8.30.p.m. Albert and I are on the bus on our way home. Once again, the night city lights are mesmerizing indeed, especially with the water droplets running down the window. The blurred lights are a spectacle.
"I never noticed this but the night city lights are really pretty," Albert commented while pointing to some of the brightly lit skyscrapers and buildings. "Views like this are usually my inspiration for writing," I said but Albert was too fascinated by the view to hear me.
Albert suddenly leans towards me with his hand stretched out holding his phone. "Why are you taking a selfie now?" I asked while still trying to distance myself slightly from Albert. Albert looked at me with a slightly disappointing face.
"We've crossed paths so many times now without trying. Fate is telling us we're destined to be friends so I have to capture the moment," Albert explained while making a pouty face. I let out a sigh before taking his phone.
"You have to hold it higher," I said as I as take the selfie instead. Both of us just smiled casually at the camera. "Here you go. You have my number so remember to send it to me," I said just as the bus stops. "Take care," I got off the bus, waving goodbye to Albert.
Just as I got off, I hear a notification from my phone. Albert had sent me the selfie that we took. I realize Albert has a pretty nice smile. The kind that seems to look at everything with a positive mindset.
After my shower, I'm sitting in front of my laptop again like every other day but this time, I'm thinking of something else.
He is reminding me a lot of him
"AHH," I shouted out before accidentally hitting my head on the table. "Why do I keep thinking about Albert and his performance?!" I said out loud.
"You okay in there, Owen?" One of my housemates asked while knocking on my door. He probably heard my shouting.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry about it!" I said out loud. I need to distract myself from thinking about unnecessary things. I look back at my laptop and I see the Poetry writing competition poster plastered across my home screen.
Should I be joining this competition even?
I took my phone to scroll through Instagram. Perhaps there's something interesting for me to look at. To my surprise, I found a familiar picture.
Enjoying the city's night lights
It was Albert's latest post. It's a picture he took while he was on the bus. He also posted our selfies together as well. I find myself smiling faintly at the picture before double-tapping it.
There were some comments already on his post even though it was just posted an hour ago.
WOW! I'd like to see that one day too. Who is that? A new friend? You look good together.
Just from one picture, his friends are judging if he looks good together with someone. I quickly scroll away from Albert's post. I ended up scrolling Instagram for quite some time before dozing off on the table.
8.00a.m. I hear a familiar tune playing. It's been playing for quite some time now. I slowly open my eyes and realize that my friend, Adam is calling me. I swiped the screen, picked up the call, and immediately hear Adam yelling.
"HEY! Where are you?! Have you forgotten about our day out today to the park?!"
I completely forgot. I have been so distracted for the past few days that I forgot about my day out with my friends. "I'll be there within 30 minutes! I'm so sorry!" I replied before hanging up the phone and rushing about.
I threw on a new green t-shirt I recently bought, black pants, slipped into my sports shoes, and rushed out of the house. I couldn't wait for the bus so I booked a cab as fast as I could but there wasn't any.
All of a sudden, a car stopped in front of me. It was Albert.
He can drive?! If he could drive then why would he take the bus?
"Hop in! I'm heading to campus too," Albert said as he gestures for me to get in. If I don't accept his offer, I'll be late and I'll never the end of it from Adam. I let out a sigh before getting in the front seat of Albert's car.
"Thank you for the ride," I said to Albert while seating completely still. Albert gave no reply but instead leaned over to my side. Albert's face is extremely close to mine, merely a few centimeters apart.
"Remember to put your seatbelt on," Albert said as he pulled the seatbelt for me. "I wouldn't want to be fined halfway on the road," Albert said, making it a joke before returning to his driver's side.
"You could have just told me. I can do it on my own," I said. "What are you doing here anyway?" I asked. "I'm heading to campus and I saw you just standing there so I assume you're heading to campus too," Albert replied.
The car ride was pleasant. Albert's playlist of Chinese love songs was something new to me. I can hear him softly singing along to it as well.
"Do you know this song?" Albert asked while his eyes are focused on the road. "I don't listen to Chinese songs a lot," I answered. "You should try listening to this one. It's amazing,"
Albert told me the song's name and I typed it into my phone so I could search for it when I'm back home. It didn't take us long to reach campus.
"I'll go park my car. I'll see you later," Albert said as he dropped me off at the campus's front gate.
"See me later? What does he mean by that?" I questioned myself. I leave that thought aside as I leave to find Adam and the others.
"About time you're here," Adam said with his gaze landing on me. "I'm really sorry. It was a long night yesterday," I answered.
"It's alright, I guess. It's not that you're late all the time. Anyways, you'll be following Albert's car," Adam said as he walked to talk to the others.
ALBERT?!
That's when I see Albert walking in from the front of the gate.
He is going too?!
YOU ARE READING
Next Stop, Us
Romance"If you have a dream, then you must have the courage to chase it," Owen is a young adult who has always been admiring his dreams from afar, the dream of becoming a successful writer whose work will touch the hearts of others. Owen however is afraid...
