“Seb, of all the adjectives I could use to describe you, ‘boring’ is right at the bottom of the list.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him in mock suspicion.
“Nothing, nothing,” he laughs, raising his hands in defence. “Don’t worry. And your question isn’t silly at all. Actually, it kind of overlaps with what I study.”
“Really?” I cut in, genuinely intrigued. “Tell me more. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about me, and you never actually explained what your research at Imperial College is about.”
His eyes light up instantly, and under that mop of messy blond hair, his whole face seems to come alive. Up close, you notice all these details you might miss at a glance, the squared-off tip of his nose, eyes set just a little too far apart, lips that always seem caught between a smirk and a pout. On their own, none of it should work. But together, they’re oddly perfect. Completely captivating.
I swallow hard, trying to keep a lid on the wave of desire rising inside me like a slow, steady tide.
“You really want to know?” he asks, clearly surprised. “Quantum physics isn’t exactly a crowd-pleaser outside the field…”
“Of course I want to know!” I cut him off, maybe a little too eagerly. “I think it’s genuinely fascinating. You’ll just have to explain it in really,reallysimple words if you want me to keep up.”
I glance at him sheepishly. “I’ve always been a bit of a disaster when it comes to science.”
“I’ll try,” he says, and adds a wink that could honestly stop my heart.
I groan and roll my eyes, mostly to keep myself from melting, but by the time I look back at him, he’s already gone serious again.
“Earlier, you said humans are basically insignificant specks compared to the universe... but actually, it’s sort of the opposite. Even the tiniest particles, way smaller than us, can influence how the universe behaves.”
I stare at him, scrunching my nose the way I always do when I’m trying to concentrate. He notices, of course, he always does, but doesn’t say anything. He just keeps going, patient and quietly brilliant.
Remi carries on, his voice brimming with passion and quiet certainty.
“Classical physics deals with big things, objects you can see and touch. But quantum physics looks at the tiniest particles, like atoms, and even smaller. Still with me?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I nod, secretly amused by how animated he gets. His hands move constantly as he talks, almost like he’s trying to shape the concepts out of thin air. It’s ridiculously endearing. I could listen to him for hours.
“Great,” he says, clearly pleased. “Now here’s where it gets fun: quantum particles don’t behave the way we expect. They can exist in multiple states, be in more than one place at the same time. That’s called superposition.”
“So they can be in two places at once?” I blurt out. “God, I’dkillfor that ability… it’d make my life so much easier.”
I sigh dramatically, and Remi shakes his head, clearly trying not to laugh.
“You’re such a brat, Seb. Anyway, superposition directly affects how we measure particles. The act of measuring forces them into one defined state. So basically, just by observing them… we change them.”
I furrow my brows, and Remi pauses for a beat. I take the chance to jump in.
“But that’s like people!” I say, suddenly energised. “If I’ve got this right, measuring is like trying to get information, right?”
Remi nods, watching me closely.
“So when someone tries to get close to us, to really understand us, we’re automatically changed by the connection that forms...”
He tilts his head, thoughtful. “I suppose you could see it that way, in part. But trust me, there’s a lot more to it…”
“I’m all ears!” I grin, genuinely excited. Hearing Remi talk about his work, seeing him come alive like this, is completely fascinating. I settle in, ready to listen, not wanting to miss a word.
“Now comes the best part,” he says, his tone lighter, but there’s a spark in his eyes, like he’s been waiting for this moment. “It also happens to be the subject of my PhD: quantum entanglement.”
After a brief, theatrical pause, he continues.
“Sometimes, you find pairs of particles that are what we callentangled. It means they’re connected in a special way, and that bond remains, even if they move far apart. For example, if you measure one of them, you instantly learn something about the other. Or when one reacts to something, the other does too. It always happens, no matter the distance. It’s like they have their own secret way of communicating, one that defies the normal rules of physics.”
He pauses just long enough to check I’m still with him, then goes on, clearly absorbed by the topic, like it’s not just academic, but personal.
