Till I Found Myself

New Faces

Morning came sooner than Maya expected.

She woke up before the sound of her alarm could ring, stretched lazily, and sat upright on the bed. After saying a quiet prayer, she got ready for the day, dressed simply, packed her books into her backpack, and glanced at the routine she had written in her diary a few days earlier.

A small smile crossed her face.

So far, she was doing her best to keep to it.

Locking the apartment behind her, Maya began the familiar walk to school.

The streets were already busy with students heading in the same direction. Some chatted excitedly with friends, while others hurried past, afraid of arriving late.

Every now and then, a tricycle or shuttle slowed down to pick up passengers.

Maya watched several students climb aboard before the vehicles disappeared down the road.

She sighed quietly.

Walking wasn’t exactly her first choice.

But transport fare was something she couldn’t afford every single day. If she spent money on transportation morning and evening, it would gradually eat into the little money she had.

So she walked.

Adjusting the strap of her backpack, she continued at a steady pace, telling herself that perhaps the walk wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

At least it gave her time to think.

Nearly thirty minutes later, she arrived at school.

Students filled the walkways, moving from one building to another. The atmosphere was lively, with voices echoing from every direction.

Maya made her way into the lecture hall and found an empty seat a few rows from the front.

She placed her notebook on the desk just as the lecturer walked in.

The room gradually fell silent.

The lecture began.

Pens moved across notebooks.

Keyboards clicked softly as students typed.

The lecturer explained concepts about coding and occasionally asking questions that caused a few students to laugh nervously.

Maya listened attentively, writing down important points as they appeared on the board.

Then, for a brief moment…

Her mind wandered.

She looked down at the words Computer Science written neatly across the top of her notebook.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

It still felt unfamiliar.

If life had gone the way she had once imagined, she wouldn’t have been sitting in this lecture hall.

She would have been studying medicine.

More specifically…

She had always dreamed of becoming a pediatrician.

She loved children.

The thought of caring for them, comforting them, and helping them recover had once been the picture she painted for her future.

But dreams didn’t always unfold the way people planned.

Her performance in some of the medical-related subjects hadn’t been good enough to secure admission into that field.

It had hurt.

More than she admitted.

After many conversations and careful consideration, she chose Computer Science instead.

It wasn’t the path she had imagined.

But it was the path she had now.

Perhaps…

She would learn to love it.

After the scheduled time,The lecture came to an end, and almost immediately, the hall came alive with the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and students gathering their belongings.

Maya slipped her notebook into her backpack before following the crowd outside.

She glanced at the timetable saved on her phone and frowned slightly.

Her next lecture wasn’t in the same venue.

She looked around, hoping one of the signposts would point her in the right direction.

“Excuse me…”

A voice called from behind.

Maya turned.

A young lady with neatly braided hair hurried toward her, stopping a few steps away with a friendly smile.

“Hi.

Maya nodded.

“Yes.”

“My name is Faith.”

“I’m Maya It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

Faith shifted her bag on her shoulder before speaking again.

“This might sound a little strange, but… there’s a guy who wanted to talk to you.”

Maya looked at her with mild surprise.

“A guy?”

Faith laughed softly.

“Yes. He wanted to come over himself, but he got nervous and asked me to help him instead.”

Maya couldn’t help but smile.

“So, he sent you?”

Faith nodded.

“He was wondering if he could have your number. He said he’d call you himself.”

Maya was quiet for a moment.

She glanced around briefly before looking back at Faith.

“I’d love to stay and talk, but I’m actually trying to find the venue for my next lecture. I don’t want to be late.”

“Oh!” Faith said quickly. “I’m sorry. I won’t keep you.”

Maya unlocked her phone.

“Here… you can have my number.”

Faith quickly typed it into her phone.

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem.”

Faith smiled warmly.

“I’m sure he’ll call you later.”

“We’ll see,” Maya replied with a small smile.

She adjusted the strap of her backpack and looked once more at the timetable on her phone.

“I really have to go now.”

“Of course. Good luck finding the venue.”

“Thank you.”

With a polite smile, Maya turned and continued searching for the lecture hall, occasionally checking the directions as she walked.

Within a few moments, she spotted the building she had been looking for.

Relieved, she hurried inside just before the lecturer arrived.

As she settled into her seat, the brief conversation with Faith crossed her mind for only a second.

A boy wanted to talk to her.

She wondered who he was.

And why he couldn’t approach her by himself instead of sending someone else to do that for him “maybe he is a shy person” maya thought quickly

Before she could think any further, the lecturer began the day’s lesson, and Maya pushed the thought aside, giving her full attention to the class although she wasn’t fully understanding parts of the lectures. This particular lecture was difficult and hard to understand.