What started as something unfamiliar had now became routine.
Sitting in the same classroom.
Listening to the same lectures.
Sharing the same moments.
And somehow without even realizing it, Nayza had gotten used to it. Her conversations, were still limited. Leera remained the only one she spoke to freely. with her, things feel easy.
But with others, Nayza still kept her distance
Days slowly turned into half of year.
Meanwhile, Nayza was going through her own quite changes.
One night, Nayza quietly sat alone, wondering if she should call home.
"Should I call them?" she whispered to herself, but then their words echoed in her mind. Don't bother us.
A sad smile appeared on her face. "I miss them…" she murmured softly to herself.
After hesitating for a while, she finally picked up her phone and called. The ringing continued for several seconds.
No one answered.
Nayza kept staring silently at the screen while the call continued ringing… and without even realizing it, she slowly fell asleep like that.
The next morning, Nayza woke up and sleepily checked her phone. The moment she saw the time, her eyes widened.
"I'm going to be late today," she muttered in panic.
She hurriedly got ready and rushed to the university. By the time she reached the classroom, the lecture had already started.
Quietly, Nayza walked toward her seat, but then noticed that Erhaan wasn't there.
She sat down silently before glancing toward Leera after a while. Leera and Yesir were talking and laughing together.
Why didn't Erhaan come today? Nayza thought to herself. Could it be because he has a problem with me? Maybe... or maybe something else happened.
Then she shook her head lightly.
Why am I thinking so much about this? If he really has a problem with me, why doesn't he just say it?
After a moment, she quietly decided to herself,
If he comes tomorrow, I'll ask him myself. Enough is enough.
After the lecture ended, Nayza walked over to Leera. At that moment, Yesir smiled and said, "I'll be back. My friends are calling me."
After he left, only Nayza and Leera remained.
Leera looked at her curiously. "Nayza, why don't you talk that much?"
"I do talk," Nayza replied softly.
"No, not like we do," Leera said. "Do you have any problem? If something about us bothers you, then tell me."
Nayza immediately shook her head. "No, I don't have any problem. I'm just... like this."
She lowered her gaze slightly with a sad expression.
Leera sighed softly. "No matter how someone is, they're always comfortable and playful around their friends. But you're not like that. Do you not like us?"
"I do," Nayza quickly replied. "I really like you guys. I just... don't understand what I should talk about."
"But it's almost been six months now," Leera said gently.
Nayza stayed quiet for a moment before nodding slightly.
"Yeah... I'll try talking more from now on."
Leera smiled warmly. "Okay then. I'm happy to hear that."
Nayza smiled nervously.
For a few seconds, silence settled between them before Nayza suddenly spoke.
"So... do you like Yesir?"
Leera's eyes widened in surprise before she laughed softly.
"Wow, Nayza. And you chose such a good question to ask." She smiled shyly. "Yeah... I really like Yesir. I've liked him since childhood."
"Oh," Nayza replied quietly. "Then what are you going to do in the future? I mean... will you tell him that you like him?"
Leera looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know, Nayza. I haven't really thought about it yet."
"I see."
Then Leera suddenly looked at her mischievously.
"So what about you? Do you like someone? Or did you have a boyfriend before coming here?"
Nayza immediately shook her head.
"No, no boyfriend. And honestly... even the friends I had before never really gave me much attention."
A small sad smile appeared on her face.
Leera's expression softened instantly. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked that."
"It's okay," Nayza replied quietly. "We're friends. We can tell each other these things."
Leera looked genuinely happy hearing that.
"Yeah," she said with a smile.
After a short pause, Nayza slowly spoke again.
"I'm scared of being ignored again... because that's all that ever happened to me. Back in high school, nobody really listened to me. I was called their friend... but sometimes I wish I wasn't."
Leera's eyes softened.
"Forget about them, dear," she said warmly. "We're your friends now, and we're much better than them."
Then she smiled brightly. "Really?"
"Yes, Nayza," Leera replied with a smile. "I'm happy you're my friend."
Nayza smiled softly. "Yeah. I'm really happy with you too."
After that, the next lecture started, but Yesir didn't come to class. Leera kept waiting for him and even sent him messages, but there was no response.
When the lecture finally ended, Leera turned to Nayza.
"I'll go see where Yesir is. You should head home."
Nayza nodded softly. "Okay. Take care of yourself."
After leaving the classroom, Leera started looking for Yesir around the campus. Eventually, she found him laughing and talking with his friends.
She quietly stood there watching him.
At the same moment, one of Yesir's friends noticed Leera standing nearby and pointed toward her. Yesir looked over while still smiling, but the moment he saw Leera's angry expression, his smile slowly disappeared.
"I'll talk to you guys later," he said before quickly walking after her.
Leera immediately turned around and started leaving.
"Leera, wait! At least listen to me first," Yesir called out while following her.
He already understood why she was upset. He had skipped the lecture.
Leera walked all the way to her car. Just as she opened the door, Yesir gently stopped her.
"Leera, please listen to me. Don't stay mad. I'll explain everything."
"I don't want to talk about this," Leera replied coldly. "I want to go home. Let go of my hand."
"No," Yesir said stubbornly. "Not until you listen first."
Leera glared at him angrily before sighing.
"Fine. Speak."
Yesir rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"My friends said they didn't feel like attending the lecture. I told them I was still going, but they stopped me too. Then it got too late, so I thought it would be better to skip it."
Leera stayed silent for a moment before replying,
"Fine. It's okay."
"I know you're still upset," Yesir said softly while holding her hand. "Please forgive this foolish friend of yours."
Leera looked at him before finally laughing a little.
"Okay, okay. I forgive you. It's time to go home now, so I'm leaving. Bye."
Yesir smiled softly at her, "Bye." He kept looking at her with gentle eyes as she drove away.