Gikwang

I was walking around campus and giving myself a tour on Cube High. There’s no doubt that this school is huge. I was beginning to wonder if I could ever get lost in my own campus. There’s no doubt that that could happen. After all, I am new here.

I’ve been through almost everything until one girl from my class accidentally bumped into me. I glanced at her over my shoulder and recognized her. She was that girl behind my seatmate; and from the looks of it, she almost seemed like she has just gotten into a serious argument. I began thinking if whether I should care or not, but in the end I thought that I should just let it pass. After all, I shouldn’t mind other people’s business.

I continued walking and eventually, I ended up in front of some area that oddly looks like a bus stop. I began making my way towards it and the nearer I got…I saw a girl.

She was on her knees, with her hands covering her face; immediately, I reckoned that she was crying. Her long wavy caramel-brown hair ran perfectly down her shoulders, and seeing it cascade that way made me feel eager to gently her head.

I walked closer to her and just when I was about to ask her if she’s alright, she placed her hands over her lap and sniffled. The moment her hands were no longer covering her face, I immediately knew that the girl before me now is her.

She was in the midst of wiping off her tears with the back of her hand when I approached her. I inserted my hand into my pocket and handed out my handkerchief. She looked up and her eyes rounded.  

“Hanky?” I offered. 

She just looked at me like she was surprise that I was even there. I looked right back at her. Her eyes were glossy all right—it was slightly swollen and a bit pink. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her lips were red. Her nose was no different apart from the rest of her facial features; and her eyebrows were furrowed. She looked like a lost puppy. I was beginning to wonder, since when have I fancied a crying lady?

She finally took the handkerchief from my hand and meekly said, “Thank you...”

“No problem,” I let out a small smile and sat down in front of her. I watched her gently dab the tears off her face and I began wondering if there was such thing as being graceful while crying.

 “Are you …alright?” I asked gingerly.

She raised a brow, “What do you think?!” she croaked.

“You’re right,” I sighed, “stupid question.”

“Why are you here anyways?”

“I just happened to pass by,” I looked at her and I could sense that she doubted my answer. I raised both my hands as if in surrender. “I swear,” I said, “I just passed by. I was giving myself a tour then I came across this…bus stop.”

“You mean waiting area,” she said, her lips threatening to smile.

“Yeah,” I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck, “that.”

I watched her in front of me. She had her head slightly lowered as she had her hands on top of her lap. She was still holding my handkerchief. Feeling the awkward silence overtake, she looked up at me, but I didn’t look away. We ended up locking eyes.

I gazed deeply into her eyes and felt something in me heat up. Was it my cheeks? Or was it just the effect of my heart racing this way?

Before she can ask me why I was looking at her this way, I said: “I just realized that I never got your name.”

She looked at me and smiled.

She smiled and it was like the first time I ever saw her did. She already looked pretty enough with a serious face and she looked cute crying. I didn’t know that seeing her smile like this would give me the most relevant example of the word, beautiful.

“It’s Danica,” she finally said.