(Clara)
I stood there for a moment after he said it, just staring at him like my brain was trying to catch up with what my ears had already processed, because the way he said “Miss Stone” was so normal, so controlled, so professionally detached that it almost felt like I had imagined every other version of him I had ever experienced.
“Good morning, Professor Hart,” I replied carefully, stepping fully into the office while trying to steady my expression so nothing about my face betrayed what I was actually feeling inside, which was a confusing mixture of embarrassment, disappointment, and something I really did not want to name.
He nodded once without hesitation, his attention already shifting back down to the papers on his desk as if I was no different from any other student walking in
