Alli looks up, her eyes widening in surprise as I claim the seat next to her. “What are you doing here?”
“Here for a lab with Professor Moua. Problem?”
“Yes, there’s a problem. I need you to mo—”
The lab room quiets down once Professor Moua steps in, her presence demanding immediate attention. Alli’s words cut off abruptly as she shoots me a glare, her expression sharp.
“Welcome to the Cell Biology Lab,” Professor Moua begins. “We had enough introductions for the last module. Today, we’ll be diving into our first experiment, so I hope you’re all prepared. First, I want you to take a look at the person sitting next to you and say hello to your new lab partners for the rest of the semester.”
Oh. That explains her death glare.
Alli shoots me a look of pure betrayal, her jaw tightening as she mutters under her breath, “Great. Now I’m stuck with you for months.”
I suppress a grin. “Don’t sound so thrilled, Castillo.”
She glares harder, practically boring holes into my skull. I swear smoke might actually start pouring out of her ears.
“We’ll be working on enzyme reactions today,” Professor Moua continues, oblivious to the charged air at our table. “Make sure you understand the procedure before you begin.”
Alli and I exchange strained glances. “Well, this should be interesting,” I mutter, trying to break the ice.
She flips open the lab manual with an exaggerated sigh, her movements stiff but calculated. I match her energy, settling in like I couldn’t be happier to ruin her day.
I lean in closer, a smirk playing at the corner of my mouth. “Don’t worry, Castillo. I’m not planning to fail. Just don’t lose your cool every time I exist.”
She rolls her eyes so hard I’m afraid they might stay that way. “Let’s just get this over with.”
The tension hangs heavy, but beneath it, I can’t help but find her irritation amusing and just a little endearing. We get ourmaterials and start setting up for the experiment. As we work, the initial awkwardness starts to fade, replaced by a focused determination to get through this lab together and the rest of the semester. We perform the experiment step by step, discussing each part carefully. A few times, our hands bump when we both reach for the same equipment, and there’s a brief pause each time, like neither of us expected it.
“Pass me the pipette,” she says, her voice taking on a gentler tone.
I hand it to her, our fingers brushing momentarily. “Do you still hate me?”
“Yes,” Alli says clearly, her gaze fixed on the experiment, her voice flat. “You ruined everything.”
“I ruined everything? I literally just sat next to you because you were the closest to the door.”
Alli sets the pipette down and faces me with both hands on her hips. “Precisely.”
“Explain.” I lean against the counter. We have a few minutes until we need to reevaluate the experiment.
Before she can respond, Ethan walks by, catching her attention. She turns her head to follow his movement, her focus shifting.
“Ethan Díaz, huh?” I say, trying to keep my tone neutral but failing to mask the hint of amusement. “You wanted him as your lab partner.”
Alli’s eyes widen, and her attention snaps back to me. “What? No. It’s not like that.”
“Sure, it’s not,” I reply with a smirk. “I get it, Alli. I’m just the annoying guy who ruins your plans to have the love of your life become your lab partner.”
“It’s not about you messing up my plans,” she says, her voice tight. “It’s just… complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
She hesitates, biting her lip before sighing, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “Ethan’s in my major, and he’s… he’s kind of perfect, okay? And you being here, it just… throws me off.”
“Throw you off how? Because I’m not perfect?”
“No,” she says quickly. “It’s just that seeing you reminds me of high school and all the drama that came with it. And right now, I’m trying to avoid drama.”
