Wild Ride

Chapter 6: Fifteen seconds

Xandria's pov

I woke up earlier than usual today, mostly because I had an 8 am class I couldn't afford to miss. I groaned softly as I stretched my arms and legs. I reached for  my phone and squinted at the screen. It was 7:30 am. My eyes widened.

"Thirty minutes? Seriously?"

I threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. There was no time to waste. I hurried into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a shower and combed my hair. I applied some moisturizer and lip gloss. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was happy with my appearance.

I rushed back into my room and opened my closet. There were plenty of outfits staring back at me, but I didn't have the time trying to decide what to wear. I wanted something simple and formal. I picked out a milky white high-waisted silk pants and a V-neck baby blue blouse. I put them on, tucked the blouse neatly into my pants and added some accessories: a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a Jacob & Co Rose Gold watch. I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my mini backpack.

I was ready to go. I checked the time on my phone again. It was 7:50 am. I didn't have enough time to eat, so I grabbed some cookies and cranberry juice to take later.

I smiled, and put my phone inside my backpack. I took my room key and locked the door behind me. I began walking to class, feeling the breeze on my skin and the morning sun on my hair. I was happy and excited. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all. Well, I was wrong.

Lectures were so stressful. By the time they were over, my brain felt like it had been squeezed dry. I wished I could have been in bed instead. After lectures, I was walking toward the restaurant when I turned a corner and nearly collided with someone. "Oh!" I stumbled back. I looked up and froze.

"Xandria!" My eyes widened. "Mark!" There he stood, staring at me with the same surprised expression on his face. I hadn't seen him in over two weeks.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said with a grin.

I chuckled. "I didn't know you liked this place too."

"Like it?" He laughed. "I'm practically a regular here. Their mashed potatoes are awesome. Always tastes so good."

I smiled. "I know right. It's one of my favourites here too."

We walked into the restaurant together, chatting casually while we placed our orders. Once we were done, we looked around for somewhere to sit. I found an empty table and sat down. I was casually looking around the place, when my eyes landed on the table beside ours. I spotted Damian and the mysterious man talking.

Damian noticed me first. He smiled and waved a little. I smiled and waved back. Mysterious man noticing his friend's attention had shifted from him, followed his friend's gaze and looked straight at me. We held each other's gaze for 15 seconds before he turned his face.

Why was my heart beating so fast?

"So", Mark said, breaking the silence, "how have classes been going for you?"

I smiled a little. "Well, they've been very hectic, but not too boring."

He laughed. "That's good, compared to my department, my lecturers hardly ever show up. And whenever they finally do, they give us assignments with ridiculous deadlines."

I laughed. "Sounds terrible."

"You have no idea."

Before I could respond, one of the counter servers called out for us to come get our food. I stood up but Mark motioned for me to sit down. "Don't worry, I got this", he said. I smiled appreciatively and thanked him. He brought mine first, then his.

After dropping his food, he went to get a drink for himself and on his way, he stopped and peered at the mysterious man's phone. "Woah, is that season two of Jujutsu Kaisen you are watching?", he asked.

"Yeah, it is.", mysterious man answered. "That's cool man.", Mark answered. Their conversation continued and I zoned off and focused on my food and thoughts. Or at least, I pretended to.

Deep in thoughts. Firstly, I was impressed he watched anime. Secondly, it made me develop a stronger fondness for him, because these days it's hard to come across guys who seemed so mature yet were genuinely into anime.

I continued eating, but my thoughts had completely wandered elsewhere. I was so lost in them that I didn't even noticed Mark had returned to our table.

"Xandria?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

He laughed. "I've been talking to you."

"Oh." I looked at him apologetically. "Sorry. Can you repeat yourself?"

He shook his head, amused. "I was saying the guy over there asked if you'd started watching season two of Jujutsu Kaisen because I told him you're also into anime."

My eyes immediately moved toward their table. And mysterious man was looking directly at me, patiently waiting for my answer.

I cleared my throat.

"Yes, I have. Although I've only watched episode one. I've been so swamped with classes and assignments, but I'll try to watch the remaining episodes this weekend."

He nodded. "That's good. I would've finished it by now, but I've been busy writing my thesis. I'm hoping to create some time this weekend and finish the remaining four episodes."

I paused. "Did you just say thesis?"

He smiled. "Yes, I did. I'm a master's student at this university."

My eyebrows lifted. "Oh, wow. That's impressive."

He gave me a small shrug. "Thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking..." I hesitated slightly. "What's your name?"

He looked at me. "I'm Carl. And you?"

"I'm Xandria."

He repeated my name softly. "Xandria."

Something about the way he said it made me suddenly conscious of my own name.

Then he smiled. "It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

I blushed and looked away for a second, hoping he didn't notice. "Thank you," I said quietly. But inside, I was smiling like an idiot. I finally knew his name, no more calling him mysterious man, no more wondering what to call him whenever I saw him. Carl.

For some reason, his name sounded surprisingly nice in my head. I was still lost in my thoughts when Mark suddenly spoke.

"Alright, can we go now?"

I blinked and looked at him. "Oh. Sure, we can." I stood up and adjusted my backpack before turning toward Carl and Damian.

"See you around," Carl said.

I smiled and gave them a small wave. "See you."

As Mark and I walked out of the restaurant, I couldn't help but glance back one more time. Carl was still sitting at the table. And for some reason, I found myself smiling. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just a simple conversation over anime. But deep down, I couldn't deny it, knowing his name has made him feel a little less of a stranger and a whole lot more interesting.

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