Oh my god, she sat next to me during class!  That means she likes me, right?  At least a little bit?  That has to be it!  I mean, why else would she have done it?  People don’t just move specifically to sit next to people they dislike.  Or do they?  Gah, stop overthinking it Achira!  The cute little Lulu sat next to you in class, that’s all that matters.

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye.  I don’t think I absorbed anything my teachers said after lunch; I was too busy thinking about Lulu and what I would say to her when the time came for the meeting.  And then, before I knew it, it was time for track practice.  And compared to the classes earlier my training was much easier to focus on.  After all, if there was one thing that could rival my love for Lulu, it was my love for running.  The feeling of freedom, the wind blowing in your face and through your hair, simply blowing all of your worries away.  That was what made it so great for me.  What made it so that for the duration of practice my mind barely drifted to what would happen immediately after.

That all stopped with practice ending though.  I told my team I was going to stay behind a bit longer to do some more cooldown and that they could shower without me.  Thankfully they offered very little resistance; this was something I had done many times before.  And it would have been awkward for them to be here when Lulu showed up.  But now that she was back on my mind my thoughts started racing at a million miles an hour again.  At this rate I would look like a stammering idiot in front of her!  So I decided to run some more laps to help myself relax before she shows up.  Nothing too fast, little more than a brisk jog really, but enough to serve as an adequate distraction.

And that brings me to where I am right now.  As I continue to run I see Lulu approaching the track.  A slight smile materializes on my face as I start to approach her, only pausing for a second to grab a sip of water.  As I get closer to her however she looks down nervously.  Could she be afraid of me?  But no, that wouldn’t make sense.  People often tell me I’m easily approachable.  And what’s more than that she sat next to me in class.  She wouldn’t have done that if she was afraid of me.  Well, I guess she is a rather shy girl.  She’s probably just not used to talking to new people.  Yeah, that’s got to be it.  It’s not me, just general social anxiety.  Yeah, that’s the only thing that makes sense.

With this in mind I finish approaching Lulu.  Once again I put on a confident smile to hide the anxiety I feel.  Why must it be so hard to talk to one’s crush?  Trying to look calm and collected I start to speak.  “Hey Lulu.  Thanks for coming out here to see me.  It’s just that I’ve been seeing you around lately and thought that, y’know, maybe we could spend some more time together?  What do you say?”

As soon as the words leave my mouth I mentally punch myself.  Stupid Achira!  This was your chance to tell her that you liked her!  Now she’s going to simply think you were asking to be her friend.  Ah well, I guess that at least it’s better than nothing.  Who knows when I’ll get another opportunity to confess though.  Though when that opportunity does present itself, I hope I do not squander it like I did this one.