{Elira}
~**^**~
Rennon leaned back slightly, his voice gentler now.
"Zenon isn't the easiest person to read. He struggles to communicate and express himself. Think of him as… a game you have to figure out. A puzzle to solve — and win."
As I walked back toward the dorm, Rennon's voice kept looping in my head.
"Zenon likes your company."
The words felt almost unreal, like something plucked from a completely different story.
I adjusted the strap of my backpack higher on my shoulder. Maybe Rennon had been teasing me—he had that kind of smile sometimes. But he had also seemed sincere also.
My lips pressed together as my mind replayed small moments I'd brushed off before in Zenon's office: the way he had told me to help myself to snacks or water without being prompted, him never rushing me when I sat flipping through the yearbook.
He had even answered my calls almost instantly—twice. The subtle shift in his tone when speaking to me compared to other times. That wasn't nothing.
