"So, what did you say earlier?" Noah walked slowly toward the kitchen stool.
His apartment had an open-space layout, so the kitchen and living room were in the same area.
"I came to offer a deal. Since you're so bothered by my personal life, I won't bring any more men to my place. That way, you can sleep or work in peace," Anne said with a hopeful smile.
"Under what condition?"
"It's simple. I just need you to drop your complaint and let me return to work," Anne replied, eyes locked on Noah's face.
The man sitting in front of her was impossible to read. His expression remained flat, cold.
Noah looked away the moment she made her request, but before he could speak, Anne quickly cut in.
"Besides, you do know that was an accident, right? Come on. I didn't even consider that a kiss..."
But it was my first kiss!
Noah got up from his seat, grabbed a glass from the drawer, and filled it with tap water. Seeing he wasn't responding, Anne knew she had to try a different approach.
"You know… I really need this job. I just wanted to help you that day—"
"—Okay."
"What? Really?" Anne beamed, caught off guard. Without thinking, she stepped closer to hug him. But Noah immediately widened his eyes and backed away fast, putting distance between them.
"Okay, whatever. As long as you're really dropping the complaint," Anne said, crossing her arms.
"Yeah. Now get out of my apartment," Noah said, pointing to the door. Anne blinked at how fast that deal was sealed, then started walking out.
Just before she stepped out, Noah cleared his throat. Anne instinctively turned around to face him.
"Look. I honestly don't care if you bring guys over or not. But at least keep it down, whatever it is you're doing in there. If I get disturbed by any kind of sound from your room again, I won't hesitate to spill the tea about how freaky everyone's favorite lecturer at Campus T really is."
[SLAM]
What the hell?! What a psycho!He agreed just now, and the second I walked out, that became the new condition?!
As soon as Anne Harper left the apartment, Noah grabbed his disinfectant spray and sprayed down the entire room. Then he picked up his phone and rushed to log into the campus website to change his class.
Unfortunately, he was assigned to Anne Harper's class twice a week, meaning he'd have to face that woman two times a week. Living next to her was already torture. Now he had to sit in her class too?
"Please, please, come on... please…" Noah muttered, bouncing his left leg anxiously.
Shit.
The screen clearly said he could no longer change his class schedule. Noah slumped onto the floor.
He was so, so tired of Anne Harper.
~~~~~
Noah sat in the top back corner of the classroom, his favorite spot. From there, no one had to squeeze past him, and no one would accidentally brush against him. As usual, before sitting down, he sprayed antiseptic and wiped the seat with a wet tissue.
The moment he sat, Noah could faintly hear whispers echoing around the room. Throughout his life, Noah had never had real friends. He used to have a few people who tried to be friendly, but the moment they discovered his extreme cleanliness habits, they slowly drifted away. Since then, he had zero interest in making friends.
"Isn't this the class with that... pervy professor?"
Noah immediately turned his head, trying to find the source of the voice.
Two girls were walking toward his area and sat down two seats away from him.
"That's what I heard, but come on, we don't know anything for sure. Don't just believe gossip," said the one with jet-black hair tied in a ponytail.
Noah sighed.
A small part of him felt guilty about the rumors surrounding Professor Harper. Deep down, he knew that kiss was an accident. But he was still pissed, kissing and anything sexual disgusted him. To Noah, that was worse than a pile of chicken poop.
"No, the thing is, Professor Harper keeps getting spotted going home with random guys from SS Club," said the blonde girl beside her, kinda whispering.
"SS Club?"
"Oh my God, Lila. You are so innocent. SS Club is literally known for finding, you know... partners. Sex partners."
Hearing that, Noah dug into his bag, desperately looking for his earbuds. He didn't want to hear anything about Anne Harper. Anymore.
But then the room suddenly went quieter. All eyes turned toward the front.
She's here already. Professor Anne Harper is here.
"Okay. It's good to be back. I'm sure you've heard some rumors about me, but let me make this clear, I would never harass a student. Or anyone else, for that matter," Anne said, her eyes scanning the room.
Then her gaze stopped at Noah Sinclair, who quickly looked away.
"Let's just focus on moving forward. I'm here to teach, and you're here to learn. So let's keep it that way, shall we?" she added, opening her MacBook.
Throughout the lecture, Noah couldn't stop glancing at her.
She looked... different when she was teaching. Almost like a real professional.
"Alright. I'm going to randomly assign partners for this project, and for all future ones. So you'll have to learn to work together," said Anne.
Noah let out a long, painful sigh. He hated group work.
Did she do this on purpose? Cause she hate me.
"Noah Sinclair and Lila Moore," Anne called out, glancing briefly in his direction.
Immediately, the blonde girl beside him spoke.
"Ohh, who's Noah Sinclair? Never heard of him before," she said to her friend.
"Me. I'm Noah Sinclair," Noah replied without thinking. He instantly regretted speaking so fast.
Both girls turned toward him, staring for a few seconds. Noah was wearing a plain black T-shirt and light gray pants.
"Oh. Sorry, I haven't met everyone in this class yet. I'm Blair, and this is Lila," said the blonde girl, fixing her long hair.
Noah simply nodded and glanced at Lila.
So I'm working with her… great.
"Alright class, that's it for today. By next session, I want a short report on the concept you're developing. I'll review your ideas and give feedback. Have a good day," said Anne before quickly leaving the room.
As Noah packed up, he noticed Lila sneaking glances at him. He immediately felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave, but since he was in the corner, he'd either have to wait for them to leave, or squeeze past them... and risking to touching their legs. Which he hates.
"Hey, since we're project partners now... how about we meet at a café to talk about the project?" Lila asked gently.
"I'd rather we just work separately. Just give me your contact," Noah said, pulling out his phone. Lila reached out to take it from him, probably to type her number in, but Noah quickly pulled it back, eyes wide in shock.
Lila and Blair exchanged looks, half confused, half offended.
"Uh… sorry. Just tell me your number," Noah muttered, eyes down.
This is gonna be exhausting.
~~~~~
"Sorry, but all the computers are fully booked for today. The only seat left is at this time tomorrow," said the librarian, pointing at the schedule on her monitor.
"Ah… I have class at that time," Noah sighed.
"Well, you can book for the day after tomorrow. Lots of available seats then."
Noah sighed. He really needed a computer now.
Should I go to the public library? But, ugh. Public places. I hate them.
"Oh, good afternoon, Professor Harper. Can I help you with anything?" the librarian suddenly said, her gaze shifting to Noah's left.
A familiar vanilla coconut scent hit Noah's nose like an ambush. Without another word, he quickly walked away toward the elevator.
"Yes, I'm just here to return this book," said Anne Harper, handing over the book while her eyes stayed locked on Noah's retreating figure.
"Is that student okay?" she asked the librarian. "He didn't look... well."
"Oh, that one? He wanted to use a computer, but they've been fully booked these days. Seems like assignments are piling up," said the librarian.
Anne gave a faint nod and a small smile.
That night, Anne couldn't stop pacing around her living room. Something about Noah bothered her.
He had helped her get her job back, he dropped the complaint and all she did in return was promise not to bring guys over or make noise, which, honestly, wasn't a big favor. She never brought guys home anyway before. Well… except for once. Just that one time.
Anne grabbed her phone and called Amanda. Whenever Anne felt torn about something, Amanda was her moral compass, if not her chaos enabler.
[RINGING]
"What's up, Dude?" Amanda answered.
"You busy?"
"Nope. What happened? Being on campus with all those juicy rumors about you must be so fun," Amanda teased.
"Ugh, don't even start. I'm so done with all the stares today," Anne said with a tired laugh.
She paused. "So… I, uh… I once brought a guy to my apartment."
"Wait, what?! You actually brought a guy over? Wow. Do we have a potential boyfriend in the making?" Amanda's tone instantly turned serious.
"No, no, no. I was just too lazy to go to his place or a hotel. I needed to release some steam. Maybe we were too… loud? Apparently that Noah guy was so disturbed, he ended up getting his laptop wet."
"Wait... wet? Like... was he jerking off and spilled something?" Amanda lowered her voice.
"What is wrong with your brain?!" Anne yelled, half laughing, half mortified.
She grabbed her glass from the coffee table and took a sip. "I think he hid in the bathroom and accidentally turned on the shower or something. His clothes were soaked."
"Poor Noah," Amanda said, chuckling.
Anne stood up again and refilled her glass. "Anyway, that's why I made a deal. You know I never bring guys home, and the one time I did, it turned into a mess. So I promised Noah I wouldn't bring anyone over again if he dropped the complaint."
She took another sip. "And he actually did. I was relieved, of course. But also... guilty. Because messing around at my place was always off-limits. That night was an exception. And today, I saw him struggling to book a computer at school. I just… felt bad."
"Hmmm. Then why not lend him one of your laptops? Don't you still have the old one?" Amanda said, her voice muffled like she was chewing something.
Anne blinked. "Oh my God, you're right… okay, love you. Bye."
[BEEP]
She headed straight to her bedroom. Inside her wardrobe, a box held her old laptop, still perfectly usable.
She powered it on to check everything worked, then slipped it into a tote bag. After taking a breath, she walked carefully toward Noah's front door.
[DING DONG]
"What do you want?" Noah asked, opening the door just seconds later.
"Can I come in? Let's talk inside," Anne said, trying to peek past him.
"No. What do you want?" he repeated, his tone flat and cold.
Anne exhaled quietly, visibly disappointed.
"Here," she said, holding out the tote bag.
But Noah just stared at her hand still gripping the strap. "What is it?"
"I just… I feel thankful, and also kinda guilty. You helped me get my job back, and all I did was promise not to bring guys over. So, I want to lend you my laptop. It works perfectly fine."
"I don't need your laptop," Noah replied bluntly, already trying to close the door.
But Anne stuck her foot in just in time, stopping the door.
"Wait, wouldn't going to a public place be more hassle than accepting my offer? I really do want to lend this to you. If you don't need it anymore, you can just give it back."
Noah didn't respond right away. He did need a laptop. But accepting it from the woman he resented the most? That felt... complicated.
"You know what? Whatever you decide is up to you. I offered. If you want to use it, go ahead. If not, just return it when you're sure you don't want my help," Anne said, setting the tote bag just inside the doorway.
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked back to her unit.
Noah stood frozen, staring down at the bag.
What am I supposed to do with this?