When You're Gone (Colette)

The girl confessed her feelings to the grown man. The man's eyes betrayed his feelings, yet he surprised James by coldly pushing the girl away.

The man warned her, "I'm like an uncle to you. I only see you as a kid."

James burst out laughing. He silently muttered, "Ah, you're being hypocritical, you liar."

The bus passed through a bumpy road. All the shaking woke James up. He checked his surroundings and realized he had missed his stop.

Shocked, he quickly embarked on the next stop. There was quite a distance between the two stops. It would take him some time to get back to the bus stop near the campus.

He walked on the side of the road while recounting the dream. Somehow, he couldn't remember many details.

Thinking hard, he still failed to recall any details except for the sentence he had muttered-"Ah, you're being hypocritical, you liar."

He wasted a lot of time getting back to campus, all because he missed his stop.

Sharing a room with seven other guys meant little to no privacy. In the middle of summer, the nights remained hot. Cicadas croaked outside the windows as the hot air filled the room.

Each dorm room came with AC, but no one turned it on to save on electricity. Only the old fan creaked as it worked hard.

James went to bed after reading. He wondered if he'd resume the dream from the bus. He was so curious about what happened next, as well as the identity of that girl.

This might sound rather ridiculous and delusional, but he had a feeling he would see her again.

Meanwhile, his roommates were puzzled when he went to sleep early. He had always been the most hardworking guy in the room.noveldrama

The dorm lights would not turn off on a set time. At first, James was oblivious to his roommates' need to rest. He kept the lights on to read, but he quickly rectified his behavior after his roommates pointed it out.

He continued reading late into the night, but at a different place.

When his roommates fell asleep, he would leave the room to read. Therefore, they were baffled to see him sleeping early.

However, he felt no need to explain himself for going to bed early. Since he looked drowsy, no one asked any questions about the change in his behavior. They merely carried on their activities softly to avoid disturbing him.

James had a good night's sleep. Regretfully, the man and the young girl did not show up in his dreams.

It was the tradition of Avery University to host a weekly town hall for freshmen on Mondays.

At the end of the semester, the town halls had been reduced to a monthly exercise. James, a freshman, had to rush to the field at 6:30 am on the day of the town hall after washing up.

Students had started gathering around the platform. He casually glanced around. A young woman in the crowd caught his attention.

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Exuding a vibrant and youthful aura, she rubbed her eyes sleepily while chatting with the people around her.

James' heart started to pound. He came to a halt, unable to walk any further.

Although he didn't see the face of the girl in the dream he barely remembered, a voice wouldn't stop ringing in his head.

"That's her! That's her!"

James' roommates looked in the same direction. They chuckled and draped an arm on his shoulder when they realized he was swooning over a female student.

"Looks like our star student has fallen in love!"