“you’re lucky i thoroughly enjoy overachieving … and you're cute,” athena said, tapping the edge of her notebook with the end of her pen, lips curling into a smirk. “i outlined the whole presentation since you missed lab this week. and yes, i fixed your… creative interpretation of cardiac flow. i’m keeping the phrase ‘heart yeets blood’ though. iconic, truly.” she leaned back in her chair, fingers idly tracing the rim of her tea cup as her gaze flickered over imani without a hint of shame.
“also,” she added, voice dipping just slightly, “did you know giraffes have a left ventricle wall over an inch thick? they need that much pressure just to pump blood all the way up their necks to reach the brain. and when they bend down to drink, they’ve got this whole network of valves that keeps the pressure from frying their brains. it’s called the rete mirabile. isn’t that kind of romantic?”
a beat passed, but athena wasn’t done. “oh, and elephant hearts? nearly thirty pounds. their heartbeat is so slow you can feel it in the ground before you ever hear them coming.” she tilted her head, her smile softening just enough to make it dangerous. “anyway,” she said, tone light, “i figured if i couldn’t win you over with charm, i’d try obscure cardiovascular trivia. is it working?”