Chapter 11

Engfa had sung before thousands.

She had performed at charity concerts, university festivals, and community events ever since she was a child. Standing beneath bright stage lights had never fazed her.

Yet somehow…

Standing on stage beside twenty fellow senior counselors…

She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking.

She quietly retreated toward the very edge of the platform, hoping that the crowd below would swallow her from sight.

She wasn’t nervous about speaking.

She was nervous about one person.

Charlotte.

Somewhere among the sea of first-years sat the girl who had somehow occupied her thoughts since the Freshers’ Party.

And she hadn’t seen her all morning.

That thought alone made her stomach tighten.

Behind her came the familiar whispers.

Nesa.

Sunny.

Patcha.

Chers.

Every single one of them.

The very friends who had dramatically announced earlier—

“I’m busy.”

“I don’t have time.”

“Absolutely not.”

—had somehow all become peer leaders overnight.

Engfa didn’t believe the coincidence for one second.

They’re here to tease me.

She was sure of it.

⸻

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

The Faculty President stepped toward the microphone.

“Welcome to our annual Junior Induction Program!”

Thunderous applause erupted through the auditorium.

“For years we’ve believed that university is more than classrooms.”

“It’s community.”

“It’s friendship.”

“It’s guidance.”

“Every senior standing on this stage once sat exactly where you are today.”

“Someone helped us.”

“So now…”

“It’s our turn to help you.”

Another roar echoed through the hall.

Some students whistled.

Others cheered.

Engfa barely heard any of it.

She scanned the rows below.

Searching.

Searching.

Then…

There.

Charlotte.

Leaning quietly against the wall near the back.

Her hair had been hurriedly tied into a messy bun.

Tiny loose strands framed her face.

She looked…

Sleepy.

Every few seconds she covered another yawn with the back of her hand.

Her cheeks still carried the faint pink of someone who hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

She looked nothing like the perfectly composed Charlotte Austin everyone admired.

She looked…

Human.

And somehow…

Engfa found that even cuter.

A smile escaped before she could stop it.

“What am I doing…”

“What am I doing here?” she whispered to herself.

“There isn’t one chance in a hundred Charlotte draws my name from that box.”

⸻

As she glanced farther down the line of senior counselors, she noticed Aaron.

Normally he would’ve wandered over by now.

Thrown her one of his usual jokes.

Asked how she was doing.

Found some excuse to start a conversation.

Today…

He simply looked her way.

Their eyes met.

He gave her a small nod.

Respectful.

Almost understanding.

Then he looked away.

Nothing more.

It wasn’t awkward.

It wasn’t unfriendly.

Just…

Different.

As if he’d quietly accepted something neither of them needed to talk about.

He heard the whispers too, Engfa realized.

She had heard them herself.

She always did.

Sometimes they were loud enough for everyone to hear.

Sometimes they hid behind awkward laughter.

Sideways glances.

Conversations that suddenly stopped the moment she walked into a room.

“She’s gay.”

“Don’t leave your girlfriend alone with her.”

“Maybe she likes you.”

“I knew it.”

When she was younger…

Those words used to hurt.

They made her wonder why people cared so much about who someone loved.

Why something as beautiful as love could become someone else’s problem.

Eventually…

She stopped carrying other people’s expectations.

Life already placed enough weight on your shoulders.

Why carry someone else’s too?

Love had never confused her.

People did.

Love didn’t ask permission.

It didn’t care whether it found a boy or a girl.

Sometimes…

It simply found the person who made your heart feel at home.

That had always been enough for Engfa.

The whispers no longer defined her.

Her heart did.

The applause pulled her back to the present.

Charlotte was still standing there…

Still fighting another yawn.

Still completely unaware she had become the only thing Engfa could focus on.

⸻

“This year’s program is a little different.”

The audience quieted.

“We’ll be introducing team challenges throughout the semester.”

The giant screen behind them lit up.

Community Outreach Project.

Environmental Conservation.

Leadership Challenge.

Then another slide appeared.

Volunteer Expedition — Mae Hong Son Province.

“We’ll spend three days helping local communities renovate schools, plant trees, and work alongside village volunteers.”

The juniors applauded enthusiastically.

“And…”

The presenter smiled.

“Our final semester trip…”

The next image appeared.

Crystal-blue water.

White sand.

Towering limestone cliffs.

Krabi.

The auditorium exploded.

Nesa leaned toward Chers.

“I’m already thinking about my bikini.”

Patcha laughed.

“I knew that would be the first thing on your mind.”

Sunny bumped Engfa’s shoulder.

“I’m so glad we decided to join.”

“I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”

He purposely emphasized the last sentence while exchanging a quick glance with Nesa.

Engfa narrowed her eyes.

She knew those looks.

She knew those two far too well.

They’re definitely up to something.

⸻

A few volunteers presented small wooden boxes on the stage.

Inside sat hundreds of neatly folded slips of paper.

The presenter smiled.

“And now…”

“The tradition you’ve all been waiting for.”

Excited murmurs immediately spread through the auditorium.

“Each junior will draw the name of one senior counselor.”

“That senior will become your mentor…”

“…your teammate…”

“…and your guide…”

“…for the remainder of the semester.”

Engfa felt her heartbeat quietly speed up.

One chance.

Out of hundreds.

She almost laughed to herself.

“What are the odds?”

One by one…

The juniors walked onto the stage.

Each reached inside.

Each collected a folded piece of paper.

Charlotte patiently waited near the end of the line.

She accepted hers carefully before returning to her seat without opening it.

Across the auditorium…

Engfa watched from the corner of the stage, hoping no one noticed.

Behind her…

Sunny glanced toward Nesa.

Nesa looked back.

The two exchanged the quickest, most suspicious low-five imaginable.

Engfa caught it immediately.

Her eyes narrowed.

“What are those two plotting now?”

Before she had time to ask—

The presenter lifted the microphone once more.

“Take your seats…”

“…and whatever you do…”

He grinned.

“Don’t open your papers…”

“…until I tell you.”

The entire auditorium fell into an almost unbearable silence.

Hundreds of folded slips of paper rested in eager hands.

The faculty president smiled from the podium.

“Everyone…”

“Open them.”

The room instantly filled with the soft rustle of paper unfolding.

Engfa’s eyes never left Charlotte.

She watched as Charlotte slowly unfolded her slip, blinking once, then twice, as though her sleepy mind hadn’t quite caught up with what she was reading.

A smile tugged at the corner of Engfa’s lips.

She’s still half asleep.

Cute.

Before Charlotte could react, Aaron immediately walked toward her with an easy smile.

His hands rested comfortably inside his pockets, his stride calm and confident.

Engfa’s smile faded ever so slightly.

She looked away.

Of course.

“They rigged it…”

she whispered under her breath.

It made perfect sense.

Aaron had shown an interest in Charlotte from the very first day she stepped onto campus.

He was handsome.

Athletic.

Well-liked by almost everyone.

The kind of senior any junior would be lucky to draw.

For a brief second, Engfa allowed herself to imagine the paper in Charlotte’s hand carried Aaron’s name.

Her chest tightened and she turned away before she could see the rest.

Maybe Sunny was right…

Maybe people really do rig these things.

She quietly lowered her eyes and unfolded her own slip.

Blank.

No one had approached her yet.

She glanced around the auditorium, searching for the unfamiliar face that might be looking for her.

Nothing.

Just rows of juniors laughing, cheering and introducing themselves to their new mentors.

Then…

A voice.

Soft.

Gentle.

Almost uncertain.

“…Engfa?”

She didn’t react.

There were hundreds of students in the room.

Surely someone else shared her name.

“…Engfa?”

This time it came a little closer.

Everything around her disappeared.

She turned.

Charlotte stood only a few feet away, holding the tiny slip of paper between her fingers.

Aaron stopped walking.

Slowly.

He looked down at Charlotte’s paper.

Then at Engfa in confusion.

A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He simply nodded…

Turned around…

And quietly walked away.

Behind Charlotte…

Sunny and Nesa exploded into silent celebration.

Another perfectly disguised low-five.

Engfa saw everything.

She looked from them…

Back to Charlotte.

Then smiled despite herself.

Charlotte stood only a few feet away.

One hand clutched the folded piece of paper against her chest.

The other nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

She looked almost embarrassed.

Almost shy.

“I…”

Charlotte lifted the paper slightly.

“I think…”

“…I got you.”

For one suspended heartbeat…

Everything else seemed irrelevant.

The applause.

The conversations.

The announcements.

Even the air around her seemed to stand still.

Engfa stared at the slip.

There it was.

ENGFA WARAHA

Printed neatly across the center.

She blinked once.

Then smiled.

A real smile.

Maybe…

The odds weren’t so impossible after all.