Chapter 3: The Seat

Block sections rolled out, and I found myself fortunate to be in the same class as Charlize. Walking into the classroom, I spotted her sitting in the first row, but my nerves kept me from taking the seat beside her. Instead, I settled in the second row furthest from her, I wanted to socialize but I felt the weight of recent disappointments and struggles weighing on me. The day passed without a single conversation or a new friend.

The second day arrived with a determination to change my approach. I told myself, "I need to make a confident move to shake things up." Arriving early, I found Charlize already seated in her spot—first row, fourth seat from the left—with Jackie beside her on the second seat. Summoning courage, I took the fifth seat from the left and jokingly said, "My eyes are blurry today, can't see from the rightmost side," a feeble excuse for my deliberate choice. Mind you, my vision was perfect; I had never worn glasses or had any eye issues.

As classes were about to begin, There was this guy who entered late in the room. It lit up a memory of mine where I recalled that this was the guy I was beside with when I took the psychology test in this university. His name was Dane. He sat on the fifth seat from the right. The classroom had a total of 10 seats per column with an aisle in between the 5th and 6th column. From this, the aisle was the only distance I had with Dane. As the bell rings for lunch, Dane approached me and said "were you the guy who was beside me when I took the psychology test?" and I responded "Yeah! I knew it was you, I just didn't have the guts to say something". Dane then ranted "Man it's so unfair that we don't know any of them, I feel like we're isolated and all of them are already in groups, guess we're the outcast in this bunch". We laughed about the current situation. But I knew, he was my first mate from then on.

Returning to class, emboldened by my interaction with Dane, I struck up a conversation with Charlize. I started with a playful tease, "Hi! I think Dane mentioned something about you, what did you say about Dane?" Dane played along, pretending innocence and adding to the banter. Charlize shared that she had attended high school at this university, and our conversation flowed effortlessly as we discovered common interests and routines. By day's end, I gave myself a mental thumbs-up, as it had been a successful day, a significant stride in navigating college life.

The following day, as I entered the classroom, Charlize hadn't arrived yet, but Jackie was already seated. As I sat on my spot, a few minutes passed by, Jackie transferred from the second to fourth seat, which is beside me, taking Charlize's seat. She said "I can't see from the second seat, it's too far from the board". I was pent up deep inside filled with emotions exclaiming in my mind "Hey don't sit there. I already got something going on with this. Why you gonna screw it up?". But I didn't, I just normally replied "Ah okay, that's cool". I wanted to flip the seat but I just let it be. As classes started, it was quieter than usual since there were changes in the dynamics. Back from scratch I guess.

Surprisingly, Jackie and I quickly developed a friendship, as she, too, passed the vibe check with her easy going personality. Reflecting on the situation, I realized, "Maybe I'm getting too attached to Charlize," considering Jackie's sudden move to sit beside me. Yet, I acknowledged the uncontrollable nature of these unfolding friendships. Things were happening as they were meant to.