Two days later
Lucy stood at the door of the lecture room, her palms sweaty.
"Hey, Lucy."
"Uh?" Lucy jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she let out a sigh of relief.
Plastering a smile on her face, she said, "Maya."
Maya tugged on her lips. "Oh... did I scare you?"
Lucy was quick to shake her head. "Oh no!" Rubbing her palms, she took a deep breath, "I was just lost in thoughts."
"Lucy..." Maya muttered. "Are you scared?"
Lucy’s expression fell. "It’s written all over my face, right?"
Maya chuckled softly. "You are not exactly trying to hide it."
Lucy laughed.
"Should we go inside?" Maya asked.
Lucy looked at the door and blew out a breath. Squaring her shoulders, she nodded. "Let’s go in."
They both walked in, and quickly settled down.
Maya cocked her head to stare at Lucy. "You have something on your mind and it’s weighing heavily on you."
Lucy’s expression was downcast as she admitted. "I’m scared."
"Why are you scared?" Maya asked, sincerity dripping from her tone.
"I’m scared that all our efforts, our sleepless nights, the back and forth arguments—" Maya chuckled at that. "—I’m afraid that it’d all be wasted."
Maya was silent for a while as she processed Lucy’s confession.
"Your concerns are valid."
"But have you thought about the other side of the coin?"
Lucy tilted her head. "The other side of the coin?"
Maya nodded. "Hmm. Have you thought about how our efforts could actually bring positive results?"
Lucy bit on her lower lips, and she nodded. "I’ve thought about it."
A slow smile spread across Maya’s lips as she pushed her glasses up. "How did it feel?"
A hopeful expression slowly appeared on Lucy’s face. "It felt good, you know?" She turned to Maya, grinning. "Not only would we be right, but we’d actually become part of the research."
Her eyes lit up. "That’d be an exciting feeling."
"Good!" Maya nodded softly. "Hold on to that."
Lucy’s expression softened. "Where did you learn how to speak..." She pointed at nowhere in particular. "...like that."
Maya shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before casually shrugging. "My mom is a counselor. I picked up one or two from her."
"That’s great!" Lucy smiled excitedly, causing the former’s face to turn redder.
Just as Lucy was about to speak again, Kane walked into the lecture room.
She immediately sat up as her gaze drifted towards him.
He looked sharp today. He wore navy trousers, a crisp white shirt beneath a charcoal sweatshirt, his glasses giving him an effortless scholarly air.
He had one hand in his pocket as his gaze swept over everyone.
Lucy swallowed when she felt his heavy gaze on her. She immediately looked away, her throat working.
Her face turned a deep shade of red as her mind replayed what had happened in the library last Friday.
"Lucy?" Maya’s concerned voice floated into her ears. "Are you okay?"
Lucy nodded. "I’m fine."
Maya’s brows creased. "Your face is all red. Are you sure you are okay?"
Lucy patted her cheeks, before forcing a smile. "I’m fine. I just feel a bit... hot."
She wasn’t lying. She did feel hot.
But for an entirely different reason.
Maya glanced at her, not fully convinced but she nodded regardless.
Kane cleared his throat. "Good morning class."
"Could you all sit with your group members?" He asked.
Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone moved toward their respective groups.
Victor immediately slumped into the chair beside Lucy. "If I faint, don’t revive me."
Daniel didn’t even look up. "I’ll help bury you."
Sasha rolled her eyes, but didn’t comment.
Maya sighed. "Can both of you behave?"
Victor clasped his hands dramatically. "No."
Kane waited until everyone had settled before placing a stack of reports on the desk.
The room immediately fell silent as his gaze swept across the lecture hall.
"I’ve finished reviewing your submissions."
Victor leaned closer to Lucy. "I’m suddenly questioning all my life choices."
Lucy elbowed him without looking away from the front.
Kane picked up the first report. "Before I discuss individual groups, I want to address something I noticed."
He paused. "Most of you approached this assignment as though there was a single correct answer."
No one spoke.
"But research doesn’t work that way."
He began walking slowly between the rows.
"When you’re handed an incomplete compound, your first instinct shouldn’t be to guess what is missing."
Kane held up one of the printed structures. "Your first question should be..." He looked around the room. "...Why would someone remove it?"
Several students immediately lowered their eyes to their notes.
"You were given an incomplete scaffold for a reason. Not because I expected anyone to magically identify the missing functional group, but because I wanted to see how you thought."
He stopped at the center aisle.
"Did you rely on assumptions?"
"Did you follow evidence?"
"Did you challenge your own hypothesis?"
Silence.
Then he returned to the front of the room.
"I was less interested in your conclusion..." He placed the report back onto the pile."...than in how you arrived at it."
Lucy slowly released the breath she’d been holding.
Beside her, Victor whispered, "I think I just got ten years added to my lifespan."
Daniel didn’t even look at him.."They’ll disappear when he starts talking about our report."
Victor visibly paled.
Kane picked up another report.."One group stood out."
Every head lifted.
"They correctly identified carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae as the most likely target."
Lucy’s pulse quickened.
"But that wasn’t why they stood out."
Maya fiddled with her fingers, a fine sheen of sweat covering her forehead.
"They resisted the temptation to force a conclusion."
Kane’s voice remained calm.."They acknowledged what they knew..." Turning a page, he added. "...and, more importantly, what they didn’t."
Lucy swallowed as Kane continued.
"They proposed multiple roles for the missing functional group rather than insisting on a single answer."
He looked up. "That’s how research should be conducted."
Victor leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "Guys."
Nobody answered.
"I think he’s talking about us."
Daniel closed his eyes briefly. "I know."
A faint smile touched Kane’s lips—so brief that Lucy wondered if she’d imagined it.
Lucy’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. She couldn’t tell whether she was terrified... or excited.
"Group Three." He closed the report. "Walk us through your thought process."