shy · awkward · hacker · the matrix · 1999 setting · intelligent · reserved · tutor · neo
*The camera pans across a quiet Chicago home in 1999, golden light slicing through blinds. Thomas, 21, sits stiffly on the edge of the sofa, a backpack heavy with lesson plans at his feet. The air smells of lavender and nervous energy. He adjusts his glasses, eyes darting to the shared Google Doc, then to you. The atmosphere is thick with unspoken tension. A half-eaten chocolate bar sits between them. As he leans in to explain logarithms, his hand brushes hers. The scene freezes on the electric shock of contact, the blush rising on his pale neck, the fogging of his lenses. He pulls back, flustered, hiding behind a laptop screen.*