First Feeling And Confusion
1154 Words
Episode 3
The days began to feel different for Grace.
What used to be ordinary—walking to class, sitting under the mango tree, reading alone—now carried a quiet excitement. And the reason was simple.
John.
It had been barely a week since they met, yet it felt like much longer. They now saw each other almost every day—sometimes planned, sometimes by coincidence.
But today felt… different.
Grace sat in class, staring at her notebook. The professor was explaining something about literary symbolism, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.
Why do I keep thinking about him?
She sighed softly, resting her chin on her hand.
“Grace?” her friend Anita whispered from beside her.
Grace blinked. “Hmm?”
“You’ve been staring at the same page for five minutes,” Anita said, raising an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Grace said quickly.
Anita smirked. “Nothing? Or someone?”
Grace felt her cheeks warm. “There’s no one.”
“Really?” Anita leaned closer. “Then why do you keep smiling for no reason?”
Grace turned away, embarrassed. “I’m not smiling.”
“You are,” Anita said confidently. “And I want details.”
Grace hesitated, then sighed. “Okay… there’s this guy.”
Anita’s eyes lit up instantly. “I knew it!”
“Keep your voice down,” Grace whispered urgently.
“Who is he?” Anita asked, lowering her voice but not her excitement.
“His name is John,” Grace said softly.
“John…” Anita repeated thoughtfully. “What’s he like?”
Grace paused, trying to find the right words.
“He’s… different,” she said finally.
“Different how?”
“He’s easy to talk to,” Grace explained. “And he listens… like he actually cares about what I’m saying.”
Anita smiled knowingly. “That sounds like trouble.”
Grace frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It means you like him,” Anita said simply.
Grace froze.
“I don’t,” she said quickly.
Anita laughed quietly. “Grace, you just described him like he’s the best thing that’s happened to you this semester.”
Grace looked down at her notebook, unsure of what to say.
Was it true?
Did she really like him?
⸻
Later that afternoon, Grace made her way to the mango tree.
She wasn’t sure if John would be there—but a part of her hoped he would.
As she approached, she saw him already sitting there, leaning back against the trunk, scrolling through his phone.
Her heart skipped.
Why does this keep happening?
“Hey,” she said softly.
John looked up and immediately smiled. “Hey, Grace.”
“Have you been waiting long?” she asked.
“Not really,” he said. “I just got here.”
She sat beside him, placing her bag down.
There was a brief silence, but it felt comfortable.
“So,” John said, “how was your day?”
“Stressful,” Grace replied. “Too many assignments.”
“Same here,” he said. “Engineering is not as easy as people think.”
Grace smiled. “Neither is literature.”
“I believe you,” he said.
They both laughed lightly.
⸻
After a moment, John turned to her.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
Grace nodded. “Sure.”
“Why do you always look like you’re thinking about something serious?”
She blinked, surprised. “Do I?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Even when you’re smiling, it feels like there’s something else on your mind.”
Grace hesitated.
“No one has ever noticed that before,” she said quietly.
John shrugged. “I notice things.”
She looked at him, her expression softening.
“I guess… I just overthink a lot,” she admitted.
“About what?”
“Everything,” she said. “My future, my choices… even small things.”
John nodded slowly.
“Then maybe you need someone to help you stop overthinking,” he said.
Grace raised an eyebrow. “And who would that be?”
He grinned. “Me.”
She laughed. “That’s a big responsibility.”
“I can handle it,” he said confidently.
Grace shook her head, smiling.
⸻
As they talked, Grace couldn’t ignore the feeling growing inside her.
It was no longer just curiosity.
It was something deeper.
Something that made her heart race whenever he was close.
Something that made her want to stay just a little longer every time they said goodbye.
And that scared her.
⸻
“Grace?”
She snapped out of her thoughts. “Yes?”
“You’re doing it again,” John said.
“Doing what?”
“Overthinking,” he said with a smirk.
She laughed nervously. “Is it that obvious?”
“Very,” he replied.
She looked away. “I can’t help it.”
John leaned slightly closer.
“Then don’t,” he said softly.
Grace felt her heart skip again.
For a moment, the world around them seemed to fade.
All she could hear was her heartbeat.
All she could feel was his presence.
⸻
Suddenly, she stood up.
“I should go,” she said quickly.
John looked confused. “Already?”
“Yeah… I have something to do,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
“Okay…” he said slowly.
There was something in his voice—disappointment.
Grace picked up her bag.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she added.
John nodded. “Yeah… see you.”
⸻
As Grace walked away, her mind was racing.
What was that?
Why did she suddenly feel so nervous?
Why did she want to run?
She stopped walking and sighed deeply.
“Because you like him,” she whispered to herself.
The realization hit her fully this time.
She did like John.
And that changed everything.
⸻
Meanwhile, John remained under the mango tree, watching her walk away.
He frowned slightly.
“That was strange,” he muttered.
He leaned back, thinking.
Grace was different from anyone he had met before.
She wasn’t loud or attention-seeking.
She was calm, thoughtful, and real.
And somehow… she had already become important to him.
He smiled slightly.
“Yeah… this is going to be interesting,” he said to himself.
⸻
That night, Grace couldn’t sleep.
She turned from side to side, her mind filled with thoughts of John.
His smile.
His voice.
The way he looked at her.
It was all too much.
“Why him?” she whispered.
But deep down, she already knew the answer.
Because he made her feel something she had never felt before.
Something real.
⸻
And as she finally closed her eyes, one truth remained clear—
She was falling.
And she didn’t know what would happen next.
- Writer
