The next morning, after dragging myself out of bed and finishing up in the bathroom, I stood in front of my closet for a while, completely blank. Picking what to wear could be a struggle even for me.
I finally settled on skinny gray jeans and a loose baby-blue V-neck sweater. I tamed the frizz in my hair but was too lazy to style it, so I left it down. After finishing a simple touch of makeup, I slipped into my brown boots and left the house.
By the time I reached campus, the lunch break had just started. On my way to the professor's office, I texted the girls and told them to order my food too. Thankfully, the professor hadn't left for lunch yet. I handed in the assignment and headed to the cafeteria to join my friends. When I finally spotted them in the packed crowd, I was practically delirious from hunger.
I dropped my things on an empty chair and dove straight into my plate. Aylin spoke in the tone of a mother scolding her child.
"No one's stealing your food. Slow down."
I replied while inhaling bite after bite. "No way. I'm starving."
I was about to finish my plate when Feyza nudged my arm.
"Duru… why is Kerem looking at you like that?"
Holding my juice cup, I shot her a "What are you talking about?" look and turned toward the direction she pointed.
Should've kept my head still!
The juice went down the wrong pipe, and I started coughing like crazy. My chest burned, and my eyes watered. At that exact moment, the guy staring at me smiled and winked.
While Feyza patted my back, I muttered in disbelief:
"The elevator guy."
"No way. The elevator model was Kerem?" Feyza looked even more shocked than I was.
Aylin, on the other hand, calmly looked at Kerem, then turned back to us. "No wonder you were so affected."
Realizing I'd been staring at him for way too long, I whipped my gaze back to my plate.
I covered my face with my hands and whispered: "Is he still looking?"
Feyza answered in a voice that clearly struggled not to laugh: "Actually… they're all looking at you right now."
I clenched my teeth in frustration. "Oh, for the love of—"
Aylin added, laughing: "You don't have to act like an ostrich running from a lion. They can still see you."
I shot her the angriest glare I could from behind my hands. "Should I get you popcorn too? Do you have to enjoy this out loud?" They giggled even harder just to spite me, and Feyza nudged my arm again.
"Thought you'd want to know… Kerem is heading this way."
I jerked my head up and looked around in panic. "You're kidding. Where?!"
Seeing him walk toward us with those confident steps nearly set my whole system on fire. My heartbeat sped up, and my throat suddenly felt dry again.
"Oh no. Is there a back exit somewhere?"
The girls completely lost it and burst into laughter. In a few seconds Kerem appeared beside our table, hair slicked back, dressed head-to-toe in black, wearing that infuriatingly smug smile. His eyes told me I had already lost any chance of escape. I focused on my cup like it was the most fascinating object on Earth. He, meanwhile, turned to Feyza like nothing unusual was happening.
"What's up, Feyza?"
"I'm good, Kerem. You?"
"Doing fine."
He pulled out a chair and sat down on the empty side of the table. I stole discreet glances at him while he kept chatting with Feyza.
"How's everything?"
"Same as always. You know."
When I realized Kerem still hadn't taken his eyes off me, the unease inside me only grew worse. Sure, the elevator had been small and suffocating, yes, but… Why was I struggling to breathe in a giant cafeteria?
Feyza continued talking as if something had just occurred to her.
"Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to my friends." She pointed at Aylin first. "This is Aylin, and the one next to her is Duru. Girls, this is Kerem—my friend from an upper year."
Kerem turned to Aylin and said: "Nice to meet you."
Aylin smiled politely. "Nice to meet you too."
Had he just ignored me?
Duru and I have met before. Quite closely, actually. Isn't that right, Duru?"
As if I'd ever be that lucky.
I reluctantly turned my face toward him. He was grinning so slyly—what an insufferable man. Trying to match his calm, I pretended not to care.
"Oh, right! Remember the elevator incident I told you about? Turns out the guy stuck in there with me was your friend Kerem. Pure bad luck." That last part came out in a mutter only I could hear.
The girls nodded while biting their lips to keep from laughing. Kerem, however, was staring at me with an unmistakable smirk now. So this was how people decided to commit murder.
Just then, the girl sitting at their table walked over to us. You know—the blonde with the enviable face and figure, the one always buzzing around her boyfriend like a love-struck butterfly. She looked at us with an innocent smile.
"Hi girls, I'm Nil."
After the three of us greeted her, Nil turned to Kerem. "I came to tell you that we finally convinced Rüzgar about the weekend party, and to invite the girls as well. So, what do you say, girls? Would you like to come?"
She seemed geniunly sweet and warm. Even though I didn't really want to say no, I also didn't want to go. I glanced at Kerem from the corner of my eye. It was impossible to read what was going through his mind from that expressionless face. I gave Nil a polite smile.
"Thanks for the invitation, but we actually already had plans for this weekend, right girls?"
I turned to the girls, praying they'd catch the not-so-subtle threat in my tone. I wasn't sure if she was fooled by Nil's sweetness or just loved messing with me, but my blue-eyed traitor jumped right in.
"It's fine, Duru. We can hang out on Sunday instead, right Aylin?"
Aylin didn't hesitate for even a second. "Yeah, it's no problem. We can go to the party on Saturday."
As I shot both of them a "we'll talk later" glare, Kerem, with that know-it-all smile, said:
"Alright then, see you at the party. I'll text you the address, Feyza," he said, getting to his feet.
After a small nod, he walked back to their table with Nil. As soon as they walked away, all my attention shifted to the two little Mata Hari candidates in front of me.
"Remind me again why I'm friends with either of you."
Feyza blinked innocently while smiling. "Because we're adorable?"
I rolled my eyes immediately at the cheesiness. "Whatever. You two have fun at your precious party. I've got different plans for the weekend."
Aylin fixed me with a knowing stare. "You mean sitting in pajamas, devouring snacks while watching movies and shows full of handsome men you desperately wish were your boyfriend?"
I shrugged and chewed on my straw. That was exactly the plan.
Feyza winked at Aylin. "She's coming too. Don't worry."
I frowned and set down the straw I was chewing. "No, I'm not."
There wasn't even an actual party yet, and I was already on the battlefield. Kerem in front of me, the girls beside me… and somewhere in between, the heartbeat I definitely did not want to speed up.