Chapter 9: Full Circle

**Eight.**

But after waiting half a day, she still hadn't accepted.

Every few minutes, I refreshed my WhatsApp, hoping to see a new notification. The wait felt endless.

I was discouraged. She was probably still angry and didn't want to accept my request.

I slumped onto my bed, pulling the blanket over my head, and stared at the ceiling, trying to convince myself it didn’t matter.

In a bad mood, I moped all morning. Then after class in the afternoon, I actually got a new message in my inbox:

"The other party has accepted your friend request."

My heart leapt. I nearly dropped my phone in my hurry to open the chat.

Senior.

I sat up excitedly and couldn't wait to send the first message:

"Senior, long time no see."

A shiver ran through me as I waited for her reply, the familiar nervous energy of our old chats filling my chest. Outside, a koel called from the neem tree, and the world felt wide open again.

But when her reply finally came, it wasn’t what I expected at all.