that story: part 1

on their way to dinner at the usual place, one of her friends ask him to join them.  he declined saying he had a previous commitment. he and his friends will go some place to eat, as part of a food trip thing that they have.  she thought hey, this is a cool guy, he loves food.

one time, after class, they were walking with their usual group.  the girl has what her friends call a dry sense of humour. she likes sarcastic jokes. and during that time, they were both laughing from the sarcastic jokes that they were exchanging.

there was an afternoon when the girl came late to their class. her friends from home were in town so she accompanied them somewhere before coming to class. she just had a henna tattoo on her leg.  when she came to class, the prof was already on his chair, talking. there was no available seat on the side of the room so she walked directly to the back, with her head bent, looking on the floor. but she saw on her peripheral vision that the guy was looking at her from the time she entered the room until she reached that seat on the back.

she doesnt know what happened but regular dinners with their classmates became a staple. after their friday class, they would always go out to eat.  being the wide-eyed student who was still very enthusiastic about her experience as a foreign student, she enjoyed those dinners.  she doesnt talk that much but she always laughs at comments and jokes she found funny. when asked, she would gladly share her thoughts about her culture, politics and her experiences in her school. 

the guy on the other hand was articulate. he seemed free-spirited and funny. he laughs a lot.

before the semester ended, he planned for a sem-ender thing for the class. so he asked for her number. no big deal.

there were political rallies happening during that time. the country was soon having a big election and the opposition seemed to be gaining popularity. one of their classmates was running for public office. it was an exciting time for the place. she wanted to go and see for herself how things were. she asked her classmates, including him. but in the end she didnt manage to go because she fell sick.  he didnt know she was sick. thinking that she went, he texted her, asking how her experience was. and they ended having a long conversation about politics.

during their sem-ender dinner, they were seated at the opposite ends of the table.  it was a good night. everybody had a good time.  they transferred to a beer place. she was looking at the shelf, inspecting the beers and he was kidding her about her alcohol intake.  she playfully hit him on her arm, like how she does with her guy friends.  on the beer table, they sat opposite each other. she was teasing him about his facial washing habits.  she thought he might be gay.

for the summer break, she was out of town for a monthlong trip. and she stayed in her country for the rest of the break.  he wished her well before she left.