CHAPTER-11 (PART-1)
987 Words
The Debate Nobody Expected
(Part One)
Monday mornings at Blackwood University always arrived with a strange contradiction.
The campus looked peaceful.
The students were not.
The golden rays of the early autumn sun filtered through towering oak trees, painting shifting patterns across the cobblestone paths. The iconic clock tower stood proudly in the center of the university, its bells announcing the beginning of another week.
By eight o'clock, Blackwood had already come alive.
Coffee cups moved faster than textbooks.
Freshmen wandered through the campus holding folded maps upside down while seniors walked confidently, somehow managing to eat breakfast, answer phone calls and finish assignments at the same time.
Near the famous marble fountain, members of the Photography Club argued over camera settings.
Outside the engineering block, someone had accidentally launched a tiny drone into a tree.
Three students stood beneath it, debating whether climbing after it counted as "engineering."
"It absolutely does," one insisted.
"It absolutely doesn't," another replied.
"It definitely counts if we survive."
Laughter echoed through the courtyard.
Across the lawn, Ryan Parker was running.
Not jogging.
Running.
His backpack bounced wildly against his shoulders while a half-eaten sandwich remained firmly between his teeth.
Logan watched him from a bench.
"I give him ten seconds."
Mia looked up from her coffee.
"For what?"
"Falling."
Right on cue...
Ryan tripped over absolutely nothing.
His books scattered across the pavement.
The sandwich flew into the air.
A passing student caught it instinctively.
Everyone froze.
Ryan slowly stood up.
The stranger looked at the sandwich.
Ryan looked at the stranger.
"... Can I have that back?"
The stranger stared for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"I'm buying you a new one."
Ryan sighed dramatically.
"Blackwood is healing."
By the time he reached the café, Team Seven was already waiting.
Ara sat on the stone wall beside the flower garden, one leg crossed over the other, casually scrolling through her phone while sipping her usual iced coffee.
She didn't look like someone about to spend the next eight hours attending lectures.
She looked like someone judging everyone who was.
Noah closed his biology textbook.
"You're three minutes early."
Ara raised an eyebrow.
"You've started timing me?"
"I have a spreadsheet."
Ryan nearly dropped his replacement sandwich.
"You actually made one?"
Noah nodded.
"It tracks attendance patterns."
Mia blinked.
"Why?"
"I was curious."
Ara laughed.
"That's somehow more frightening than Professor Sterling."
Logan smiled.
"I agree."
Ryan suddenly gasped.
"Oh no."
Everyone looked at him.
"What now?" Mia asked.
Ryan pulled his timetable from his pocket.
"First lecture..."
He slowly lowered the paper.
"...Molecular Biology."
Silence.
Then Noah spoke.
"Yes."
"With Dr. Sterling."
"Also yes."
Ryan closed his eyes.
"I was having such a good morning."
Ara couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"You'll survive."
"Didn't you say that last week?"
"I did."
"I barely survived."
Logan stood up.
"Come on."
"If we're late..."
Ryan finished the sentence immediately.
"...we'll become educational sacrifices."
Biomedical Sciences Building
Room B-204.
For the first time since the semester had begun...
Every student arrived before eight.
No one wanted to test Nicholas Sterling's punctuality rule again.
Ryan carefully checked his phone.
7:58.
He immediately switched it off.
"I'm not taking any chances."
Noah leaned back.
"Personal growth."
"I know."
"I'm proud of myself."
The classroom buzzed quietly.
Some students revised notes.
Others discussed the upcoming Innovation Challenge.
Near the window, two second-year students whispered excitedly.
"I heard the Debate Society is looking for volunteers."
"The annual inter-university debate?"
"Yeah."
"I'd never do it."
"Why?"
"I enjoy having dignity."
Across the room, Ara looked out of the window, absentmindedly twirling a pen between her fingers.
She wasn't listening.
At least...
She pretended not to be.
The classroom door opened precisely at eight.
Dr. Nicholas Sterling entered carrying only a leather folder and a stack of research journals.
His white lab coat had been replaced by a charcoal-grey suit.
As always...
He acknowledged the room with a simple nod.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Professor."
He placed the journals on the desk.
Without another word, he began writing today's topic on the board.
Cell Signaling and Communication
His handwriting remained impossibly neat.
Ryan whispered,
"I even think his handwriting has a PhD."
Noah covered his mouth to hide a laugh.
Nicholas turned around.
Without looking at Ryan directly, he said calmly,
"Mr. Parker."
Ryan froze.
"... Yes, Professor?"
"If your observations are complete..."
"...perhaps you'll share today's definition of signal transduction."
The room became silent.
Ryan blinked.
Signal...
What?
He looked desperately toward Noah.
Noah stared straight ahead.
Traitor.
Ryan cleared his throat.
"Signal transduction..."
Another pause.
"...is..."
He looked at the ceiling as though the answer might be hiding there.
"...a very important scientific process."
A few students laughed.
Nicholas waited.
Ryan smiled weakly.
"...That's all I've got."
To everyone's surprise...
Nicholas didn't scold him.
Instead, he calmly replied,
"An honest answer."
He picked up the marker again.
"Now let's replace honesty with knowledge."
Even Ara smiled.
For the next forty minutes, the lecture flowed with Nicholas's usual precision.
Complex biological pathways suddenly seemed logical under his explanations.
Even students who normally struggle to find themselves keeping up.
Ara hated admitting it.
But he was...
A brilliant teacher.
She found herself taking more notes than usual.
Not because attendance mattered.
Because the lecture did.
As Nicholas explained receptor proteins, he suddenly stopped writing.
He looked around the room.
"A question."
The students straightened.
"If a single receptor in a signaling pathway malfunctions..."
He paused.
"...what happens to the entire communication system?"
Silence.
Thirty-eight students avoided eye contact.
Nicholas waited patiently.
Then—
A hand slowly rose.
Not Noah's.
Not Mia's.
Not the class toppers.
Ara Mitchell.
Nicholas noticed.
"So did everyone else."
(Next: Ara answers a difficult scientific question, surprising the entire class—including Nicholas. Later that day, an unexpected announcement pulls her into the university's Debate Society, setting up a challenge she never wanted.)
- Writer
