Chapter 163 *
Scarlett walked out of the lab and immediately spotted Dr. Patterson standing in the hallway.
He was leaning against the wall near the stairwell. His reading glasses were perched on top of his head like he'd been waiting specifically for her.
Oh no.
The second he saw her, his face lit up. He pushed off the wall and waved like they were old friends meeting for coffee.
"Scarlett! Perfect timing."
She stopped walking. Lily nearly crashed into her back.
"Professor Patterson." Scarlett tried to sound polite. "Did you need something?"
"I wanted to catch you before you disappeared." He walked over with way too much enthusiasm. "Have you had lunch yet?"
Scarlett blinked. "Lunch?"
"Yes. There's a great Italian place just off campus. My treat. We can discuss the research position while we eat."
The hallway had maybe fifteen students scattered around. All of them had frozen in place.
Some girl near the water fountain dropped her phone. It clattered on the floor but she didn't pick it up. She was too busy staring at Dr. Patterson with her mouth hanging open.
Scarlett could practically hear their thoughts.
Did Dr. Patterson just ask a student to lunch?
Since when does he chase students through hallways?
I've been trying to get his attention for two semesters and he won't even look at my emails.
A guy near the stairs whispered loudly to his friend. "Dude, that's Dr. Patterson. He literally turned down my roommate's lab application in twelve seconds. And he's asking her to lunch?"
This was getting ridiculous.
"I appreciate the offer, Professor." Scarlett adjusted her backpack strap. "But I really don't think—"
"It's just lunch." Dr. Patterson smiled. "Nothing formal. Just two people talking about chemistry over some excellent carbonara."
He was completely oblivious to the audience. Or maybe he just didn't care.
Lily grabbed Scarlett's arm and squeezed hard enough to leave marks. "Say yes," she hissed under her breath. "Say yes right now."
"I don't want to," Scarlett whispered back.
"I don't care what you want. This is Dr. Richard Patterson. Do you have any idea how many students would kill for five minutes of his time?"
"Then they can have my five minutes."
Lily looked like she was about to strangle her.
Dr. Patterson was still standing there with that expectant expression. "So? What do you say?"
Scarlett took a breath. "Professor, I'm really flattered. But I already told you I'm not interested in research positions."
"I understand your hesitation." Dr. Patterson nodded like he'd expected this. "But I think once we talk about the specifics, you'll change your mind."
"I don't think I will."
"Why don't you let me try to convince you over lunch?"
This man was relentless.
"Look, Professor." Scarlett tried a different approach. "I'm just a freshman. There are dozens of students in the department who are more qualified than me. You should pick one of them as your mentee."
Dr. Patterson's expression didn't change. "They're not you."
The hallway went completely silent.
Even the students who'd been pretending not to listen had given up the pretense now. Everyone was openly staring.
Scarlett felt her face heat up. "Professor—"
"You have something they don't." Dr. Patterson's voice was matter-of-fact. "Natural talent. Instinct. Technical precision that I haven't seen in decades of teaching."
He gestured back toward the lab. "That extraction work you did this morning? Most graduate students can't achieve that level of purity. And you did it like it was nothing."
"I just have practice—"
"Practice doesn't explain everything." Dr. Patterson cut her off gently. "Some people are just gifted. You're one of them. And I'd be a fool to let you slip through my fingers."
Lily's grip on Scarlett's arm tightened even more. "If you don't say yes, I'm going to hit you."
Scarlett ignored her. "Professor Patterson, I really appreciate your confidence in me. But I already told you. I don't want to go to graduate school. I don't want to do a PhD. I just want a normal career after I finish my bachelor's degree."
"Then you're wasting your potential."
Dr. Patterson's expression had shifted. He wasn't pushy anymore. He looked almost sad.
"Not everyone wants to change the world, Professor."
"I know." He sighed. "But the people who can should try."
Lily made a strangled sound. "Oh my God, Scarlett. He's literally begging you. Say yes."
Scarlett looked at Lily. Then back at Dr. Patterson.
This was getting out of hand.
"It's not that I don't want to." Scarlett spoke carefully. "I can't."
Dr. Patterson and Lily spoke at exactly the same time.
"Why not?"
Their voices overlapped perfectly. Same tone. Same confused inflection.
They both blinked. Looked at each other. Then back at Scarlett.
Scarlett stared at them. "Did you two just—"
"Why not?" they said again. Still in perfect unison.
Lily's mouth fell open. "Oh my God, stop copying me."
"I'm not copying you," Dr. Patterson said.
"Then why are we saying the same thing?"
"Because we're both asking the obvious question."
They turned back to Scarlett with identical expectant expressions.
Scarlett wanted to laugh. Or maybe cry. She couldn't decide which.
This conversation was heading somewhere she really didn't want it to go. But there was no good way to redirect it now.
She needed to get Dr. Patterson alone. Away from the hallway full of eavesdropping students.
"Lily." Scarlett turned to her friend. "Can you go ahead to the dining hall? I need to talk to Professor Patterson privately."
Lily's face went through about five different emotions in two seconds. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
"But I want to hear this conversation."
"I know you do. But I need you to go."
Lily looked betrayed. "Fine. But you're telling me everything later."
She walked away slowly. Looking back over her shoulder every few steps like Scarlett might change her mind.
The other students in the hallway were still watching. But at least they were pretending not to.
Scarlett turned back to Dr. Patterson. His entire face had lit up.
"So you're reconsidering?" His voice was eager. Almost excited. "That's excellent. Whatever you need, we can work it out. Schedule conflicts, course load, even financial concerns—"
"Professor." Scarlett cut him off. "That's not what I want to talk about."
His excitement dimmed slightly. "Oh?"
She glanced around. There were still too many people nearby.
"Can we go somewhere more private?"