By the time I got home, it was already late enough that I should have gone straight to bed.
I didn’t.
I changed out of my clothes, grabbed my notes, and sat down at my desk instead. I still had some studying to do, and despite everything else going on lately, I was still a student.
A good student, actually.
I spent the next couple of hours going through my notes, reviewing the materials from class, and working through a few problems until I was satisfied that I understood everything I needed to.
It was quiet. For once, my phone wasn’t distracting me every few minutes, and I managed to stay focused until I finally leaned back in my chair and looked at the time.
2:13 AM.
I had just started putting my notes away when my phone lit up.
Nicole.
I picked it up.
Nicole: I just finished grading a few of your projects. I’ll continue the rest tomorrow. Good night 🥱
My eyes lingered on the message for a second.
I immediately had the urge to ask if she’d graded mine yet.
I decided against it.
It wasn’t that I was particularly worried about what grade I’d get. I was curious, obviously, but asking her about it now would probably come across the wrong way. The last thing I wanted was for it to look like I was using whatever was happening between us to get special treatment from my professor.
I typed a simple reply instead: Good night. Sleep well.
I sent it, placed my phone back on the desk, and stared at it for a moment. Then I shook my head and went back to putting my things away.
I really wasn’t going to ask about the grade.
Probably.
The next morning, I was up early.
I showered, got dressed, and went through my usual morning routine before checking that I had everything I needed for class. Once I was ready, I grabbed my backpack and headed for the door of my apartment.
I had barely reached for the handle when my phone started ringing.
Mom.
I looked at the screen for a second before answering.
"Morning, Mom."
"Good morning, sweetheart."
I smiled.
"What’s up?"
She didn’t answer immediately, which usually meant she had something to say, and judging by the slight pause on the other end of the line, I already had a pretty good idea what it was.
I sighed quietly.
"Let me guess. Chloe."
"She just wants to stay with you before school starts," my mom said, sounding far too pleased that I’d guessed correctly.
I closed my eyes for a second.
"Mom."
"What?"
"You’re doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Emotional blackmail."
There was a brief silence. "I’m not... emotionally blackmailing you."
"You called me first thing in the morning to talk about Chloe after she already tried the sad-face routine on me yesterday."
"She just wants to stay with her big brother, who she loves."
"That’s the emotional blackmail right there."
My mom laughed, clearly not bothered by being called out. "She’s starting school soon, and I think it’ll be better for her to get settled in before classes begin."
I sighed because, as reasonable as the explanation sounded, I already knew I was going to lose this argument.
"Fine."
"Perfect. She’ll call you as soon as she gets to town."
I paused. "She’s coming today?"
Before she could answer, another voice came through the phone.
"Thank you, big bro. Love you."
I couldn’t help but smile as my mom laughed softly on the other end.
"Love you, son."
I exhaled, shaking my head slightly. "Yeah. Me too."
I hung up and grabbed my things before heading out for school.
The rest of the morning passed without anything particularly interesting happening. I went through my classes, took notes, answered a few questions, and spent most of the time thinking about things that actually had nothing to do with Thermodynamics.
By the time lunch came around, I was already sitting at our usual table with Jackson, waiting for Evelyn and Sasha, who had both said they’d meet us here.
Jackson leaned back in his chair, staring at the table, before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Why am I nervous?"
I looked at him. "About what?"
"The project."
I raised an eyebrow. "You weren’t nervous when you submitted it."
"Exactly."
He frowned at the table.
"I was fine yesterday. Completely fine. I submitted it, walked out, and didn’t think about it again. Now that we’re waiting for the scores, I’m suddenly wondering if I actually did everything right."
I nodded slowly. "Don’t worry. If you fail, I’ll adopt you."
Jackson stared at me. "We’re the same age."
"Details."
Just then, Evelyn and Sasha joined us.
"Hey, guys." Evelyn slipped into the seat beside Jackson, immediately leaning toward him.
"Hey," I replied.
Sasha took the seat beside me, still laughing about whatever she and Evelyn had been talking about on the way over.
Jackson looked at Evelyn, who wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her smile.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Okay. Spill."
Both girls burst out laughing, which only made Jackson look more suspicious. Even I was starting to wonder what was so funny.
I looked at Sasha. "What’s going on?"
"Okay. You know Gregory from Medicine?"
I glanced at Jackson. He shrugged, clearly having no idea who she was talking about.
I nodded. "Yeah."
I had absolutely no idea who Gregory was.
"Well," Sasha continued, "he tried asking a girl from my department out at the student center, and right in the middle of asking her, he started choking."
I stared at her. "Choking?"
"Like, actually choking." Sasha was already trying not to laugh again. "He couldn’t even breathe properly. His face turned so red I thought he was going to explode."
Evelyn covered her mouth, laughing again.
"She said no, didn’t she?" Jackson asked.
Sasha burst out laughing again. "Immediately."
I winced a little at the thought. Getting rejected was bad enough without choking in the middle of asking someone out.
I looked between the two girls. "I don’t see how that’s funny."
Both of them looked at me, their laughter dying down almost immediately.
I turned to Jackson. "You agree with me, right?"
Jackson looked at Evelyn. Evelyn was already looking at him.
He paused for a moment before sighing. "Sorry, bud. I love my life."
"Traitor."
Jackson grinned, ignoring me, and looked at the girls. "By the way, Nathan said Chloe’s coming over today."
Evelyn looked at me. "That’s your younger sister, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
Sasha smiled. "I haven’t seen Chloe in a while. How old is she now?"
"Eighteen," I said. "She’ll be starting here next semester."
Sasha’s eyebrows lifted. "Seriously? She’s that old already?"
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed on the table. I picked it up and saw Nicole’s name on the lock screen, then glanced at Sasha and Evelyn. There was no point pretending they hadn’t seen it too.
I unlocked my phone and opened the message.
Nicole: Do you have plans for lunch, or can I steal you? 😇
I glanced at the table again. I was already having lunch with my friends, but I didn’t mind changing plans.
I typed back: Where do you want me to meet you?
The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.
"Is that the woman I saw waiting by your car yesterday?" Evelyn asked.
I glanced at her and nodded.
Evelyn glanced at Sasha, who suddenly seemed very interested in the table.
My phone buzzed again.
Nicole: Come to my office.
I looked at the message for a second before slipping my phone into my pocket.
"I gotta... go."
Jackson nodded slowly. "Yeah. Sure."
I looked at Sasha. She was still looking down at the table.
I could probably guess what she was thinking. Seeing Nicole’s name on my phone hadn’t exactly helped.
I didn’t want to make things any more awkward for her.
I pushed my chair back and stood. "I’ll uh... see you guys later."
"Yeah," Jackson said.
I gave him a small nod and left the table.
I made my way to Nicole’s office and knocked.
"Come in."
I opened the door and stepped inside. Nicole looked up from her desk, her face immediately lighting up.
"Sit." She gestured toward the couch.
I walked over and sat down.
This time, I actually sat on the couch instead of just the edge of it. Apparently, I was getting comfortable.
Nicole reached down beside the desk and picked up a small cooler.
I looked at it, then at her.
"What’s that?"
"Food."
She said it like that explained everything.
She walked around the desk, crossed the room, and sat down right beside me on the couch.
I looked at the cooler again. Then at her.
"You brought food?"
She nodded, already opening it.
"I thought you might be hungry."
I just stared at her, still trying to figure out when my professor’s office had turned into a place where she could casually feed me lunch and expect me to act like that was normal.
Nicole, apparently completely unbothered by the whole thing, opened the cooler and pulled out a container, then held it out toward me.
She didn’t say anything. She just waited.
I looked at the container for the third time — like staring at it long enough would somehow make this feel normal — then back at her.
Her eyes were already smiling, and there was something genuinely happy in her expression that made it difficult to look away.
I finally took it from her.
"Thanks."
She smiled a little wider.
I looked down at the container in my hands, then back at her.
For some reason, the thought of her going out of her way just to make sure I ate made something in my chest feel strangely warm.
Maybe that was the part I should’ve been worried about.