Setting: The main Engineering department lecture hall right after the dismissal bell, transitioning to the grand entrance lobby of the Education Department building, and finally returning to the Engineering faculty office.
New Character:
The Professor: The head of the engineering quiz bee committee.
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Seth: (Sits stiffly in the middle row of the lecture hall, staring blankly at the massive wall of physics formulas on the whiteboard. A clean sheet of graphing paper sits on the desk in front of my laptop, but my mechanical pencil hasn’t moved in ten minutes. My eyes are heavy from another night of restless sleep, the memory of our sudden Sunday morning eye contact outside the church still playing on a loop in my head. I rub my temples, feeling completely drained.)
Lest: (Leans over slightly, his pencil tapping softly against the corner of my desk to snap me out of my trance. He speaks in a harsh, low whisper so the professor doesn’t catch us.) “Hey. Suspect is completely unresponsive again. Seth, are you even copying the diagram? The professor said this specific structural grid is going to be fifty percent of the mid-term exam.”
Seth: (Blinks rapidly, quickly adjusting my posture and grabbing my mechanical pencil to pretend I am busy.) “Yeah, Lest. I’m copying it. I’m just analyzing the thermal coefficients before I write them down.” (I lie quietly, my voice sounding low and flat in the quiet classroom. In reality, my chest still feels incredibly tight and warm. I am desperately trying to use engineering logic to force my racing thoughts to stay quiet, but it isn’t working at all.)
Lest: (Sighs softly, shaking his head with a dramatic roll of his eyes as he goes back to sketching a rough gear outline in his notebook.) “Right, thermal coefficients. You are a terrible actor, man. I swear, you’ve been staring at that exact same coordinate point since the bell rang. Your independent ‘lone wolf’ brain is completely short-circuiting today. Did something happen over the weekend while we were back in our separate dorm blocks? You look way more distracted than you did during the sisig interrogation on Friday.”
Seth: (Clears my throat roughly, keeping my eyes fixed tightly on the whiteboard to avoid his sharp glance, my cheeks flaring up with a hot, sudden blush.) “Nothing happened, Lest. I just went for a jog yesterday morning to get some fresh air. My brain is just fried from coding. Drop it.” (I mutter defensively, my hand instinctively drifting toward the zipper of my canvas pencil case. Inside, buried beneath my scale rulers and highlighters, rests her smooth purple star hair clip. I can’t bring myself to leave it back in my room, but having it this close makes my heart do a nervous double-flip.)
Seth: (I stare down at my empty graphing paper, my mind spinning in total confusion. I still don’t even know her actual name. To my logical engineering mind, she is just a beautiful, nameless anomaly from the education department whom I call ‘Purple Star’ in my own head because of that lost object. It drives me completely crazy that a girl whose name I don’t even know has this much control over my physical reactions, completely disrupting my independent life.)
Lest: (Glances over at my paper again, noticing my hand trembling slightly against the desk. He drops his voice into a serious, caring whisper.) “Seth, seriously, look at your paper. You’re not even writing numbers. You just drew a perfect five-pointed star in the margins. If you’re running a fever or collapsing from burnout, you need to go to the clinic after this period ends.”
Seth: (Quickly snaps my hand back, looking down in pure panic.
Without even realizing it, my pencil had traced a small, neat star right next to my calculation lines.
My face burns a fierce, bright crimson color under the classroom lights.
I frantically grab my eraser, scrubbing the lead away until the paper is completely blank.) “I told you I’m fine, Lest! It was just a doodle. Let me just finish the lecture in peace.” (I mutter frantically, pulling my hoodie down lower over my eyes to hide my burning face as the professor continues to drone on.)
Seth: (Suddenly, the heavy bell rings, echoing loudly through the lecture hall to signal the end of the class. The room instantly fills with the loud chatter of students zipping up their bags. Before I can even stand up from my wooden desk to pack my things, the professor taps his microphone to get my attention.) “Seth, before you head out, please come down to the front for a second.”
Seth: (Blinks in surprise, slinging my laptop bag over my shoulder as I walk down the concrete steps toward the professor’s podium.) “Yes, Sir? Is there a problem with my thesis calculations?”
The Professor: (Smiles warmly, shaking his head as he hands me a stamped authorization slip.) “No, your calculations are perfectly fine, Seth. I actually need a quick favor from you since you’re one of our top students. The university’s annual Quiz Bee competition is coming up next month, and our department is co-hosting it this year. I need you to walk over to the Education Department building right now and look for the student council office. They have the finalized questionnaires and quiz sheets ready for us. Just show them this slip and bring the documents back to my faculty locker.”
Seth: (Freeze completely flat in my tracks, my fingers tightening around the paper slip with absolute shock. My heart does a violent, panicked double-flip against my ribs, and my face turns a bright crimson red under my hood. The Education Department—the exact home territory of ‘Purple Star’—is a place I have always intentionally avoided to keep his independent life completely structured. My logical mind spins into total chaos at the sheer panic of having to cross over to her side of the campus right after class, completely unprepared for what might happen if I step into her building.)
Lest: (Gasps quietly from the desks behind me, his highly observant eyes instantly catching my stiff posture and glowing red cheeks. He quickly packs up his own things, throwing me a knowing, dramatic smirk as he waves his hand.) “Well, look at that! A special mission! Don’t worry, Professor, Seth will handle it solo. He clearly needs a change of scenery today anyway. Good luck, lone wolf—try not to get lost on the way!”
Seth: (Clears my throat roughly, giving the professor a tight, rigid nod as I pack up my remaining things, completely ignoring Lest’s teasing as I head out of the Engineering wing entirely alone, quickly walking over to the neighboring department building.) “Yes, Sir. I’ll get the documents right away.” (I mutter defensively, my voice shaking slightly as I cross the campus walkways, feeling completely isolated without Lest beside me.)
Seth: (Walks slowly through the heavy glass double doors of the Education Department building completely by myself, my hand stuffed deep inside my jacket pocket to grip the authorization slip tightly. The moment I step into the grand entrance lobby, my jaw instantly drops in pure disbelief. The entire room is completely packed from wall to wall. There are massive, chaotic lines of students spilling out from the nearby faculty offices, all trying to submit their printed lesson plans to their professors before the upcoming afternoon deadline.)
Seth: (Stares alone near the threshold, staring at the sea of education students completely blocking the hallways.
I narrow my eyes, desperately trying to find a clear path through the crowd of pastel dresses and tote bags filled with teaching materials to locate the student council room.) “I just need to find the office quickly, get these quiz bee sheets, and leave.” (I mutter quietly to myself, keeping my hood pulled low over my eyes.
Without Lest there to distract me, I feel completely exposed and anxious, my logical engineering mind screaming at the total lack of structure in this crowded lobby.)
Seth: (Takes a hesitant step forward, trying to slip past a group of girls holding thick binders of lesson plans. But before I can even make it three paces across the polished floor, a sudden surge in the crowd completely cuts us off. A massive line of students moving backward to adjust their spacing completely traps me right against the wall near the front entrance.)
Seth: (Gets completely caught up and tangled in the middle of the slow-moving lesson plan submission line all on my own, squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers from a completely different department. I freeze flat against the wall, my knuckles turning white around the authorization slip as my independent defenses instantly go up in pure panic. I am completely stuck out in the open by the front doors, entirely unable to move forward or backward without shoving people out of the way.)
Seth: (Suddenly, a rushing student holding a massive stack of loose lesson plans accidentally stumbles backward right into me. The impact forces my shoulder hard against the brick wall, causing my laptop bag to shift violently off my shoulder. The metal zipper of my bag catches on the stranger’s backpack, and with a sudden, sharp snap, my favorite metal keychain is ripped completely off the loop.)
Seth: (Watches in absolute panic as the keychain falls through the crowd and slides across the polished floor. It is my favorite sleek, vibrant orange moon shaped keychain—a smooth crescent that curves beautifully and serves as a memento of us four friends. My heart stops. I instinctively bend down to grab it, but the chaotic crowd moves again, a dozen pairs of shoes completely stepping over it and kicking it further down the line. I frantically scan the floor, but it completely disappears into the sea of legs, leaving me stranded and completely empty-handed.)
Seth: (Stands back up against the wall as the chaotic line finally starts to move forward. I look down at the floor one last time, desperately searching through the gaps between the passing shoes, but my beloved keychain is nowhere to be found. A heavy pang of frustration and sadness hits my chest. I really, truly love that orange moon keychain—it’s been my favorite possession for a long time—but my fiercely independent nature refuses to let me make a scene or beg a lobby full of strangers to help me find it.)
Seth: (Takes a deep, sharp breath, forcing myself to push the loss out of my mind. Clenching my jaw, I stubbornly move forward with the shifting crowd, leaving the keychain behind on the floor. I walk past the chaotic lines and head deeper into the hallway toward the student council room to get the professor’s documents, completely refusing to look back. My face burns a fierce, bright crimson color under my hood as I press my arm tightly against my laptop bag, carrying her hair clip while having just abandoned my own orange moon. I am completely lost in total confusion.)
🎬 [ SETTING SHIFT: BACK AT THE ENGINEERING FACULTY OFFICE ]
Seth: (Walks quickly back into the Engineering wing a little later, entirely drained but holding the sealed envelope containing the Quiz Bee questionnaires tightly in my hand. I push open the door to the faculty office and approach the professor’s desk, placing the documents down with a tight, professional nod.) “Here are the papers from the student council office, Sir. Stamped and finalized.”
The Professor: (Looks up from his desk, smiling with relief as he takes the envelope and slides it safely into his cabinet.) “Excellent work, Seth.
Thank you for doing this so quickly.
You’ve saved the committee a lot of time today.” (He looks up, noticing the tense set of my jaw.) “Are you alright?
You look a bit pale.
Seth: (Adjusts my laptop bag strap, keeping my tone low and flat as my defensive walls go right back up.) “I’m fine, Sir. Just a bit tired from the walk. I’ll head back to the lab now.” (I offer a brief nod, quickly spinning on my heel and walking out into the hallway, where Lest is already waiting for me at our usual locker spot, with Rey and Jasper having just walked over from their criminology building to join him.)
Jasper: (Leans dramatically against the lockers, folding his arms with a massive, triumphant grin.) “Aha! Look who has returned from the enemy territory! The lone wolf has completed his top-secret crossover mission! Rey, check his posture—did he crack under pressure?!”
Rey: (Chuckles softly, studying my rigid expression like a true detective before shifting his gaze to my laptop bag.) “Posture is stiff, but look closer, Jasper. Something is missing. Hey, Seth… where’s your keychain? The one you always keep hooked to your side zipper?” Read the latest chapters at novelping . com.
Lest: (Stops smiling instantly, stepping closer to inspect my bag with sudden, genuine worry.) “Wait, he’s right. Seth, your orange moon keychain isn’t there. You never take that thing off. Did you leave it in the classroom?”
Seth: (Stands completely still against the lockers, my hand instinctively sliding into my hoodie pocket to touch my pencil case, where ‘Purple Star’s’ hair clip is hidden. I take a deep, heavy breath, my voice dropping all its defensive sarcasm as a wave of genuine sorrow hits my chest.) “No. I lost it. I got caught up in a chaotic line of education students submitting their lesson plans right by their department’s front doors. Someone bumped into me, the zipper caught, and it got ripped off. The crowd was moving too fast, and I couldn’t find it through the sea of legs.”
Lest: (His playful expression vanishes entirely, replaced by a look of deep shock. He grabs my shoulder, his voice completely serious.) “Are you serious, man? Tell me you didn’t just leave it there. That orange moon keychain… it’s a memento of our friendship. We all bought those matching keychains back during freshman year to remind us we’re a squad, even though we ended up in completely separate dorms and different courses.”
Rey: (The smirk completely leaves his face as he shakes his head, looking down at the empty zipper loop with a tight frown.) “That’s bad. That piece of metal was literally the symbol that we’ve always got each other’s backs on this campus, no matter how busy things get. Seth, we should go back and search the lobby floor right now.”
Jasper: (Uncharacteristically quiet for a split second, his wild energy fading into a serious, loyal nod as he steps up next to Lest.) “Rey is right. Code Blue! That’s a sacred artifact of the squad! Let’s go launch a full-scale retrieval operation right now, I don’t care how many education majors we have to shove out of the way!”
Seth: (Looks at my three best friends, a powerful wave of gratitude washing over me that completely cuts through the heavy weight in my chest. Even though my fiercely independent nature always makes me try to survive everything alone, having them stand by my side makes the burden feel lighter. I offer them a small, rare, and deeply appreciative smile, shaking my head softly.) “It’s fine, guys.
The crowd was way too big, and it’s probably long gone by now.
Besides, there is a small, custom S.
Phen engraving etched right onto the back of the metal frame.
That signature engraving makes it unmistakably mine, so if some good Samaritan happens to track me down through the department directory, someone will give it back eventually.
Let’s just focus on our classes for today and head home.
Thanks, really.” (I mutter quietly, pulling my hood back down to cover my eyes.)Lest: (Sighs heavily, exchanging a quiet look with Rey and Jasper before letting go of my shoulder with a defeated but understanding nod.) “Alright, lone wolf.
If you say so.
We won’t storm the education lobby today.
Let’s just call it a night.”
Rey: (Nods in agreement, slinging his own bag over his shoulder as the final campus bell rings for dismissal.) “Yeah, Seth is right. Pushing through that crowded lobby right now is pointless. If that engraving is on there, there’s a paper trail. Let’s trust the system for once.”
Jasper: (Sighs dramatically, rolling his eyes but ultimately giving in as he punches my arm playfully.) “Fine! Full-scale operation is officially cancelled by order of the suspect himself! But you owe us a big snack tomorrow, Seth. Let’s get out of here, I’m completely starved.”
Seth: (Watches the three of them pack up their things as we all walk together toward the exit gates. The boys finally head out to go home to their respective dorm blocks, completely agreeing to my decision and letting the matter rest for the night. I watch their figures fade into the evening shadows, feeling a quiet comfort in my chest. I turn down my own path, my hand tightly clutching the canvas case holding her hair clip, completely unaware that back in the chaotic lobby, the nameless girl I call ‘Purple Star’ has just picked up my orange moon memento and is tracing her fingers over the smooth S. Phen engraving.)
[ END OF CHAPTER 7 ]