The lab was full of laughter and chatter between friends, and the yelling of the teacher asking her students to quiet down and do their science experiment without making any noise filled the atmosphere.
The science subject is fun, only for the experiment part; the counting, math and theory were the most boring parts of the subject.
She looked around her and sighed. Her best friend had to be with another group who had the best mark in this subject, meanwhile, she had to stay in a group of three boys because they had the lowest score this year.
But, it's not bad. They were fun to chat with and they're not awkward with her. Despite being the only girl in that group, they never left her out of any conversation.
Her group already did the experiment and is now bothering others who haven't finished yet, leaving her alone there.
The only reason she never complained about staying at the group is not really because they're friendly to her. It's because her crush was in the same group as her too.
The only time she can admire him closely is without needing to turn her head to look at him awkwardly. Their table in class are close, two inches apart, but that doesn't mean she's brave enough to talk with him without the topic being about homework or what class comes after this subject.
So, when they were in the lab and stayed at the same table, she was over the moon. Her friend also teases her for that reason.
But right now, he was with his friends, talking about something she couldn't catch what it was.
So, she waited at her table instead of socialising like the other. Her friend is busy with her experiment, so she doesn't want to bother her.
"We already finished the experiment, yeah?"
She flinched at the sight of him all of a sudden beside her, looking closely at the iron powder clinging to the magnet.
"Yeah, already finished." She replied. "Oh, wait, I haven't yet written down the result."
"Shoot, I forgot about that also. Did you remember the result by the way?" He quickly took his notebook and his pencil.
"Yep, I did write them in the textbook earlier." She pushed her textbook close to him.
They did it quietly and closed the notebook at the same time.
The teacher started to ask them to clean up their mess and bring back the material and apparatus to the place where they had taken them.
"Let me help you." He said, helping her clean the iron powder that stubbornly won't fall into the small container.
They did it awkwardly and clumsily, and she was nervous to stay beside him for too long like this.
"What date is today by the way?" He asked.
"Umm, it's 8 June 2022," She hesitated for a second before mumbling, "And also my birthday today."
He didn't look up to see her, "Oh, happy birthday."
"Thank you."
"It's actually my father's birthday today too."
"Oh yeah? Happy birthday to your father." She smiled, as her brain made a mental note about it.
"Thanks," He took the material and apparatus with him. "I will put this down, Lya."
"Hm, thank you." She said, as her gaze followed him also.
Their conversation, can you even call it a conversation when it was short and awkward as hell?
But that small chat between them sparked some emotions she didn't know existed. Oh, how she truly loves that boy.
That precious boy.
And that scene still remains beautifully in her brain after three years. They're soon to graduate, but she can't seem to forget about him even though they're no longer in the same class.
That small, awkward conversation they had was something she held onto because that's the only time she's brave enough to say something other than about school stuff.
She wishes she had said more than that. Continue making harmless jokes with him when she has the chance.
She did have them, the chance but she pretends she didn't see them at all.
Because she knows that in the process, it's not as beautiful as people describe.
So, she loves him from afar. Not waiting for another chance, but just admiring the beauty God created in His creation.
Too late.
