It was a quite summer morning. The day hadn't fully awakened yet.
The window is the room was open. A cool morning breeze was slowly drifting in form outside. The thin curtain near the window swayed gently, caught in the breeze. With it, a lightweight calendar hanging on the wall kept fluttering softly.
The room was still half-asleep. It was a medium-sized space— The floor was solid but dusty, and the walls had a faded, worn-out color, like they hadn't been painted in years.
The first rays of sunlight entered through the window and fell on bed. The bedsheet was Messy, as if the night's sleep had been restless and incomplete.
Beside the bed, a table stood with a few book's on it. A couple of pages had flipped open, stirred by the wind from outside.
On the bed, right next to the table, lay a boy, asleep.
His hair was ruffled. There was no pillow under his head. His body was slightly twisted, and one leg hung loosely off the edge of the bed.
The ceiling fan above turned in it's slow, steady rhythm, but it didn't bring much cool air. The boy had no blanket on— only a thin T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
The morning light slipping in through the window fell across his face— sometimes his forehead, and then brushing against his eyelids.
Without opening his eyes, he turned his head slightly to the side, as if trying to escape the light.
"Trung Trung!..."
The alarm on the phone kept on the table suddenly went off. The sharp sound hit the ears of the boy sleeping on one side of the bed.
Slowly, he stirred. His eyes were half-open, still heavy with sleep. With one hand, he reached out and grabbed the phone from beside the bed.
The screen flashed in bold letters — 06:58 AM. With a light tap of his finger, he hit the "Snooze" button.
"Trung..." The sound stopped.
He placed the phone back on the table and buried his head into the pillow once again.
Two hours later—
The boy slowly began to wake up. His eyes opened and stared silently at the ceiling for a few moments. Then, taking a deep breath, he sat up slowly on the bed.
Sleep still lingered on his face. He yawned once, then raised both arms above his head and stretched— as if hoping his lazy muscles would finally wake up.
His eyes were still not fully open. Still
hafe-asleep, he reached out to the table beside the bed and picked up a steel water bottle.
One sip of cold water— and a little bit of freshness returned to his body.
The he grabbed the phone. The screen lit up, casting a glow on his face.
09:13 AM.
As soon as his eyes met the time, a sudden jolt ran through his body. Even though traces of sleep still clung to his eyelids, they vanished in an instant.
—"Oteriki!"
With a loud scream, he practically jolted himself out of sleep.
"It's already nine o'clock?! I'm going to be late!"
Even as the worlds left his mouth, his throat felt dry. Each sentence came with a slight tremble, his voice shaking with a mix of panic and frustration.
"Roddur, hurry up! There's only forty-five minutes left before the exam start! Why— why did I stay up so late watching anime..." he muttered, half-scolding himself.
Roddur, full name — Roddur Roy.
Nineteen years old. A bachelor. Mild in appearance, polite in behavior— an introverted kind of guy. Usually, rushing wasn't his thing. He preferred calm, slow morning.
But today was anything but normal. Because today... was the first semester exam of his second year in college.
And him? He had spent half the night binging through the new season of his favourite anime. And now? Waves of thoughts were crashing all at once inside Roddur's head.
"I didn't revise the notes properly... Where did I keep my pen? Did I even charge my watch? What kind of questions will be there?"
Everything inside his mind was turning into a mess. As he stood up from the bed, it felt like all the leftover sleep in his body vanished in flash.
Without wasting another second, he threw his phone onto table.
Thump!
With a quick jump off the bed, he landed on his feet, swung open the door in Swift
motion— and sprinted straight toward the bathroom.
A few minutes later—
Roddur came out after a quick shower. He hurriedly threw on his clothes and started getting ready for college.
The ticking of the clock seemed to chase him with every breath. As he grabbed his bag with one hand and stepped toward the door— his eyes landed on the corner of the table.
A plate of food was sitting there, covered neatly, waiting just for him.
But he was running late— With that thought, Roddur stepped toward the door. Just as his hand reached for the doorknob—
"Where do you think you're going? I've kept your breakfast ready. Wherever you're headed, eat something first."
A sweet, melodic voice floated in form behind.
Roddur froze in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around. Standing behind him was a beautiful girl.
She wore a soft-colored saree, small silver jhumkas dangled from her ears, her hair was open and flowing, and a calm, pleasant smile played on her lips. Her eyes— large and gentle— held a quied warmth, mixed with a touch of surprise.
The girl standing in front of Roddur was none other than his elder cousin sister— Kiran Roy. There was tenderness in her gaze, but a firm, caring tone in her voice.
Once again, she said —
"Roddur, where are you rushing off to? I've kept your breakfast there. Eat before you leave."
Roddur said in an annoyed tone,
"Please, Didi, don't stop me now. I'm already so late."
The clock read 09:37 AM. Only a few minutes were left before the exam began.
He added quickly—
"I don't even know if I'll get a ride once I'm out..." Letting out a small sigh, he said —
"I'll grad something to eat on the way, okay!? Just let me go now."
With the, he flung open the door and stepped outside.
From behind, Kiran called out—
"Wait, Roddur, today is—"
But before she could finish, Roddur laughed and replied—
"Bye, Didi! I'm going!"
And like a sudden gust of wind, he darted down the stairs.
Kiran walked out onto the balcony. From above, she watched her little brother rush down. She stood there silently for few moments — then quietly turned back and went inside.
Roddur ran toward his destination.