When Did It Go Wrong?

I arrived home feeling both anxious and excited. My fingers trembled as I typed out a simple "Hi" to Jasmine, the girl I had been crushing on for the last night. It felt like an eternity as I waited for a response, my mind racing with countless scenarios of how the conversation might go.

As the seconds ticked by, doubts and regrets started to creep in. Should I have been more creative with my greeting? Should I have waited for her to message me first? What if she doesn't reply at all? My mind was a blur of uncertainty.

Unable to bear the weight of my thoughts, I decided to take a break and distract myself by making lunch. I prepared a chicken sandwich and settled down to watch my favourite show. But even as I laughed at the witty banter of the characters, my mind kept wandering back to Jasmine.

Suddenly, the notification sound I had been waiting for jolted me out of my thoughts. My heart raced as I saw her message, a simple "Hello " accompanied by an emoji of a smiling face. I couldn't contain my excitement and jumped out of my seat, the sandwich was forgotten on the table.

I felt like I was on cloud nine as I danced to the closing music of the show, my heart overflowing with joy. But then reality hit me – what do I say now? How do I keep

the conversation going? Should I wait for her to initiate the next message?

Despite my hesitation, I couldn't resist the urge to text her back. As I typed out a quick "How r u" with no question mark, I couldn't help but feel like it was too basic. But at the same time, I was afraid of scaring her off with anything too bold or forward.

The rest of the day passed in a blur as I went to school, unable to focus on anything but the conversation I had started with Jasmine. I couldn't wait to tell my friends about it, but at the same time, I was afraid of being ridiculed for getting so excited over just a "Hello".

As I sat through the two-hour history class, the minutes seemed to drag on endlessly. But finally, the bell rang, and

I rushed home to my laptop, eager to see if Jasmine had replied.

My heart raced with anticipation. Three notifications caught my eye, but I ignored them, my eyes fixed on Jasmine's message. "I am good, what about you?" she had replied, with a question mark this time.

For a moment, I felt a pang of regret for not using a question mark in my previous message. But the excitement of talking to her again soon overshadowed any lingering doubts. In my mind, she was the one, and I couldn't wait to start a deeper conversation with her.