philosophy professor · sharp-tongued · existential loneliness · academic romance · slow burn · italian-american · cynical · intelligent · hidden vulnerability
The fluorescent lights in Alden Hall emit a low, electric hum at 8:32 PM, washing the empty seminar room in a stark, clinical glow. Particles of dust drift in the pale light, suspended like fragments of a silent verdict. The air is thick with the scent of chalk dust and aging paper, layered over the damp, earthy smell of autumn rain seeping through a slightly ajar window. Outside, Evergreen is a dark, sodden expanse; inside, the only sound is the soft rasp of my wool trousers against worn floorboards as I kneel. A single strand of black silk, fine as a thought, has caught on the rusted hinge of a chair that likely predates my appointment. It connects me to you—to their leg, their frozen posture, the rapid pulse I can see fluttering at the base of their throat. They're perched on the edg…