"A smile is the prettiest mask."

I was a fresher then, and it was common among freshers to go to the lecture rooms earlier, as they were still new. I usually woke up at 5am because the lectures began at 7am, but I couldn't sleep the night before. I kept thinking about you and picturing your smile in my head.  Replaying those moments when you posed differently while your friends took pictures, and quickly the time went by.

I finally let the darkness consume me, but after what felt like nanoseconds later, the alarm's loud ring on my phone woke me up. I quickly muted the alarm and went back to sleep, hoping to get just an hour more.

Everything was peaceful until something clicked in my brain, and I jumped off the bed, checking my phone the same instant. It was 6:41am.

I quickly rushed out of my room, with my bucket and toiletries in hand.  Like the everyday hostel life, I had to join the queue to get water, and I had less than 30 minutes to get to campus.

I considered dressing up and having a body-spray bath, but what if I saw you at school, what if I spoke to you, what if I hugged you, won't you choke?  Would I look cool in your eyes?  That was a terrible option anyway, so I begged the guys that wanted to fetch water too, he agreed, and I promised to pay him.  After all, I was a fresher, I had just enough money to survive on campus... Or so I thought.

I spent less than 5 minutes in the bathroom, and I quickly brushed my teeth. I still had my body-spray bath, just that it was just a little. I knew you couldn't choke from the amount. Dressing up and all took me 10 minutes, also finding a spot to fetch water took me 3 minutes, so I had less than 5 minutes to get to my lecture room, which was a 30-minute walk.

I knew I had to be early. Some lectures could decide to deduct some marks from my test for late -coming, even if it was just for a minute, and I couldn't risk my GPA, so I decided to take a campus bike. That wasn't my only option, but it was the fastest.

The bike ride took about 7 minutes; when I arrived at the front of the lecture hall, I paid the rider, and I let him keep the change.

I was so sure I was like 10 minutes late, and just the same way, I hurried, other students did too; this caused a little traffic at the Hall entrance.

I rushed to get a seat when I saw this familiar light. Although I was supposed to smile and blush and all but my heart raced.

You were looking at your phone. You smiled and silently bopped your head. I could tell that whatever got you hooked to your phone was related to music. 

The lecturer came in, and everyone rushed to get their seats. I was still staring at you until you looked up, giving the lecturer your full attention. I quietly squeezed myself in between some students as I listened to what the teacher said. However, the corners of my eyes were still watching the familiar light, your light.

The day passed by with me stealing full glances at you, watching you, and when you were about to leave, I wanted to follow you, but I couldn't. My course mates didn't let me as they disturbed me for assignments and all. It was quite annoying, but I was so sure I'd still see you, so I let it pass.

At 6pm, when I was ready to leave campus, I passed by the theatre. I could hear the faint sound of music, and when I looked through the window, I saw you at a corner, dancing to the song that played from the portable speaker.

I watched like a creep as you danced with fire to the beats.  Suddenly, the song was interrupted, and you picked up your phone. I could feel the anger that radiated from your figure as you spoke to whoever was on the phone. You paused weakly and took the phone off your ears, returning to the stand and continued to dance but your legs got tangled when you twirled, so you fell.

You picked yourself up and tried to do the step again, but the same thing happened. I watched you sit on the ground, draw your knees to your chest, and stare into space. You wiped a tear off your face and reached for your water bottle, finishing the content.

You stayed for ten minutes before you stood up, wiping your face with a towel, gathering all your things into your bag, and paused again. I observed as you brought a sad smile up to your face before leaving the theatre.

 Something felt odd that evening, I thought for a second, the familiar light was gone.