Sebastian Brigham

It was the start of a new semester. As I walked through the cafeteria, I saw her for the first time. She was with a group of friends, laughing and talking about their vacations. I didn't pay much attention to her until, in the middle of a joke, one of her friends grabbed her arm and she tried to pull away. In the struggle, she almost fell on top of me.

Instinctively, I grabbed her by the waist to prevent her from hitting herself. When she realized what was happening, she straightened up immediately, visibly embarrassed.

"Sorry," he said.

"Don't worry, are you okay?" I asked.

—Yes, thank you. You can let me go now.

I let go of her immediately and she gave me a small smile before returning to her friends, her cheeks slightly red.

I didn't know who she was, but from that day on I couldn't help but notice her every time I saw her walk by the café. Even so, I decided not to approach her; if life wanted our paths to cross again, they would.

And she did it, despite being a first-semester student and her clearly being a few semesters ahead of me, my opportunity arrived

On Friday, I walked into my class from two to six in the afternoon, and there she was, sitting at one of the tables looking at her phone. I took a deep breath, gathered some courage, and approached her.

"Hello," I said, trying to sound calm.