What happens if we didn’t meet then? Maybe you were too lazy to come down because nobody informed you to come to the training, or maybe you just didn’t bother. After that you eventually forgot about working for Soup Spoon and found a job elsewhere. Maybe Starbucks, that’s the place I will never ever appear.

Or maybe you would have come for the training after mine. In that class, there might be cuter girls that attracted you. They will flirt with you, make you smile, which I wouldn’t be able to do. You would have probably gotten together with them. We wouldn’t have actually known each other. You would have just been the cute guy in Soup Broth Asia or maybe even The Hamburger that looks fierce all the time, while I’m the weird hyper girl from Soup Spoon. I might want to talk to you, but I’m too scared that I will disturb you. I would be like the girl liking you from afar. So near, yet so far.

Everything would be so different from now, or would it?

I might have met you at Dhoby Ghuat while you were by yourself, trying to get some peace and quiet. I might just get curious, wondering why a cute guy like you is alone. I don’t think I would have the courage to talk to you though, but just stare at you for a while then walk off. Or maybe I would catch you shopping. I don’t know if I would confront you, but I know and might start judging you. And we might never have known each other well. Just strangers with no fate.

Or maybe I would have caught you sleeping at the top floor of the shopping mall, though I would probably not be there because it’s out of bounds. And I’m too much of a coward to go up there. But I would just sit beside you, and maybe rest my eyes for a while. And when I wake up, you would be gone. Or maybe you would be having your usual nightmares. I wouldn’t know what to do, so the first thing on my mind is to hold your hands tightly, rubbing mine against yours. Hoping you find comfort in the warmth. Then you would suddenly wake up, shocked by my presence. At first you would be annoyed, why is this ugly girl holding my hands, and then once I explained to you, you would smile. Maybe it wouldn’t be too obvious, just a little grin.

Then we would introduce ourselves to each other. You would probably introduce yourself as Zenas, and I would be wondering why the hell are you called that. I would probably ask for your Chinese name, because I’m pretty sure it would sound better. And from then on, I would call you Zhi Min while you call me Hazel.

We might start to fall for each other, although we wouldn’t know that. Because it’s too fast, too rush. We might start as best friends, because we got along so well. We have so many things in common, though we have some disagreements. I would give you hugs from time to time, because I know you just broke up with your girlfriend and you need comfort. You need someone around to make you feel safe, feel love. Accidentally, I would hold your hands, or maybe you would be the one making the first move. When we realized what we did, we would let go of our hands, although we secretly want to continue. But we don’t know about what each other want.

From then on, we would occasionally brush against each other’s hands, wanting to hold hands again but too shy to admit. Then there will be a day, when we realized we really love each other. We hug, and when we slowly pull back, we can feel the warmth radiating from each other’s mouth. We stared into each other’s eyes, there’s a spark connecting us both. You held my back and pulled me in. And we kissed. It wasn’t just a peck, but a long one. Maybe because we were waiting for each other for far too long, there’s a sense of urgency in it. I would tilt your head to me, and kiss even deeply. When we pull apart, we sort of still want to continue, but the 20 seconds of courage is already gone.

After that, we would stare at each other’s eyes awkwardly. You would keep dodging my eyes, while I smile at how adorable you look. We wouldn’t know what to say, or what to feel about that moment of passion. We would probably just ignore it, but when we go home, we secretly think about it. Thinking if it was too sloppy, if it was too rushed, or maybe it was just plain lovely. Then we would start smiling about it. The next day we see each other, we treat as that never happened. But somehow it happened again. I was against the wall; we were playing around, tickling each other. Then you got “angry” and pushed me against it. I think I would have flush at that moment of time if I could, or even smile, because I know what will happen next.

I could feel you hugging me closer; kissing more deeply than before, everything becomes more perfect. This wasn’t courage anymore; it was a want, a need. It lasted quite a while, until we couldn’t breathe properly, that’s when we pulled away. This time, it wasn’t awkward anymore. We knew what we wanted exactly. You whispered something, I mentioned I couldn’t hear, but I know I can. I just wanted you to repeat it to me, so I could accept. You knew I could hear you perfectly, but you chose to repeat it to me anyway. Everything’s moving so fast, but we couldn’t care less. Because that’s how strongly we felt, and how deep we fell.

You shouted it out loud, “Hazel, would you be my girlfriend?”

I smiled, and whispered, “Yes”.

And we kissed again.