Chapter 15 - Of First Dates and Final Semesters
Chapter 15: Of First Dates and Final Semesters
The morning mist clung gently to the streets of George Town, softening the pastel rows of heritage shophouses and quiet alley cafés. Penang had not yet woken fully—just the clinking of plates, the distant roll of a hawker cart, and the low hum of a city still deciding what kind of day it would be.
Aleem stood near the steps of a quiet breakfast spot on Armenian Street, hands in his pockets, trying to slow his heartbeat. It wasn’t the coffee. It wasn’t the humidity. It was the sheer unfamiliarity of this—waiting, not for a friend or a project partner, but for someone whose presence had lingered in the back of his mind for almost a year.
She arrived just after 8, hair tucked into a low bun, wearing a navy sundress with sneakers. No makeup. No pretense. Just her.
“Morning,” Hana said, her smile soft, a little surprised. “You’re early.”
“I tend to be,” Aleem replied, offering a sheepish grin. “Part of the introvert package.”
They both chuckled, and just like that, the nerves dissolved. Not entirely, but enough to feel… normal.
They picked a table inside the café, bathed in soft yellow light, old tiles underfoot, ceiling fans lazily spinning above. The waiter brought kopi and kaya toast. They didn’t touch the food for a while. Not yet.
They talked.
About little things first. The absurdity of fuel prices. Why nasi lemak tastes better wrapped in banana leaf. Her art residency—how she spent the week sketching Penang street scenes and collecting overheard conversations in her journal.
Aleem told her about work, about ABIX, about Isabelle’s near-death experience with a ghost mannequin. He didn’t try to be charming. He didn’t need to. Hana laughed anyway.
Then, as the coffee cooled, the conversation deepened.
“Why haven’t you dated before?” she asked gently, not in accusation, but curiosity.
Aleem thought for a moment.
“I think I’ve always been… more cautious with my heart. I never wanted to love someone halfway. Or offer a version of me that wasn’t ready.”
She nodded, understanding in her eyes.
“And now?”
“I’m still cautious,” he admitted. “But maybe… I’m ready to try.”
Hana smiled—not wide, not dramatic. Just real.
And Aleem realised that love, at least for him, didn’t arrive like fireworks. It arrived quietly. Like sunrise. Like warm toast on a rainy morning.
Meanwhile, in Singapore
Back at NTU, the monsoon season had rolled in like an uninvited guest. Isabelle trudged across the campus grounds beneath a half-broken umbrella, tote bag stuffed with lab manuals, laptop, and a dangerously tilted water bottle she forgot to tighten.
It was her final year now. Year 4. The beginning of the end.
Except it didn’t feel triumphant.
It felt heavy.
Lecture notes piled up faster than she could process. Final year projects loomed like thunderclouds. And sometimes, just sometimes, when she sat in her room at 2AM, scrolling through her notes, she wondered: How did everyone else survive this?
The ABIX group chat was quieter these days. Ivan had started work at a manufacturing firm in Jurong and replied mostly with emojis. Crystal was knee-deep in proposals and community events. Aleem, well—he was still there, still present, but… different now.
Isabelle didn’t blame them. Life moved. People grew.
But that didn’t stop her from missing the way things used to be. When Crystal’s voice echoed in the Hive, when Ivan whined about assignments like a drama king, when Aleem was always that quiet presence beside her during late-night revision.
One evening, feeling the weight of everything, she messaged the group.
Isabelle: Do you all remember our glowstick fiasco at the carnival?
It took a few minutes.
Then:
Crystal: YES OMG 😂😂 the “no you cannot eat this” sign!
Ivan: I still have that photo where Belle looked like a glowstick-powered warlord.
Aleem: Best logistics officer we ever had.
She smiled.
Not because things had gone back to how they were.
But because they hadn’t disappeared.
That same night, Aleem texted her privately.
Aleem: Hey. If you ever feel like you’re drowning—ping me. I’m still here. Always will be.
She stared at the message longer than she should have.
Then replied.
Isabelle: Same goes for you, you know.
The Aftertaste of Growth
Back in Penang, as breakfast came to an end, Aleem and Hana took a slow walk through the alleys near the murals. She pointed out her favourite sketches on a nearby wall. He pointed out the weird roti canai stall where Ivan accidentally ordered four plates at once.
They weren’t officially anything yet. Not dating. Not labelling.
But something had shifted. Something had begun.
By the time he rejoined ABIX at the guesthouse, Crystal cornered him immediately.
“Details. Now.”
“I had breakfast.”
“With?”
“With someone.”
Ivan looked up from his phone. “Bro’s got that glow. That post-date glow.”
Isabelle just smiled from the kitchen. “I’m happy for you.”
Aleem laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know where it’s going. But it feels… right.”
And that was enough.