Concentrate Cynthia
The sunlight shone softly, illuminating the figure of a boy sitting in his classroom and partially shining on a girl sitting a little distance away from him.
Instead of paying attention to the teacher, the girl was focused on the boy. Cynthia tried her hardest to take her eyes off him, but there was something about the way the sunlight highlighted his calm posture that made her heart race. Or maybe it wasn't the sunlight at all; it was him. Her heart shuddered as she found him mesmerizing.
The classroom was silent except for the sound of Mr. Louis' voice echoing through the walls. "Cynthia? CYNTHIA?" he called out, his voice ringing out in the stillness. Cynthia's heart began to race as she heard her name. She looked up, her eyes wide with confusion, as her math teacher continued to call out to her.
She stood up slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, and faced him. "Yes, sir?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Mr. Louis' eyes closed for a brief moment, as if he was gathering his thoughts before he began to cough uncontrollably. Cynthia's heart skipped a beat as she watched him struggle to regain his breath.
Finally, he managed to compose himself enough to speak. "Why do you keep staring?" he asked, his voice hoarse from the coughing fit. Cynthia's mind raced as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. Was he referring to her habit of staring outside the window during class? Or had he caught her staring at Tian?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a wave of embarrassment as she realized that she had just made a fool of herself in front of the entire class, and especially in front of Tian.
'Oh my God, no,' she thought. 'He must have seen me and he's probably laughing at me. Way to go, Cynthia. You've just embarrassed yourself in front of the class, especially in front of him. God, please just give me one chance to reverse time...'
Her train of thoughts came to a halt when Mr. Louis recovered and spoke, "Why were you staring outside the window, Cynthia? You know that you must pay utmost attention to this subject--- and hey, why are you smiling now?"
She just couldn't hear anything else as her heart skipped another beat in relief. 'Thank you, universe,'
"Cynthia?"
She jerked her head towards him, "Yes?", pausing for a brief moment, she continued, "I am sorry, sir. I got sidetracked for a moment but... but I will concentrate now."
"It's fine but just concentrate, yeah. This is an important topic, and this is for all of you, sleepyheads", Mr. Louis turned around, continuing with his calculus lecture.
Cynthia, for the rest of the class didn't dare raise her head. She just couldn't. The thought of Tian thinking of her as a weirdo ate her alive as she sulked for the rest of the class. The ticking of the second hand on the clock felt like an eternity as she waited for the bell to signal the end of class.
As the class ended and Mr. Louis left, the students shuffled out of the room, making way for the next class. Cynthia turned to her side, keeping her eyes down, trying to avoid any contact with Tian. She had literature class next, and she started gathering her books silently, counting to herself to avoid the temptation of looking at him.
After a few moments of hesitation, Cynthia decided to steal a quick glance at Tian. She looked up, her hazel eyes meeting his deep brown ones. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a rush of emotions. The moment felt surreal, and she found herself lost in his gaze. His eyes seemed to be the color of chocolate, and they sparkled with a warm and welcoming light that made her feel at ease.
Cynthia could almost feel her life flashing before her eyes as she readied herself to get hit by another round of embarrassment but then she saw it, the slight pull of the corner of his lips which gradually increased as her eyes cast downwards to look at it. She snapped her gaze upwards to make eye contact with him.
He was smiling at her, and everything stopped as she returned his smile.