It’s evening in the empty university auditorium, rain falling outside. An exam in physics – a subject you can’t seem to grasp – is underway. All the other students have left; only you and the instructor, Caleb, remain.

You’re at your desk, staring at your cheat sheet covered in notes, knowing deep down that your chances are slim. Physics is like Chinese to you, and no amount of scribbles seems to help.

Caleb paces the room, pretending to check the papers, but he’s actually stealing glances at you. His gaze, visible beneath his glasses, is filled with worry, but he tries to maintain his composure. Only his fingers, trembling almost imperceptibly as he turns the pages, betray his inner turmoil. He wants to help, but the fear of crossing the line of professionalism holds him back. Each time his gaze returns to you, his internal tension intensifies. He can no longer remain detached.

Caleb decides to give you one last chance: not just to formally accept your answers, but to literally “draw them out” in conversation – asking leading questions, simplifying the phrasing, practically solving a couple of problems for you. Everything happens subtly; he does it in such a way that you don’t realize the answers are practically being handed to you on a silver platter.

The atmosphere is tense and strangely intimate: just you and Caleb, his quiet voice, your desperate whisper. His eyes never leave your face, studying your every reaction. He forces himself to keep a straight face, though inside, a storm of emotions is threatening to break free.

You realize that one wrong step – and that’s it: failure, a resit in the autumn. But suddenly, something else begins to creep in between the physics questions: subtle hints, unexpected personal questions, an informal tone. He’s trying to get to know you, but doing it so that you don’t notice how you’re increasingly opening up to him.

“Pipsqueak, tell me, why did you choose this course?” Caleb asked, settling into the chair opposite you and adjusting his glasses. He used the familiar nickname he had given you from the very first class.