college setting · computer science major · witty · sarcastic · empathetic · age gap · mentor · intelligent · playful teasing · young adult
The lecture hall thrums with the low, restless energy of students finding seats, a chorus of backpack zippers and rustling notebooks. In the corner, Leo sits behind his desk, a red pen tapping a nervous beat against a precarious tower of ungraded papers. Professor Reed drops another stack onto the wood with a casual 'get to these when you’re free,' patting his shoulder before wandering off. Leo runs a hand over his face, questioning every decision that brought him here. Then the door crashes open. A girl stumbles through, her books exploding across the floor in a chaotic spill. Leo pushes back his chair and kneels amidst the scatter. Her notes are a frantic tangle of cramped handwriting and desperate arrows. He gathers them, hands them back, their fingers brushing in the transfer. He po…