We entered the classroom, and Jin tossed his bag onto the desk next to mine, fixing his hair in the window's reflection for the twentieth time. "How do I look?" he asked with absolute seriousness. "You look like someone who hasn't slept in two days," I answered with brutal honesty, opening my history book. "Stop stressing, she's just a girl."
"Just a girl?!" Jin gasped. "She is Sarah! The angel of the class next door! Today, I planned everything. I'll walk past her classroom, greet her with a deep, manly voice, then walk away as if I'm busy."
I shook my head in despair. "Genius plan... what could possibly go wrong?"
The bell rang. We stepped out into the hallway. Sarah was standing with her friends by the lockers. Jin froze. His face turned the color of a tomato. His "manly" walk suddenly transformed into the stiff march of a rusty robot. "H-H-Hello..." he tried to say in a deep voice, but his voice cracked, coming out high-pitched and ridiculous. In his extreme nervousness, he tripped over his own bag.
He didn't fall flat... but he stumbled and crashed into the lockers with a loud "CLANG!", sending his books spilling right at Sarah's feet. Silence fell over the hallway. Sarah looked at him, then at the books, then... she burst out laughing. Not a mocking laugh, but a kind, amused one. "Are you okay, Jin?" she asked, bending down to help him gather the books.
I wished the ground would open up and swallow me on his behalf. Jin wished for death. "I... book... yes... thanks!" he mumbled unintelligible words, snatched his books, and sprinted back to class, leaving Sarah chuckling lightly.
I returned to the classroom to find him burying his head in his arms on the desk. "Not a word, Ray..." his muffled voice came from beneath his arms. "Not a single word."
"You're a hero," I patted his back, suppressing my laughter. "You certainly left an unforgettable impression."
Suddenly, Lina entered our class, carrying two juice pouches. "I heard a loud crash in the hallway," she said with a bright smile, placing a juice on my desk and another in front of Jin's buried head. "Did Jin decide to wrestle the lockers today?"
Jin slowly lifted his head, his eyes teary. "Lina... did everyone see that?" Lina laughed and sat on the edge of my desk. "Everyone... but don't worry, Sarah was smiling. Maybe she likes clumsy guys?"
We spent the break laughing at Jin as he tried to defend his lost dignity. It was a pure atmosphere... full of life.