Almost Noticed

Chapter 7: Late Night Logic

Zac stared at the blinking cursor on his laptop. 11:56 p.m. The engineering blueprint on his screen looked more like abstract art than a floor plan. He groaned, leaned back, and rubbed his temples.

He wasn’t sure why he even opened his chat box, but there it was—her name. Hannaia Ramoa. Active 3 minutes ago.

“Wala ka pang tulog?” he typed.

He didn’t expect a reply. But in less than a minute, his screen lit up.

Hannaia: Wala pa. Nagre-review pa sa demo bukas. Ikaw?

Zac: Pa-deadline sa CAD. Pero mas gusto ko na lang matulog.

Hannaia: Same energy. May bonus pa akong eyebags.

Zac chuckled. There was something oddly comforting about talking to her at this hour—when the rest of the world was quiet and chaotic thoughts demanded attention.

Zac: Gusto mo mag-break ng konti? Kwento ka ng something random.

Hannaia: Hmmm. Alam mo ba, noong Grade 6 ako, nanalo ako sa Spelling Bee... pero natalo ako sa word na "parallel." Tragic.

Zac: Wow. Para sa future mo ‘yun. Para mas maalala mo ‘yung spelling ng mga concrete beams.

Hannaia: Ay grabe siya, ang sama mo 😭

Zac: Hahaha sorry. Okay, random fact ko... I used to want to be a chef. Kaya lang sunog lagi hotdog ko.

Hannaia: Chef turned engineer. That’s... a plot twist.

They kept chatting—about childhood dreams, embarrassing high school moments, favorite street food, and even which Netflix shows they pretended to watch just to join class conversations. Minutes turned to an hour.

At 1:09 a.m., Zac sent:

Zac: Ba’t parang ang dali mong kausap?

There was a pause.

Hannaia: Hindi ko rin alam. Baka kasi wala tayong expectations. Walang kailangan patunayan.

Zac stared at that message longer than he expected. Something about it felt real. Grounding.

Zac: Sana may ganito ulit bukas.

Hannaia: Pwede naman. If hindi ka pa tulog sa stress.

Zac: Stress is permanent. Pero ikaw... sana hindi ka temporary.

Another pause. Then the typing bubble blinked.

...

Hannaia: Uy. Smooth ka don ah.

Zac grinned. Busted.

Zac: Joke lang... pero ‘di masyado.

Hannaia: Goodnight, Zac.

Zac: Goodnight, Hannaia.

He stared at her name for a while before finally shutting his laptop. The blueprint was still a mess. But somehow, his mind was quieter.

Maybe because at 1 a.m., in between punchlines and puns, he realized this connection wasn’t just a coincidence anymore.

And maybe, just maybe, she felt it too