Around the daytime it snowed and in the evening it subsided. The remnant snow from the canopy blew from the wind, creating a snowstorm. After class, I took the bus to the mall to get toothpaste. Essentially, that's all I needed. I window shopped around, weaving my way in and out of stores from Macy's to Best Buy, yet nothing especially caught my eye.

The mall wasn't packed nor empty. A few shoppers were here and there, aimlessly strolling around. Store clerks stood, walked, sat. some were glancing at their nails, others blankly staring in space. A Taylor Swift-esque country song was moderately playing from the ceiling speakers.

Coming back, I headed to the library to type up a document. On Friday nights it was quiet as ever. A few hours later I strolled my way to the campus center to wolf down a sandwich. Norah Jones was my personal background music. Outside the sky had gone dim. Sheets of snow ghastly blew off from the bitter wind. Where was everybody at this time? I thought, staring at the occupied chairs and tables.

Meanwhile my good friend, Star, had recently met a girl and was starting to go on dates with her. The other day he and I attended an event--a meet-and-greet for new, international, and or transfer students to get to know more people. Although we weren't new students, we figured it was a good way to not only get free pizza but to also make connections. It was there when we met her, an international Chinese student. The criminal justice major was a decent 19-year-old girl with a keen interest in classic rock music, especially the Beatles and Nirvana. And her appearance--ripped skinny jeans and a black hoodie-- did not hide us from showing that fact. Her ash-grey hair went down just enough to hide her ears, and her eyes, round and brimming, exuded a sense of innocence and curiosity. The three of us mingled for about an hour or so, and in the end, exchanged contacts. After a few days, he had gotten a contact from her, and since then, had been continuing his streak of texting her.

"I think I'm going crazy," he said. "I didn't mean it but we keep texting."
"If you're going crazy then I think she potentially means something to you."
"I don't know yet," he said.

Tonight he was out with her for dinner. Their first date together. And sooner or later, he was going to swirl into her world.