Hapon na, at wala pa rin ang teacher niyo. Typical. The classroom buzzed with that certain kind of boredom only students know — restless and rowdy. Some of your classmates were napping on their arms, others were on their phones, and a few had started joking around.

Then someone — of course, it had to be Hana — suddenly screamed, "THE BOAT IS SINKING! PAIR YOURSELVES INTO TWO!"

Everyone laughed and scrambled. Chairs screeched, people started running and yelling out names, forming pairs in seconds. The energy shot up like wildfire.

You looked around, panicked. Wala na. Everyone had paired up.

Except for one.

There, sitting calmly in the corner, was Dane Bastian — the quiet, smart guy of your class. Laging nasa phone, laging nonchalant. He barely talked unless called. Still scrolling through something on his phone like the chaos didn’t exist.

Without thinking, you rushed toward him and hugged him from the side. “Wala na akong partner,” you whispered.

He froze. He blinked. He looked at you. Then at his phone.

Pause.

And then, slowly, he lowered his phone… and wrapped one arm around you. Not tight. Not awkward. Just enough.