Kieran follows my gaze, mouth curving. “Told you,” he murmurs, so low only I can hear.
I snap my mechanical pencil once, pulling us back to earth—and away from whatever just happened. “The assignment says to design a system that applies mechanics and data collection. I was thinking a rehab brace. Stroke patients. Real-world impact.”
Theo nods stiffly. “That’s solid, Sensei.”
“Predictable,” Kieran says, spinning his pen between his fingers.
I turn to him, irritated. “Predictable usually means it works.”
“Your idea is good, Rules, but—” He leans forward, eyes bright. “What if we build something we can actually finish? A wearable that measures how the body moves—balance, stride, force. It’s rehabbeforeyou get hurt.” He flicks his pentoward Theo. “We demo it on the ice and the mat by finals. Two athletes, two data sets, same system. Cross-validation.”
Theo’s eyebrows lift. “Preventive instead of reactive. That’s brilliant.”
“Exactly.” Kieran’s smile turns triumphant. “We make it cheap, light, portable. Real mechanics, real data, real motion.”
Theo’s already typing. “Different athletes, different mechanics, shared feedback algorithm... Feldman will love this.”
Kieran looks back at me, eyes glinting. “We’ve got everything we need: a rink, a mat, and two very qualified test subjects.”
I shake my head, trying not to smile. “You’re good at making your case.”
The corner of his mouth curves. “I usually don’t have to try this hard to get someone interested.”
I choke on my coffee, heat flashing to my cheeks. He watches me over the rim of his cup, one brow raised, completely pleased with himself.
“The word you’re looking for isvisionary,” he continues smoothly. “Come on, Rules. You want to build something that helps people? This will. It’s just helping them before they break.”
I exhale, giving up the fight. “Fine. But when this fails spectacularly, you’re explaining it to Feldman.”
“Deal,” he says. “I’ll charm him too.”
Theo shakes his head, still typing. “Dude, you seriously cannot help yourself.”
Kieran shrugs, that impossible smile flashing. “Not when the data’s this pretty.” His eyes find mine for half a second toolong.
Heat slides up my neck before I can stop it. I stare down at my notes like they suddenly contain the secrets of the universe.
Theo clears his throat. “Okay, this is a real plan. I’ll start a parts list and draft the proposal tonight.”
“I’ll build the hardware and set up the tests,” Kieran says.
“I’ll handle the code and graphs,” Theo adds. He looks at me. “Wren, you do the checks?”
“Calibration and validation,” I say. “I’ll make sure it measures what we think it measures, and that it’s not lying to us.”
“Perfect,” Theo says. “We meet Mondays and Wednesdays until finals.”
“Twice a week.” Kieran scribbles it on the corner of my notes. “Nonnegotiable.”
“Agreed.” Theo’s already packing up. “And if your boyfriend could keep his hands off you during work hours, that’d be great.”
Kieran’s smile turns wicked. “No promises.”
Theo mutters something about professionalism and heads for the exit, laptop under his arm, movements sharp with what looks like frustration.
The moment the door closes, Kieran nudges my shoulder with his. “Told ya. He was watching you the whole time.”
My pulse jumps. “You really think it’s working?”
