@semiotician, 011. a university lecture hall during a class.
IT'S A LITTLE... THRILLING, ISN'T IT? THE CHASE, THE DECIPHERING, THE UNCOVERING OF EACH TRUTH. IT'S A MASKED MISSION, APPEARING TO BE OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF HER HEART: SCRAPBOOKS OF PRINTED PHOTOS FROM HER JOURNEYS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY SCANNED AND ASSESSED BY THE PROFESSOR'S EYES BEFORE, SO SURELY THAT'S NOT THE REASON SHE'S HERE. AND OF COURSE, THE FACT THAT LARA HASN'T BEEN ABROAD IN, WELL... QUITE SOME TIME. WHAT WAS IT, LARA, A MONTH? PEARLS GRIND, MANICURED DIGITS A CHARCOAL BLACK WRAPPED AROUND CAFFEINE CUP, RECTANGULAR FRAMED GLASSES SITTING COMFORTABLY UPON THE BRIDGE OF HER NOSE. STUDENTS ERUPT WITH THEIR RAUCOUS CHATTER, BUSY BODIES BUMP AND RUN, AND WITHIN ALL THAT RACKET, SHE SLITHERS THROUGH.
" I HAVEN'T BEEN ANSWERING ANY OF YOUR EMAILS. OR YOUR CALLS. OR YOUR TEXTS. YOU'RE QUITE CLINGY THESE DAYS. " a beat of nonchalance in her gaze, that signature coy beam growing upon nude velvets. " IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO REMINISCE ON OUR LITTLE TRIP LAST YEAR, YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT IT. I'M NOT LOOKING FOR A DO OVER, and neither should you. "