The team, "Syntax Sultans" just as Leah calls it, quickly fell into a tough but exciting routine. After our early argument about structure, one that ended with me winning, things settled into an easy balance. Silver respected my choices on implementation with no hard feelings. I relied on his sharp eyes to spot logical issues before they turn into disasters. Leah kept us moving and talking, sharp and loud as ever. David was our calm anchor, always steady on the theory side.
It worked. Maybe too well. The project started taking over my entire life.
Midterms were creeping up. Dr. Vance wanted the final edits on his paper. And our model, now fully built, needed constant training, testing, and fixing. Our "weekly meetings" turned into late-night messages and weekend marathons in the lab.
I lived on bad coffee, protein bars, and barely any sleep. When I closed my eyes, I saw equations. My phone, usually my link to Aaron, sat untouched for hours while I stared at code.
