The next morning Lina took a bath earlier than usual.
Not because she cared too much about the date.
Absolutely not.
At least that's what she tried telling herself while standing in front of her closet for nearly twenty minutes.
"This is stupid" she muttered quietly while holding two different tops in her hands.
Why was choosing an outfit suddenly so difficult?.
Usually Lina would just wear whatever is decent and leave the house without thinking twice.
But today felt different.
She hated that it felt different.
"This is ridiculous." She muttered to herself while throwing another shirt to the bed.
"It's just one date."
Yet somehow her room looked like a fashion disaster zone.
After settling on something simple, stood in front of her mirror fixing her hair for the fifth time.
She stared at herself for a moment.
Then immediately looked away in embarrassment.
"Why am I nervous?" She whispered dramatically before dropping on her bed.
Her suddenly buzzed beside her.
Chris: Did the fashion show end yet?
Lina immediately frowned.
Lina: I hate you. How do you know I changed outfits.
Chris: Because you've been suspiciously quiet since morning.
Lina : I hate living in the same house with you.
Chris : That's not an answer.
Another message quickly appeared.
Chris: So are we dressing to impress the rich boy today?
Lina rolled her so hard she almost saw her ancestors.
She quickly finished her make up and ran down the stairs. Seeing Chris she showed and face and picked up her lunch pack from the table and shouted a goodbye.
Seeing that Chris smiled.
"Good luck" he said .
Their mom looked at Chris suspiciously but he just shrugged.
The entire ride to school felt strangely longer than usual.
Lina kept trying to act normal but thoughts kept drifting back to Dave.
Which was annoying.
Very annoying.
She barely noticed herself fixing again while walking through the school gate.
"Okay" she whispered to herself. "Calm down. It's just Dave."
Unfortunately her heart wasn't hearting at the moment so it completely ignored her advice the moment she entered her department and saw Dave.
Dave was standing near the balcony holding his phone in his right hand. He look like he was focused on whatever he was doing.
Dressed in a black shirt with sleeves rolled upward slightly upward with two buttons loose just enough to make him attractive.
Lina immediately looked away.
Too late though.
Because Dave had already seen her.
The moment their eyes met his entire expression soften.
And he smiled.
Not politely.
Not arrogantly.
Just genuinely happy to see her.
For some reason that smile made Lina to forget how to walk properly.
'Oh my gosh'.
Dave quickly put his phone in his pocket before walking towards her.
Meanwhile Lina's brain was in complete chaos.
Act normal.
Do not trip.
Why is he walking so confidently?
Why is he even more handsome in daylight.
"Morning Lina," Dave said softly once he stooped in front of her.
Up close he looked even better.
Which was honestly unfair.
Lina cleared her throat trying to sound calm.
"Morning."
There was an awkward silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Just nervous.
And somehow it came as a surprise to Lina because Dave looked nervous too.
The rich master who could probably speak confidently in front of hundreds of people suddenly looked unsure about what to say to a girl.