Bad idea.
Bad,badidea.
The tower begins to tip a little, and before my mouth can even form a shockedO, the top few books tumble downwards onto the ground.
No, not onto the ground. Onto the worker that’s crouched beside the table, sorting some stock.
“Ouch!”
I freeze. If only someone could knock me out with a book stack right now.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so so sorry -”
That’s when the worker rises from his crouch, and meets my gaze.
Big, hazel green eyes. The worker has hazel green eyes. It’s the first comprehensible thought I formulate. He also has tawny strands of hair that’s long enough to brush over his eyebrows. One of them is raised, and I am unsure if he is amused or annoyed. Most likely the latter, since I’d just dumped books onto his skull.
“That was my fault,” I manage to say, after I remember that staring at a stranger without saying anything is not really normal.
That’s when the worker’s lips twitch into a smile.
“You’re a clumsy one, aren’t you?” he asks, and if voices were tangible, his would be silk.
Then, just like Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, three fundamental truths cross my mind at the exact same time.
Wow, he’s properly pretty
We’re in a bookstore
This is 100% a meet-cute
It’s with these three fundamental truths, my extensive knowledge of romance movies and my parents’ love story, that I come to a conclusion.
I’ve just met the love of my life.
Six
In movies and tv shows,meet-cutes are often followed by a rise in the background strings, accompanied by some sort of dramatic camera pan, all of which nod to audiences thatthisis the moment.
The turning point, the thunderstrike.
The beginning of a love story.
In reality, however, meet-cutes can be a little bit of a guessing game. Dad told me he knew it from the start, but Mum was fuming at the fact that Dad got her dress dirty. Same as Tita Bea and Jonathan. Look at them now.
There’snothingyou have to guess about this moment though.
Standing face-to-face with this beautiful boy, with beautiful golden-hour hair and beautiful ocean eyes, right next to theHottest Romances Right Nowbook table (that I accidentally dumped on his head), I don’t have to guess any truth of what’s unravelling.
Thisright here ismydestined meet-cute. It’s all too formulaic to not be true.
But now I’ve got to say something back. To continue the scene, the script. God, what were we learning in class today?
Something about character. I could be a mysterious character, make him wonder about me. I could be cold and calculated, or soft and heartfelt.
After running through a million lines in my head within the second, I settle with, “Haha, that’s me!”
I wonder if there’s a rewind button on me. Better yet, a ctrl-alt-delete.
