STELLA
I’ve been avoiding him all week.
Different hallways. Different lunch periods. I’ve even taken the long way around the science wing just to avoid brushing past him. I fake phone calls. Duck into bathrooms. I’ve perfected the art of pretending Viktor Morozov.
It should be working.
But now I’m sitting in a near-empty classroom with only one other person — him — and every nerve in my body is on high alert.
“Are we waiting for the others?” I ask, not looking up from my notebook.
“There are no others,” Viktor replies, seated across from me. His voice is calm. Controlled. Like this is just another day for him.
“What do you mean?”
“I checked the project list. It’s just us.”
Of course it is.
I force a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. “Great. That’s just… perfect.”
He doesn’t res
