She brushed past him, before he had a chance to say he was looking forward to it.
The fifth time Seth saw Nina, was on Monday morning. At this point, they seemed to be expecting each other for a run-in. Seth was there first, leaning against a pole. Nina sidled up beside him almost naturally, her lips perked in an amused smile.
“We meet, once again.”
He’d been secretly hoping that he’d run into her, setting his alarm at 6am, which was an hour earlier than usual.
This train suits me best, anyway,he’d told himself.
It was a lie. This Monday train got himbarelyto university on time. Often, he took the train earlier than this one. But this was the train that he first saw Nina in, almost a month ago.
“What are the chances?”
Nina’s laugh carried across the carriage, and Seth saw the dismayed expressions of the business men and women on the train.
He ignored them though, his eyes fixated instead on Nina, as she once again recalled an old memory.
“I did not!”
“You did, I remember!”
Her laugh grew louder as she continued with the story, her words struggling between her wheezes.
“And when you jumped off the square, you tried to be all impressive and do a somersault but landed on your ass instead,” she said, her laugh rising at the last word.
Seth felt his cheeks grow warm at the memory of him doing a failed gymnastics routine in Year 8. He really didn’t remember that, but then again, any memory from a gymnastics class from PE was lost to him. Nina kept on laughing, however it was too infectious to ignore. Seth found himself smiling.
He poked Nina’s knee.
“Shutup, you only remember that because you were obsessed with me,” Seth teased, and Nina rolled her eyes.
“Well, it had its perks,” she replied, “Now I remember all your embarrassing moments.”
Their train rides had officially turned into their personal time machine.
They’d started exchanging memories of their favourite classes, of their favourite teachers, and the moments with their classmates they remembered.
Seth didn’t even realise he rememberedso muchafter thinking so little of the memories after graduation. Yet, once they stepped onto the train, it was as though time paused just for them to catch up on all the lost years. To compare timelines and experiences.
Seth didn’t think he’d enjoy talking about high school this much, and stranger yet, withNina. The girl who’d liked him for 5 years.
This morning, PE classes were the subject of nostalgic scrutiny. Seth was naturally gifted at sport, but didn’t particularly enjoy it entirely. Nina, contrastingly, loved all the sports they played, but didn’t have the coordination.
His memories get tangled in his brain as Nina suddenly leaned closer. Instinctively, he leaned backward into the chair, startled by the rapid thumping of his heart.Huh?
“Uh - what are you doing?” he began, heat creeping over his neck.
Amusement settled over Nina’s features.
“You have an eyelash on your nose,” she quipped, a hint of laughter bouncing between the words.
“Oh,” is all Seth managed.
Her fingers pinched at the spot of skin, just below his nose bridge. The contact sent a rush through his nerves, beginning at where she’d touched and spreading like wildfire through his veins.
His heartbeat wasn’t slowing. Nor was his breathing.Was he breathing?
“There we go,” Nina declared, triumphantly waving the minuscule eyelash before him. Then, puckering her lips, she blew on the bit of hair, before slapping her palm against her forehead.
