Elise sat in the middle of the last bench like she always did, trying to make herself as small as possible. The lecture hall was half-full, the professor already mid-sentence about regression models, and the two boys on either side of her had once again claimed the seats that left almost no space.

Matteo on her left was broad-shouldered, dark-haired, the kind of guy who filled a hoodie until the seams looked strained. Niklas on her right was leaner, sharper, always chewing the end of a pen, pale eyes that never seemed to miss anything. Both of them were a full head taller than her. Both of them had noticed weeks ago how she flinched every time an elbow brushed her chest.