"Hello?"

Tian eyed his reflection, noticing how his lips had lifted to form a smile when he remembered the day he had seen Cynthia for the first time.

He had never expected to see her again after that one time in the park as he had initially come here as a compulsion to complete his remaining studies at his father's request. 

He had never thought about venturing into the neighborhood, making friends, etc as he had planned to leave the place after three years.

The day he had seen her from his backyard, staring at him from the window of her which he presumed was her house, he was shocked.

He had felt his heartbeat stopping and then, beating at a faster rate. He stood there, struck with the confusion of believing whether it was a reality or a dream. He chose to think that it was the latter.

Moments passed by, his face still blank with confusion as he continued to gaze up at her.

Finally, he saw her gaze shifting to his right prompting him to blink and at her once again. He blinked again before his eyes widened by a fraction.

'This was not a dream', he thought, his heart surging with happiness.

The corner of his lips stretched, to form a small smile as he felt a tinge of self-consciousness when he realized she had been staring at him.

He felt the growing weight of nervousness latching onto his heart, the realization slowly dawning on him that he had just smiled at his crush.

Tian straightened his back and turned around, filling his lungs with much-needed air as he slowly made his way inside his house.

A week passed and finally, his father handed him the transfer documents that he would need on his first day of school.

The walk to the Fairview High School was a short one. He was directed to the principal's office before his homeroom teacher, Mr. Louis came to fetch him.

He followed the older man to his assigned class and came to know that Mr. Louis taught mathematics.

The class was chaotic as usual, much like his older school but soon, the students settled down.

"Good morning students. This is Tian Smith. He will be joining our class today and I expect you to treat him very well and help him adjust here.", Mr. Louis turned towards him with a smile, and out of instinct, Tian bowed with a smile to express his gratitude.

Raising his head, he saw the confusion swarming in Mr. Louis's eyes before he nodded with a slight chuckle.

Instantly, he was reminded that he wasn't in the place he grew up in—striking him with a pang.

"Well Tian, you can sit at the vacant seat over there.", Mr. Louis pointed at the seat next to the window, on the right side of the podium.

Tian thanked the older man and placed his bag on the desk with a deep breath. He looked outside the window, feeling thankful that at least the view was nice.

Sitting on the desk, he opened his bag to take out his stuff before a honeyed voice reached his ears. "May I come in, sir?"

An audible sigh was heard from the teacher compelling Tian to look at him before he shifted his gaze towards the door.

'Holy shi-'

Tian felt as if the world had stilled for a moment as he stared at the face that has been haunting his dreams since weeks. He blinked and then blinked again before shaking his head in denial.

'This is too coincidental. Yes, I must be dreaming again'

But his thought process came to a halt when he saw the girl standing just next to his desk from his peripheral vision.

Tian didn't have the guts to raise his head and look at her at the moment.

Two seconds passed and finally, the girl took her seat….right next to his and Tian breathed out the sigh he had been holding back.

Present day-

Tian looked at the mirror, his hands working to comb his hair as he looked for any visible flaws that could be fixed. Nodding to himself, he grabbed his bag and made his way downstairs.

Entering the dining room, the first thing he noticed was the absence of Aiko. Generally, she was found finishing her breakfast by the time he came down.

He muttered a small 'Good Morning' to his father as he seemed busy talking to someone over the phone.

Tian grabbed a banana and an apple from the table just as Sakura, his father's wife made her way inside the dining room, passing him a smile which was returned instantly.

"Good Morning, Sakura.", he greeted her as placed a bowl of cereals in front of his father, "Good morning, Tian. All set for the day?"

"Yes, all set.", he replied before inquiring further, "Well, where's Aiko? Not going to school today?"

Sakura shook her head, "No, her summer vacation has started so she has planned to sleep until she wakes up 'naturally'", the action did by her to emphasize the word 'naturally' made him chuckle. "I get it now."

Soon, Tian was on his way to Fairview High, the walls of the school building which brought random bursts of anxiety on his first day now brought a smile to his face as he entered his classroom.

Moving towards his seat, he looked out of the window which showcased the distant figure of the Ferris wheel, sparkling under the sunlight. The view from the window was truly beautiful.

Tian smiled as cheesy as it might sound, to him, no view would be better than the one he would be getting when a certain someone would sit in front of him today.

Tian kept his bag on the desk and eyed the clock hung above the board. 'Well, five more minutes or ten, if she is late.'

Five minutes passed and Mr. Louis entered the classroom, compelling Tian to take his seat, his eyes moving towards the door, searching for the hazel-eyed girl.

Another set of five minutes passed and Tian raised his head from the desk, glancing at the clock. 'Fifteen minutes since the class has started.'

At this point, he was sure that she wouldn't be coming to school today and there was only one way to find out.

Tian waited for the class to end, eagerly. His feet tapping on the floor impatiently as for the first time in his life, he waited for the teacher to leave as soon as possible.

Just as Mr. Louis left the class, he turned his head to look at the blonde girl sitting adjacent to him who was engrossed in her phone.

"Nia", he called out to her, and she looked at him, waiting for him to say further, "Is Cynthia not coming today?"

Nia raised a brow at his question, probably surprised by his straightforwardness. "Well, I was asking her that only, she is not feeling well."

"She isn't feeling well? What exactly happened to her?", At this point, he was already standing in front of her.

"Calm down bro. It's just a headache.", Nia clarified further, almost smirking at his earlier outburst.

"I hope she took medicine at least?"

Nia frowned, her eyes squinting almost as if she was judging him. Tian gulped at her long pause, "What?"

"You have just failed if you had tried to appear nonchalant.", her statement made him speechless, followed by a series of coughs as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

"Well, I don't normally do this but hey, here's her number.", she typed something in her phone before turning the device towards him.

Tian frowned, before taking a look at the caller ID 'Cyn'. "Give her a call and ask the remaining questions yourself."

When he didn't move for a while, Nia frowned, "What are you waiting for?"

"Are you certain that she won't mind getting a call from me out of nowhere?" Tian inquired while simultaneously punching the number in his phone.

"Would she be surprised? Definitely. Would she mind? No."

"You better take the blame if she gets angry.", Tian playfully warned her and gave a nod to her boyfriend who had just entered the classroom.

Tian took a deep breath and pressed on the green icon for placing the call. The bell rang for a while during which he made his way towards a corner of the classroom. He eyed the clock once again, 'There's still eight minutes left for the class to start'

The sound of the call being accepted made him still as he focused solely on the person. There was a pause from the other side before the familiar honeyed voice reached his ears.

"Hello?"