Fried Rice and First Glances

After a long holiday, today was officially my first day back at school for the new year.

And yeah, I’m sixteen now — hello, sweet sixteen! 💃

I’m Nesya.

And I’m definitely not one of those girls with a perfect boyfriend, a squad of BFFs, or a picture-perfect family.

But let’s not get into my tragic backstory. 🤫

No drama today — I was too busy feeling a weird kind of excitement.

Because this year?

Something tells me it’s going to be unforgettable.

…Oops. There’s my school bus. 🚌

And surprise, surprise — the ride was as boring as watching paint dry. 🥱

When I finally got to school, it felt exactly the same as every other year:

same faces, same classrooms, same sleepy me. 😫

That is… until I hit the canteen.

I was absolutely starving — and not just for food, but for a break from this déjà vu life.

So off I went to get my favorite fried rice.

And by the way, I was with Lara — you know, that classmate who insists we’re best friends. 🥸

Anyway, after I grabbed my food and a drink, I was heading back to my table like a queen on a mission to demolish some fried rice.

And then.

Boom. 💥

That’s when I saw him.

A new guy.

A face I’d never seen before.

And in that tiny second — I swear — the world hit slo-mo like some cheesy romance movie.

My heart? Practically doing backflips.

Time literally paused long enough for me to go,

“Wait, who is that?! 🔥”

And just as quickly as it began, the moment was over.

I was back in my seat, fried rice in front of me,

acting like nothing had happened — but let’s just say my brain was playing that little encounter on repeat. 🎬💖

And I had a feeling that moment?

Oh, it was definitely going to haunt me for a while.

After a few days, I found out his name—Kaysan. His class was just next door to mine. He often came by to meet someone from my class—Skyrt.

Skyrt and I had known each other for about two years. He used to be my cousin’s best friend, and because of that, he would always find a reason to tease me. Last year, we even ended up in the same class. We weren’t exactly friends, but we weren’t strangers either.

Skyrt still teased me, often in front of everyone—including Kaysan. And maybe that’s when Kaysan started to notice me. I usually responded to Skyrt with a cold stare or an argument, and sometimes I even hit him on the shoulder. (Oh! I forgot to mention—I’m learning taekwondo, so when I hit someone… yeah, it actually hurts.)

But deep down, I kind of liked it when Skyrt teased me in front of Kaysan. Maybe because it made Kaysan look my way—even if just for a moment.

It’s been three months now… and still, I haven’t had a single conversation with Kaysan.

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