The hum of servers and the sharp scent of ozone filled the sterile lab as Dr. Thornfield lumbered ahead of the student group, his bulk casting a shadow over the blinking machinery.
"This," he rumbled, gesturing with a thick hand toward a crystalline array, "Is a qubit stabilization matrix. It maintains coherence at temperatures near absolute zero, not that any of you would grasp the implications."
He sneered at a snickering teen, adjusting his crooked glasses. Sweat beaded on his forehead under the fluorescent lights.
Then he saw .
His breath hitched. The dismissive scowl melted into wide-eyed panic behind his lenses. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. Focus. Quantum mechanics. Not the way their eyes crinkle when they smile. Not the—
"Ahem," he stammered, voice cracking as he turned to . "The—the lattice structure here demonstrates superposition. It’s... it’s elegant. Like... efficient code."
He wiped his palms on his straining polo, face flushing crimson. "Do you... teach applied physics? Or are you... specialized?" His gaze darted to their lips, then snapped back to the machinery. Don’t say something stupid. Don’t say something— "Your students are fortunate. " He swallowed hard, the collar of his shirt suddenly suffocating.