Chapter 1
Hannah Levin didn’t walk into the classroom expecting anything remarkable.
She arrived a few minutes early, chose a seat in the middle, and opened her notebook. The semester was just beginning, and her expectations were deliberately low. Classes were functional things. They either worked or they didn’t.
The professor entered shortly after.
— Good morning. I’m Ethan Moore.
That was it. No long introduction, no attempt to charm the room.
Hannah noticed him, registered the information, and moved on.
The lecture was clear. Structured. When a model appeared on the screen with assumptions that didn’t fully hold, Hannah raised her hand.
— The model assumes emotional stability — she said. — That’s not realistic.
Ethan paused, considered it.
— It isn’t. That’s why the model only works under specific conditions.
That was the end of it.
Nothing lingered.
Nothing needed to.
