The next Day
Leera introduced Nayza to the boy standing beside her. "This is Yesir Serkhan. We've been friends since childhood."
Nayza greeted him politely, and Yesir responded with a calm smile.
A moment later, Leera looked toward the window side of the university hall. "Nayza, see that guy sitting over there?"
Nayza followed her gaze, though she couldn't see the boy's face since he was seated facing forward while the three of them stood behind him.
"Yes, I can see him," she replied quietly.
"Erhaan. He's also our childhood friend," Leera said. "And there's one more friend in our group, but he didn't come today. Honestly, it's strange... yesterday, when you came here, Yesir wasn't around, but that guy was here instead. I wanted to introduce you to both of them together, but today he's the one missing."
"He took a temporary break from the university," Yesir added casually. "He'll return after a few months."
Nayza simply listened before offering a soft smile. "It's alright."
Then she asked, "But why is he sitting alone? Why isn't he with you guys?"
Leera sighed faintly. "He doesn't spend much time with us anymore... though he still talks to Yesir often."
The first few days of university passed in a blur.
New faces, new subjects, new routines. Everything felt unfamiliar, yet strangely repetitive.
For most students it was exciting.
For Nayza... it was another phase to get through.
Leera however made things easier.
She talked a lot-about random things, about people in class, about teachers even about things that didn't really matter.
But somehow, her presence made the silence around Nayza feel lighter.
Nayza didn't open up much, but she didn't feel completely alone either.
And for her that was enough.
One day, the professor decided to rearrange everyone's seats.
Leera ended up sitting beside Yesir, while Nayza was assigned the seat next to Erhaan.
Until then, Nayza had always sat with Leera, but now she had to adjust to sitting with someone else.
"Sitting beside a guy feels so awkward... how am I even supposed to get used to this?" She thought to herself.
Days passed with Nayza and Erhaan sharing the same desk, yet not a single conversation took place between them. The silence remained constant, almost strange.
After returning from the university to her apartment, Nayza tiredly took off her bag and placed it aside.
"So far... everything has been good," she whispered to herself.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I like it here. I'm alone. Mom isn't here to taunt me, and Dad isn't here to hurt me."
She became slightly emotional before forcing herself to smile again.
"Nayza... yeah, I'm happy," she murmured softly. "I finally made friends, and they're really nice."
But after a moment, her expression slowly faded.
"Maybe Erhaan has a problem with me," she thought quietly. "That's probably why he doesn't talk to me... or maybe he just doesn't like me."
[She had never really received attention or affection from anyone, so even something as simple as the person sitting beside her not talking to her made her feel like nobody truly needed her around]
One day during class.
Nayza struggled to understand what the professor was teaching. While everyone else was busy solving the problem, she sat there quietly, unable to keep up.
Erhaan noticed her confused expression. But he doesn't say anything.
After the lecture ended, Nayza was sitting on Leera's seat while talking to her. Meanwhile, Erhaan and Yesir were talking near Erhaan's desk.
Nayza glanced toward them before hesitantly placing both her hands on her lap.
"Um... is Erhaan always like this?" she asked softly.
Leera looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"We sit together every day, but..." Nayza paused for a moment. "I feel like he has some kind of problem with me. He seems uncomfortable around me."
Leera smiled lightly. "It's nothing like that, Nayza. But if you're uncomfortable or don't like sitting there, you can change your seat."
Nayza looked surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah," Leera replied. "You can just ask the professor."
Soon, the next lecture began. The topic was about what kind of person someone should become in life.
Everyone returned to their seats, and the classroom fell silent except for the professor's voice.
"So students," the professor said calmly, "a person should never carry ego inside themselves. Always value and respect the person in front of you."
Nayza picked up her pen from the desk to write the line down, but it slipped from her fingers and landed on Erhaan's lap.
Both their eyes instantly moved toward it.
Without saying anything, Erhaan picked up the pen and handed it back to her.
"Tha-"
"Nayza, stand up for a moment." Before she could even finish thanking him, the professor suddenly called her name.
Nayza immediately grew nervous and stood up.
"Y- Yes, sir?"
"Were you paying attention to my lecture?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Then answer what I just explained and tell us your opinion." Professor said.
The entire class looked at Nayza. Erhaan, however, quietly listened without looking at her.
Nervously, Nayza began speaking.
"As you said, sir... a person shouldn't have ego, and they should respect others. I think that's true. We should try to understand the other person and listen to what they want to say. And if someone makes a mistake, we should at least give them a chance to explain themselves."
As she continued speaking, she slowly became lost in her own thoughts, no longer sounding nervous.
"But... when someone stops respecting you and keeps breaking your trust, then maybe we should forgive them instead of hating them. But at the same time..." her voice softened slightly, "we should never go back to someone who never respected us in the first place."
The classroom became quiet as everyone listened to her words.
A small smile appeared on the professor's face.
"Wow," he said warmly. "That was a very beautiful answer."
Soon, the entire class started clapping for her.
Erhaan smirk lightly.