I'm in the library when the email arrives at 3:47 PM, three hours after the lecture ended. The subject line reads "Research Project," and my heart skips before I even open it.
Could you come by my office today around 5 PM? I'd like to discuss the research project in more detail and formalize your position on the team.
I read it twice. His office. Alone. After that lecture, after those whispers. This is either the worst idea or exactly what needs to happen.
I type back: I'll be there.
I hit send before I can overthink it and spend the next hour trying to work on assignments, but I can't focus. All I can think about is that classroom, the debate, his smile, the whispers. Something's definitely happening there.
At 4:45, I pack up and walk across campus to the communications building. The hallways are quiet since most classes are done for the day, with just a few grad students and faculty lingering. I find his office on the third floor, a corner room with the door open.
