CHAPTER-4
911 Words
The Second Encounter
The rain began just after noon.
It wasn't heavy enough to empty the campus, but it was enough to send students hurrying beneath stone archways, umbrellas blooming across the courtyard like colorful flowers.
Blackwood looked different in the rain.
The old buildings seemed darker.
The ivy glistened.
The scent of wet earth drifted through the air, mixing with the smell of coffee from the campus café.
Inside the Biomedical Sciences Building, Room B-204 slowly filled with students once again.
This time, nobody was laughing as loudly.
Ryan entered first, carrying two coffees.
"I bought one for Ethan," he announced proudly.
Ethan looked up from his notes.
"That's surprisingly kind."
Ryan shrugged.
"If today kills me, at least I won't die thirsty."
Across the aisle, Mia dropped into the seat beside Noah.
"Where's Ara?"
Noah checked his watch.
"If I know Ara..."
He looked toward the door.
"...she's probably arguing with a vending machine."
Mia laughed.
"Last week she convinced one to give her two chocolate bars."
"It wasn't convincing," Noah said.
"It was aggressive negotiation."
Even Logan smiled.
The classroom slowly filled with chatter.
Then, exactly at 7:59 a.m., the door opened.
Dr. Nicholas Sterling entered.
Not a second early.
Not a second late.
He placed a stack of research journals on the desk.
No greeting.
No unnecessary words.
The room fell silent almost automatically.
Ryan leaned toward Ethan.
"I think he has a superpower."
"What?"
"Making thirty adults forget how to breathe."
Before Ethan could answer—
The clock struck 8:00.
Nicholas closed the classroom door.
"As promised," he said calmly, "the lecture begins."
Just as he reached for the chalk—
A hand knocked firmly on the door.
Three quick knocks.
Every student looked toward it.
Ryan whispered,
"...No way."
Mia covered her smile.
Nicholas stood still for a moment before opening the door.
Standing outside...
Completely soaked from the rain...
Was Ara.
Her leather jacket was damp, strands of hair clung to her face, and she held a broken umbrella that looked as though it had surrendered halfway across campus.
She looked at Nicholas.
Then at the broken umbrella.
Then back at him.
Without changing her expression, she raised the umbrella slightly.
"I have evidence."
A few students laughed despite themselves.
Nicholas didn't.
"The lecture began at eight."
"So did the weather."
"The weather is not enrolled in this course."
Ryan immediately looked down at his notebook to hide his grin.
Ara sighed dramatically.
"My umbrella broke."
Nicholas's expression remained unchanged.
"You should have left earlier."
She stared at him for a second.
"Do you rehearse these answers?"
A few more quiet laughs escaped.
Even Ethan smiled.
Nicholas folded his arms.
"No."
"I can tell."
Another pause.
Rain continued tapping softly against the windows.
Finally, Nicholas stepped aside.
"You are still late."
Ara blinked.
"So...?"
"This is your final warning."
She looked genuinely surprised.
"You're letting me in?"
"You've lost ten minutes of your own education."
His voice stayed calm.
"I see no reason to make you lose the remaining fifty."
For the first time...
Ara didn't have a clever reply.
She simply nodded.
"Thank you."
The classroom noticed it immediately.
No sarcasm.
No joke.
Just two genuine words.
She quietly walked to the only empty seat.
Unfortunately...
It was the front row.
Ryan whispered to Ethan,
"Justice exists."
Ara shot him a look over her shoulder.
"I heard that."
"I wanted you to."
She rolled her eyes before opening her notebook.
Nicholas picked up the chalk.
"As I was saying..."
The lecture continued.
No drama.
No lecture about punctuality.
Only science.
For nearly an hour, the room remained focused.
Even Ara found herself paying attention.
Not because she loved molecular biology.
But because, unlike many professors, Dr. Sterling never wasted words.
He explained difficult ideas with remarkable clarity.
Every example had a purpose.
Every answer encouraged students to think instead of memorize.
When the lecture ended, students immediately began packing their bags.
Nicholas closed his notebook.
"For next class, read Chapters One and Two."
A collective groan filled the room.
Ryan looked devastated.
"We've already got homework?"
Nicholas glanced at him.
"It isn't homework."
Ryan brightened.
"Oh."
"It's preparation."
Ryan's shoulders dropped again.
"That's somehow worse."
This time...
Several students laughed.
Even Nicholas's eyes seemed a fraction less severe—though whether anyone had truly imagined it, no one could say.
As students filed out, Ara remained behind, slowly zipping her backpack.
Nicholas gathered his research journals without looking up.
"You stayed."
She shrugged.
"I wanted to return this."
She placed the broken umbrella on his desk.
He looked at it.
"...Why?"
"You said the weather wasn't enrolled."
A tiny smile tugged at her lips.
"So I thought I'd leave its representative with you."
For the first time since they'd met...
Nicholas looked almost... surprised.
Ara turned and walked toward the door before he could answer.
Outside, Mia was waiting.
"Well?"
Ara shrugged casually.
"I didn't get thrown out."
Mia grinned.
"Progress."
Ara glanced back through the classroom window.
Dr. Nicholas Sterling was already reading one of his research papers, completely focused, as if the strange conversation had never happened.
She smiled to herself.
"He's impossible."
Mia linked her arm through Ara's.
"So are you."
Together, they disappeared into the busy hallway while, somewhere behind them, Blackwood University carried on with another ordinary day.
Neither of them noticed that the stories they would one day tell about this semester had already begun.
- Writer
