It was an afternoon like any other, only this one occurred several years ago, before Chandra made her return to her hometown. An afternoon where Chandra was much younger, an anthropology undergrad in her last year. 

22-year-old Chandra walked out of the lecture hall deep in thought, hands stuffed inside the pocket of her jeans. Her classmates listlessly walked out of the lecture hall behind her, seemingly occupied with the same thoughts. 

Today marked the beginning of her seventh semester and what would be the busiest year in her undergraduate career. The undergraduate thesis and community study service loomed ahead, marking the requirements she would need to complete before getting her degree.

She stopped for a moment before the steps of the building, watching the wind brush against the leaves of the trees and the sunlight dance on the tops of stone bricks. 

She took a breath. 

It was comforting to be still for a moment, watching the world carry on despite the swirling thoughts inside of her mind. She slowly sighed, in acceptance of her fate, and pulled out her planner to begin mapping out the day.

A similarly young Elga walked up behind her and yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. She grinned. “Well. That was one hell of a way to start the semester, huh?”

“Hmm,” A young Biru walked up to stand beside her. His generic blue flannel and inconspicuous jeans marked the moment in time when he had yet to come out, except to his closest friends. “I’m surprised you heard anything Prof Wahyu said,” he jokingly gave Elga the side-eye. “Weren’t you up late last night watching soap operas?” 

Elga gasped. “I was not,” but she grinned in the way that Chandra and Biru knew that she did. 

Elga straightened the hem of her denim jacket and tossed her then-long hair over one shoulder, her white sling bag over the other. “I fully caught the complexities and long list of duties we must do as responsible students in our last year.”

Chandra and Biru snickered. Elga knew exactly how to copy Professor Wahyu.

“Plus,” Elga added, index finger proudly in the air. “I already know what I’m gonna write about,” her eyes glinted with excitement. “Art museums! There’s a ton of people-watching to be done there, you know.”

Chandra nodded, knowing this was the outcome of Elga's abandoned dreams to be an art major. “That’s so you, El.”

“Right?” Elga said excitedly. “And I already know all the museums I'm gonna contact and everything. But!” she grabbed Chandra’s shoulder in an attempt to take her attention away from her planner. “One needs balance, my friends. Work and play must be done together.”

“Right,” Chandra flipped a page in her planner. “And how do you suppose we strike this balance, then?”

“Well,” Elga grinned. “What better way to spend our youth than to find romantic endeavors, hmm?”

Biru snorted. “Romantic endeavors? Please, as if you have a candidate in line.”

“Oh, and what if I told you I did?” Elga said, giving Biru a smug smile. “Such as one Ivan Hehanussa.”

“Wait,” Biru paused, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Ivan like, the basketball captain Ivan? Oh. He's cute.”

“Right?” Elga snickered before turning towards Chandra. “What do you think of him, Dra?” 

“Hmm. I don’t have a particularly significant opinion of him,” Chandra grinned without looking up from her planner.

“Ugh, you don’t find anyone interesting,” Elga groaned, releasing Chandra's shoulder. “Your team practices in the same court as his team, right? You gotta admit he's pretty cute.” 

Chandra paused and thought about their classmate, whose swoopy bangs and dimples on either side of his cheeks earned him the title of campus crush. “I guess?” 

Elga poked her arm. “C'mon Dra, you had like, one crush on our high school debate coach. You still don’t have any crushes in your entire years of uni?”

Chandra opened her mouth to defend her friendship with their debate coach before Biru barked out a laugh.

“Now, El,” he laughed, playfully chastising Elga in a mock-motherly fashion. “Not everyone's a serial crusher like you. Plus we’ve got a whole thesis to do and you of all people should know that it ain’t gonna write itself.”

Chandra smiled gratefully at Biru. “I agree,” she patted Elga's shoulder. “Plus, I just don't have time for these things, El. Heck, I dunno if any of us have time for that this year.” 

Elga sighed. “Oh, I know. But hey! We’re allowed to have a bit of fun before leaving this place for good, right?” she slung her arms around Chandra and Biru’s shoulders. “Say, what are you guys up to after this? Let's go back to my place and hang.”

“Can’t,” Biru shook his head and sighed. “Gonna chase after Prof Maria to ask for guidance on this thesis business. This is one thing I can’t fake-it-till-you-make-it out of.”

“Boo,” Elga pouted. “What about you, Dra? Come hang out with me?”

“Can’t either,” Chandra said, turning her attention to the list of books in her planner. “I’m gonna go to the library to start researching.”

“Man, everyone’s so busy!” Elga groaned, withdrawing her arms from both of their shoulders. 

Biru smirked. “Maybe you should start your thesis too, El.”

“Absolutely not!” Elga protested. Chandra and Biru laughed. 

“Well,” Chandra said, tucking her planner under her arm. “Maybe Ivan can keep you company, El. But I’m gonna head to the library. See ya guys later.”

“I’m leaving too,” Biru subtly wiggled his fingers towards them. “Byeee!” 

“Hey, wait!” Elga whined.

Chandra grinned as she made her way down the steps of the building, waving a goodbye to a pouting Elga.