The lecture hall was already abuzz with activity when Kaitlyn stepped inside. Streams of students coursed down the steps in a pair of steady trickles as the arriving students found seats for the Genetics lecture. Her gaze swept across the bustle of bodies as well, most of them settling in and chatting with their neighbors, before homing in on a pair of empty seats near the front-middle section.

There. That seems about good.

Making her way down the steps, she squeezed past a few other students with a series of polite "excuse me's" and "sorry's". Her backpack settled on one with a soft whumph while she settled herself in the other one further in and pulled out her laptop.

Considering that Kaitlyn was focusing on Elliot's endings next, it only made sense to make time for this class. Sure, that meant carving out a few hours of her work schedule to attend lectures each week, but that turned out to not be such a big deal. In fact, now that she was so ahead on her project, it was pretty easy. She'd earned a lot of goodwill and leeway for her progress. Not enough to justify being in lab before lecture as well, but she'd already known she'd have to make sacrifices somewhere.

I kind of wish I could tell them that I'm not some programming genius. I've just already been working on that exact problem for a few months already.

Still, that would obviously raise more questions than it answered, especially considering the confidentiality agreements she'd signed when getting hired. Instead, she simply swallowed her discomfort and accepted the new project that she'd been tasked with. This one ended up being quite a bit different than the entry-level one she'd started on. In fact, it was already pushing her skills to the limits.

I might have to try my autotuning micro batch sizes idea and see if it's actually any better than the traditional batching solution Gordon suggested. It might not be faster, but the average latency should be lower… Oh! There's Professor Adams. That means Elliot shouldn't be far behind.

Turning around, she spotted the ginger as he was partway down the stairs. His backpack hung loosely over one shoulder, hair bound back in a ponytail that bobbed slightly with each step. Judging by the faraway look in his eyes, he was probably listening to something as usual.

Kaitlyn didn't bother to call out his name. He wouldn't hear it with his earbuds in. Instead, she simply waved until the guy caught sight of her.

His eyes flashed in recognition. As he began squeezing through the crowded row towards her, Kaitlyn moved her backpack onto the ground.

"Thanks," Elliot smiled. "I appreciate it."

"No problem. It fills up pretty quick up here."

To be more specific, it was really pairs of seats that filled up quickly. Elliot would definitely be able to find an individual one on his own. But then, what was the use in that?

They didn't have much time to talk before Professor Adams began her lecture. The frazzled-looking woman cleared her throat and switched on her microphone to address the class. "Ok! Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you've been making use of the problem sets that I posted online. The answers to last week's questions should be available now, if you haven't already taken a look. Now, last time we left off…"

Kaitlyn continued working as the professor continued speaking about the different methods of genetic inheritance. As many times as she'd been through them, she still couldn't recite the lectures from memory. There were too many other useful things she'd decided to use her limited brainspace for. However, she did feel very confident that if Professor Adams suddenly and inexplicably fell ill one day, she could fill in for her with no problem whatsoever.

Well, assuming I didn't get stage fright or something. Talking in front of this many people would probably freak me out a bit still…

She looked up from her code and glanced over at Elliot. The guy slouched casually in his chair, an empty notebook open in front of him. One hand twirled a pen idly as he listened to the lecture.

I still feel like I haven't gotten to know him enough. Not nearly as much as I need to, anyway.

It wasn't like she'd been pushing especially hard this loop. Most of their interactions had been ones that she'd experienced before in some fashion. Lunches, lab, and the occasional study session with him and Esme formed the bulk of their time together and helped her to reacquaint herself with the guy a bit more. Still, that wasn't going to cut it forever. If she wanted to move forward on this route, then she needed to tread new ground.

Maybe I do have to lean into the music angle more? Though it feels like it's hard to bring that up naturally. The few times I've done it, it's backfired spectacularly.

The memory made her wince. It was one of her first real rejections in this world, and though it no longer held the same sting as it once did, the sheer awkwardness of the interaction still made her cringe.

That was, what, loop three or something? To be fair, I WAS awkward as hell back then. I've learned a lot since, so maybe I could manage to not make an utter fool of myself now by bringing up his band…

She continued to ponder her options until the class eventually came to a close. As the lecture hall burst into a flurry of motion, Elliot stood from his seat and stretched toward the ceiling. "Well, time for lab. You coming with?"

Kaitlyn nodded, standing as well. "Yeah. I probably won't stay too long, but I've got some plants that I need to take samples from."

"Sounds good. Let's see if we can squeeze our way through this mess…"

With that, they both hefted their backpacks and shuffled through the narrow aisle. As they merged into the throng of students flooding the stairs, Elliot began pulling ahead a little bit, slipping into empty spaces and between people effortlessly.

Seriously. How does he do that?

Kaitlyn frowned as she bumped into another person's elbow. She'd certainly gotten better at navigating crowds, but still was nowhere near his level. Even following his path wasn't so simple because the gaps he took advantage of would shift and close behind him. The only reason she could keep up was because he shortened his stride, glancing back occasionally to wait for her.

They emerged into the bright sunlight and finally rejoined as the crowd dispersed. Together, the pair headed for the narrow side paths that would lead them toward the lab.

"Geez, Elliot," she muttered as they broke away from the main mass of students.

"Hmm?"

"How do you make it out of there so fast? I swear I get elbowed and jostled all over the place every time."

A slight smirk curled his lips. "Practice. You just have to get good at reading people, see where they're trying to go. Then it's just a matter of acting on it."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You say that like it's easy."

"It's not that hard, either." He dismissed the objection. "People are pretty predictable usually. Especially in crowds. Though, well… being tall enough to see what's going on certainly helps."

Kaitlyn scowled up at the ginger as his grin widened. They walked on in silence for a while longer, simply enjoying the sun and the cool breeze. At this point in the loop, the temperature outside was at that comfortably cool stage Kaitlyn could get away with tying her jacket around her waist. But given a few weeks, that pleasant breeze would turn into a much more bitter chill.

"Oh!" Kaitlyn broke the silence. "I almost forgot. Are you going to the career fair on Thursday?"

"Hm?" Elliot slipped his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, I was planning on it. You?"

She nodded. "I might as well. I want to see what other options are out there."

At this point, it really wasn't necessary. She'd long since finished up her research on that front. But that was no excuse to pass up an Elliot encounter.

"Not a bad idea," he allowed with a shrug. "Though that's probably all we'll be doing. They usually don't offer positions to freshmen."

I know. It's super annoying.

"Still, it's good to know the options," she said out loud. "Are there any companies in particular you're interested in?"

"Mm, not too much. Mostly just checking on what's around in biotech and pharma. Like you, I'd guess."

She nodded. That lined up with what he'd done in the past, as well as his dad's background as a pharma giant. Still, she had to wonder about his deeper reasons. Were his interests his own, or due to pressure from his family? Was he legitimately looking for jobs in the field, or going through the motions like Ian had?

I just don't have enough info. Though if he's legitimately interested in that stuff, I'm sure he could go far.

The guy was an expert in Genetics, that much was clear. It was hard to speak on his other classes, but from the occasional glimpses she'd seen, she didn't doubt he was ahead in those too.

After a brief walk and trip up the elevator, the pair emerged into the dull hum and fluorescent lighting of the lab. Donning their lab coats, they each went about their work, Elliot making for his bench as Kaitlyn headed for the growth chamber with a cart. It didn't take long for her to retrieve the plants in question and start snipping off leaves, stuffing them in small tubes and dunking them in liquid nitrogen.

I'm glad that we're hanging out, but it still feels like I should be doing more, she thought, another tube plopping into the liquid with a soft hiss. The career fair and study sessions are still things that I've done before. I need to look for new encounters, ways to get Elliot into new environments. That's probably the only way I'll actually manage to learn something about him.

Her mind shuffled through ideas and possibilities as she worked. In theory, there was no rush, but still. She felt a bit restless and eager to make some kind of progress, however small it may be.

Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, sinking into a comfortable rhythm that had her freezing tubes every few seconds. It wasn't long before she ran out of plants and stretched in her seat.

"Alright. I've gotta clean up and head out."

"Already?" Elliot glanced up at the clock. "Wow. You weren't kidding about being quick. You're leaving while the sun's still up."

She rolled her eyes at the jab. "I've gotta prep some stuff for tomorrow. I'm cooking a big batch of ramen, and there's a lot of toppings that need dicing or slicing. I just want to make sure I'm prepared."

It was a recipe she'd been working on for a little while now with promising results. With how her last batch of ramen eggs had turned out, she thought it was finally ready for the public. Still, because it was her first time trying to sell this recipe, it was a bit harder to estimate how much time it would take to prepare everything. It wasn't a huge deal. It just meant that a little more prep work would be prudent.

The ginger nodded in understanding. "Oh right. You do that meal prep thing, huh? How's it been going?"

"Great, actually. We're still getting a lot of interest, and I'm really happy with how the food's turning out…"

Kaitlyn almost left it at that, but hesitated. Maybe there's an opportunity here… Heck, why not give it a shot? Not like I have any better ideas.

"Actually…" she watched Elliot as he labeled a row of tubes. "Want to try for yourself? I can hook you up with a bowl, on the house."

"Meh. Not really my thing."

Kaitlyn grimaced slightly and tried not to visibly deflate. Of course. What had she expected? Between the guy's predisposition toward plain food and the sheer difficulty of arranging unique hangouts with him, it only made sense. The offer was a longshot at best.

"...Though, you know who does love ramen?" The ginger pushed back from his bench suddenly, rolling toward the corridor connecting their lab to the others on the floor. He craned his neck to call down it. "Hey, Esme!"

"What?" The tinkling female voice called back from around the corner.

"Want to grab ramen tomorrow? Kate's cooking!"

Kaitlyn blinked. Right! That's also an option. If Esme goes, then Elliot's got a good chance of coming along as well… Why didn't I think of that?

"Ooh, of course!" The girl's delicately featured face popped around the corner, already alight with excitement. "I'd love to! When?"

"About 5 PM tomorrow, at the West dorms," Kaitlyn called back, recovering quickly. "At least, that's when I start serving. You can come anywhere from 5-7, but the wait can get pretty bad later on. I'll set some aside for you."

"Ok! We'll be there!" Esme shot her a gloved thumbs up. "Sorry, a little busy. See you then!"

Elliot returned to his bench and raised an eyebrow at Kaitlyn. "A wait? How many people buy your stuff?"

"About eighty?" She started tossing her now useless plants in the waste bin beneath her bench. "I'd have to check the numbers to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's the same this time around, assuming no one else extra shows up. My max was a hundred."

In truth, that maximum was before they'd imposed a cap on the number of orders they would take. It meant that Heather always had a long line of hopeful standbys ready and waiting for extra leftovers or for someone to flake out on their order. But there was only so much food that Kaitlyn could feasibly make as a single person, even with all of the upgrades to her setup.

It's one of the reasons I've been going so hard on the desserts. Some of those are way more scalable, and the serving size is usually smaller. But if I try to push myself much further on the meals, I'll definitely burn out…

The ginger whistled appreciatively. "Damn. What are you, a one-man restaurant? I thought this was a small side thing, not a serious operation."

Kaitlyn chuckled. "It started out that way. But yeah, it's kind of blown up."

"Well, that explains why you're prepping the night before. I honestly thought you were just obsessive or something."

"Am not!" She gave him an affronted look. "Why would you think that?"

His expression turned skeptical. "I mean, have you read your experiment plans? You have the whole thing mapped out to the day for three months. Every single thing. And I'm pretty sure you did that on your first day, too. What am I supposed to think?"

She opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. Oh. I guess that does look kinda weird. Still, I didn't realize he noticed that kind of detail.

"...Fair enough," she begrudgingly conceded. "I'm really not obsessive, though. I just… plan ahead. A lot."

"Never would have guessed," he chuckled. "Well, don't let me keep you. Wouldn't want your plans to run behind on my behalf."

It didn't take long for her to finish up her business in the lab and head home. She retrieved her backpack from the cubbies by the entrance and, with one last wave, called a goodbye to Elliot and Esme both.

I guess that's some good progress, she reasoned as she headed down the empty stairwell. I mean, when's the last time something new happened with him? I'm happy about the career fair and the study session, of course, but this…

Having the pair come to Kate's Kitchen had her genuinely excited. Any new encounter meant a new opportunity to learn something about Elliot. Not to mention that it would be on her home turf.

This might be my biggest challenge yet: a picky eater. She shifted her backpack on her shoulders. This will be a real test. Time to see if all that cooking practice has paid off.

With a newfound resolve to make this dish her best yet, she began running through her checklist of preparations one more time.