I entered the boba shop. It wasn’t crowded.
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“Two large grape with aloe vera, to go, please.”
As I was about to pay, a hand reached out and
paid before I could.
Beep.
??? I turned around, confused, and saw a guy
smiling at me.
“You’re Sarah, right? I’m from the Chemistry
department next door. Can I add you on
Snapchat?”
I deadpanned, “Sorry, I don’t use Snapchat.”
“…” He looked a little awkward, “Then, what
about your number?”
Me: “My phone’s broken.”
<
“How much was it? I’ll pay you back.”
I rummaged through my pockets, but I hadn’t
brought any cash.
He seemed to notice and chuckled, “Since your
phone’s broken, how about you give me your
contact info? You can pay me back later.”
I frowned, annoyed.
Just then, a calm voice came from behind.
“$34, right? I’ll Venmo you.”
I turned and froze.
The guy was stunned, “E–Ethan?”
Ethan Payne handed his phone over, “Didn’t you
want to add her? Add me instead.”
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10:49
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The guy’s expression was a mix of emotions,
his eyes darting between us.
“Ethan, you, you guys…”
“Same department, easier to connect,” Ethan seemed to smile, his words carrying a hidden meaning, “Otherwise, people will think there’s no one else in EECS.”
The guy’s face paled. He didn’t dare add Ethan on Snapchat in the end.
Ethan simply paid for both drinks again, and the
guy hurried away with his boba.
I thought for a moment and offered Ethan one
of the drinks, “Thanks.”
He didn’t take it, glancing down with a raised eyebrow, “Two drinks. The other one for your boyfriend?”
7
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10:49
く
I quickly waved my hands, “No, no, it’s for my
friend.”
He nodded and still didn’t take the drink.
Probably didn’t like sweet drinks?
We left the boba shop and walked for a while, realizing we were going in the same direction.
“Aren’t you going back to the dorm?” he asked,
glancing at the women’s dorm we passed.
I coughed, “Um… my friend is in the building
across the street, I’m going to drop this off.”
He wouldn’t think I was intentionally following him, would he?!
Thankfully, he didn’t ask further and continued toward the campus gate
<
10:49
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I’d heard he’d moved off campus in his
sophomore year and started a company with his friends. Seems like it was true.
He was a man of few words. As we walked,
people occasionally glanced at us with curious
eyes.
I forced myself to make conversation, “The
guys in our department are all really nice.”
Ethan paused, seemingly amused, “All?”
I nodded vigorously, “Yeah!”
The pro gamer was nice, and so was Ethan.
They were both surprisingly kind!
We reached the campus gate, and Chloe was
already shouting from across the street,
“Sarah!”
く
Jai all!
I said goodbye to Ethan and ran towards her.
Chloe’s eyes sparkled, “Wasn’t that Ethan
Payne, your campus heartthrob? Why were you
two together?”
Me: “You know him too?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, “Duh! You two practically
own the MIT confessions page!”
Right.
“Just a coincidence,” I said, then suddenly
slapped my forehead, “Oh no, I forgot to add
him on Venmo to pay him back!”
For the next few days, I kept wanting to pay
him back.
<
10:49
But Ethan was always elusive, and the chances
of running into him on campus were slim.
I didn’t want to ask around, so I put it aside,
figuring I’d get the chance eventually.
Military training finally ended, and it was soon
October break.
Josh sent an invitation.
“There’s a new VR gaming center downtown,
my friend got some tickets, anyone want to
go?”
I learned he’d sent it to everyone in our regular gaming group.
“We’ve known each other online for so long, let’s finally meet up!”
I didn’t really want to go, but I was curious about the VR center. After some thought, I
<
10:49
“Hey, are you going?”
Pro gamer: “Do you want to go?”
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I was honest, “It sounds fun, I’d like to check it out.”
It would be better to have someone to go with,
and he was my senior, after all.
As expected, the pro gamer was a good sport.
“Let’s go then.”
Even though I was a little awkward about Josh, I wanted to meet the other gamers, including the pro gamer.
So that morning, I dressed casually in a white shirt, jeans, and white sneakers.
<
10:49
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Someone in the group chat tagged me.
“Sarah, are you coming from campus with the pro gamer?”
Josh chimed in, “It’s still pretty hot, want me to pick you guys up?”
He seemed to have completely forgotten about being repeatedly defeated by me and the pro
gamer.
“No need, he said he has something to do this morning. Plus, our campus isn’t far, it’s only a
half–hour subway ride.”
Maybe because his new girlfriend was in the
group, Josh didn’t insist.
“Okay, we’ll go first and wait for you guys at
the entrance.”
:
10:59
‘))
walked towards the plaza after getting out of the subway station, a car pulled up next to me.
An uncertain voice called out, “Sarah?”
I turned and saw Josh driving a BMW. A girl with elaborate makeup sat in the passenger
seat.
I recognized him because he’d recently changed his profile picture back to a photo of himself. It
was hard to miss.
Before I could speak, he said excitedly, “It really
is you! I thought I was mistaken!”
The girl in the passenger seat looked
displeased, eyeing me suspiciously, “Josh, who
is this? You know her?”
Josh gripped the steering wheel, smiling and nodding, “Yeah! A friend of mine is in the same
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<
10:50
our gaming group, remember?”
Me: “???”
((
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8
Josh continued enthusiastically, “Where are you going? If you have time, you could come to the new VR gaming center on the third floor. It’s still in its trial run, usually hard to get tickets.”
“My friend just gave me a few, it’s really fun, you could come with us.”
The girl next to him looked annoyed, “Josh,
people are honking behind us, let’s go park.”
Josh sighed and drove on.
They took the elevator from the parking garage
and arrived at the VR center before me.
When the girl saw me, she frowned slightly and
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entire body against him.
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Josh pulled her hand away and walked towards me excitedly.
“You came? The tickets-”
The girl stamped her foot, “Josh, there are only
a few tickets! If you give hers away, what if there aren’t enough for everyone else later?”
Josh seemed indifferent, “So what? I can just
ask for another one.”
I finally spoke up, “No need to trouble yourself, I
think there’s already a ticket for me.”
