Chapter 31: Equations Don’t Flirt
The whiteboard was already half-covered in formulas and scattered notes when Noel slid into his seat. The hum of voices dulled as the professor raised his marker again.
Noel leaned forward slightly, pen in hand, his notebook open and half-filled with tight, precise handwriting.
He tuned out the rustling of papers, the occasional coughs, and the faint beat of someone’s earbuds behind him.
Today, he didn’t want distractions. Not Luca. Not his thoughts. Not even the memory of that smirk this morning.
His pen moved steadily, eyes sharp behind his glasses.
"...so if the coefficient increases by point five, what does that do to the model’s output?" the professor asked.
Noel’s fingers paused for a fraction of a second—just long enough to process the equation—and then resumed.
His notes were neat, margins straight. He underlined the key point once. Clean. Efficient. Quiet.
Just the way he liked it.
At least here, everything made sense.
Equations didn’t flirt. Data didn’t smirk at him from across a shared bedroom. And numbers never came out of the shower half-naked with water dripping down their abs.