The lecture hall was a sea of unfamiliar faces, a kaleidoscope of hair colors and whispers in a language I was still struggling to decipher. I found a seat near the back, hoping to blend into the anonymity of the crowd. My stomach churned with a familiar blend of anxiety and anticipation.
The professor, a wiry man with a shock of white hair and an energetic demeanor, launched into a lecture about the history of algorithms, his Japanese punctuated by the occasional English technical term. I struggled to keep up, scribbling notes that looked more like abstract hieroglyphics than coherent sentences.
And then, I saw her.
Suzume entered the lecture hall a few minutes late, her cheeks flushed, a sheepish apology escaping her lips as she bowed to the professor. She was a vision in a simple blue dress, the color reminding me of the summer sky just after a monsoon rain – clear, vibrant, breathtaking.
My heart, usually content with its steady, logical rhythm, stuttered in my chest.
She caught my eye and offered a shy smile, my anxiety momentarily forgotten in the warmth of her gaze. She made her way towards me, her blue backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked, gesturing to the empty chair beside me.
"No, go ahead," I mumbled, trying to sound nonchalant even as my pulse quickened.
As she settled into the seat, a faint whiff of cherry blossoms reached me, subtle and intoxicating. She pulled out a notebook, her brow furrowing in concentration as she attempted to catch up on the lecture.
I couldn't help but steal glances at her as the professor droned on about binary search trees and computational complexity. The way her brow furrowed when she was deep in thought, the way she tapped her pen against her lips unconsciously – every small gesture held my attention with an intensity that both thrilled and terrified me.
After class, as students gathered their belongings, I hesitated, unsure whether to approach her. Just as I worked up the courage, she turned to me, her eyes sparkling.
"So, what did you think of Professor Tanaka's lecture?" she asked. "He gets really passionate about algorithms, doesn't he?"
"Yeah," I agreed, relieved that my voice hadn't abandoned me completely. "Although I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of the concepts. My Japanese isn't exactly fluent yet."
"Oh, don't worry," she laughed, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. "It takes time! I'm still learning new things every day, even though I was born and raised here."
We walked out of the lecture hall together, falling into step beside each other as we navigated the crowded hallway.
"So, Aditya," Suzume began, her voice taking on a playful tone. "I noticed you're quite the note-taker. Are you planning on becoming Professor Tanaka's star pupil?"
I felt my cheeks heat up, mortified that she'd noticed my frantic scribbling. "I'm just trying to absorb as much as I can," I mumbled, my fingers fiddling with the strap of my backpack.
"That's good," she said, her smile reassuring. "Professor Tanaka's class is one of the toughest, but also one of the most rewarding. Especially if you're interested in game design."
My head snapped up, my heart skipping a beat. "Game design?" I echoed, my voice laced with a sudden surge of excitement. It had been a childhood dream, one I'd buried beneath layers of code and algorithms, convinced it was too frivolous, too risky a path to follow.
Suzume's eyes lit up. "Yeah! It's my passion. I'm hoping to design my own game one day."
She spoke with a conviction that both intimidated and inspired me. I'd spent so much of my life living within the confines of logic and code, afraid to chase anything as intangible as a dream.
"That's amazing," I said, genuinely impressed. "What kind of game are you hoping to create?"
We spent the rest of the walk to the campus cafeteria lost in a conversation about game mechanics, storytelling, and the challenges of translating creative visions into lines of code. For the first time since arriving in Tokyo, I felt a spark of genuine connection, a shared language that transcended cultural barriers and my own social awkwardness.
That night, back in my uncle's quiet apartment, my mind raced with images of Suzume's animated face as she spoke about her dreams. The memory of her laugh, a melody that resonated deep within me, chased away the usual anxieties that plagued my evenings.
I opened my notebook, my pen hovering over the page, unsure how to capture the whirlwind of emotions that swirled within me.
August 25th
Suzume wore a blue dress today. It was the exact shade of the sky after the rain, the kind of blue that makes you believe in infinite possibilities. We talked about game design, and for a moment, I felt like I could breathe again. Maybe...maybe I could allow myself to dream a little too.
I closed my notebook, the image of Suzume'ssmile seared into my memory, a beacon of hope in the unfamiliar landscape of mynew life.
YOU ARE READING
The Secrete I've Held for 1 and a Half Year Part-1
RomanceAbout a Introvered Computer Science Geek boy who has axienty, and scared of speaking to women, who went to japan for his studies and developed fellings for a girl and how it took turns.
