The next day he woke up early.
The yogurt eaten standing up, shoes laced without hurry, the still-cold air on him as he went out for a run. Always the same. Always like this.
When the door closed, she woke up.
That morning she didn't think about him.
She only thought about university.
She got up with a kind of electricity in her, washed up, had breakfast, got ready carefully. She was there for that. To study. To really begin. She left the house with a smile that didn't need anyone.
---
He was coming back in.
Quick shower, black clothes, headphones. He left without looking back.
At university, in the lecture hall, he sat in the back. Headphones around his neck, gaze straight ahead.
She walked in with other girls, sat a few rows ahead.
They didn't exchange even a single glance.
During the lecture he sat motionless, his gaze fixed, attentive. He didn't take notes like the others, but he seemed to be listening to everything. When the professor asked an open question, he answered. Just one sentence. Cold. Direct. Honest.
There was a moment of silence.
The professor stared at him, stiffening.
"You can leave, if you think you already know everything."
He got up without arguing. He gathered his things and walked out of the room.
She followed him with her eyes only for a second.
In the hallway, shortly after, she noticed a quick scene: a boy stopped by others, low laughter, shoves disguised as jokes. He walked past them. Looked. Understood. Said nothing. Kept going.
---
He ate alone. As if it were normal.
She didn't.
She talked, laughed, listened. She was starting to get to know someone.
She noticed him only in passing, sitting far away, hunched over his tray.
Nothing else.
---
That evening they went out together, laughing, talking about nothing.
While they walked, she saw him on the other side of the street.
Alone. Slow pace. Gaze fixed ahead. As if the world were a distant noise.
She noticed something else too.
The looks.
Girls turning their heads. Comments under their breath. Curiosity.
A friend elbowed her.
"Did you see that guy? He's gorgeous."
She followed the gaze, even though she already knew who it was.
"Yeah..." she answered softly.
"Too bad he seems so unapproachable," her friend went on.
"One of those guys who won't even give you a chance to try."
She stayed silent for a moment.
Then she just said:
"Really?"
He kept walking.
Straight ahead. Without turning around.