No name, no signature. It didn't need one. Jordan stared at the screen, then slowly reached for the notebook in his backpack. He wrote down the time, the number, the exact words. Outside the window, Crownbridge disappeared behind him.
But for the first time, Jordan understood something Professor Hayes had been trying to tell him. This wasn't fading. It was organizing itself. And somebody had just decided to push harder. The next morning, Jordan found out what that meant.
He was halfway through reviewing a set of beam load calculations in the engineering commons when a paper cup tipped across the table. Coffee rushed over the corner of his drawings. Jordan jerked the pages upward, but brown liquid had already soaked through two sheets. Oh man. Chase Whitmore stood across from him with one hand raised in fake surprise.
Tyler Bennett leaned against a nearby column. Logan Price had his phone in his hand. Again. Chase looked at the spreading stain. My fault.
His voice said the opposite. Jordan stared at the ruined calculations. 3 hours of work, not destroyed completely, but damaged enough to force him to redraw several sections before Professor Hayes reviewed them. Chase reached for a stack of napkins. Here, let me help.
Jordan took the napkins before Chase could touch the papers. I've got it. See, Chase said to Tyler. Always so serious. Tyler laughed.
Jordan blotted the coffee carefully. Students sat only a few tables away. Nobody spoke. A few watched. One man gathered his laptop and moved to another table.
Jordan noticed that more than the laughter. People were beginning to move away from the conflict as though silence could keep them innocent. He pulled out his notebook. Wednesday, 9:12 a.m. Engineering Commons. Chase Whitmore spilled coffee on capstone drawings.
Logan recording. When Jordan finished writing, Chase looked over. You keeping a diary about us? Jordan closed the notebook. I'm keeping records.
The smile on Chase's face thinned. For the first time, Jordan saw something underneath the amusement. Irritation. He hadn't been giving them what they wanted. No shouting, no threats, no scene.
And now he was documenting them. Chase stepped closer. You think that scares anybody? Jordan slid the damaged plans back into his portfolio. No. Then why do it?
Jordan met his eyes so I don't have to argue about what happened later. Chase stopped smiling. Tyler pushed away from the column. Jordan stood. The engineering commons seemed to shrink around the three of them.
Logan raised his phone slightly. Jordan saw it. Chase saw him see it. That was the game now. Jordan picked up his portfolio.
Move. Tyler stepped aside. Not because Jordan asked, because Chase gave him the smallest nod. Jordan walked out. Behind him, no one laughed.
That silence felt different, less amused, more watchful. By lunch, another incident had been added to the notebook. Jordan was crossing the library corridor, but when Tyler came from the opposite direction, there was plenty of room. Tyler chose not to use it. His shoulder slammed into Jordan's hard.
Jordan shifted half a step. Tyler bounced farther. He looked surprised, only for a moment. Then he grinned. "Watch where you're going."
Jordan looked at him. Tyler was nearly as tall but built narrower through the waist. Jordan could have answered. Instead, he looked past him. Two students had seen everything.
One lowered her eyes. The other pretended to study a campus poster. Jordan reached into his bag. The notebook came out. Tyler's smile faded.
"You really doing that every time?" Jordan wrote 11:47 a.m. Library North corridor. Tyler Bennett initiated shoulder contact. Two witnesses nearby. He closed the notebook.
Yes. Tyler leaned close enough for Jordan to smell mint gum. You know what people are going to think when they see a guy your size complaining about a shoulder bump? Jordan's jaw tightened. That sentence was designed better than any insult.
Tyler knew exactly where to place it. Jordan slid the notebook into his bag. That's why I write it down. Then he walked away. The next day, someone pulled his chair out as he sat down in an engineering study room.
Jordan caught himself against the table before he hit the floor. Laughter erupted behind him. Logan, Tyler, Chase. This time, three other students were in the room. Nobody joined the laughter.
Nobody stopped it either. Jordan stood upright. He looked at the chair, then at Logan. The phone was already raised. "Come on," Logan said.
"That was funny." Jordan pushed the chair back into place. "Was it?" Logan's grin faltered. Jordan sat, opened his laptop, went back to work.
That seemed to bother Chase most of all. He walked behind Jordan and looked over his shoulder. Still pretending this place wants you here? Jordan's fingers stopped over the keyboard. Chase continued, "Because it doesn't look like anybody's exactly rushing to your defense."
Jordan turned slowly. The study room went silent. Chase was smiling. Jordan wasn't. For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he answered in the same calm voice he had used on the terrace. Some people need a crowd to feel important. Tyler stopped laughing. Logan lowered the phone slightly. Chase stared at Jordan.
That was the first time Jordan had given him anything close to a wound, and Chase felt it. Jordan could see that too. He turned back to his laptop. Behind him, Chase said quietly, "Careful." Jordan didn't respond, but he wrote the word down later.
"Careful." Friday came with a sharp wind and a low silver sky. Jordan was leaving the engineering building when he heard something fall near the main hallway. A cleaning cart had tipped beside the stairs. A campus custodian sat on the floor, one hand braced against the wall.
She looked to be in her late 50s. Jordan dropped his bag. Ma'am, don't move yet. I'm fine. Okay, then let's prove it slowly.
He crouched several feet away rather than grabbing her. Did you hit your head? No. Dizzy. She shook her head. My ankle just rolled.