Chapter 3: Rain Under Zero Percent

Class ended.
When we stepped outside, the sky had already made its decision.
Rain.
The kind of rain that feels like the clouds had a group project to submit — and the deadline was today.
The background music inside me auto-played.
“Today is the day.”“Hero moment.”“Rain + One Umbrella = Minimum 15%.”
I slowly walked outside.(Yes, the slow motion was only in my head. In reality, I was walking normally.)
My eyes went straight to Mishra.
She was standing near the door.No umbrella.
My heart gave a standing ovation.
“Thank you, universe,” I said in my mind.“Today the system will finally give a reward.”
I was about to take my umbrella out of my bag—
“Mishra!”
Rohit appeared with lightning speed.
The voice inside me said:This is not a friend.This is a plot twist.A side character stealing screen time.
“You don’t have an umbrella, right? Let’s go together.”
I instantly looked up.
Mishra — 0%Rohit — 0%
“Confidence 100%, result 0%,” I noted internally.
“No,” Mishra said calmly.
Rohit laughed awkwardly.“Oh… okay… see you.”
Exit.
My heart made a comeback.
I stepped forward.Opened my umbrella dramatically.(In reality, it got stuck. I struggled for two seconds. But in my imagination, it was smooth.)
“You didn’t bring an umbrella?”“No.”“So… shall we go together?”
One second.Two seconds.
Meanwhile, my brain simulated the future:
Scene 1: Smile → 5%Scene 2: Light joke → 8%Scene 3: Eye contact → 12%Marriage probability: Too early to calculate.
“Yes,” she said.
Fireworks inside me.
We started walking under the same umbrella.
The sound of rain.A slight chill in the air.A little awkward silence.
I wanted to say something cinematic.
“This rain feels so sweet…”“This moment is unforgettable…”“Life is beautifully drenched like this…”
But what came out of my mouth was:“The rain is very wet, isn’t it?”
My brain immediately tried to uninstall me.
She looked at me.Then started laughing.
“It would be surprising if rain were dry.”
“Yes… I mean… that’s what I was saying… moisture percentage is high.”
“Mahir…”“Yes?”“You even put percentages into conversations?”“I try not to.”“And?”“Fail with 89% accuracy.”
She laughed again.
The rain got heavier.We moved a little closer.
My heart at 200%.Distance inside the umbrella reduced.Heartbeat loud.Brain overload.
Now 10% should be easy.
I slowly looked up.
0%
Pause.
System freeze.
Impossible.
Rain + Shared umbrella + Rival rejected + Joke success = 0%?
My internal calculator crashed.
I suddenly blurted out,“Your favorite number isn’t zero, right?”“No. Why?”“Nothing… my system just likes zero a lot.”“What system?”“I mean… my brain.”“There’s software in your brain?”“Yes. Trial version. Full features locked.”
She laughed.
After walking a little further, she suddenly asked,“Mahir, you think too much sometimes, don’t you?”
Notification in my head:User detected truth.
I stayed quiet.
“When you think that much, even simple things become complicated.”
Rain kept falling.Silence under the umbrella.
For the first time, I didn’t look at 0%.
I looked at her.
She was just walking normally.Smiling.Enjoying the rain.
0%.
But suddenly I understood —
Maybe this 0%is not a measure of her heart.
Maybe this 0%is just noise in my brain.
Maybe it’s not a system bug.It’s an overthinking virus.
I said softly,“Sometimes I feel like…my brain keeps a calculator running in the background.”
“There’s no exam going on,” she said.
“Yeah… but I keep giving internal tests.”
“Did you pass?”
“Zero.”
She laughed again.
We reached the road where she had to turn left.
“Bye, Mahir.”“Bye.”
She started walking away.
I looked up one last time.
0%.
But for the first time…I didn’t panic.
Because today,even with 0%,I had laughed.
She had laughed.
And the umbrella moment was real.
Maybepercentages update slowly.
Or maybe…
Before anything else,I need to fixmy own 0%.