“Mel. Melodi!” I flinched, covering the napkin with my notepad. I surveyed the room while my brain played catch up. “I apologize. I was reading my notes. So in regards to the decrease in enrollments, I was able to pinpoint some areas we can improve on.”

Walking back to my desk I kept replaying the morning. Was it too soon to text him? What would I even say? We never exchanged names. I’ve never seen him in the building and was curious as to which department he worked in. I half expected us to bump into each other going to the meeting like in those romance mangas. Speaking of, I made a mental note to grab the new issue on my way home today. 

Heyyyyyy—deleted. Way too many Ys. After two more meetings and three pep talks I settled on something simple.

Hey 89. Wanna grab lunch at 12? My treat.

Bzzz! Reggie’s food truck on 6th?

I checked my messy bun for the 5th time before finally stepping out of the building and taking the short walk to the food trucks. Rounding the corner I bumped into something huge, distracted thinking of interesting things to say once I reunited with 89.

I mumbled a quick sorry, as I tried to pivot around the person and was pulled back. My eyes darted to the left, as my body went into fight or flight mode. I calmed when my eyes made contact with 89.

“Shit. My bad. Didn’t mean to pull you so hard. You’re really light!”

“Or maybe you’re too strong?” I stared with a raised eyebrow. We laughed almost in sync. He made small talk as we waited for our order. 89 found an empty bench and we took our meals over to it while chatting about our mornings.

"Nope. Broccoli does NOT belong on pizza. If you want veggies, just order a salad."

"I refuse to accept the fact that a 26 year old woman refuses to eat pizza with veggies on it! Supreme is the only right option in pizza choices." He chuckled loud as his head fell backwards. 

"I stand by my choice that meatlovers is the only way to go! If I'm ordering pizza I want all the greasiness. Not some mini trees." 

We chatted through our lunch, and I barely had time to finish my fries and tenders before we parted ways. I mentally kicked myself when the elevator doors closed realizing I never got his name.

The day ended pretty quickly with more meetings and reviewing applications for the Spring semester. I hadn’t paid much attention to my phone until I was on the subway to my apartment. My heart fluttered as I saw my notifications. I quickly pressed my messages but was sad to see no messages from 89. 

Reading my newest manga I sunk deeper into my wide tub. The tub was my favorite part of my studio apartment besides my balcony. It was huge and took up most of the tiny bathroom. My bathroom had a huge window that gave me plenty of natural light. It was even more beautiful at night with the city lights shining through the darkened room, highlighting the emerald green tiles. 

I was so engulfed in the story I barely registered my phone ringing. The main character was finally confessing to his childhood crush. It only took four issues of the manga for him to confess to his popular best friend. Reaching over the tub I grabbed my phone, eyes still glued to the book. I answered and nearly dropped my book into the bubbles when a husky voice replied, “Hi 97. Hope I’m not disturbing your evening.”