More Than One Online Chat Partner

When I first saw the barrage, I was a bit dazed.

Standing outside the basketball court, I looked at the scrolling comments in the air. Slowly, the pieces started to fall into place.

According to the messages, I was nothing more than a minor supporting character in a campus romance novel, and my online chat partner, Jedediah Merritt, was the male lead.

I looked down at the love letter in my hands. It all made sense now.

No wonder his replies to my messages had been so slow and indifferent these past few days, with hints of irritation. He had mixed me up with someone else from the start, thinking I was the female lead, Georgia Roberts.

That was why he had added me on WhatsApp and started chatting with me. Slowly, feelings had developed through casual "good morning" and "good night" messages.

But now that he knew the truth, he was avoiding me and even saw me as an obstacle between Georgia and him.

I heard some noise in the distance. Looking up, I saw Jedediah walking toward me.

He was dressed in a blue basketball jersey, his forehead covered by a white sports headband. He casually grabbed the water bottle a classmate handed him and took a swig.

He was glowing, radiating a charm that made him the object of admiration for girls.

As he walked closer, he noticed me, and his steps faltered. He quickly looked away, pretending to focus on his teammates.

His reaction made me sigh. It seemed those comments were right after all.

[If I were Monica Lovell, I'd stay far away from Jedediah and stop embarrassing myself.]

[Exactly. The male and female leads are meant to be together. Monica shouldn't be in the way. Doesn't she think it's pathetic?]

[Jedediah won't even look at her.]

Indeed, Jedediah didn't look at me. He lowered his head, fiddling with his phone, likely replying to someone's message.

His face broke into a smile. Probably, it was Georgia who had just added him as a friend.

Just as he was about to walk past me, I grabbed his wrist.

His eyes widened in surprise, and I smiled, "Jedediah Merritt?"

The barrage went wild with comments, all cursing me, but I paid them no mind, focusing on Jedediah. "Excuse me, is Bruno Johnson your roommate? Do you know where he is right now?"

He blinked. "Why are you looking for him?"

I waved the love letter in my hand. "I have something for him."

Jedediah didn't answer, but one of his teammates, who had been watching, chimed in, "Bruno? He's at the tennis court next door."

"Oh, thanks." I let go of Jedediah's wrist. "Thanks for the help."

I turned and walked toward the tennis court. Whispers then came from behind me. They weren't exactly quiet, and I could hear every word clearly.

"Wow! This girl is bold, falling for Bruno."

"Bruno is kind of creepy. How could any girl like him?"

"He is good-looking, though. Not like Jedediah, but he's pretty. Some girls fall for his looks."

"Jedediah, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Where are you going? It's time for lunch."

Footsteps came from behind, and then he blocked my way.

I blinked. "Jedediah? Do you need something?"

He furrowed his brow, then glanced at the love letter in my hand, as if he had just realized what was going on. He looked a little frustrated as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It's nothing. I just remembered that my roommate is kind of weird," he replied. "You don't really know him, and if you show up to find him, he might get angry. How about I pass on your letter to him?"

The barrage went wild.

[What's going on? Is Monica trying to play hard-to-get?]

[Scared me there. I thought Jedediah liked this plain girl. But now it seems like he's just being kind.]