She simply… admitted it.
“Yes, Professor. I wasn’t listening.”
Calm.
Blunt.
Honest.
And the room would snicker.
Every fucking time.
I hated that.
More than I should have.
If those ancient, dust-choked lecturers wanted attention, they could earn it.
Command it.
Demand it.
Not drone until even the gods would have tuned them out.
But her?
She sat there and took it.
Owned it.
Apologized for it.
And that right there?
That was where my interest began.
Not mere curiosity.
Recognition.
Dangerous in its own way.
No.
A voice slid through my mind—sharp, familiar, unwelcome.
Don’t.
I stilled.
Jaw tightening.
Once—once, I might have followed that instinct.
Might have stepped forward.
Spoken.
