"I'm sorry, are you a friend of Max?" Talia asked, her voice carrying a hint of genuine curiosity mixed with caution.
Under normal circumstances, the students in the business department were a relatively insular group, mostly only knowing those they shared lectures with. It was slightly different for Talia and Yovan, as they had both attended the same high school and brought their own social history to the university, but they knew one thing for certain: the man standing in front of them was definitely not part of the business department. He had a different air about him, steadier, more focused.
"Not friends, exactly," the man replied, offering a polite, practiced nod. "My name is Eric. I'm from the foreign martial arts department. Specifically, I focus on Wushu. Max expressed a serious interest in joining our club, and since our official activities are scheduled to begin next week, I thought I'd track him down to talk to him more about the curriculum and what he can expect."
