CHAPTER 11 - Almost
700 Words
By mid-semester, Hana and Danish had somehow developed a routine.
Not friendship.
Absolutely not.
More like…
academic survival partnership.
They argued during lectures.
Complained during labs.
Attacked each other’s PowerPoint designs weekly.
Then repeated the process again the next day.
Unfortunately, the rest of engineering faculty had started noticing.
“Move.”
Hana looked up while shifting her bag from the empty seat beside her.
Danish sat down calmly before placing two packets of sandwiches onto the table.
Hana blinked.
“…What’s this?”
“You skipped breakfast again.”
“I ate.”
“You drank coffee.”
“That counts emotionally.”
“It doesn’t.”
Hana narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You’re acting strangely responsible lately.”
“You’re acting strangely unhealthy lately.”
Fair enough.
Before Hana could continue arguing, Mira suddenly dropped into the seat across from them dramatically.
“Oho.”
Both Hana and Danish ignored her professionally.
Mira looked deeply disappointed.
“You two are becoming boring.”
“We’re literally discussing assignments,” Hana replied.
“Exactly.”
Across the lecture hall, several students started entering noisily before class began.
Among them—
Faiz.
The senior waved casually toward Hana after spotting her.
“Hana! Coming for futsal tonight?”
“Oh ya, maybe.”
“You said maybe last week too.”
“Because engineering students don’t experience peace.”
Faiz laughed before walking toward his group of friends.
Meanwhile beside her—
silence.
Suspicious silence.
Hana slowly turned toward Danish.
“Why do you look annoyed?”
“I’m not annoyed.”
“You have your annoyed face.”
“This is my normal face.”
“That’s concerning.”
Before Danish could respond, another familiar figure suddenly entered the lecture hall.
Sara.
Several architecture students followed behind her carrying project models carefully.
Mira immediately leaned closer toward Hana.
“She’s pretty even while stressed. Unfair.”
Hana nodded honestly.
“Very.”
At the front of class, Sara stopped briefly beside Danish’s table.
“You still owe me survey data.”
“I’ll send it tonight.”
“Don’t forget again.”
“I said I’ll send it.”
Sara smiled softly before leaving with her classmates.
Then—
Hana casually rested her chin against her hand.
“You really do act different around her.”
Danish looked up slowly.
“Are we discussing this again?”
“You sound calmer.”
“She’s easy to work with.”
There it was again.
Easy.
Hana immediately frowned.
“Why do you keep saying that like I’m difficult?”
“You are difficult.”
“Excuse me?”
“You argue about everything.”
“That’s because your personality invites arguments.”
“That sentence itself proves my point.”
Hana stared at him in disbelief before muttering quietly—
“Ya Allah, engineering boys are emotionally exhausting.”
For some reason—
that made Danish smile slightly again.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Later that evening after Maghrib prayer, Hana sat outside the female hostel with Alya while eating fries from the cafeteria.
Campus felt peaceful for once.
Cool breeze.
Quiet pathways.
Distant sounds of students laughing nearby.
Then suddenly—
“You know Danish likes you, right?”
Hana nearly inhaled a french fry.
“Astaghfirullah.”
“I’m serious.”
“He literally criticizes my existence daily.”
“That’s his love language.”
“That’s psychological damage.”
Alya laughed loudly.
But Hana shook her head immediately.
“No. Impossible.”
“Why impossible?”
“Because Danish doesn’t even look interested in romance.”
That part was true.
He never flirted.
Never acted sweet.
Never tried impressing girls.
Most of the time he looked emotionally married to assignments.
And honestly?
That made Hana feel comfortable around him.
Simple.
No weird feelings.
No complicated expectations.
Just annoying academic partnership.
Nothing more.
Unfortunately—
at that exact moment, Hana suddenly remembered something.
The tea.
The coffee.
The sandwiches.
The way he always noticed when she skipped meals.
A strange feeling briefly appeared inside her chest.
Small.
Very small.
Then immediately disappeared again.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
Hana aggressively ate another fry.
Dangerous thoughts should not be entertained during semester week.
- Writer
