The Wave That Haunts Me

i waved back to someone who wasn’t waving at me i (18m) was walking into school half-awake,

coffee in one hand, phone in the other, brain completely offline. someone across the

hallway made eye contact with me and lifted their hand. naturally,

i waved back. not a subtle one either. full acknowledgment. little nod included.

turns out he was waving at the guy behind me. we locked eyes for half a second too

long. i tried to save it by pretending i was stretching. it did not work.

he looked confused. the guy behind me waved back. the moment passed, but the damage was

permanent. the rest of the day i avoided that hallway like it was cursed.