The semester’s end crept closer, exams hanging over everyone like a stormcloud. Students retreated into books and notes, the campus quieter, tense.
Baron had just sat down to study when his phone buzzed.
“Come down,” Appie’s voice said, bright and commanding.
“Appie—”
“No buts. I’m outside. Now.”
Through the window, he saw her hatchback idling under the streetlamp. She leaned against it, waving when she spotted him. Baron sighed, half-smiling despite himself. She never came upstairs, never once stepped into his flat, and tonight was no exception.
Minutes later, he was in her car, swept along into the night.
Appie’s friends were already gathered in the city—loud, cheerful, pulling them into bars and cafés, chasing music and laughter down every street. Baron was quieter than the rest,
