a place where I can sit in the shade and have some alone time.

That’s what I thought…

When I reached the staircase beside the water tank, I saw the place was already occupied.

A boy was taking a nap there. From the look of it, he was skipping class. Also his tie was missing. That can only mean he is a 2nd or 3rd year’s senior.

Even if the place is occupied, I ain't letting it go. So I decided to wake him up.

How should I approach ?

What if he became an aggressive one?

So many questions begin to bombard my mind.

I bend my knee to get close to him. That's when I got a clear view of his face. From this distance, he looks really cute. His black hair was flowing in the air, while his cheeks looked like fluffy candy.

Without thinking any further, I poked his face.

“ Oh no.. what did I do… what if he wakes up now…”

I was almost about to hide myself in embarrassment.

By that time, he began to move. I make a cold face while hiding my embarrassed face. As he opened his eyes slowly, I kept glaring at him.

“ Yoo.. it's already lunch hour, you know?”

I said while keeping my poker face on. I kept glaring at his face to keep my poker face.

Five seconds passed… ten seconds passed… twenty seconds… I don't know how much time has passed, we kept glaring at each other. No words were spoken.

It was as if time stood still for us.

At that point, neither of us realized our faces were very close to each other. When the realization hit me, I hurriedly back off, while he slid himself to make distance between us.

“Sorry about that…”

He barely say the words while covering his face with his bag. He never tried to make eye contact.

He quickly got up and made a run towards the door. At this point the realization hit me, that my face was so close to his.

My face and ears begin to turn red in embarrassment. If anyone had seen us, the rumors would have spread out like a virus.

During this phase, all I could see was the boy opening the door and vanishing from my gaze. But before he left, I notice his face was also red.

“ Was he also blushing?”

In embarrassment I kept on sitting in the shade while grabbing my knees to cover my face.

After a while, I calmed down. But then I begin to think about the incident while taking a bite at my vegetable roll.

“ Wait … I don't even know who he is . Yet I am blushing… is it …”

I shake my head.

No.. it can't be.. I can't fall in love.. I can't be loved… after all that..

I take a sip at the cold coffee to cool my head.

★

I rushed down the stairs like a fugitive running from a crime scene, still holding my bag tight to my chest like it could shield me from the embarrassment I just faced. My heart was pounding louder than it should’ve—like, way louder.

What was that?

Why was she so close?

Why was I staring like that?

And… why the hell am I blushing?

I found a quiet corner behind the library building and sat on the low boundary wall, still trying to catch my breath. I wiped my face with my sleeve. It was burning hot.

“Get a grip, Asif. She’s just a girl. Just a girl…”

Nope. Didn’t work. The memory of her brown hair fluttering, the slight curve of her lips, and the way she poked my cheek like I was some oversized mochi kept rewinding in my brain on loop.

That’s when I heard the familiar voice, laced with irritation.

“Oi! You skipped again, didn’t you?”

I froze. No… not now.

I looked up slowly to see Sajim standing in front of me, arms crossed, his right eyebrow doing that thing it always does when he’s mad. His tie was halfway loosened, and his forehead had a thin layer of sweat. Probably ran around looking for me.

“Dude,” I tried to play it off, “you won’t believe what just happened.”

But Sajim wasn’t having it. He pointed a finger at me like he was a lawyer mid-trial.

“Don’t try to distract me with your stories. You missed Math and Chemistry too. You got kicked out of English—I know that. Everyone’s talking about your ‘opposite of awake’ line. But skipping two more classes after that? What the hell, man?”

I lowered my head. I didn’t really have a good excuse. My sleep-deprived brain had one job: make it to class, stay awake, and not get kicked out. And I failed.

“Sorry…” I muttered, trying to avoid eye contact.

Sajim sighed and flopped down next to me on the wall.

There was a short silence.

“…So what did happen?” he asked, finally calmer.

I glanced around, made sure no one else was listening, and then told him everything—from getting kicked out, sneaking up to the rooftop, and yes, even that moment with the mysterious girl.

He listened quietly, nodding slowly, then raised an eyebrow again when I mentioned the part where our faces were stupidly close.

“Wait—hold up. A girl poked your cheek?”

I nodded.

“…And you didn’t faint?”

“Shut up,” I groaned and lightly shoved him with my shoulder.

He burst into laughter, leaning back on the wall like he’d just heard the best joke of the year.

“Well, well, Mr. Opposite-of-Awake. Skipping class to get involved in rooftop romance dramas now, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” I replied instantly, waving my hands. “I don’t even know her name.”

He gave me a teasing smirk.

“So? That’s how most love stories start, don’t they?”

I gave him the deadliest glare I could manage. He laughed harder.

After a while, the laughter faded and the mood mellowed again.

“…Still,” Sajim said, glancing up at the sky, “if something’s bothering you… you can talk to me, you know?”

I looked at him. “Nothing’s bothering me.”

He gave me a long, suspicious look. “Then stop running away from class like it’s a haunted house.”

“I was just… tired.”

“From what? Your tragic love life?”

I smacked his arm. “From existing, okay? I was just… tired of everything.”

He nodded slowly, like he finally got it.

“…Yeah, I get that.”

There was another short silence.

Then he stood up and stretched.

“Alright, depressed sleepyhead, come with me.”

“Huh?”

“You owe me for making me worry. I skipped part of lunch for this. You’re buying me chips. And then we’re going to the arcade. Period.”

I blinked at him. “Wait, what arcade?”

“The one in the mall near the bus stop. They have air hockey. I’m gonna crush you today.”

I cracked a small smile.

“Sure, if you can even *touch* the puck this time.”

“Bring it on, Mr. Asleep.”

As we walked toward the back gate, I couldn’t help but glance up at the rooftop, wondering if she was still there.

That girl…

Who was she?

And why did her voice still echo in my head?

But before I could think more about it, Sajim playfully shoved me again and yelled:

“Last one to the gate pays for the cold drinks!”

I sighed… and ran after him.

Because maybe, just maybe, even sleepyheads like me need a little push to stay awake.

And maybe this… is how new stories begin.