Episode 4 -Ink and Distinct
517 Words
Lily's POV
Back in her dorm room, Lily sat cross-legged on her bed, a half-eaten granola bar forgotten beside her.
The bracelet on her wrist felt heavier than usual-like it had absorbed secret weight after what happened with Dr. Weston.
He noticed it.
Not her question. Not her notebook. Not her awkward smile.
The bracelet.
She picked up her journal and flipped past old pages filled with pre-university nerves and her scholarship checklist. Finally, she found a blank one and wrote:
Day one. Dr. Weston remembered a bracelet.
Mine.
He looked at me like I wasn't invisible.
Why does that feel so dangerous?
"Earth to Lily," Amelia said, flopping onto the bed beside her. "Still spiraling over Hot Professor?"
Lily covered the journal with her arms. "I'm not spiraling."
"Sure. You've written half a novel over there."
"I'm just.... processing."
Amelia smiled knowingly. "He does have that broody, tortured-intellectual vibe. Like he's carrying secrets in his back pockets."
Lily didn't reply. Because deep down, she agreed.
There was something beneath his calm exterior. Something he didn't say- but hinted at, when his gaze lingered a little too long. When he remembered something so small, so insignificant, it felt almost... intimate.
She turned her bracelet slowly around her wrist.
What was he doing at the café that day?
And why did it feel like she wasn't the only one trying to forget something?
Scene Two: Whispers over Coffee - Lily's POV
The cafeteria buzzed with energy-early chatter, clinking mugs, and the faint hiss of the espresso machine behind the counter. Lily stood beside Amelia, a tray in her hands, scanning for an empty table.
"You'd think with how big this school is, someone would invent a quieter place to eat," Amelia muttered, balancing her smoothie like it was a sacred relic.
They found a spot near the back, not too far from a corner table where two senior girls sat, mid-laugh, heads bowed in close gossip.
Lily wasn't trying to eavesdrop-not really-but the name caught her attention.
"Dr. Weston looked so fine yesterday, I almost forgot he was lecturing,"one of the girls said, giggling.
Amelia raised a brow. "You heard that, right?"
Lily nodded slowly, her spoon halfway to her mouth.
"He's so serious though," the second girl said, twirling her straw. "Like, mystery-dripping-from-his-suit serious."
"Makes him even hotter," the first one replied. "I swear, if he ever looked at me the way he looked at the girl in the front row...."
Lily blinked.
Front row?
Her eyes drifted to her untouched coffee.
Amelia gave her a sly side glance. "Were you sitting in the front row yesterday?"
Lily shrugged, suddenly interested in her eggs.
"Maybe."
Amelia leaned in with a smirk. "And did Dr. Serious give you the look?"
Lily shook her head quickly, cheeks warm. "No. I mean-I don't think so. He's just.... intense."
"Hmm." Amelia leaned back, sipping her smoothie. "That kind of intensity is dangerous. Or... fun."
Lily smiled but stayed quiet, her thoughts lingering somewhere between the gossip and the ghost of that sandalwood scent that still hadn't left her mind.
- Writer
